I've also been on the search for the perfect headset. I have 3 requirements :

• I want two independent output devices to show up natively without software, 1 for main output and 1 for voice chat output
• I want on the fly mixing between the 2 outputs, preferably without additonal software, with a physical knob
• I want good sidetone, preferably with volume knob

Checking all these boxes has been near impossible. I currently have an older steel series arctis and it does it. Newer models tho and almost every OEM out there has some shit software that's windows only. Newer steel series for instance only has the chat mix as a virtual output in software. I know I can achieve similar with Pipewire. The only headset I found that was close was the audeze gaming headset but the sidetone was awful, static and crackle.

If someone has a rec that can check all those boxes for me let me know.

I use a shitty broken Razer barracuda x, and some Sony when I want music

Corsair Virtuoso XT ! Best microphone on a wireless headset I've ever heard !

Remember to use JamesDSP and make a profile with the proper AutoEQ data no matter which headset you buy ! Makes it sound instantly much better and less muddled. I can't live without it x)

I have a Logitech G533 headset that I've owned for close to ten years now and I've never had any issues with it in Linux. The USB dongle just plugs in and it works.

Bookmark worthy thread. Really good info here.

1. why wireless?

2. what budget?

3. music?

3a) what genres are your favorites?

3b) what genres you don't listen to?

4. how old are you

5. environment?

6. what games are your favorites in the past?

6a) what games are your favorites now?

6b) what games are you looking forwards to?

I Have a hyperx cloud flight (the first ones), very light, in arch based distros the range is pretty big (in mint and pop, for whatever reason, the range is abysmal), they work with no caveats on linux (though no battery report, there's a script or two floating on the internet to have it with no hassle). I'm sure there are better options these days (better battery and sound quality), but these are the ones I have experience with.

They're not my first choice in audio, but they did so much for me when I had my kid, you can drop in and out of your pc without needing to remove your headphones, they don't block much so you can even listen to the baby crying if you're at a low volume (or you can just have one ear out), you can hang out in calls while holding the bb, etc.

For any new parents out there, can't tell you how much they did for me, in particular the combination of

• being for PC (no latency, being able to get in and out of your gaming sessions or whatever you do without even having to take them off)
• having a decent quality microphone next to your mouth (you don't need to raise your voice and can be heard easily despite background noise, good signal to noise ratio)
• not being that good at blocking sound, this is crucial when you can't compromise your full attention but can have most of it.
• being light weight (I know there are some wireless headphones that are bulky and not that light).

Sennheiser HD 280 pro

Main difference beetween that and most monitoring stuff is the lower impedance if you don't want a separate audio setup for it or want to buy it later

Don't buy a headset if you care about things like accurate audio positioning and sound quality. Get a good pair of over ear headphones and use a good condenser mic along with it (like what YouTubers and streamers use). If you don't care about mic quality (or just don't want a big bulky mic), they sell mics that can attach to your headphones.

For most people on a $20-500 budget (so 99% of people), I recommend the Superlux HD681-AIR. The build quality is poor but it makes up for it in every other department.

It has a mostly flat frequency response curve. There is some siblance in the highs—but it can be EQed out—or remedied with a piece of foam to muffle the sound a bit.

The bass is deep and full without being muddy, and extends to around ~10hz, which is incredibly impressive for semi-open back headphones.

Speaking of which, the semi-open back configuration gives you a wide, realistic soundstage and great imaging, which helps with pinpointing where sounds are coming from. If you want realistic 3D audio for things like movies, games, and music, it's hard to find a headphone under $300 that can accurately activate your pinna just right (which is what you want if you want your audio to sound like it's coming from all around you rather than inside your head). The Superlux cans are only $25. You cannot get better sound quality at this price point. The HD681-AIR gives you audiophile-quality sound for entry-level prices.

Like I said, the only catch is the build quality of the headphones themselves. All plastic and feels very cheap, but none of that matters the moment you put them on. Get a nice pair of velour earpads to replace the sub-par stock leather ones, and then beat the crap out of them until you break them. Then buy another pair.

My Sony XM3 headset works really well

If you like music, you might want to check your selected model(s) on the AutoEQ site for how close they are to the ideal response. I've had some headphones that had way too loud high frequences.

Anything from Sennheiser or Audio-Technica should be great, but their Bluetooth stuff is pricey.

I love my Steelseries Arctis 7. It doesn't need any software to configure at all, works out of the box in Linux. Has a nice hardware mixer right on the headphone so you can lower game sounds to hear voice chat better and vice versa.

Ewww, I mute people that talk. Wtf.

I hope you aren't playing any competitive games because wireless introduces extra latency and makes you play worse

1. Bluetooth probably won't be able to give you good quality audio and mic input at the same time. It doesn't have enough bandwidth over a single channel, last time I tried. Of course that was probably like 5 years ago and things might've changed, like a theoretical workaround I thought about is the headset simply having two bluetooth reveivers and connecting twice. But yeah.

Edit: I suspect jgrffn's comment in the thread refutes the above. I might test later.

2. Most of the proprietary wireless 2.4 ghz usb adapters I have tried have worked fine and better than bluetooth since they can do good audio and mic at low latencies. I have used logitech and corsair but my logitechs died on me (one I bought had the left side die and the other the right side :/) and the corsair earmuffs fell apart after I made the mistake of not being perfectly dry once. So I can't really recommend my most used headsets.

I have never liked headsets. I wear glasses so over the ear headsets aren't comfortable for me. Not to mention, headsets are often overpriced and dont sound as good as a dedicated mic with headphones IMO, but I also make music so audio is a bit more important to me. I also just like having separate devices so that if something breaks, I don't have to throw out a whole device.

xlr mic paired with audio interface and whatever flavor of headphones you want is my go to.

I use a mxl 770 mic with a focusrite 2i2 interface and I use shure se215-K in ear monitors for headphones. I also use this setup for making music or for talking with friends over discord.

Focusrite works great on Linux on I haven't had any issues with this setup. This is a more expensive upfront but I haven't bought a new mic or headphones in years so I think it works out to be more cost effective over time.

For a wireless setup, if you're OK with your mic being wired, you could get a decent USB mic and pair that with a pair of wireless headphones.

steel series arctis nova 7, working great

I'm just using a turtle beach headset, one of the stealth models that mute when you flip the mic up.

Occasionally need to unplug the receiver but otherwise works well

Are you married to the idea of wireless? The old suggestion of decent headphones and a mic are imo the best way to do things. I've got an old blue yeti I use when I need a mic, but been considering getting a modmic to attach to my headphones. I ran with a pair of Beyerdynamic DT-880s for over a decade as my daily drivers with a FiiO DAC/amp combo, use a k5 pro now with some DT 1990s and found that to be a great combo.

Razer anything is terrible for Linux. avoid in the future.

I got a pair of Fractal Scapes. The software to modify them is just a website so it's easy to EQ them on Linux (I run bazzite). The EQ profiles are also saved locally so once it's set you never have to look at the website again. The works dick worked straight away and volume control+ play/pause work massively on Linux which is great

Sony XM5 earbuds. The most annoying part of them is their feature that connects to multiple devices at once, so I end up fighting my phone (Graphene) or gaming PC (Bazzite) midway through a business call on my work laptop (believe it or not, also Bazzite).

So yeah, their only problem is they work with everything and can prioritize sounds from other devices mid-call. You can just not connect them to everything at the same time, or turn off Bluetooth on the phone n stuff while not in use.

I'm pretty sure you can just buy any device like that (so not Razer, and generally not gaming) and it'll just work on Linux. Gaming stuff in general usually has a hard time working even on Windows due to absolute dog-shit firmware & software implementations.

Razer is awful, they are about as proprietary as it is possible for a consumer electronics company to reasonably be. Avoid them at all costs.

Logitech is generally a better choice when available.

Steelseries, although I don't generally love their build quality, has worked well on Linux for me. I can't speak for their cheaper headsets but I specifically am using a Steelseries Arctis Pro Wireless in Bluetooth mode with a magnetic-tip USB cable for charging (leaving the Micro-USB tip in the headphones at all times, because fuck Micro-USB).

I assume the non-Bluetooth USB dongle works fine as well but I'm too lazy to use it and have probably lost it somewhere along the way so I can't personally confirm that. Bluetooth is my jam though.

The one I use was discontinued years ago, so instead of recommending it, I'll offer a suggestion:

Don't look for "gaming" headsets. Look instead for well-regarded headphones and mic, or for a telephony (VoIP) headset from a brand that specializes in them, on sale. You'll be more likely to find something that sounds good in both directions and lasts a long time.