The world is in panic. Clouds of uncertainty loom over us. The most evolved human civilisation till date is coming to a standstill. No – this is not some intro of a new super amazing game trailer but our actual world right now, unfortunately.

As pro gamers, perhaps, our greatest fantasy might be a zombie apocalypse and bunch of cool weaponry to combat them, but corona-calypse (yeah, we coined that) is nothing less of a pandemic straight outta video game kinda thing. The only weapon to combat this menace is “social distancing”. So, we have compiled a list of best value gaming headphones for you to socially isolate yourself and keep on gaming.

TL;DR (But you will miss out on the essential principles for buying a headphone set ☹ )

• SteelSeries Arctis 1
• Razer Kraken X
• Roccat Renga Boost
• Astro A10
• HyperX Cloud Stinger

Before we move on, it is important to share that few key principles must be kept in mind while choosing any headphone. These will help you decide which one is best for you and what features do you essentially need.

1. Sound quality and microphone

Sound quality is holy. A pro gamer will compromise on the wires but never on sound. While some provide stereo sound, the others will give you the feature of surround sound. Both have their own benefits. Do test the quality of sound before making any selection. Check the accuracy and noise isolation level.

As far as microphones are concerned, the choice here is between omnidirectional and unidirectional. The latter cuts out most of the noise accompanying your voice, while the former does not. Choose omnidirectional if you do not want your teammates to hear you breathing as well. :p

 

2.Build quality and comfort

With great immersive gameplay, comes great ability to spend long hours (sorry, Uncle Ben). Well, spending long hours to play our favourite games must be coupled with comfort and good build quality. Just because a headphone is easy on our pocket, then it has to be low on the build quality too. If you are going for the wired ones, then checking the quality of wires is very important. And, generally, the cushion form, texture quality, sweat resistance are important areas to evaluate comfort and build quality.

 

3.Open vs. Closed

As the name suggests, the open headphones enable to hear the sound of your surroundings without compromising on the audio output. On the other hand, closed headphones entirely isolate you from the surroundings. We believe, it is less a choice of quality of audio output and more one’s personal preference to whether be aware of the surroundings or not. If you ask us, we dig fully immersive experience.

 

4.Wired vs. Wireless

The choice here is basically between spending time to untangle the wires or waiting for your wireless headphones to charge up. For the latter, it is really important to pay special attention to battery life and charge time, while for the former do check the build quality thoroughly.

 

5.Compatibility

Compatibility is crucial. The connection between your headphones and gaming device needs to be smooth and seamless. Thankfully, modern headphones come with plenty of connection types. However, if your device is old then it might require an adapter. You do not want the sound of footsteps coming later than the bullet of your opponent in Call of Duty…etc.

Having given the key principles for choosing best headphones, the top 5 best value gaming headphones are as follows:

SteelSeries Arctis 1

Compatibility: PS4, Xbox one, Switch, mobile, PC | Drivers: 40mm | Frequency Response: 20 – 20 kHz | Wireless: No

Razer Kraken X

Compatibility: PS4, Xbox One, PC/Mac, Switch, Mobile ● Interface: wired ● Connections: 3.5mm audio cable ● Drivers: 40mm Neodymium ● Frequency response: 12Hz – 28,000Hz ● Surround sound modes: 7.1

Roccat Renga Boost

Compatibility: PS4, Xbox one, Switch, mobile, PC | Drivers: 50mm | Frequency Response: 20 – 20 kHz | Wireless: No

Astro A10

Compatibility: PS4, Xbox one, Switch, mobile, PC | Drivers: 40mm | Frequency Response: 20 – 20 kHz | Wireless: No

HyperX Cloud Stinger

Compatibility: PS4, Xbox one, Switch, mobile, PC | Drivers: 50mm | Frequency Response: 18 Hz – 23 kHz | Wireless: No

 

Wrapping up

These are some of the best value headphones that you can look out for. You might as well find better ones and some bad apples too. But do let us know if this has been helpful, plus share the games you are combatting corona-calypse with. ?