Best Budget Headsets 2021

Sound is an important part of the computer experience and while it’s possible to drop a few hundred, or even a few thousand on a top-tier headset it really isn’t necessary to get good quality sound. Whether you’re a music enthusiast, a gamer, or primarily need to use a headset for Zoom meetings, a good headset is important. Thankfully, you’ve got an ever-improving selection of budget tier headsets to choose from, that let you save a few dollars without compromising too much on quality.

To help narrow down the selection somewhat, we’ve drawn up a list of our recommended best budget headsets in 2021.

The Corsair HS35 Stereo Gaming Headset costs just $40 but offers good quality audio, especially for gaming. The bass response from the 50mm drivers can be a bit too strong when listening to music but this is much less of an issue in games, especially when you’re listening for tell-tale footsteps.

The microphone is very high quality for the price tier, being Discord certified., it is also detachable unidirectional and noise cancelling. On the headset itself, you have a microphone mute button and a volume dial. The mesh earcups leave a little to be desired in terms of noise isolation, letting sound both in and out. The 3.5mm jack connector means it should work with most devices, although many modern phones may need an adaptor.

The SteelSeries Arctis 1 costs $50 and offers the same audio drivers as the rest of the Arctis line-up so you know they’ve not cut corners with speaker quality. The ClearCast microphone is bidirectional for improved noise cancelling, detachable and Discord certified.

At 272 grams, the Arctis 1 is slightly heavier than the HS35 but still lightweight. The 3 metre 3.5mm cable offers ample length to connect to even the most awkwardly placed audio port on your computer. The fabric ear cushions are comfortable but don’t provide exceptional sound isolation.

The PuroGamer Volume Limited Gaming Headset is primarily designed for children but works perfectly for adults too. It’s designed to restrict audio levels to a maximum of 85dB, this is still very much loud enough to be heard but is quiet enough to not cause hearing damage especially to the sensitive ears of children. The volume limit is perfectly clear when playing audio in a relatively quiet environment, but it can struggle to overpower louder background noises such as traffic or a busy coffee shop.

At 369 grams it’s not the lightest headset, but the ample padding makes sure it’s not uncomfortable. The detachable, omnidirectional, noise cancelling microphone is decent quality but has a glaringly bright blue LED on the end. The inline control box offers a microphone mute switch and a volume control wheel, it also lets you toggle between sending your microphone audio down the 3.5mm jack or the USB cable which are both always connected. If you have an issue with your microphone not working, make sure to remember to check this as an early troubleshooting step.

The Astro A10 is similar to Astro’s significantly more expensive models in terms of raw audio quality. It’s missing out on some advanced features to keep the price down, but what remains is high quality. The microphone is unidirectional but doesn’t include any noise cancelling, what it can do is mute automatically if you flip the boom arm up which is pretty neat.

While the A10 is pretty have at 346g, that weight is not wasted, as many customer reviews speak to the long-term robustness of the headset, even when it’s actively being treated poorly. One issue that some users may find is the fit, the A10 doesn’t offer many adjustment options so it isn’t as comfortable as many other headsets.

The Razer BlackShark V2 X is the $60 entry tier for the BlackShark V2 range and to achieve that price point some features have been cut. Primarily, the V2 X doesn’t come with a USB sound card, but it also changes the earcup padding. That isn’t to say the V2 X isn’t comfortable, it is, it also provides good passive noise cancelling.

The virtual 7.1 surround sound takes the form of an activation code for an app that pretty much just allows you to toggle it on and off. There’s a volume dial and mut mic button on the left headphone. One potential cause for concern is the connection of the cups to the band. The cable itself is exposed and the dual forks used to adjust the height look relatively flimsy.

That was our list of the best budget headsets in 2021. Have you bought any of our recommendations? Please let us know your thoughts down in the comments or let us know what you’d add to this list.