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The Best Speaker & Headset Buyer’s Guide – Fall 2022

The Best Speaker & Headset Buyer’s Guide – Fall 2022

By Ari Altman | Published September 13, 2022 | Updated September 13, 2022

Corsair VirtuosoWe’ve Got Sound Advice on Sound!

This guide features a dozen of our favorite models at every price point and meeting every need, from home office, to on-the-go listening, to gaming. Whether you want to listen out loud with a big set of speakers or just want to throw on a set of cans and lose yourself in the music, we’ve got what you’re looking for.

Our Latest Picks

For Fall 2022, our Speaker and Headset Buyer’s Guide lists 10 of the best audio products on the market, each representing a different market niche. On the home office and portable side, we have “truly wireless” earbuds for working out or commuting, the best noise-canceling headset, and the USB studio microphone we personally use for all our audio work

On the gaming side, we have fantastic headsets starting at $50 and going all the way up to $400 or so, plus a top speaker set for good measure. Seriously, we cover the whole personal audio and gaming market in just 10 products, and half of our picks are under $100, proving that if you buy for performance rather than prestige, you can actually get a tremendous value!

Parting Thoughts

In the end, no matter how you want to interface with your music, games, streaming and videos, we’re going to help you find the right setup for your needs! And remember, you can support continued development of this guide by using the links to the products we recommend!

Home/Small Office

  • Click to Buy
    The Basic PC Speakers –

    Creative Pebble 2.0

    $19
    Because desktop PCs, unlike laptops, don’t have internal speakers, we recommend you pick up Creative’s Pebble kit. Whether it’s music, You Tube videos, TV, or movies, Pebble will sound great.

    The Guru’s Tip

    The USB cable on these speakers is exclusively for power, while a 3.5mm audio cable is still used for audio. That eliminates the bulky power adapter and the need for a free outlet. With that said, there is a newer USB-C version on the same product page at about twice the cost that eliminates the audio cable for an even more streamlined setup, if you have Type-C on your PC!
  • Click to Buy
    The Deluxe PC Speakers –

    Logitech Z207 Multi Device Speakers

    $52
    Logitech’s Z207 speakers sound and look great without taking up much space. They’ll also work with any Bluetooth audio device, so you can switch over to phone or tablet audio with the push of a button. Logitech has packed a ton of value into this slimline speaker kit!

    The Guru’s Tip

    The Z207 has a special trick up its sleeve - it has built-in Bluetooth so you can also stream music to it wirelessly, and it will even auto-switch sources when you stop the music on one source and start it on another!
  • Anker Life P2
    Click to Buy
    Bluetooth Sports Headphones –

    Soundcore by Anker Life P2 Mini

    $35
    Anker has been making Bluetooth accessories for a long time, and its Life P2 true wireless earbuds are a great example of why it dominates the market. They offer 8 hours of playtime, 10mm drivers for great sound, and an ultra-light weight.

    The Guru’s Tip

    The charging case included with these earbuds an extra hour of playback in just 10 minutes and a total of 32 hours of playback.
  • Sony WH-1000XM5
    Click to Buy
    Noise-Cancelling Headphones –

    Sony WH-1000XM5

    $398
    There are a lot of headphones out there marketed as noise cancelling, but most just aren’t very good. Sony’s WH-1000XM5, on the other hand, is very, very good. In fact it’s the best! That’s because not only does it have excellent noise cancellation, it also sounds awesome, which is something the other big contenders miss. Isn’t that the main reason people use headphones in the first place?!? Other great features include 30 hours of playback on a charge, a quick-charge mode (add 3 hours in 3 minutes), touch controls, a slim, folding design with collapsible case, and a crystal-clear mic for making calls.

    The Guru’s Tip

    These headphones are available in a classy white color scheme, which Sony refers to as silver on the product page.
  • Click to Buy
    USB Microphone –

    Elgato Wave:3 USB Condenser Microphone

    $120
    For seriously-professional audio quality, i.e. what you want if you’re recording content or conducting video calls for a living, you need more than a headset microphone or a mic built into a webcam. That’s where a powered USB microphone comes into play, and the best pick is Elgato’s Wave:3. It offers a sophisticated built-in pop filter and “clipguard” to avoid the various audio problems so many other mics suffer from. It’s also sleek and compact, unlike competitors that try to impress with the space they take up on your desk!

    The Guru’s Tip

    We use this mic for all our video and collaboration work, and it's so much better than the tiny mic built into laptops or webcams!

Gaming

  • HyperX Cloud Stinger 2
    Click to Buy
    The Bargain Gaming Headset –

    HyperX Cloud Stinger 2

    $40
    HyperX absolutely revolutionized the budget gaming headset market with the original Cloud Stinger, and has taken it up a notch with the Stinger 2. It retains the original’s big 50mm drivers, but has an updated rotating cup design and swing-down mic for better comfort and control. It also adds DTS Headphone:X for virtual 7.1  surround sound, making it is an unbeatable value.

    The Guru’s Tip

    These connect using a 3.5mm analog jack, meaning they are fully-compatible with any device that supports this standard, including many smartphones and gaming consoles.
  • Click to Buy
    The Budget Wireless PC Headset –

    ‎SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless

    $100
    SteelSeries has made a name for itself in the gaming headset world with its no-nonsense focus on performance. The Arctis 1 follows in this tradition with high-end drivers, lossless 2.4 GHz wireless for ultra-low latency wireless connectivity on both PC and PS4/PS5, a detachable bidirectional microphone, and 20 hours of battery life.

    The Guru’s Tip

    You can also use this headset in wired mode via an included USB Type-C dongle for Nintendo Switch and Android smartphones.
  • Click to Buy
    The Deluxe PC Headset –

    Corsair Virtuoso Wireless Headset

    $174
    Combining ultra-high-end performance with incredible comfort, this wireless headset from Corsair is the ideal all-day companion for listening to the latest market news. This headset also has an audiophile-grade microphone, perfect for teleconferencing. Free free to check out our full review right here!

    The Guru’s Tip

    We've been using our Virtuoso headset daily since it was released, and we wouldn't trade it for anything!
  • Click to Buy
    The High-End 2.1 Speaker Set –

    Logitech Z625 THX 2.1 Speaker System

    $180
    If you’re interested in unadulterated stereo sound with a huge helping of bass, then you want a high-quality 2.1 speaker set. There used to be a whole array of models to choose from, and one of the last holdouts happens to be one of the very best, from the PC enthusiasts at Logitech. This awesome 200-watt THX-certified set will really pump out some great audio. If you have the space for the big subwoofer, we’d highly recommend this over a standard stereo speaker set, especially for gaming and movies. And take note: while a lot of speaker sets have subwoofers, a big box does nothing if you don’t have the watts to back it up!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Need wireless connectivity? Then go for the Z625/Bluetooth adapter bundle on the same product page!
  • SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro
    Click to Buy
    The Ultimate Gaming Headset –

    SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless

    $370
    SteelSeries has humble roots, starting as a mousemat manufacturer in the early 2000s. But as with its glass surface mousemat that revolutionized the gaming industry, it always goes big in every market it enters. Such is the case with headsets, where it quickly became a design leader. That effort has culminated in the Nova Pro, which is quite simply the best gaming headset ever released. It offers pro-grade Parametric EQ for unequaled immersion, ambient noise cancellation, a hot-swappable battery for uninterrupted play, and an innovative multi-connect system. And of course, it packs in audiophile-level drivers for powerful sound reproduction!

    The Guru’s Tip

    The key to this headset's power is the base station, which even has a built-in LCD display!

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