It might not offer wireless connectivity, but Razer’s Black Shark V2 offers something unique when compared to other budget headsets in our chart; THX support. THX spatial audio simulates positionally-accurate sound that allows you to pinpoint, with accuracy, the direction and origin of gunshots, footsteps, voices and anything else you notice when gaming.

It’s an incredible thing to experience, offering a more immersive gaming experience than most other budget headsets, and Razer’s set to take that further with the release of THX Game Profiles. Game Profiles offer game-specific audio enhancements for supported games. There will be 30 at launch on 6 August, with more to come over the coming months. 

That experience is powered by Razer’s all-new 50mm drivers, the TriForce Titanium, sporting titanium-coated diaphragms to allow for better audio separation. It’s the first in the Razer collection to sport the new drivers, and offers a noticeable upgrade over our previous first-choice, the Razer Kraken TE. 

The THX smarts and improved HyperClear Cardioid microphone all powered by a small USB sound card, compatible with PC. That sound card also allows you to tweak the audio output via Razer Synapse (for PC) to either focus on immersion or spatial awareness, depending on the gaming experience you want. The 3.5mm jack makes it compatible with PS4, Xbox One and other consoles, but you won’t get the advanced audio tweaking capabilities. 

And, as is the case with most of Razer’s headsets, it’s an absolute joy to wear over long periods without a hint of pressure build-up. The full-ear enclosed cup design provides unmatched comfort, complemented further by soft-touch memory foam and a leatherette finish. 

Simply put, it’ll keep your ears cool and comfortable during even the most intense gaming sessions, and that’s something that many can appreciate.

As you might expect from Razer, this stretches the limits of ‘budget’ ever so slightly, but if you want a relatively affordable entry point into Razer’s gaming gear, this is a great starting point.

The stellar features here are build and comfort: the basic design is the exact same as you’ll find in Razer’s much more expensive flagship headsets, which are among the most comfortable on the market.

This is undeniably bulky, but deceptively lightweight, thanks to a combo of light materials and a headband that does a great job of distributing the weight.

Sound quality is where you this really differs from Razer’s more expensive headsets, with smaller 40mm drivers rather than 50mm – but the sound quality is still very solid and includes simulated surround sound. It also delivers wireless with a USB dongle, and sound quality over the wireless system is great too.

There’s also no support for Razer’s Chroma lighting, but with a budget-friendly focus, would you really expect that?

If you like the idea of a wireless headset like the Razer Nari Essential or Xbox Wireless Headset but don’t want to pay the premium price, the Gioteck TX70 is a solid performer that comes in at just over half the price of the other wireless options in our chart.

The TX70 offers the same 2.4GHz connectivity as the more premium options in a compact black-and-blue package, complete with a plastic build and thick, soft-touch cushioning on both the headband and earcups. there’s a small flip mic available here too, making for a cleaner look when not chatting with your party.

Crucially, audio performance is great, with 50mm drivers providing an immersive experience with a decent balance between powerful bass and reproducing high-frequency sound, and there’s a built-in EQ mode that’ll allow you to enable or disable the bass boost depending on what game you’re playing.

The battery will last around 15 hours on a single charge before needing a top-up via micro-USB, and you’ve got 3.5mm connectivity as a backup too.

The TX70 is designed for use with the PS4, PS5 and PC, meaning those on Xbox will have to look elsewhere – unless you’re content with using the 3.5mm cable.

The E910 is a relatively inexpensive way to deliver a well-rounded gaming audio experience, and with comfortable thick leatherette cushioning and LED-emblazoned earcups, it looks the part too. 

The highlight of the EKSA E910 is the sound quality on offer. The built-in 50mm speakers deliver a well-rounded, deep sound with more than enough bass for an immersive gaming experience. Importantly, the bass doesn’t overpower the mids and highs, allowing you to still pick up on smaller details like approaching footsteps in an FPS. 

The only real complaint about audio is that it’s not quite as loud as we’d like, even at top volume, therefore lacking that impact needed at times. 

The retractable microphone packs ENC to quieten the background during tense mid-game team chats, and while it’s not the best quality we’ve heard, it’ll suffice for most day-to-day gaming. 

The E910 features wireless connectivity, but unlike most, it utilises 5.8GHz Wi-Fi for faster data transmission. There is still a slight 15ms delay, but we didn’t notice it during testing. 

You can’t lose the dongle at any cost though; despite coming with a 3.5mm cable in the box, there isn’t a 3.5mm port on the headset, so it’s 5.8GHz wireless or nothing. There isn’t even Bluetooth available as a backup.

Impressively for a wireless headset, EKSA claims the E910 is compatible with all platforms, but there’s a caveat; to use it on your Xbox or Switch, you’ll have to rely on your TV’s USB/headphone output rather than the console. That’s not a given on every TV, so we think it’s best suited to PC and PlayStation users, which it supports natively. 

Battery life is a little lacklustre at just 10 hours – likely a knock-on from the LEDs on the earcups – but it should suffice for most gaming sessions. It charges via USB-C, and can go from flat to full within a couple of hours. 

The GXT 310s are one of the cheapest dedicated gaming headsets you can buy, and in return, you get a surprisingly complete experience. 

The design is functional if a little basic, but the all-plastic build means the headset can remain lightweight and portable. As on-ear headphones, it can take a bit of adjustment to get the right fit, but once you do the GXT 310s are particularly comfortable. The padded headband and ear cups mean wearing these for extended gaming sessions shouldn’t be a problem. 

However, sound quality is the true star of the show here. It’s extremely impressive to see 7.1 surround sound at this price point, and the GXT 310s benefit hugely as a result. Audio is rich and full-bodied, with a nice balance to the sound on offer. This is particularly apparent when gaming, with the headset making for a truly immersive experience. 

If we had one complaint here, it would be that the bass is slightly lacking, but that shouldn’t be an issue for most people. A more important factor here is that there is relatively little sound leak, even at high volumes. You can therefore enjoy your gaming session without disturbing people nearby. 

The low price does mean you’re missing a few premium features, most notably the lack of a wireless option. Connecting via the included 3.5mm headphone jack could be an issue if you’re planning on using the headset with modern smartphones. There is also no inline remote or controls on the ear cups themselves, so everything will have to be controlled from the connected device.

However, it’s easy to look beyond these gripes when they sound so good and cost so little. If you’re a regular gamer and looking for an easy way to upgrade your experience, the GXT 310s are a no-brainer. 

Sporting the official colours of the PS4, the black-and-blue Recon 70 is a cheap wired headset designed with Sony’s console in mind. It features not only an adjustable headband, but swivelling earcups to help find a comfortable fit, although we must admit that even with soft padding on the headband, we started to feel pressure building after longer gaming sessions.

The Recon 70 is wired and not wireless, rather unsurprisingly when you consider the budget price tag of the headset. The 1m-long 3.5mm cable is perfect for use with the DualShock 4, but some people may find the cable a little too short and restricting to use it with a 3.5mm-enabled smartphone or PC. It should do Switch and Xbox users just fine though.

There are no in-line mic controls on offer thankfully, with Turtle Beach opting for a flip-mic and volume controls on one of the earcups, making it easy to adjust volume and mute your mic in the heat of battle.

Like other budget headsets on the market, the Recon 70 sports 40mm drivers opposed to larger 50mm drivers favoured by premium headsets, but despite the size reduction, the quality of the headphones is still great, providing booming bass during Earth-shattering explosions and crisp vocals during those heart-wrenching emotional gaming moments.

Essentially, the Recon 70 is a no-thrills headset that’ll get the job done, with surprising sound clarity for a headset for this price.  

While most of the headsets in this chart go up to ear-splitting volumes that can cause permanent hearing damage, hearing-sensitive audio brand Puro has created a volume-limited headset for gamers. It’s apparently the first in the world to create such a product, offering a safe alternative not only for adults but teens and children too. 

It’s capped at 85dB, and although long-term exposure to 85dB can still potentially damage sensitive ears, at least you know it won’t go any higher. It’s an odd thing to get used to initially; we wanted to crank the volume up to feel the bass of explosions and gunfire, but after a few minutes, we actually enjoyed the comfort of not being deafened every time a gun was fired. 

It doesn’t come at the cost of overall audio quality either. The bass is still booming and the clink of ammo hitting the floor is still crisp, it’s just not as intense as some of the other options in our chart. 

You’ve got other gamer-centric features like a detachable omnidirectional microphone, thick vegan-leather clad earcups and a cool blue LED ring light on the cups and on the microphone. You’ve also got the option of connecting via USB or 3.5mm, making the headset compatible not only with PC but just about every console with a 3.5mm headphone jack too. 

The ADX AFSH0419 7.1 gaming headset is no-thrills, but that’s not a bad thing; rather than focusing on branding and other aspects that don’t really matter, ADX has focused on providing core headset features usually exclusive to headsets double the price. 

The headline feature is virtual 7.1 surround sound support, providing 360-degree directional audio that helps you pinpoint the location of enemy players and other interesting elements in your environment, be it the dripping of water on a concrete floor or the intense roar of a helicopter above. It’s an immersive feature that makes all the difference to gameplay, allowing you to proactively prepare for enemy contact before you actually see them. 

There is admittedly a lack of clarity in the high-end, meaning sharp, high-pitched sounds like the clink of ammo hitting the floor seem a little more muted than other gaming headsets, but that’s an acceptable compromise for a headset that costs so little. 

The wired nature of the headset may put some off, but the long, braided USB-A cable should stand the test of time. You’ll also find in-line controls not only for volume but the microphone and LED effects too, allowing you to control just about every aspect of the headset in one place.

There is what looks like a large button to mute your mic, but much to our surprise, it only displays whether the mic is muted or not – the actual mute button is located on the side of the control unit. It’s an odd design choice, but again, it’s not a dealbreaker at such a competitive price. The only real annoyance is the microphone; it can’t be retracted or removed when not in use, and gets in the way when we’re not playing multiplayer games. 

The decision to include USB connectivity limits the AFSH0419 to PS4, PC and Mac, although there is a 3.5mm variant available too.  

The Trust Carus GXT 323W (catchy, we know) is a cheap and cheerful gaming headset designed to complement the PS5, sporting the same black-and-white design as the next-gen console and accompanying DualSense controller – even the 1.2m braided cable is black and white.

While the chunky design is hard to miss, the headset is lightweight due to an entirely plastic build – even the metallic elements are made from plastic. This does bring down the overall build quality compared to some headsets in the chart, and it means there’s a surprising amount of sound leakage, but it’s fairly common in the budget end of the market.

There’s thick padding around the headband that helps alleviate the build-up of pressure over longer gameplay sessions, and you’ll find the same on the earcups too. The problem is that the earcup cushions aren’t quite thick enough, meaning your ears will likely be touching the drivers of the headset when worn – and that’s not the greatest for comfort.

But if you can overlook the earcup issues, the 50mm drivers deliver a decent stereo audio experience with powerful bass, although without any kind of adjustment, it can overpower high-end detail that really immerse you in the game. There’s also a boom mic for party comms, with a switch to mute on the left earcup.

Despite the obvious PS5 inspiration, the 3.5mm headphone jack means you can use it with practically any console or PC, and it’s available in a few different colour combinations too. The cable is a little on the short side for PC users though; it’s better suited to controllers like the DualShock 4 that offer a built-in 3.5mm jack.

If you can overlook the cheap build and have smaller ears than this writer does, the Carus GXT 323W is a decent entry-level choice for PS5 gamers (and everyone else too).