There’s “gaming” versions of almost every product out there, and a lot of them treat it like a gimmick or branding tool, but that’s not always the case. Modern videogames rely on sound, meaning that many gaming headphones provide a much higher level of sound quality then you might expect. But are they worth picking up compared to the normal variety, or are they still more of a gimmick product if you’re not a massive fan of gaming in general?
Style
The visual style of some headphones obviously won’t affect their quality all that much, but it’s hard to just ignore the differences in design. Some have built-in pulsing lights and large, fancy shapes whereas others are streamlined to be as dark and low-profile as possible, but all of them have a particular niche that they can fit into. If you want headphones with lava-coloured orange lights that fade in and out, you can get them! On the other hand, if you want something that looks professional and sleek, that’s an option too!
Not everybody will care about this, of course, but there’s a large subset of people who want to be sure that their headphones match their clothing. Even better, most gaming headphones aren’t actually branded in a way that makes it clear that they’re gaming headphones: there’s very few that contain any gaming references whatsoever, apart from maybe a small graphic of the manufacturer’s logo.
Connection Types
Very few gaming headphones are exclusive to a single connection method. Many will use USB connections, especially if they’re built for PC gamers, but that isn’t the only choice out there. For example, some PS4 gaming headphones have connections that would work with other mobile devices, and more still are completely wireless headphones that can be linked to a wide range of devices.
The benefits of this are easy enough to understand: PS4 headphones, just like any headphones, can be connected to almost anything that has the right kind of port, so you’re no more limited than if you bought regular music or video-watching headphones.
Microphones
A lot of gaming headphones come with their own microphones, mainly the larger PC-focused designs. In almost every case, you can fold this microphone up against the side of the headphone’s main body to get it out of the way, but having that option can come in handy more often than you might think. For example, if you regularly take important phone calls while listening to music on your mobile device, having a microphone can drastically increase the quality of your voice and make you easier to understand.
Microphones are also a useful option for plenty of other purposes: leaving voicemails, recording audio reminders for yourself, practicing hobbies like singing or even just adding to the aesthetics of your outfit.
Audio Quality
Audio quality in gaming headphones is usually at least slightly higher than non-gaming headphone styles, with some companies creating insanely high-quality headphones that provide incredible audio fidelity. A large part of this is due to the fact that many modern games use sound as part of the experience, so companies are generally pushed to try and create headphones that can live up to those standards.
Unlike regular music headphones, gaming headphones also have a high chance of either blocking out sound, preventing the audio from leading out to people around you, or both. This can be good if you’re wanting to make sure that you’re not disturbing other people, and can make it much easier to listen to music or other types of entertainment without having it covered up with background noise.
Volume Adjustments
One of the most overlooked features of gaming headphones is the ability to adjust the volume. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a button-based system or a dial that you can turn – a lot of gaming headphones have some kind of tool in place to let you adjust how loud the audio is, as well as a way to mute the microphone (if it has one) or even temporarily “deafen” them by turning off any incoming audio entirely. This can all be extremely convenient and adds another layer of usability, especially if you’re planning to use them at work or in another situation where you’ll have to suddenly pause the audio to handle something else.
