7 best headset microphones (2023)

7 best headset microphones (2023)

Headset microphones possess immense utility and are progressively gaining popularity beyond gaming. These devices are valuable assets in professional settings, facilitating uninterrupted connectivity, enabling call management, and facilitating audio recordings or live broadcasting. Headsets with microphones are essential tools for both multiplayer gaming and significant teleconferences. These devices are incredibly adaptable and practical, particularly wireless headsets with microphones, which offer remarkable freedom. Here are the seven best headset microphones that are trustworthy and value money.

1. Audio-Technica BPHS1 Headset Microphones

Designed explicitly for on-air news and sports broadcasting, announcements, and interviews, this durable stereo headset provides natural, easily understandable, and focused vocal reproduction. Its closed-back circumaural ear cups effectively block background noise, while the high-output dynamic microphone, mounted on a flexible gooseneck boom, ensures optimal performance. The microphone’s cardioid polar pattern is customized for capturing speech with maximum clarity across a wide range of frequencies. It exhibits higher sensitivity towards sounds coming directly in front of it, effectively reducing unwanted noise pickup. The flexible gooseneck boom can be easily adjusted and positioned on either the right or left side.

Key Features

• Driver: 40 mm dynamic
• Connection: 3.5mm (1/8″) stereo mini plug
• Frequency response: 20-20,000 Hz (Headphone) | 40-20,000 Hz (Microphone)
• Impedance: 65 ohms (Headphone) | 560 ohms (Microphone)
• Sensitivity: 100 dB
• Weight: 264g

Design:

• Earcups: these ear cups are designed to fully enclose your ears, providing a comfortable fit and effective noise isolation. The ear cups are typically padded and cushioned for extended comfort during prolonged use.
• Headband: is durable and sturdy, ensuring security, adjustable for a personalized fit, and helps distribute the headset’s weight evenly, reducing pressure on your head.
• Connectivity: typically connects using a standard 3.5mm (1/8″) stereo mini plug. Additional connectors, such as XLR connectors, are also commonly used in professional audio setups.

Performance:

• Active noise cancellation: The closed-back design and circumaural ear cups help to isolate the sound, reducing background noise and providing a more immersive listening experience.
• Microphone: the microphone is designed with a polar pattern and frequency response specifically optimized for capturing vocals in a natural and easily understandable manner. The microphone and headphones incorporate neodymium magnets to ensure high output and deliver precise and detailed sound reproduction.
• Sound quality: well-regarded for its good quality. It offers a clear and natural audio reproduction optimized for vocal performance. Also, it delivers professional-grade sound quality, making it a popular choice among broadcasters, podcasters, and professionals in the audio industry.
• Frequency response: has a range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. It can reproduce audio frequencies within this range, covering the entire audible spectrum for human hearing. The comprehensive frequency response allows for accurate and detailed reproduction of various sounds, including low-frequency bass tones and high-frequency treble tones.

Pros:

• The adjustable headband offers a comfortable and secure fit.
• Durable construction ensures long-lasting performance.
• Wide frequency response range for accurate reproduction of various audio frequencies.
• They are designed for professional broadcasting, podcasting, and live sound applications.

Cons:

• Limited control features on the headset itself, relying on external devices for volume and playback controls.
• It may be bulkier compared to some lightweight and compact headphone designs.
• Wired connectivity may restrict movement and range compared to wireless options.

Pricing:

Available in stock at the price of USD 219.00 at Amazon.

2. Sony INZONE H9n Headset Microphones

The Dual Noise Sensor Technology effectively blocks external sounds, ensuring a focused gaming experience. On the other hand, the Ambient Sound Mode allows you to remain aware of important sounds in your surroundings. The multiple microphone noise-canceling feature eliminates disruptive sounds while enabling you to hear essential sounds like phone calls, doorbells, or someone trying to communicate with you. With its Discord certification, the INZONE H9 guarantees clear and reliable communication through its flexible flip-up boom microphone with a mute function. It seamlessly integrates with the Discord voice, video, and text communication service, allowing for smooth, uninterrupted voice chat with friends during online gaming sessions.

Key Features

• Noise cancelling: Yes
• Transparency: Yes
• Driver: 40 mm dynamic
• Battery life: 32 hours
• Connection: Bluetooth®
• Codec code: SBC, A.A.C.
• Frequency response: 5-20,000 Hz (Headphone) | 100Hz-8,000Hz (Microphone)
• Weight: 330g

Design:

• Earcups: the soft-fit leather ear pads are thoughtfully contoured to minimize pressure on your ears by optimizing contact with the side of your head. These ear pads are made from highly stretchable material designed for comfort, stability, and effective sound insulation.
• Headband: Made for a secure and stable fit, designed to minimize side pressure, allowing you to wear it comfortably for hours of uninterrupted action.
• Control: left side control feature such as the volume dial, the toggle button between Noise Cancelling and Ambient Sound Mode, and the mic mute button. Additionally, it includes a boom microphone and a USB port with a charging LED indicator for added functionality. And on the right earcup, you’ll find the game/chat balance button, alongside the power and Bluetooth buttons for easy access and control.
• 360 Spatial Sound: experience the advantage of 360 Spatial Sound for Gaming. The advanced hardware technology allows you to locate and assess the distance of your opponents before you see them. Customize your experience further with the 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer app for a personalized gameplay encounter.

Performance:

• Microphone: with advanced noise-canceling technology for its multiple microphones. This headset effectively blocks out distracting sounds by incorporating the renowned Dual Noise Sensor Technology from our class-leading 1000X series headphones, ensuring an unbeatable gaming experience.
• Sound quality: The INZONE H9’s diaphragm boasts a unique shape, enabling the reproduction of exceptionally high-frequency sounds with high compliance. It also delivers precise low frequencies, creating an immersive gaming experience.
• Bass: The housing of the INZONE H9 features specialized ducts that effectively manage and enhance the reproduction of low-frequency sounds. This produces powerful bass that brings deep sounds like explosions and engines to life, creating an incredibly realistic experience. Immerse yourself in the dramatic and intense gaming world as you hear these sounds.

Pros:

• Sustainability product
• 360 Spatial Sound

• Dual Noise Sensor Technology

Cons:

• Durability issues with specific components
• Sound leakage

Pricing:

Available in stock at the price of USD 298.00 at Amazon.

3. H3PRO Hybrid Headset Microphones

The benefit from the advanced dual microphone technology of the headset, featuring one microphone in the boom arm and an additional microphone in the ear cup. This dual microphone setup enhances noise cancellation and ensures precise and intelligible voice chat. Thanks to its magnetic connection, the detachable boom arm offers added versatility, allowing you to remove and reattach it easily.

Key Features

• Active noise cancellation: Yes
• Driver: 40 mm dynamic
• Battery life: 38 hours
• Connectivity: Bluetooth® | Wireless (USB dongle) | USB-C to USB-A, 3.5mm jack
• Frequency response: 20Hz – 20,000 Hz (Headphone) |  100Hz to 7,500Hz (Microphone)
• Impedance: 32Ohms
• Sensitivity: 116 dB
• Weight: 308g

Design:

• Earcups: Made from soft memory foam, they ensure comfort over long hours
• Headband: The headset’s fit can be easily adjusted with the stainless steel headband slider and hinged ear cups, providing a comfortable and customizable fit.
• Control feature: turn off/on noise cancelling and control volume and other features on the earcups
• Power of Audio™: enables you to hear accurate audio cues in real-time, giving you an edge in reacting instantly. Immerse yourself in your game’s soundscape with audio that brings your game world to life.

• BrainAdapt™ Technology: The technology is designed to align with the brain’s sound processing capabilities, reducing cognitive load and enabling improved communication, faster reaction times, and enhanced in-game decision-making.

Performance:

• Active noise cancellation: Immsers yourself with active noise cancelling feature that blocks out all the ambient noise, the targets low frequencies, while passive cancellation handles high frequencies. Together, they achieve an impressive active noise cancellation of up to 16 dB for low frequencies and 30 dB for high frequencies.
• Microphone: experience improved noise cancellation and clear voice communication with the dual microphone technology of the headset. It incorporates a microphone in the boom arm and an additional microphone in the ear cup, resulting in enhanced noise cancellation for practical voice pickup and clear and intelligible chat delivery.
• Detachable Boom: it can be easily removed and reattached thanks to its magnetic connection. This feature adds convenience and flexibility to the headset, allowing you to customize your setup effortlessly.
• Sound quality: Experience exceptional quality with EPOS-engineered audio, providing unparalleled clarity, resolution, and precision for instantaneous in-game reactions. The deep bass response ensures that the in-game action feels immediate and impactful, while the acoustic clarity guarantees crisp and intelligible chat for practical in-game strategy discussions.

Pros:

• Multi devices connection
• Great noise cancellation
• Secure and low-latency wireless performance

Cons:

• Some users may find it less comfortable or experience discomfort after extended use
• Expensive

Pricing:

Available in stock at the price of USD 220.58 at Amazon.

4. Corsair VOID RGB ELITE Headset Microphones

The Corsair VOID RGB Elite is a solid choice if you primarily game on PC or PS4 and prefer wired connectivity. It offers a USB-only connection, ensuring low-latency wired audio. The headset provides a reasonably comfortable fit and delivers an immersive listening experience. Additionally, compatibility with the Corsair iCUE companion app allows you to customize your audio settings with a graphic EQ and adjust the microphone, ensuring clear communication with your teammates.

Key Features

• Driver: 50 mm dynamic
• Battery life: 16 hours
• Connection: Bluetooth®
• Frequency response: 20Hz – 30,000 Hz (Headphone) |  100Hz to 10kHz (Microphone)
• Impedance: 32k Ohms
• Sensitivity: 116 dB
• Weight: 372g

Design:

• Earcups: the ear cups, which feel reasonably robust, are lined with a soft cloth-like material, adding to the overall comfort and quality, lightweight design.
• Headband: is equipped with a flexible metal headband, providing durability and adjustability for a comfortable fit.
• Control feature: has a gamer-centric and user-friendly control scheme with a multi-function wheel for most functions, including volume adjustment. It offers EQ preset cycling and surrounds sound activation with a long press. Mic muting is available with a dedicated button or flipping the microphone upwards, and voice prompts give feedback for all adjustments except volume control.

Performance:

• Sound profile: has a slightly boomy and muddy default sound profile, mainly due to uneven bass. If the default sound profile doesn’t suit your preferences, you can customize it using the graphic EQ or presets in the Corsair iCUE companion app.
• Frequency response: there might be noticeable variations in bass reproduction, particularly if you wear glasses or have long hair. On the other hand, treble should be relatively consistent in its delivery.
• Bass: it is adequate but underemphasized in the low-bass range, which can result in less pronounced thump and rumble in in-game sound effects.
• Mids: it is commendable. Vocals, dialogue, and lead instruments should be rendered with clarity and clear sound.
• Treble: It is exceptional. Vocals, dialogue, lead instruments, and cymbals are presented with impressive detail and clarity, striking a balance without being excessively sharp or piercing.

Pros:

• Strong built
• Low-latency wired audio
• Customizable RGB lighting

Cons:

• Limited platform compatibility
• Sound quality limitations

Pricing:

Available in stock at the price of USD 99.98 at Amazon.

5. CORSAIR VIRTUOSO RGB 

The market is saturated with wireless headsets, including several models from Corsair. However, a significant drawback of wireless headsets is the limited bandwidth available, which often results in inferior audio quality compared to wired headsets. While some wireless headsets can also be used in wired mode, they usually cannot match the superior audio quality of wired headsets due to the same bandwidth constraints—one of the best noise cancelling headphones with microphones we reviewed.

Consequently, it might not be worth investing in expensive audio components for a headset if your bandwidth is insufficient to support them. Fortunately, Corsair’s Virtuoso Wireless headset has some impressive features. Corsair’s Hyper-fast Slipstream Wireless technology delivers a decent 16bit/48kHz audio quality and up to 20 hours of wireless use. Nevertheless, if you don’t need to move around frequently, connecting the provided USB cable will unleash the headset’s full potential for audiophile-level sound.

Key Features

• Driver: 50 mm dynamic
• Battery life: 20 hours
• Connection: Bluetooth®
• Frequency response: 20Hz – 40,000 Hz
• Impedance: 32 Ω
• Sensitivity: 109 dB
• Weight: 372g

Design:

• Earcups: made of premium memory foam that is incredibly soft and plush, delivering a comfortable and supportive experience that enables you to play for extended periods without feeling any discomfort or fatigue.
• Headband:  built with a shape that conforms to your head, offering a comfortable fit ideal for long gaming sessions.
• Touch control: you can precisely adjust every setting on your headset, including the audio equalizer and sidetone control, and customize the dynamic RGB lighting on each ear cup.
• Intelligent detection: auto-pause your music when taking them off and auto-play when putting them back on
• RGB light: you can customize the dynamic RGB lighting on each ear cup of the VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless headphones to match any style, as it offers virtually limitless color options for you to choose from.
• Battery life: specially designed lithium-ion battery that provides up to 20 hours of continuous wireless gaming before needing to be recharged. Additionally, the headphones allow you to continue listening to audio while charging in USB mode, so you can keep playing without interruptions, even if the battery is low.
• App: customize your graphic equalizer, pre-made equalizer presets, microphone control, and a basic surround sound option.

Performance:

• Sound quality: features a perfectly matched set of 50mm high-density neodymium speaker drivers that are finely tuned to produce a fully immersive 7.1 surround sound experience.
• Microphone: the detachable microphone of broadcast quality is designed to capture a broad range of sounds. It boasts high bandwidth to deliver exceptional dynamic range and vocal clarity, more accurate and natural-sounding voice communication with friends and teammates.
• Bass quality: good accuracy in the bass range, with some underemphasis in the low bass resulting in a lack of thump and rumble in your audio mixes.
• Mids: The mids are acceptable. While there is a dip in the low and mid-mids that can make vocals and lead instruments sound thinner and less prominent, the high mids are relatively neutral.
• Treble: treble accuracy is decent. However, it is underemphasized throughout the range, causing vocals and lead instruments to sound muted, cymbals and other high-pitched sounds to lack sharpness and clarity.

Pros:

• Premium quality
• Durable and strong built
• Customizable EQ presets

Cons:

• Poor passive soundstage

Pricing:

Available on Amazon at the price of USD 199.99

6. Corsair HS70 Pro Headset Microphones

The HS70 Pro headphone is polished like the Corsair HS60 Pro. However, a polished look can sometimes mislead users into believing they are getting a high-quality product when, in reality, they are only getting the bare minimum. This is often the case with affordable headphones, and we have been waiting for a pair that can break this stereotype. The HS70 Pro Wireless headphone could be the underdogs that everyone is rooting for. I will test if they stand out from the pack and tick all the boxes at an affordable price.

Key Features

• Noise cancellation: Yes
• Transparency: Yes
• Driver: 50mm Neodymium dynamic
• Battery life: 16 hours
• Codec code:  SBC, AAC, Apt-X™
• Connection: Bluetooth® / USB Type A
• Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz
• Impedance: 32 Ω
• Sensitivity: 111 dB
• Weight: 188g

Design:

• Earcups: The oval-shaped ear cups blend seamlessly with the headband, creating a smooth and sleek appearance without any bulkiness. Even with the microphone attached, the headphones maintain an orderly design.
• Headband: the quilted stitching on the headband gives the headphones a professional look, but the rest of the design is essentially black and could use more color accents. Nevertheless, they still have a sleek and stylish appearance.
• Touch control: the left ear cup houses a volume dial, mute button, detachable mic slot, and Micro USB connector for charging the headphones. The power button is on the right ear cup, and a voice confirms when the headphones have been turned on or off.
• Connectivity: USB Bluetooth adapter,

Performance:

• Active noise cancelling: even though this is an open-back type of headphone but the noise cancellation work well like reducing the ambient noise and providing an immersive sound experience
• Microphones: the mic quality is subpar, with cracking and robotic sounds and high sensitivity to position, leading to breathing noise that may be annoying, despite a built-in noise gate.
• Sound quality: the 7.1 surround sound provided clear directional audio to quickly identify sounds such as footsteps, reloads, and gunfire. The quality was balanced even during chaotic situations, allowing for awareness of the surroundings.

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Great sound quality
• Solid built

Cons:

• Microphones don’t have noise reduction
• No support for mobile phone

Pricing:

Available on Amazon at the price of USD 79.99

7. Razer Kraken V3 HyperSense

With cutting-edge technology, the Razer Kraken V3 HyperSense gaming headset provides an immersive audio experience in a high-end gaming headset. Aside from that, this headphone has a Spatial Audio feature that surrounds the listener from all sides and features HyperSense technology, which enhances gaming immersion when no other headphones can.

Key Features

• Noise cancellation: Yes
• Transparency: Yes
• Driver: 50 mm dynamic
• Connection: ¼ “adapter (6.35 mm)
• Cable length: 2.0m / 6.74 ft
• Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz
• Impedance: 32 Ω
• Sensitivity: 96 dB @ 1mW
• Weight: 344g
• Built-in microphone: Yes

Design:

• Style: Over-ear gaming headset with a retractable microphone
• Headband: made of lightweight, durable materials with a comfortable fit
• Earcups: has Razer Chroma RGB lighting for added style; the vents allow air to go through
• Earpads: feature cooling gel-infused cushions to reduce heat and sweat buildup for comfortable wear during extended gaming sessions
• Input: Wired connection with a braided cable that’s tangle-resistant and durable
• Connectivity: Compatible with multiple platforms, including PC, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch

Performance:

• Spatial Audio: 7.1 surround sound and THX Spatial Audio for accurate and precise sound positioning
• Sound quality: Advanced haptic technology with HyperSense for a more immersive audio experience
• Drivers: Custom-tuned 50mm drivers for powerful and clear audio
• Microphones: Retractable microphone with active noise cancellation for clear communication with teammates
• RGB lighting: customizable style and immersive effects
• Frequency response: has ranged between 20Hz-20000hz so that you can hear the clear and detailed sound

Pros:

• Multi-platform compatibility for versatile use

Cons:

• Require software installation and calibration for optimal performance

Pricing:

Available in stock at the price of USD 159.99 at Amazon.

Conclusion