Now that gaming is such a known and celebrated part of the world, and has stopped being portrayed as a negative hobby, aspects of it have become standardised and locked in as essential parts of the activity. Across media, adverts, videos, and streams, gaming now has an expected portrayal with standard steps. You boot up your console or your PC “setup”, covering your aesthetically arranged desk in an RGB glow, settle into a comfy chair, put on your outside-world-blocking headset, and get immersed in another reality.
When you have to do any of those parts differently to that stereotyped (and marketed) pattern, it does kind of feel like you’re doing it wrongly.
* By “can’t wear”, I don’t mean that wearing a headset is completely impossible. It’s more that, due to a combination of hearing/audio processing issues and sensory oddities, wearing headsets or earphones is often very uncomfortable. Listening to game audio and chat audio simultaneously through headphones – achieving the “immersed” type of experience that is portrayed as the ideal and default way to game – is not the way gaming works for me. As a result I’ve spent a lot of time looking for ways to have an audio setup that means sociable gaming can just work for me.
Now that I’ve tried a lot of different options and finally found one that works for me, it makes sense for me to write down the types of alternative options and their general pros and cons to hopefully help anyone in the same boat. (I’ve spun off my specifc limitations/caveats, and the options that did and didn’t work for me, into its own post).
Alternatives to a typical headset.
Standard earbuds with an inline microphone
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Often the most affordable and accessible option . | Limited control over what you hear e.g. you will probably be unable to separate chat audio from game audio. |
| Can be used in multiple contexts. | Potential compatibility issues with Xbox controllers. |
| Generally good compatbility with PC. | Poor mic quality. |
| Simplicity – no extra equipment or adaptors required. | Your experience will depend heavily on how the earbuds themselves fit you. |
| Cables are usually not replaceable, so damage to the wire means replacing the entire headset. |
Gaming earbuds with a boom mic
e.g. Turtle Beach Battle Buds or Steelseries Tusq
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Medium affordability – more expensive than standard earbuds or budget headsets. | Limited control over what you hear e.g. you may be unable to separate chat audio from game audio. |
| Easy to find and buy. | Limited access to extra audio features e.g. Dolby Atmos / spatial audio / virtual surround sound. |
| Better compatbility with consoles and phones as they are designed for portable use. | Obvious “gamer” asthetic and protruding boom mic means that they often won’t be practical in other situations. (Though some do have detachable mics). |
| Simplicity – no extra equipment or adaptors required. | Your experience will heavily depend on how the earbuds themselves fit you. |
| Cables are usually not replaceable, so damage to the wire means replacing the entire headset. |
A one-eared “chat only” headset
e.g. Turtle Beach Recon Chat or Microsoft Xbox One Chat headset
| Pros | Cons |
| Often more affordable than two-eared headsets. | Limited feature set. e.g. May not have the option for in-game audio. |
| Lighter weight and less pressure than a two-eared headset. | Having audio in only one ear may feel weird/uncomfortable. |
| Can usually be worn on either ear, so you can alternate ears to work around pressure/sensitivity issues. | Cables are usually not replaceable, so damage to the wire means replacing the entire headset. |
| No console compatibility issues as they are designed for console use. |
True Wireless earphones with an internal mic
e.g. JBL Quantum or Logitech G Fits
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Can be used both for gaming and for other contexts. | Limited control over what you hear e.g. you may not be able to separate chat audio from game audio. |
| Compatible with any system using Bluetooth. | Often not compatible with Xbox. |
| Usually offer good noise isolation. | Many will have high levels of latency which may spoil playing games that rely on audio timing. (Though some will specifically be marketed as having low latency/being for gaming.) |
| May have extra features such as active noise-cancelling. | Internal batteries are not replaceable, so the earbuds will eventually become e-waste. |
| Wide variations in audio/mic quality. | |
| Your experience will depend heavily on how the earbuds themselves fit you. | |
| May require using an app to unlock features or customisation. |
A clip on lapel / lavalier mic for speaking, plus optional headphones/earphones for listening.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Small, light, and portable. | Buying two items instead of one is more expensive. |
| Simple to use. | Likely to not have gaming features e.g. a mute button or volume dial. |
| Wired lapel mics are very affordable. | Wide variations in mic quality. |
| Buying separate devices allows for better control over the features/qualities of each device. | May pick up background noise e.g. keyboards/controllers. |
| Limited compability with Xbox controllers. |
A desktop USB mic for speaking, plus optional headphones/earphones for listening.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| USB mics can be used for other contexts e.g. video calls, as well. | Buying two items instead of one is more expensive. |
| A large range of mic options are available for PC/PS users. | Not compatible with Xbox (the only Xbox option is the Turtle Beach Stream Mic). |
| Buying separate devices allows for better control over the features/qualities of each device. | Requires desk space or a mounting arm to position the mic effectively, which may not be feasible depending on room size/layout. |
A pair of headphones plus an attachable mic
e.g. an Antlion Modmic
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Allows you to buy headphones that suit your needs, and turn them into a headset. | Buying two items instead of one is more expensive, especially for the wireless mics. |
| As the mic is designed for console use, it will have good compatbility with PC/PS. | The mic can only practically be attached to headphones. i.e. it can’t be worn on its own or attached to earbuds. (However, if you own a 3D printer, you can print custom moulds/accessories for other wear conditions). |
| The mic is detachable, so the headphones can be used in other contexts. | While the mic is detachable, the magnetic clasp must be permanently attached to your headphones. |
| Includes gaming-specific features like in-line controls. | Using the wired mic means double the wires to manage. |
| Wireless and USB versions are not compatible with Xbox. |
A gaming mic cable, with optional IEMs
e.g. Antlion Kimura or Kinera Gramr
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Lightweight cables and ear hooks apply very little pressure. | Ear-hook cables are likely to be uncomfortable if you wear glasses to game. |
| Compatible with PC, Mac (with adapter) phones, and consoles (with adapter). | These mics can be too sensitive and pick up external sound that you didn’t intend to transmit. |
| Boom mic offers better quality than internal/earbud mics. | Antlion Kimura range do not have in-line controls. |
| Allows you to buy IEMs that suit your needs, and turn them into a headset. | Kinera range are hard to buy in the UK. |
| Antlion Kimura range can be worn without any IEMs if needed. |
Conclusion
There are now quite a few different alternatives to the standard headset for PC and Playstation, and a growing number of choices to use with phones and handheld consoles. Unfortunately, Xbox players have mostly been left out of this party, which is even more true if you include further variables such as integrating Discord with Xbox for cross-platform chats.
Hopefully this list gives you some idea of the types of alternatives available, to help you narrow down what might work for you.
If you know any other type of alternative I can add to this list, or a major pro/con that I’ve missed, please let me know.