Best Headset for CS:GO in 2023 (Top 11) + 10 Pro Gamers Headsets
Sound is often the most neglected aspect of a good gaming experience. All too often we see someone plays with an expensive computer, on a large and vivid screen, but find them using the monitors' inbuilt speakers or small in-ear headphones. While they certainly get the job done, they don't add a whole lot of depth or immersion to the gaming experience. At worst, bad sound can detract from the overall experience by being a huge distraction. Bad sound output can feel jarring and fake.
Introduction to Best Gaming Headphones
To remedy this issue of sound, one can use speakers or a headset. Though speakers are better for filling a room when you're playing with friends, headsets are superior for private use. They provide a more pronounced sound and can be more immersive.
When it comes to highly competitive online games like CS:GO, headsets are a must. First, they allow you to hear even the minutest of sounds, such as muffled footsteps. You can take advantage of this fact to figure out when a rival player is creeping up on you. Second, is the matter of communication. Competitive online games always require open lines of communication between teammates. To succeed, you need teamwork, which isn't possible without talking to each other. For this reason, most gaming headsets are fitted with a mic. This mic allows you to talk to your teammates, with your voice, to convey important information during a game.
Considering the vast number and types of gaming headphones with mic available, you'll need to decide on some aspects before you can start looking for what you want:
- Wireless vs Wired: Traditionally, wired has been the only option available with wireless headsets being a relatively recent innovation. Wired headsets have historically been preferred for gaming, due to their lower latency. A direct connection means that information travels between the headset and computer as fast as possible. However, wireless gaming headsets have now developed to the point that this is no longer an issue. Anyone who's used wireless headsets recently knows that the only real concerns now are those of recharging or changing the battery and setting up the wireless connection.
- USB vs 3.5 mm Jack Connector: Almost all best headphones for gaming use the standard 3.5 mm jack to connect to a whole host of devices ranging from phones to televisions. This jack works pretty well for transmitting audio signals. However, there's a limit to its bandwidth and the amount of power it can transmit. Gaming headsets, such as those that are equipped with LED lighting, require more power than the 3.5 mm jack can provide. The USB standard is much more versatile but can't be used with mobile devices.
Best 2022 | Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 | HyperX Cloud II | Razer Nari Ultimate Wireless 7.1 | Sennheiser G4ME ZERO | Logitech G430 | SteelSeries Arctis Pro |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Material Embouchure | Cooling Gel-infused Memory Foam | Memory foam ear pads | Supple foam in soft leather | Leatherette double layered memory-foam ear pads | Soft sport cloth ear cups | Soft touch coating on the removable speaker plates |
Headphone Driver | 50 mm | 53 mm | 50 mm | 50 mm | 43 mm | 40 mm |
Dolby Support | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 | Just 2.1 stereo | 7.1 | DTS Headphone:X v2.0 7.1 Surround |
Frequency Range | 12Hz-20kHz | 20Hz-20kHz | 20Hz-20kHz | 15Hz-28kHz | 20Hz-20kHz | 10Hz-40kHz |
Sensivity | 120dB | 102dB | 112+/-3dB | 108dB | 90dB | 102dB |
Type of Connection | 3.5mm jack, 1m | USB, jack 3,5mm, 1+2m extension | Digital USB (Wireless),2m | 3.5mm jack | Analog 3.5 mm jacks, USB | USB, jack 3,5mm |
Imperdance | 32 Ohms | 60 Ohms | 32 Ohms | 50 Ohms | 32 Ohms | 32 Ohms |
Ergonomics | Personalized fit, Glasses Relief System | Advananced audio control box | Supremely comfy | Vol control integrated onto the right ear cup | Easy-to-use volume dial | The self-adjusting ski goggle headband |
Microphone | Built-in, Sound Isolating | Noise-cancelling mic via inline soundcard | Ambient noise filter | High-end noise cancellation | Folding, noise-cancelling boom mic | ClearCast, the best mic in gaming |
Mic Sensitivity | -38+/-3dB | -39dB+/-3dB | -38+/-3dB | -38+/-3dB | -40dB | -38+/-3dB |
Our Verdict | Premium sound | Best budget | Good quality | Best budget | Best cheap | Top Pro choice |
Anyway, without further talk, here are six best PC gaming headsets used by professional CS:GO players around the world.
TOP 10 PRO PLAYERS AND THEIR HEADSETS
Photo | Headsets Name | Player | Team | Popularity pro players |
---|---|---|---|---|
HyperX Cloud II Headsets | Natus Vincere | 31% 79 of 256 | ||
Sennheiser GAME ZERO Gaming Headset | MIBR | 14% 35 of 256 | ||
SteelSeries Arctis Pro | FaZe | 4% 10 of 256 | ||
Logitech G Pro Gaming Headset | G2 Esports | 2% 5 of 256 | ||
Logitech G35 Gaming Headset | swag | Swole Patrol | 1% 1 of 256 | |
Turtle Beach - Elite Pro Tournament Gaming Headset | Astralis | 2% 6 of 256 | ||
Sennheiser GSP 600 Professional Gaming Headset | MIBR | 1% 1 of 256 | ||
HyperX Cloud Alpha Gaming Headset | Cloud9 | 4% 11 of 256 | ||
Xtrfy H1 | Fnatic | 2% 6 of 256 | ||
HyperX Cloud Revolver | Natus Vincere | 5% 12 of 256 |
Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2
Currently, in professional gaming circles, Turtle's premier headset reigns as one of the most popular. Several players such as device, dupreeh, Xyp9x from Astralis and stanislaw rely upon it to communicate with each other.
Looking at the headset, the premium design and build quality of the product can be easily seen. The headset has a great design and is built to last a lifetime. Almost every part of the headset is adjustable. This allows a player to control every aspect of the fit. It can be made to fit a diverse array of heads. The adjustment options allow it to fit a head of any shape or size well. The cans are large and the foam pads are very comfortable. They are designed to sit around your ears and isolate them from the outside world.
The icing on the cake: Sound quality. A headset, as flashy, comfortable or good-looking as it is, is ultimately useless if the quality of its sound output isn't good. That isn't the case here. Even though Turtle isn't as popular as other companies in the field, such as Bose or Sennheiser, they have managed to create truly outstanding drivers for the Beach Elite Pro. The headphone accurately conveys all the sound effects produced by games. It has an excellent soundstage and recreates sounds as blatant as explosions and gunshots to those as faint as distant footsteps or movements with equal finesse. The audio is directionally accurate and lets you execute nuanced moves such as triangulating your enemy's position, through the audio.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Superb sound quality | Expensive |
Best headphones for gaming and music | No RGB lighting |
Works well with consoles as well | |
Several adjustment options |
Learning from the CS:GO pro players' settings can offer useful insights into optimizing your own game settings.
HyperX Cloud II Gaming Headset
At the end of the day: This headset was made squarely for pros. All the features and niceties it has are aimed towards improving a person's gaming experience and enabling them to be more competitive. While the price may give some buyers sticker shock, the features and quality of the headset do a good job at justifying the price. Overall, it's the best gaming headset PC gaming.
As you may already know, HyperX is a subsidiary brand of Kingston. Their products have the reliability and dependability of their parent company's but with additional gamer flair. The Cloud I was their first foray into gaming audio. Its successor, the Cloud II, represents the dynamic nature of the brand. Taking feedback from consumers, they tried to implement what everyone wanted, where possible, and have created a gaming headset, which is better than its predecessor in almost every way. The Cloud II represents a leap forward in every direction. From the sound quality to the fit and finish, virtually every aspect has been improved upon. The result is a headset that is so well-rounded that it's widely been adopted by pro players of CS:GO as well as other competitive online first-person shooters.
For professional gamers: Several pro players of CS:GO have chosen to use this top gaming headsets for their career. This includes esteemed players like fer from SK who has paired it up the Benq XL2430T, one of the best gaming monitors for cs go. Other notable users are s1mple, ropz, Stewie2k, woxic and XANTARES, flusha.
The design: The HyperX Cloud II is mainly aimed at players who play professionally or at least wish to. A direct result of this is the relatively conservative approach taken to its looks and design. The Cloud II takes a minimalist approach when it comes to aesthetics. Don't get me wrong, it looks pretty good. The overall design is coherent across the entire headset and has a lot of smooth shapes and lines. However, there isn't much to look at, stylistically speaking. The gun metal color option is especially generic looking. The red model spices things up with red accents. The trim on the leather head band is red, as are the metal pieces that hold the cans to the band, and the HyperX branding on the earcups.
What makes it awesome: When you buy the Cloud II headset, you're not just getting one of the top gaming headsets. You’re getting so much more. This product is an entire package. The headphones come with a whole array of accessories that allow you to modify your experience and choose which features to have active and when. The included extras let you customize the experience of using the headset and tailor it to your liking.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Excellent value | Not for audiophiles |
Several accessories included for free | Uninspiring design |
2 year warranty period |
Here's a snapshot of this headset's features and accessories:
Braided cable: A braided cable is much nicer looking than the typical rubber coated one. This headset's cable looks and feels premium and has a subtle but nice woven pattern in the cloth cable cover. They don't just look better but are more durable as well, since they provide an added layer of protection to the delicate wires inside.
Detachable microphone: A microphone is an integral part of any gaming earbuds worth its merit. However, it can be annoying to have one constantly in front of your mouth, especially when eating, for example. In single player games, you don't even need it since there's no need for communication. The Cloud II headset allows a user to simply unplug the mic when he doesn't need it. This is both convenient and useful.
The bottom line: With the Cloud II, HyperX puts forward a tempting proposition for all gamers. It's doubtful whether it can be matched in terms of sheer value. Many of the accessories that come with it usually need to be purchased separately, in the case of other headsets, sometimes for exorbitant rates. Overall, it's a great set of gamer headphones that no one can really go wrong in choosing.
Razer Nari Ultimate Wireless 7.1
A list of the most prolific manufacturers of PC gaming peripherals would be incomplete without including Razer. A relatively new player in the industry, they've quickly built a strong brand with a loyal following. The overall trendy appeal of Razer products is undeniable. This is thanks to the striking designs of their products and the strong image of the brand.
Though they are mostly well known for manufacturing the best gaming mice for cs go, they make headsets as well. Their auditory lineup has several products, with varying features and specs. Somewhere near the top sits the ManO'War. This headset is robust and full of features that the average gamer will find convenient and useful.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Customizable RGB lighting | Slightly bulky |
Most comfortable gaming headsets | |
Great battery life |
Wireless: Speaking of convenience, the first thing you'll notice about this headset from Razer is that it's wireless. This might immediately turn off some buyers over concerns of latency and lag. The concerns would be legitimate if the headset was made for general use. However, it's specially designed and calibrated for gaming. Given its purpose and the company behind it, you can be assured that the wireless connectivity of the headset won't interfere with your gaming experience in any way. In fact, in day to day use, you won't be able to distinguish its responsiveness from that of a wired headset.
Despite its striking appearance, the Razer Nari Ultimate is ultimately brought down by its design. Put simply, it's quite a bit heftier compared to other gaming headsets. It's also physically bulky and occupies a lot of space. As a result, it's not the most portable gaming headset. However, these issues won't affect you when playing with it. The excellent padding equally distributes the heft of the unit and makes it feel very comfortable to wear, in spite of its weight. People living in tropical climates should be aware that your head can get pretty hot and sweaty while wearing it.
This is awesome: The coolest thing about the Razer Nari Ultimate is that it features RGB lighting. Yes, the Razer logos on the sides light up! You can even customize it to glow any color you like or better still, set up cool effects like color cycling.
Don't be alarmed: Some players may be put off by the fact that not too many pro gamers have chosen this headset for their set-up. This is to be expected considering that Razer designed this headset for the mass market. Also, pros generally have an aversion towards wireless gaming products. Despite this, it must still be noted that this headset is great for gaming and shouldn't provide an experience too different from that of using wired headsets. As such, there's still a handful of players such as Maniac, Keshandr and def who use it whenever they play in CS:GO competitions.
Bottomline: Put bluntly, the Razer Nari Ultimate is currently the best wireless gaming headset you can get for your money. A combination of great sound, long battery life and large wireless range are all factors that make it better than other wireless gaming headphones.
Sennheiser G4ME ZERO
When it comes to making headphones, Sennheiser needs no introduction. The brand, based out of Germany, is well revered by casual listeners and audiophiles alike. What's great about them is that they sell a diverse range of personal audio products. Despite the large scale of the brand and their reasonable price, they have still managed to keep the quality of their products top-notch. Sennheiser's products all hold up to the scrutiny of German engineering standards.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Looks sexy | Expensive |
Sounds great | White version gets dirty easily |
Solid build quality |
This model, the G4ME ZERO has everything one would expect from a premium headset made by Sennheiser. It has all the features that any professional would need. At the same time, it fulfills its core duty of providing high fidelity sound and crisp microphone quality. Its reliability is one of the main factors that has made it so popular in CS:GO tournaments. Owners of this headset can rest assured in the knowledge that their pair would never let them down when deployed in the field. The outstanding reliability is a result of its German engineering pedigree.
Most important: Any headset worth your consideration should have not just decent, but great sound. Towards this end, this pair of headphones has a special feature up its sleeve. It's capable of simulating 7.1 surround sound through virtualization. This improves any cinematic experience, like watching a movie or playing a game, by leaps and bounds. It increases immersion and lets a player use spatial awareness to their advantage.
Who's using it: A solid headset, like this Sennheiser model, is always appreciated by pro CS:GO players. As such, it's been widely adopted by even the most proficient players. Players like MICHU, pashaBiceps from Virtus.Pro coldzera, ScreaM, oskar, Dosia and jasonR have been seen rocking it pretty often.
Bottom line: Sennheiser has delivered again with this world class headset. It looks great, sounds great and is reliable. What more could one want?
Logitech G430
Logitech has been a long-time player in the PC peripherals industry. From mice and keyboards to gamepads and steering wheels, they manufacture them all. Not only do they make office products, but they make some of the best gaming hardware as well. While they're mainly known for their extremely accurate and tactile mice and keyboards, their headsets are equally worthy of praise. Logitech's entire line up is full of solid choice that is a boost to anyone's gaming experience. They sound great and differ mainly in their styling, features and price.
Currently, in the sweet space of this line-up, sits the G430. It's their top-of-the-line commercial product and has all the bells and whistles of a premium gaming headset. It's a sexy looking gaming headset, which will turn heads when worn.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Fashionable blue accents | Use of cheap materials |
Excellent customer care and support team | Noise cancellation feature not the most effective |
Mic can be turned away |
International gamers rejoice: Many of the headsets we've talked about could be too prohibitively expensive, because of harsh import duties, taxes and shipping rates. Logitech's outreach, as a global company, means that it has been able to nullify the effects of these factors, to a great extent. The outcome of this is that international buyers are charged fairly for this headset. This fact alone has made the G430 one of the most popular gaming headsets in the world.
The pros love it: As you may already know, many pro players start out from humble beginnings. Initially, access to funds and sponsorships is limited, which means players must fund their own gaming careers. For this reason, many have chosen the Logitech G430. Despite having a reasonable price tag, the model is capable of exchanging blows with headsets costing several times its price. This is why many players like NBK-, apEX, Subroza, NahtE and SEMPHIS from Splyce and Boombl4 from Winstrike still use it
The deal: Logitech's G430 is a great headset when evaluated on its own merit. However, comparing it to other headsets, you'll see that it's much more affordable while providing many of the same features. This is the ideal gaming headset for value-oriented players.
SteelSeries Arctis Pro
This gaming headset is another great option for gamers on a high budget. The headset has a lot of unique things going for it. Perhaps the most relevant and standout feature is its lightweight design. The Arctis Pro is one of the lightest gaming headsets you can find on the market. SteelSeries achieved this reduction in weight by using a minimalistic frame design, which doesn’t have any extraneous pieces or plastic that could increase the net weight of the headset. A lighter headset is always more comfortable to wear because it exerts less pressure on the head and doesn't add additional stress to the neck.
This is so cool: Like every other headset, this too has a microphone. The audio it records is loud and crisp. It's ideal for communicating with teammates during a heated firefight. However, you may not need it all the time. This is where the cool quotient of the headset can be seen: the microphone can retract into the body of the headset so that it takes on the appearance of a normal set of headphones which does not have a microphone. Then, when you need it again, it can just as easily be pulled back out. It is enabled/disabled automatically.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Very light | Price |
Super Sound | |
LED illumination |
Evaluating your gaming gear stats can be a useful step in improving your gaming setup.
Another nifty feature is the inline volume control switch. This allows you adjust the loudness of the sound output on the fly while gaming. Once you start configuring the headset through your computer, you'll find there's a much more diverse array of customizations available. The headset comes with proprietary software, which allows you to customize every aspect of the headphone's sound output. You can adjust everything, from the bass to the treble, to have it to sound exactly as you like.
The pro players: Wide adoption by pro players is always indicative of a headset's quality. According to this metric, SteelSeries Arctis Pro headset is really very good. Several professional CS:GO players use it all the time. They use it while practicing, as well as when they play in competitive tournaments. Some notable players using this headset include NiKo, rain, karrigan, olofmeister, aizy, valde, Kjaerbye. Each of them has spoken of the headset’s merits and how it enables them to play at their best.
Bottom line: Overall, the SteelSeries Arctis Pro is a solid headset for the money. It improves upon its predecessor, the SteelSeries Siberia V1, in almost every way and adds on new convenient features like the on-ear audio controls. It's a great pair for newbies and pros alike.