Next-Gen Headsets

[dataDave]

  

44 minutes ago, Sane said:

The downside of this is that you will be stuck using Bluetooth, which is less than ideal. In fact I think it's not even possible on Xbox (not sure about Ps5) to use Bluetooth headsets. Headsets that are made for use with Xbox use the 2.4ghz signal that the controllers use as well, which is much less laggy than Bluetooth. 

 

That said, if you dislike gaming esthetics and greatly value sound quality, I can recommend the Beoplay Portal. Made by B&O so very expensive but they are proper 'normal' headphones that look great, sound amazing AND are made to be used with Xbox (there's versions for Ps5 too). 

 

^ I bet they're the absolute dog's bollocks.

[Strafe]

I’d be tempted for those B&O ones if they had one model that worked on both systems.

[SteveH]

It's a shame the U.K store doesn't have the same sale as Canada as those Portals were on sale at a ridiculously low $199 cad.

[Sane]

6 hours ago, Strafe said:

I’d be tempted for those B&O ones if they had one model that worked on both systems.

Yeah they really should've gone that way. If you have both consoles that would be really annoying. 

 

28 minutes ago, SteveH said:

It's a shame the U.K store doesn't have the same sale as Canada as those Portals were on sale at a ridiculously low $199 cad.

That's a great deal. I paid 350 euro for mine. But I did feel it was worth it because I literally use them all day. At work for teams meetings and music listening and at home for gaming and watching TV.  Before I had 2 different headsets to be able to do all that (Going on Teams with my Arctis 9x didn't feel very nice ) .

 

6 hours ago, dataDave said:

  

 

^ I bet they're the absolute dog's bollocks.

 

In terms of sound quality I think they are hard to beat. Before I used wired Beoplay H6's with an LG V50 phone for music listening. And while it doesn't equal that it comes surprisingly close. I wouldn't have thought that was possible on a wireless signal. The Portals support Aptx adaptive Bluetooth, which means it chooses a codec based on what you are doing: higher bitrate for media, low latency for gaming. Unfortunately I have no devices that have aptx adaptive (apple, Samsung and Google phones don't support it sadly), but my Pixel 7 does support aptx HD, and the Portals also support that. It's a big step up from normal aptx and I think the headphones are tuned to sound nice with a digital signal, so the end result sounds surprisingly natural without that compressed feeling you often get when using Bluetooth. 

 

What's also great about them is they are extremely comfortable and light. It sounds like a cliché but I can wear them for hours on end and sometimes I really forget they are there. 

 

The only thing I don't like about them are the touch controls though, they're just rubbish. Buttons would be much better. 

 

Edit: one other thing that could be better is the volume of your own voice. It's too low even on the maximum setting. Which feels a little weird, like talking while holding your hands on your ears (not quite as bad as that but to give an idea). You do get used to it, but my jabra evolve2 65's do this much better so I still kinda prefer to use them for long days of meetings. It's a shame because they should be able to fix this easily but feedback about it hasn't had any results so far. 

[SteveH]

@Sane Yep, I have both pairs (Xbox and PS5) I love them that much. So comfortable to wear for hours as you say. 

I actually don't mind the touch controls, but on the Xbox at least, it is easy to bring up the menu and go down to sound settings, as that volume slider is controlling the headphones directly and not any kind of Xbox output. 

 It's a shame that only the PS version allows connection with the console and Bluetooth simultaneously. And the Xbox ones eats through the battery compared to the PS ones despite identical batteries. Xbox lasts me around 10 hours-ish, but the PS are getting on close for double that. Whatever protocol MS use, it needs much more power.  

[PikaStu]

13 minutes ago, SteveH said:

@SaneIt's a shame that only the PS version allows connection with the console and Bluetooth simultaneously.

 

I was fairly certain you could do this with the Xbox headset, so I checked the site and they say you can…

https://support.xbox.com/en-GB/help/hardware-network/accessories/xbox-wireless-headset-faq

 

[SteveH]

1 minute ago, PikaStu said:

 

I was fairly certain you could do this with the Xbox headset, so I checked the site and they say you can…

https://support.xbox.com/en-GB/help/hardware-network/accessories/xbox-wireless-headset-faq

 

Yeah sorry, I was still talking about the B&O portal headset  I should have made that a bit clearer.

[PikaStu]

2 minutes ago, SteveH said:

Yeah sorry, I was still talking about the B&O portal headset  I should have made that a bit clearer.

Ah sorry. For such an expensive headset, you’d have thought they’d have included this feature?!

 

incidentally, a few retailers (including Game) have slashed the price of the B&O headset (£239 at Game). Is it worth it over the official £89 headset?

[Sane]

I'd say it really depends on how much you value sound quality and looks. From what I heard the official Xbox headset is very good and if you're mainly going to use it for gaming I reckon it will be a great choice.

[Sane]

40 minutes ago, SteveH said:

@Sane Yep, I have both pairs (Xbox and PS5) I love them that much. So comfortable to wear for hours as you say. 

I actually don't mind the touch controls, but on the Xbox at least, it is easy to bring up the menu and go down to sound settings, as that volume slider is controlling the headphones directly and not any kind of Xbox output. 

 It's a shame that only the PS version allows connection with the console and Bluetooth simultaneously. And the Xbox ones eats through the battery compared to the PS ones despite identical batteries. Xbox lasts me around 10 hours-ish, but the PS are getting on close for double that. Whatever protocol MS use, it needs much more power.  

Interesting to hear about the battery life. It's good enough for me not to worry about it usually, I just charge it once a week or so.

 

The bluetooth/xbox simultaneous thing is another downside indeed. not sure why they couldn't manage it. I don't really have a use for it but for a headset like this it should really be included.

[PikaStu]

Aye the Xbox headset it fine for gaming. I have several wired headphones for audio, so I’m more interested in that aspect with the B&O. But then there’s a lot of very good wireless audio headsets in that price range.

I should add that at age 43 my ears are knackered. I’ve had two perforated eardrums in the past, and suffer from tinnitus after years of abuse in bands. I might not notice much difference when it comes to mids and highs 😂

[SteveH]

50 minutes ago, PikaStu said:

Aye the Xbox headset it fine for gaming. I have several wired headphones for audio, so I’m more interested in that aspect with the B&O. But then there’s a lot of very good wireless audio headsets in that price range.

I should add that at age 43 my ears are knackered. I’ve had two perforated eardrums in the past, and suffer from tinnitus after years of abuse in bands. I might not notice much difference when it comes to mids and highs 😂

 Same here regarding my hearing. But the difference is so big that you really notice it to be honest. There is a clarity to the B&O's that is missing from cheaper headsets. Though as you say, if it was just for audio then there are better options for sure. 

[MotiVater]

I was looking at the Arctis 1 Wireless for my son for Xmas.  He will use it mostly on PC but maybe on PS4, very occasionally.

There are 3 versions of the headset seemingly, vanilla, Xbox and Playstation.  As far as I can tell the only real difference is the colour inside of the earcups and the Xbox version seems to be cheapest everywhere or is there anything I am missing? If its primarily for use with a PC is this version no different to the vanilla?

[MotiVater]

EDIT: Never mind I found the answer easily myself

Quote

 

Are there differences between Arctis 1 for PC and the Xbox and Playstation versions?

The main difference is that the Arctis 1 for PC includes the dual 3.5mm cable needed for PC connectivity, whereas the Xbox and Playstation versions do not

 

 

Since I posted here anyway, anyone have any suggestions for something in the same price range (£65) that may be better?

[Stanley]

I think the official PS5 and Xbox wireless headsets are both excellent, it’s also nice having one for each console charge wise and setting the sound how you want it etc. I think the Xbox one edges it for sound quality, although 3D audio is really, really good on the Pulses, and they are really comfortable and easily adjustable (Pulse). 
 

Totally recommend them both.

[Strafe]

The leather on one of the ear cups on my pulse has come unstuck, it’s just glued on.

[Flub]

So I just got the Steelseries Arctic Nova Pro Wireless today. I wanted a single headset that I could use on XBox, PS5 and PC. It comes with a basestation with two USBC inputs. One is labelled XBox. One USB. The XBox connection will work with anything but only the XBox one support XBox (Due to MS security). The setup comes with two battery packs and the base station can be charging one while you use the other.

 

It's 2.5ghz wireless and also supports BT at the same time. So you could chat on Discord on your PC with BT while playing a game on Xbox or PS5)

 

Sound quality is fine. I've been spoiled by half a grands worth of Airpods Max for music but it's nice enough. Has ANC but again not to the same degree as higher end music headsets but for gaming it works well. I'm getting a longer USB cable so I have the option of hotswapping to my PS5 which is further away.

 

Initial impressions are pretty good. It's not cheap though. Cost me £330 on amazon but that's base station, headset, two battery packs and assorted cables (Including a 3.5mm cable).

 

WARNING though. There are two version. One labelled as XBox and one not. They're both identically priced but only the XBox branded one supports XBox Series X/S. The other one doesn't. I suspect it's a Sony contract thing. There is zero reason to buy anything other than the XBox branded one. It's works on PS5 exactly the same as the other one.

 

I don't think it works on any XBox pre-series X/S though. I believe they don't support USB audio.

 

https://steelseries.com/gaming-headsets/arctis-nova-pro-wireless

 

 

The dock also has line in and line out if you need them.

[NecroMorrius]

I also bought that headset recently to use across every platform and for work. I previously tried Logitech Pro X Wireless (garbage mic quality) and Corsair Virtuoso RGB XT (inadequate battery life for someone who occasionally has meetings all day and games all night). 
 

Overall it’s very good for a gaming headset, as you’d expect considering the price. The ANC is above average, battery life is as good as it ever was on the old pre-Arctis Steelseries Pro, and it works well on all formats as long as you buy the correct model, see above.

 

It has a few killer features: Firstly letting you connect to Bluetooth and the wireless dock at the same time. You can stay connected to your phone while using it for gaming. Sweet. The other killer feature is the chatmix dial. Via a slightly different setup on each platform, including a complicated set of virtual devices and a dodgy bit of software called Steelseries GG on PC, you have a hardware dial to fade between game and chat audio. However the PC app keeps mixing up inputs and routing the wrong input through the virtual device, which is a bit annoying but could be a windows thing (like your monitor speakers becoming the default every time you update your GPU drivers). You can turn off the dodgy bit of software and virtual devices to use the same EQ built into the dock instead, but you lose chatmix on PC. The final killer feature is the hot swappable batteries which are as great as they were on the Steelseries Pro (I.e. very great). 
 

The flat EQ is a bit uh, flat, I borrowed the settings from this guy who supposedly painstakingly tested the audio response of the headset to find the ideal EQ to compensate for lacking frequencies. It took a bit of time to get it dialled in (both into the custom EQ on the dock, and the software EQ in windows) but it was worth it, they really came alive after. Give it a try @Flub
 

 

Overall I recommend them, they aren’t quite on par with your Sony/Bose/B&W around the same price or even significantly cheaper. But nothing else ticks every box for a multi format gamer who works from home and has enough experience with decent headsets to expect “good enough”. I wouldn’t be scared to wear them outside either, though the mic needs to be pulled out to talk so you’ll look like a lunatic taking calls. 

[smithstock]

Yeah it's up there with one of the best headsets I've ever used - and I've had several iterations of SteelSeries stuff. 

[Flub]

@Moz thanks for that. I was planning to go looking for something like that. The official XBox wireless headset was the same out of the box. Not that interesting

[NecroMorrius]

Let me know what you think, it really improved things for me. You can dial it in on DAC for global usage in Steelseries GG under the old "engine" bit, so that it's always active. But if you're using Steelseries Sonar on your PC, you can dial it in with some added accuracy for pure PC use. To save you 20 mins, here's the crucial bit:

Custom EQ for the Dac in "Engine"



Steelseries Sonar/GG setup for PC usage

 

 

[yashiro]

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/rtings/rtings_harman_over-ear_2018/SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro

 

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/rtings/rtings_harman_over-ear_2018/SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro for Xbox

[Flub]

22 hours ago, Moz said:

Let me know what you think, it really improved things for me. You can dial it in on DAC for global usage in Steelseries GG under the old "engine" bit, so that it's always active. But if you're using Steelseries Sonar on your PC, you can dial it in with some added accuracy for pure PC use. To save you 20 mins, here's the crucial bit:

Custom EQ for the Dac in "Engine"



Steelseries Sonar/GG setup for PC usage

 

 

 

I did it yesterday. A definite improvement. Thanks!

[krenzler]

New gaming headset coming from Audeze.

 

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-introducing-our-maxwell-gaming-headsets.966020/

[deerokus]

I bought the wired version of the above arctis nova. Sounds absolutely great.

[SteveH]

 Anyone that had a passing interest in the Bang and Olufsen Xbox headset, it is apparently end of line now, and are up on Amazon for £190 reduced from £449.99!

 I absolutely love mine. For that price you really should check them out.
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Bang-Olufsen-Beoplay-Portal-Comfortable-Navy/dp/B08W8NS65P/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3T1144LVDNKFY&keywords=bang%2Band%2Bolufsen%2Bheadphones&qid=1674558274&sprefix=bang%2B%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-5&th=1

[Sane]

At that price it's an amazing bargain. I'm actually tempted to buy another one...

[SteveH]

On 24/01/2023 at 12:28, Sane said:

At that price it's an amazing bargain. I'm actually tempted to buy another one...

I'm not sure if I tempted fate or not posting the price of them, as a couple of days later I started having an issue with my Xbox Portals and now need to send them back to B&O. I've heard that they sometimes send back reconditioned headsets instead of doing a repair, which always annoys me as I look after my stuff and always want it fixed if possible (once it is a fair few months old). 

 So I ended up buying a second pair to ensure I have a working pair for the foreseeable future. I was hesitant as I initially hadn't noticed that they were sold by a third party who don't have the best trust pilot rating. But triple checked that it was actually fulfilled by Amazon, which they are, so knew I was safe. And a brand spanking new pair arrived today

[Sane]

3 minutes ago, SteveH said:

I'm not sure if I tempted fate or not posting the price of them, as a couple of days later I started having an issue with my Xbox Portals and now need to send them back to B&O. I've heard that they sometimes send back reconditioned headsets instead of doing a repair, which always annoys me as I look after my stuff and always want it fixed if possible (once it is a fair few months old). 

 So I ended up buying a second pair to ensure I have a working pair for the foreseeable future. I was hesitant as I initially hadn't noticed that they were sold by a third party who don't have the best trust pilot rating. But triple checked that it was actually fulfilled by Amazon, which they are, so knew I was safe. And a brand spanking new pair arrived today

Nice! I wish they had more colors though. My old H6's had that lovely beige/brown leather look, I'd buy a Portal like that in a heartbeat. 

[Uzi]

@Sane  @SteveH

 

Thanks for your posts about the portal headset. I've been tempted as it is down to £188 on amazon but one thing has held me back everytime.

 

I want to primarily use it on PC as I don't have an xbox but I do have the latest xbox wireless adaptor to use controllers on my PC which this can connect to. But all over reddit I'm reading this causes disconnects and dropouts. There is a PC/PS version they made but that's near £400

 

Do either of you use it on PC and if so whats your experience? I'll give it a miss probably if they can't make a £449 headset work correctly beyond a single platform