The Best Speaker & Headset Buyer’s Guide – Fall 2023
We’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 2023, our Speaker and Headset Buyer’s Guide lists 10 of the best audio products on the market, each representing a different market niche. In the speaker category, we have great options that will work for home office or gaming, plus a pro-grade microphone to use in recording, streaming, or video conferencing.
On the headphone side, we have fantastic models starting below $50, spanning both gaming models targeting PC users and Bluetooth models for on-the-go use. We cover the whole personal audio and gaming market in just 10 products, and half of our picks are $100 or less, 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!
Speakers/Mics
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The Basic PC Speakers –Creative Pebble 2.0
$19The Guru’s TipBecause 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 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!
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The Deluxe PC Speakers –Logitech Z207 Multi Device Speakers
$60The Guru’s TipLogitech’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 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!
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The High-End 2.1 Speaker Set –Logitech Z623 THX 2.1 Speaker System
$170The Guru’s TipIf 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!This is the kit you want if you want to game out loud!
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USB Microphone –Elgato Wave:3 USB Condenser Microphone
$150The Guru’s TipFor 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!While much slimmer and lighter than its main competitor the Blue Yeti, this microphone simply sounds better. That means you save space on your desk and get improved performance!
Headphones
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The Bargain Gaming Headset –HyperX Cloud Stinger 2
$40 The Guru’s TipThese 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.
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The Budget Wireless PC Headset –SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless
$59 The Guru’s TipYou can also use this headset in wired mode via an included USB Type-C dongle for Nintendo Switch and Android smartphones.
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Bluetooth Sports Headphones –Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4 NC
$100 The Guru’s TipThese also offer IPX4 water resistance.
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The Deluxe PC Headset –SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless
$150 The Guru’s TipThere are many pretenders to the throne at this pricepoint, but SteelSeries is simply better.
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The Ultimate Gaming Headset –SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
$349 The Guru’s TipThe key to this headset's power is the base station, which even has a built-in LCD display!
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Noise-Cancelling Headphones –Sony WH-1000XM5
$398 The Guru’s TipThese headphones are available in a classy white color scheme, which Sony refers to as silver on the product page.
Speakers/Mics
Headphones
- The Bargain Gaming Headset – HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 ($40)
- The Budget Wireless PC Headset – SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless ($59)
- Bluetooth Sports Headphones – Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4 NC ($100)
- The Deluxe PC Headset – SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless ($150)
- The Ultimate Gaming Headset – SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless ($349)
- Noise-Cancelling Headphones – Sony WH-1000XM5 ($398)
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The Monitor Buyer's Guide
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Wireless Networking Buyer's Guide
Upgrade your home wireless network to next-gen speeds!