Buying a decent pair of gaming headphones is one of the easiest things gamers can do to upgrade their gaming experience. Not only do gaming headphones improve the sound quality over traditional earbuds and budget speakers, they also come equipped with a decent microphone that improves call quality between players.
While certain gaming headphones may cost several hundred dollars, there are some perfectly good candidates that won’t break your budget. Below you’ll find a list of the best gaming headphones under $100.
The Logitech G230 gaming headset offers great bang for the buck, a quality that is reflected in its lightweight design and comfortable ear cushions that fold 90 degrees for easy storage. Cherlynn Low of Laptop Mag considers the Logitech G230 a “great value for the beginning gamer,” which underscores the headset’s appeal for gamers on a budget.
Drivers
Logitech G230 is equipped with 40mm neodymium drivers that produce a great sound environment for the cost. Marshall Honorof of Tom’s Guide praised the “sensible treble/bass balance” of the headset, which produced clear music without any of the reverberation that you would otherwise get with similarly priced headsets.
On-cable sound controls
The Logitech G230 lets you control the volume of your headset through the control unit on the headset cable so you can change your settings on-the-fly. All reviewers liked the generous 7.65 foot cable and the easy-to-use design of the volume control unit.
Microphone
The folding, noise-cancelling microphone on the Logitech G230 is great for those who like the option of swiveling the mic out of the way when it’s not in use. James from pcGameware.co.uk praised the microphone as “more than adequate” when using VOIP applications like Razer Comms, so we anticipate the headset will perform well as a primary microphone on your computer.
Surround Sound
While the Logitech G230 doesn’t come with a virtualized Dolby 7. 1 audio environment, you’ll nevertheless get nice, booming audio. This means you’ll get to hear a lot of detail from your in-game activities, which is echoed by Chris Thomas of Reviewed.com who says that the Logitech G20 “does fairly well with both music and in-game sounds.”
Kingston’s HyperX Cloud II headset represents the company’s latest and greatest gaming headset, and from the get-go it becomes fairly obvious why critics have fallen in love with it.
Espousing a philosophy of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” the HyperX Cloud II borrows from the comfortable design of the original HyperX Cloud headset and adds in a few key features to position itself as one of the best sub-$100 headsets out there.
Drivers
The HyperX Cloud II headset is powered by powerful 53mm drivers, which create an excellent soundstage with plenty of bass, balanced treble, and clear highs. The headset performs equally well during in-game settings as it does with music and video, which is why PC Magazine bestowed the headset with its coveted Editor’s Choice label.
On-cable sound controls
In addition to giving you controls for volume and the microphone, the on-cable sound control unit also lets you activate the 7.1 virtual surround mode, boosting the sound quality of the entire headset. The on-cable sound control unit also detaches to expose a 3.5mm headphone jack, allowing you to use it with both mobile devices as well as the PlayStation 4.
Microphone
The microphone on the HyperX Cloud II headset comes with active noise-cancelling, which is excellent for removing unwanted ambient sounds during team calls. Thanks to the on-cable sound control unit, the microphone also features echo cancellation so that your listeners won’t accidentally hear you twice every time you speak. Trusted Reviews praised the microphone as being “great for multiplayer gameplay.”
Surround Sound
One of the strong suits of the HyperX Cloud II headset is its on-board 7.1 surround sound virtualization technology, which lets you amplify the stereo drivers of the headset for a more immersive experience. What separates the HyperX Cloud II headset from other virtual surround sound headsets is that the sound control unit also houses a sound card, which means that the headset doesn’t have to rely on your computer’s hardware or wonky drivers to work.
Although the Siberia v2 isn’t the latest gaming headset offered by SteelSeries, it nevertheless packs quite the wallop in terms of sound performance, comfort, and best of all, price. At just under $50, the SteelSeries Siberia v2 Prism combines high-end features with a very reasonable price point.
Drivers
The SteelSeries Siberia v2 features large, 50mm drivers that provide it plenty of oomph to deliver a competitive soundstage in different environments. André Gordirro of Hardware Secrets considers the SteelSeries Siberia v2 to have “a strong bass, and nice low and high ranges,” making the headset truly versatile for both gaming and listening to music.
On-cable sound controls
The sound control unit on the SteelSeries Siberia v2 is a pretty straight-forward affair, with the control unit allowing you to control the volume of your headset and turning mute on and off. One special feature on the Siberia v2 is its LiveMix selector, which allows you to lower in-game sound while raising the volume for chat applications like Skype, which help players hear their teammates while gaming.
Microphone
As is true with other SteelSeries headsets, the Siberia v2 features a unique retractable microphone that allows players to extend it when in use and then neatly tuck it back in when it’s no longer needed. The bendable nature of the microphone also allows users to accurately position the microphone to the most optimal position for sound clarity.
Surround Sound
As a stereo headset, the Siberia V2 Prism makes great use of its drivers to provide both depth and clarity. Andrew of Hardware Look commended the headset for having “an astonishing audio performance” during testing, giving it high points for consistently accurate playback when used with both an Xbox and with a PlayStation.
