The HyperX Cloud Flight S is the best overall streaming headset on this list due to its long battery life, superior comfort, and fast, wireless charging. You get all the benefits of an expensive wired headset at a relatively affordable price, and without the wire!
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Many people don’t realize before getting into streaming how many different pieces there are that go into a good stream. In order to gain subscribers and boost your ROI, you need to make sure you have the right hardware, software, and accessories.
In this guide, I’ll go over the four best streaming headsets on the market right now, with each of them having various benefits over the others. Determine what you need for your particular streaming environment, and use this guide to help you find the perfect match. If you are looking specifically for a pink headset for streaming, we also reviewed some of them here.
Once you find the right headset for your needs, you can begin scaling your streaming channel into something larger. For now, let’s figure out how you’re going to hear your game and talk to your subscribers.
Table of Contents
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Comparison of the Best Streaming Headsets for Gamers
| Best Overall Streaming HeadsetSee On Amazon |  | HyperX Cloud Flight S | See On Amazon |
| Best Microphone Streaming HeadsetSee On Amazon |  | SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 2017 | See On Amazon |
| Best Premium Streaming HeadsetSee On Amazon |  | ASTRO A50 Gen 4 Wireless 2019 | See On Amazon |
| Best Price to Quality Streaming HeadsetSee On Amazon |  | HyperX Cloud Alpha S | See On Amazon |
Reviews of the Best Streaming Headsets for Gamers
Microphone: Detachable
Features: Wireless “Qi” charging, surround sound
Battery: 30 hours
Compatibility: PC, PS4
Wireless: Yes
This over-ear streaming headset is one of the most comfortable wireless streaming headsets on the market right now. With large, soft cups to go over your ears, even your longest streaming session wouldn’t cause your ears to ache.
This headset also features a battery life of up to 30 hours, with convenient Qi charging built-in for when you need to recharge. (For those who don’t know, “Qi” charging is a wireless form of charging that only requires the battery to be in close proximity to the charger).
Beyond that, the HyperX Cloud Flight S has 7.1 custom-tuned surround sound with easy-to-use volume control and microphone mute controls built right into the headset for ultimate convenience.
Finally, this headset is fully customizable with its “NGenuity” software, so that you can add a little bit of personal flair to your headset for your streamers to see. If you’re streaming on PC or PS4/5, this is one of the best streaming headsets for you.
If you’re looking for a convenient setup that provides studio-quality sound and microphone performance, this is the headset for you. This headset provides surround sound, long battery life, and has the top-rated headset microphone on the market.
Microphone: Retractable
Features: USB dongle connection, top-tier microphone
Battery: 24 hours
Compatibility: PC, PS4
Wireless: Yes
The SteelSeries Arctis 7 is the perfect streaming headset for sound nerds; with DTS headphone: x v2.0 7.1 surround sound and a USB dongle to connect your headset to your PC, you get clear, crisp, zero-latency audio.
With up to 24 hours of battery life, you can rest assured knowing this headset will last the duration of any stream with unfailing performance. This, in addition to the 40-foot range the USB dongle connection provides, makes this an extremely convenient headset for streamers.
The microphone included in this headset is rated as the best headset microphone currently, so you can stream with just your software and a headset if you so please. Voice comes through clear, and the microphone is designed to eliminate as much background noise as possible for uninterrupted audio.
If a budget is negligible for you, then the Astro A50 might be what you’re looking for. Its high price is justified by its performance; with large, soft, comfortable earcups and a high-quality, flip-to-mute microphone, you get premium features at a likewise premium price.
Microphone: Flip-to-mute
Features: Mod Kit ready, base station included
Battery: 14 hours
Compatibility: PC, PS4
Wireless: Yes
Disclaimer: This headset is available for a little cheaper without the base stand, but the best value you get for this headset is to get it with the stand, which I’ll explain in more detail below.
The Astro A50 is one of the best streaming headsets on the market for people with a high budget, but the features you get with the high price are worth it to some.
This headset has a low battery life of up to 15 hours, but with the stylish base station, recharging is easy and looks good at the same time. The base station (and headset, for that matter) are very sleek, and to charge you need only place the headset on the station, or connect with a cable if you need to charge while streaming.
The sound quality on these is great, and the audio is tuned with ASTRO Audio v2, which is designed specifically with gaming in mind to bring out the fullest, richest sound quality for each game.
The microphone quality on this headset is above average, but not quite as good as the SteelSeries Arctis 7, so if microphone quality is a priority for you, it would be wiser to save the money with a less expensive headset that sports a higher-quality microphone. The microphone also has a “flip-to-mute” function, which makes for the simplest microphone control setup available.
This streaming headset offers a boatload of features at a relatively affordable price point. It’s a great headset for streamers who are just getting started, or for streamers who use a standing microphone.
Microphone: Detachable
Features: USB audio controller, bass adjustment slider
Battery: N/A
Compatibility: PC
Wireless: No
The HyperX Cloud Alpha S is a seemingly premium headset with a price point closer to the HyperX Cloud Flight S, its wireless cousin. This headset is wired, but you cut out the worry of your headset dying midstream with that sacrifice.
The sound quality is great, with 7.1 surround sound and an easily adjustable audio controller. This headset also sports a bass adjustment slider built right onto the cup, so you can toggle between three different levels of bass easily.
The microphone is detachable and provides a decently crisp voice pickup, though it is far from being the greatest on the market.
For ease of storage, the 3.5mm audio jack (see also if 3.5mm headsets are better than the USB headsets) that connects the headset to your PC is detachable as well, so you can reduce bulk by wrapping the cable around your headset.
In short, this headset gives you all the great features of our Best Overall pick at a slightly reduced price point.
How to Choose the Best Streaming Headset
Type
You don’t want to be streaming for several hours wearing a headset that doesn’t treat your ears well. To avoid that, you’ll want to know what type of headset you’re looking at buying to make sure it won’t irritate your ears over time.
The three types of headsets are:
- Over-Ear: Over-ear headsets fit the cups over the entire surface of both ears, providing the best noise-cancellation and sound quality of the three types. There are two subclasses of over-ear headsets: closed-back and open-back.
The main difference between the two is that closed-back headsets are entirely sealed, which increases noise-cancellation but also increases pressure on your ears. Open-back headsets have a small hole drilled into the cups, which lets out some of that pressure but also lets out sound.
- On-Ear: On-ear headsets sit on top of your ears, which applies the least amount of pressure, but also invites the most background noise in. These are also often less expensive than over-ear headsets, but the lack of noise isolation makes these a subpar option for streamers. This type of headset is great for people with bigger heads!
- In-Ear: In-ear headsets are effectively earbuds, which offer a much narrower range of frequencies and can damage your ears with prolonged sessions of high volumes. They can offer good noise-canceling effects, but otherwise are also not a great option for streamers.
Sound Quality
As a streamer, you need to be able to hear the game as it was intended to be heard and react accordingly to give your viewers the richest experience. This means you need a headset with superior sound quality and, if you want to be specific, is designed with your streaming genre in mind.
There are a variety of different headset features regarding the depth of the bass or the warmth of the sound, so determine what kind of sound you like best and look at options that feature that. You’ll also want surround sound for streaming; this will give you the richest sound environment to enhance your game as you stream.
Microphone
Some streamers prefer to use standing microphones with very high-quality sound pickup for their streams, while others prefer the convenience of a built-in microphone to keep their desktop tidy and free up their range of motion.
If you move around a lot as a streamer and you don’t need the crispest voice pickup to be happy, a built-in microphone should work great for you. There are some options on this list that have high-quality microphones included in the headset, with some being retractable and some being entirely detachable.
Comfort
Long periods of streaming can make your ears sore and cause irritation. As such, it’s important to choose the most comfortable headset that rests lightly on or over your ears to avoid that discomfort as your stream stretches on.
Compatibility
All of the options on this list are compatible with PCs at least, while some can connect to other consoles as well. Determine what platforms you intend to stream on, and make sure the headset you like supports that platform before purchasing.
Noise-Canceling
Similar to sound quality, noise-canceling features are an important aspect of streaming headsets. Some people want to tune out their environment entirely for a fully immersive gaming experience, while others want to hear the game and also keep tabs on their stream notifications and hear themselves speaking.
Determine what you prefer in terms of background noise and shop accordingly. Many streaming headsets, including some on this list, offer full noise-cancellation with the ability to turn that feature on or off at will; these types of headsets are ideal for streamers, as it adds a layer of flexibility to their streaming setup.
Battery
If you’re purchasing a wireless headset, you’ll want to check its battery life to make sure it will last the average length of your streams without dying or losing any functionality. Some headsets have an insanely long battery life, but these are typically more expensive and many streamers aren’t streaming for 24 hours straight and can afford a few hours of charging time.
In Conclusion
There are so many headsets on the market that it can be overwhelming to decide which one will suit your streaming setup best within your budget but if you have a bigger budget and want to have an expensive gaming headset, check this article. If you know what to look for, the search becomes much less challenging. Determine your specific needs for both sound quality and microphone quality to narrow down your search, and the rest is easy!