Best Wired Headsets in 2021

Headsets are a must-have peripheral. Whether you’re gaming and listening for footsteps or in an office, livening your day up with some music, a good headset is a more than worthwhile investment. While Bluetooth headsets are definitely popular, ‘old-school’ wired headsets have their advantages too – but we’re not here to debate whether wired or wireless headsets are better.

We’re here to help you pick the best wired headsets money can buy this year! There’s quite a selection, so we picked out the best of the best.

The Razer Blackshark V2 is one of the more popular headsets out there. It has it all – good value for money, great audio quality, nice-to-haves like a removable mic, media controls in the cable, and for a bit more, there is a wireless option as well.

Add to that the known Razer quality, and the 50mm titanium drivers, and you end up with similar sound to the HyperX’s neodymium headsets. The design is fairly simple, and while it lacks exceptional features, the headset is comfortable and will fit most head shapes and sizes. The exposed cable means that the headset won’t be able to stand extreme conditions or overly rough transport conditions, however for normal use, it is more than solid enough.

HyperX headphones are popular for a reason – they deliver fantastic sound and are well-built. Well, the Cloud II is one of the best options out there. Not only does it have a solid aluminium frame, making it durable, it also has slightly larger than average neodymium drivers. Like the Razer BlackShark, a wireless version is also available.

Like for quite a few of its headset models, HyperX also offers additional accessories you can buy for the headset – such as more comfortable earcups, other cables and microphones and more. As for the headset itself, it offers the same ultra-comfy and ultra-large earcups that so many love about HyperX headsets – for most users, they’ll entirely cover their ears, making them great for long gaming sessions or work calls.

The G Pro X has all sorts of comfort and quality features – the real stars, however, are the sound customisation features. Not only does the headset offer pro-tuned EQ profiles, it also features Blue Vo!ce mic tech. That means that users have a choice of real-time voice filters. These can add compression, reduce background noise, and even make your voice sound a bit richer.

As for the hardware itself, the headset has comfortable memory foam earcups, an aluminum frame, and steel elements for reinforcement. Despite this, the headset isn’t too heavy, with a second set of earcups in the box. In fact, there are several accessories like a Y splitter cable, a mobile cable, and a 2m extra-long cable, plus a carrying bag included with the headset, making it a great choice for users looking to be versatile with their headset.

The heaviest headset on this list, the HS 60 makes up for this by having a pretty unique feature – haptics! More specifically, it’s got haptic bass support, in order to recreate a subwoofer experience for the user. It’s also compatible with Windows Sonic and features the same kind of 50mm neodymium drivers that we’re used to from similar models.

One definitive downside is the design. The arctic-camo colouring doesn’t look bad, but it won’t suit all tastes, and it’s not exactly suitable for office settings, for example. It’s definitely a gamer aesthetic, and it’s the only design available, limiting its appeal.

This extremely light-weight headset features slightly smaller drivers at 40mm compared to most other headsets – a trade-off for portability and long-term comfort. The headset comes with 7.1 surround, and has a particular mic setup that records audio from a small area focused around the user’s mouth. This picks up the voice even if the mic isn’t perfectly positioned, and deliberately mutes out background noise from behind and the sides.

The headset is on the more comfortable side, however the sheer clamp force of it can be a little uncomfortable for people with glasses, or those who have bigger heads. On the upside, you have to move around quite a lot for it to slide around or even off.

These are some of the best wired headsets you can buy – and unlike some top tier wireless options, they’re all relatively affordable. Do you agree? What’s the top price you’d pay for a wired headset? Let us know!