So you like Xbox One and PC gaming headsets, but hate cables? We've got you covered.
While the solutions for wireless vary, the effect is the same: untethered audio for your Xbox One or PC. Whether you're playing games solo, and want an immersive wireless audio experience, or a way to communicate with your friends over Xbox Live or Discord, these headsets should do the trick, to varying degrees.
We've tested virtually every major wireless headset on the market for the Xbox One, and many that are compatible with PC. Here are our picks for the best wireless headsets on Xbox One right now, with some additional information about each. Not down for going wireless? No problem, there's a round-up of the best headsets for Xbox One with your name on it.
Astro A50 (Xbox One, PC)
The Astro A50 is easily the best wireless headset on the market right now, offering loud mic monitoring feedback for party chat, supreme levels of comfort, and 7.1 surround sound audio.
The A50 isn't cheap, coming with a dock that both charges the headset and provides wireless connectivity, but it offers the best all-round experience for those looking to ditch cables. The large over-ear cups are gentle on the ears and block unwanted audio from the outside, while large 40mm drivers provide a rich and immersive experience. This headset is also compatible with PC. You can grab the whole set for around $299.99 RRP.
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 and 700 (Xbox One, Xbox Wireless PCs)
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (left), and Stealth 700 (right).
The Stealth 600 is the cheapest headset on this list, at just $99, and represents the best overall value. Turtle Beach's new Stealth 600 and 700 are successors to the excellent Stealth 420 series, and they're every bit as good, with added convenience. Both the Stealth 700 and the cheaper 600 are truly wireless (well, except charging), connecting to the Xbox One via Microsoft's Xbox Wireless protocol. No USB dongles, no transmitters or docks, just pair the headset to your console and you're good to go. If you're using a regular PC, you can connect via a USB dongle, but some devices, like the Surface Book 2 15-inch, have it built in.
The 600 and 700 are virtually identical, although the cheaper 600 sports better design overall, side-stepping the rubbery buttons found on the 700. For an extra $50, you can include Bluetooth on the Stealth 700, allowing you to mic chat, music, and notifications in from a paired mobile device, which is a nice, but potentially niche touch, especially now that the Xbox One supports background music playback. Your best bet here is to go with the Stealth 600 unless you desperately want Bluetooth support, since the Stealth 600 even has better battery life. The Stealth 600 is just $99, and the Stealth 700 is $150.
Astro A20 (Xbox One, PC)
The Astro A20 is the A50's little brother, ditching some of the bells and whistles for a far more affordable price point. Thankfully, they aren't economical with the most important stuff.
The A20 doesn't feature 7.1 surround, but they can be elevated with Dolby Atmos or Windows Sonic to provide a sense of positional awareness. What they do pack is big comfort, large battery life, crisp audio, and loud monitoring feedback so you don't accidentally shout into the mic. Like the A50, they sport rock-solid wireless connectivity, this time via a USB dongle rather than a USB charging dock. This headset will set you back around $150, and works on PC too.
Plantronics RIG 800LX (Xbox One, PC)
The Plantronics RIG 800LX is a truly stunning product with a unique look, supreme levels of comfort and truly astonishing battery life and connectivity. Sadly, there's no 7.1, but it comes bundled with Dolby Atmos, which provides some algorithmic surround support, while we wait for more games to bake it in natively.
The RIG 800LX are incredibly lightweight, and sport an intriguing, almost futuristic design. It's unlikely you'll want to wear them out and about, but for gaming, few headsets on this list are as reliable.
LucidSound LS40 (Xbox One, PC)
The LucidSound LS40 is a bit of a frustrating headset. It's absolutely gorgeous, stunning even, and arguably the best looking on this list. It's the sort of headset you might want to wear outside, and it's the only headset here that supports 3.5mm connectivity. It's also supremely comfortable, and features great audio. However, when I last used it the firmware was incredibly buggy, with mic monitoring failing when connected to Xbox One, with random power outages.
I'll update this section if I learn that the situation has changed, you should only consider this headset if you don't care about mic monitoring, or want a DTS Headphone:X Surround 7.1, 3.5mm-capable headset that doesn't follow the gaudy "gamer" design conventions that seem to dominate this market.
That's a wrap!
Those are my favorite wireless headsets that I've used with Xbox One so far, and with Xbox Wireless now available for third-party manufactures, hopefully we'll see more additions in the future. I'm still waiting for a headset that looks as and sounds as great as the LS40, is as reliable and comfortable as the RIG 800LX, with loud mic monitoring like the Astros or Turtle Beach headsets. So far, no company seems to have nailed everything in this segment, so it'll be interesting to see what the future holds.
What are your favorite headsets for Xbox One? Hit the comments and let us know.