Experience Sony's Tempest 3D audio with these comfortable and stylish headsets.

If you’ve been lucky enough to buy a PlayStation 5, you know that the console produces impressive audio. Sony’s Tempest 3D Audio tech pipes out simulated surround sound to your headphones—if you have a compatible pair, that is. If you don’t, now’s a good time to shop for a gaming headset. A headset offers a better audio experience than your TV speakers (unless you have a really good soundbar), and its microphone enables much clearer voice chat than the tiny one in the DualSense controller.

Not every gaming headset works with the PS5, though. The system supports 3.5mm wired connections, but once you start dealing with wireless audio, compatibility issues arrive. For example, PlayStation and Xbox deal with USB transmitters in different ways that require different headset versions, and connecting to an audio source with Bluetooth is even more complicated.

Still, a gaming headset is worth the investment, and these are the best PlayStation 5-compatible headsets we've tested.

The Official Headset: Sony Pulse 3D

The Pulse 3D is Sony's official wireless gaming headset for the PlayStation 5. It's easy to set up, looks good, and has strong audio performance. Its pinhole mic doesn't offer the best voice quality, though.

The Best Wired Buy: Astro Gaming A10 (Gen 2)

Astro Gaming's newest wired headset takes the already excellent A10 and makes it feel and sound even better, while keeping the same $60 price. Just plug the lightweight, comfortable headset into a DualSense controller, and enjoy robust sound.

Inexpensive Wireless: Razer Barracuda X

The Razer Barracuda X is one of the best wireless headsets we've seen for under $100, and its USB-C transmitter works with the PlayStation 5 (plus PCs, Android phones, and the Nintendo Switch). Its boom mic delivers better voice chat capabilities than the Pulse 3D headset.

Noise Cancellation for Gamers: Bose QuietComfort 35 II Gaming Headset

The QuietComfort 35 II has been replaced by the QuietComfort 45 as Bose's best noise-cancelling headphones, but it still holds up on its own—and the gaming headset version sweetens the deal. On its own, the QuietComfort 35 II is an excellent pair of Bluetooth headphones that blocks out most noise. As a gaming headset, its 3.5mm cable with an attached boom mic adds wired, gaming-focused functionality.

Head-Shaking Haptic Feedback: Razer Kraken V3 Pro

The Razer Kraken V3 Pro is unique in that it rattles your head. This doesn't mean its bass is overwhelming; the headset features Razer's HyperSense haptic motors that physically vibrate against your ears to simulate subwoofer-like rumble. The feature is pretty hit or miss, but even without HyperSense, the Kraken V3 Pro is a great-sounding, great-feeling headset with RGB lighting.

The PS Plus Collection: 20 PS4 Classics on the PS5, Ranked

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I’ve been PCMag’s home entertainment expert for over 10 years, covering both TVs and everything you might want to connect to them. I’ve reviewed more than a thousand different consumer electronics products including headphones, speakers, TVs, and every major game system and VR headset of the last decade. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and a THX-certified home theater professional, and I’m here to help you understand 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and even 8K (and to reassure you that you don’t need to worry about 8K at all for at least a few more years).

Home theater technology (TVs, media streamers, and soundbars)

Smart speakers and smart displays

I test TVs with a Klein K-80 colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, a HDFury Diva 4K HDMI matrix, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software. That’s a lot of complicated equipment specifically for screens, but that doesn’t cover what I run on a daily basis.

I use an Asus ROG Zephyr 14 gaming laptop as my primary system for both work and PC gaming (and both, when I review gaming headsets and controllers), along with an aging Samsung Notebook 7 as my portable writing station. I keep the Asus laptop in my home office, with a Das Keyboard 4S and an LG ultrawide monitor attached to it. The Samsung laptop stays in my bag, along with a Keychron K8 mechanical keyboard, because I’m the sort of person who will sit down in a coffee shop and bust out not only a laptop, but a separate keyboard. Mechanical just feels better.

For my own home theater, I have a modest but bright and accurate TCL 55R635 TV and a Roku Streambar Pro; bigger and louder would usually be better, but not in a Brooklyn apartment. I keep a Nintendo Switch dock connected to it, along with a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X so I can test any peripheral that comes out no matter what system it’s for. I also have a Chromecast With Google TV for general content streaming.

As for mobile gear, I’m surprisingly phone-ambivalent and have swapped between iPhones and Pixels from generation to generation. I favor the iPhone for general snapshots when I need to take pictures of products or cover events, but I also have a Sony Alpha A6000 camera for when I feel like photo walking.

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