Author:
ashley
Last Updated:
11/05/2022
Best Gaming Headset on a Budget – The SteelSeries Arctis takes the crown
- SteelSeries Arctis
- Price - $50
- Compatibility – PS4, Xbox One, Mobile, PC/Mac, Nintendo Switch
- Interface – Wired
- Connections – 3.5mm audio cable
- Drivers – 40 mm neodymium
- Frequency Response – 20Hz – 20,000 Hz
- Surround Sound Modes – 2
When it comes to the best gaming headsets period, the Arctis 1 easily tops many lists. It doesn’t break any barriers, or do anything extraordinarily different. But, it definitely excels at being a great all round gaming headset.
It’s by far one of the best gaming headsets for $100, or under. It provides a cushioned headband to prevent any discomfort, spacious earcups and a 40mm neodymium drivers that provide maximum quality.
The different surround sound levels it provides are brilliant, and the 3.5mm headset aux means it can pretty much be used across any console you’d want.
We also rank it as the best gaming headset on a budget, due to it’s brilliant microphone. Your voice is as crisp as ever with the top of the range ClearCast microphone. A gaming headset with a good microphone, brilliant surround sound and different forms of quality surround sound.
That’s all you need to hear, and shows the absolute quality of the SteelSeries Arctis 1.
Not only that, but you might be able to get it at a bargain for $45 – so, it is the best budget gaming headset under $50 as well!
- HyperX Cloud Stinger - the King of comfort
- Price - $60
- Compatability - PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, mobile, PC
- Interface - Wireless
- Connections - 3.5mm audio cable
- Drivers - 50 mm
- Frequency response - 18Hz to 23kHz (23000 Hz)
- Surround Sound Modes - 1, Adjustable slider for complete control
When it comes to sleek, intuitive designs, the HyperX really tops the list. It has everything affordable gaming headphones should have in a design. A flexible frame, nice spacious ear cups and some comfortable cushioning on the outside. The slider too, is an excellent feature.
It means you have every last bit of control of the surround sound features, down to every single minute sound. All you have to do is slide the slider on the side of the headphone, and you can adjust it at any time you want.
At the end of a wire you also have a microphone that’s ready to go, and deliver your voice to your friends in crisp quality: completely eliminating the need for any USB. If comfort and flexibility is what you’re searching for in your budget gaming headsets, the HyperX is the one for you.
Best Cheap Gaming Headset Brands – Steelseries the absolute best in delivering affordable quality
Steelseries
We mentioned before how the Arctis 1 is the best gaming headset under $100. Well, the Arctis 1 is only one of the affordable gaming headsets Steelseries is constantly producing.
Formed in 2014, Steelseries is a Danish electronic manufacturer that specializes in producing gaming equipment. They produce many different aspects of gaming technology – keyboards, mice and headsets being their most popular.
However, we’re here to talk about the best gaming headset on a budget – and Steelseries know their stuff here. They have a great range of headsets – all under the premium Arctis brand.
The best thing about Steelseries and their Arctis brands is that more than half are the best gaming headsets for under $150. Only the high range ones are over $150 – the Arctis Pro range. But, we’d argue some of the best gaming headsets under $150 are the ones to look for.
Take for example, the Arctis 5. Coming to $130, it offers everything you’d need from affordable gaming headphones. Surround Sound, ChatMix, S1 Speaker Drivers, and USB and Analog Connections.
Realistically, that’s some great quality that the best gaming headset on a budget should offer – anything you would ever need.
And, if you’re really strapped for cash, we’d definitely recommend checking out the Steelseries TUSQ. The TUSQ, we would say, is the best budget gaming headset under $50, hands down.
A pair of small, comfortable earphones, it provides a dual microphone on both earphones, Multiplatform functionality and the best sound drivers you’d find in the Arctis range.
And, all this comes in at a neat $49. It’s the perfect Xbox gaming headphones, as it’s a serious move up from the Xbox gaming headsets, without paying massive amounts for another pair of headphones.
Steelseries as a whole specialises in headsets, so it’s no real surprise they always produce the best low budget gaming headset.
They just have an understanding on how to tick all the boxes when it comes to gaming headsets and price always seems to be the first priority.
Our review process at Strafe.com – Always prioritizing your needs
We at Strafe.com take our review process very seriously. When we’re asked to find the best low budget gaming headset, that’s exactly what we will do.
It’s important we approach every review we make, for whatever gaming technology we have, with a complete lack of bias, and be fully knowledgeable in what we are talking about.
Those are our two foundational tools that we always start off with. After that, comes the real research process – how exactly we go about finding you the best gaming headset on a budget.
First of all, we don’t get started into any review without having an in-depth knowledge of everything we’re writing about. Our writers are fully knowledgeable on everything there is to do with gaming and eSports.
In the case of this article, there was always a massive priority placed on getting all the knowledge we can on the best low budget gaming headset. Knowing how to tick every box – what makes the best low budget gaming headsets? What’s the price to quality ratio? What are necessary components, and what are optional?
These are all essential questions that have to be answered in the case of this article. But, we always follow the same formula, we just change the questions. Let’s visit the best gaming headset for console, as an example.
For that, we don’t just research the headphones – we research the consoles: PS4, Xbox One, Switch.
Whatever qualifies as a current gen console, we learn about it. Knowing how the console itself ticks helped understand what made a great headset for that particular console.
It’s very much a labor intensive process, but it’s one that follows a basic step by step formula.
- Step 1, Research. Again, this is a flexible stage, but it essentially means knowing about the affordable gaming headphones inside out and backwards before beginning to type. Once we do all our research, we go through another essential stage prior to writing.
- Step 2, Quality Control. This is essentially cutting the fat of our research. This is where we get a little more nitpicky. We’ll discard anything that has any minor fault, or doesn’t live up to our standards for what affordable gaming headsets should be.
We really pull no punches here, because we want to focus on the absolute best – no corners cut. As you can see here, we narrowed it down to only one – the absolute best. After that, it’s just putting it all together.
- Step 3, Writing. Articulating this in a way that makes these affordable gaming headsets accessible to you, and that you can understand what makes them so great.
That’s our research process at Strafe.com. We never claim to be more than we are, but we certainly never take the lazy route for any review we do.
We promise absolute quality, no matter what, and you can absolutely guarantee that you are getting accurate information when you visit the Strafe.com reviews.
What do we look for in an affordable gaming headset? – All rounders
Now you know how we do it. You want to know what Strafe.com focuses on. We touched on it briefly in our Steelseries Arctis 1 review, but we essentially always look for the best all round product.
It’s great finding a low budget gaming headset that excels in one area, but if it lacks in others, that’s not what we’re looking for. The gaming headsets we choose meet every one of the criteria we have listed below, and as we said before, we don’t pull punches.
There’s no bias on Strafe.com, we say it how it is. So, if we say the Arctis 1 is the best gaming headset on a budget, we mean it. And, here’s exactly what makes Arctis 1 the best.
- Physical quality/comfort – This one is a basic one, and you think it wouldn’t be a factor. But, the actual wearability of the headphones are the first factor we always take into account.
Little steps, like an adjustable band, cushioned and spacious ear cups and a smaller microphone make big differences in the way of overall comfort.
- Compatibility – For expert gamers, this is a must. And, understandably so. You don’t want a different pair of headphones for every console you have - you want one pair of affordable gaming headsets that can work well with every console.
If it doesn’t have a multi-platform addition, we just won’t consider it.
- Surround sound – We’re privileged enough to live in a world where surround sound is a requirement.
That’s how technology is going, and any gaming headset that provides multiple surround sound functions immediately sets it apart from the basic types.
- Noise regulation – Volume is a yardstick of headphones. Any headset that provides complete customizability settings for volume e.g turning the volume down for high pitched treble sounds, but up for deep bass – those kinds of settings really show a brand has their priorities right.
- Interface – The Interface of a headset should be fairly flexible. 3.5mm, analog, Bluetooth, USB - great affordable gaming headphones will provide 2 of the above.
What makes a good cheap headset?
You may be wondering – why can’t I just go and buy the first pair of headphones I find under $150? Well, headset reviews are really important for that reason alone – you may be satisfied with the first pair you find, but you really just don’t know what you’ll be missing.
The world of gaming headsets, especially cheap, quality gaming headsets, is an amazing one once you delve into it. There’s so much to learn, to get an idea of, that once you gain a knowledge of it, you’ll realise exactly why all these little features are so important.
Let’s give an example. Say you go to Walmart, and buy the first pair of $20 gaming headphones you see. They sound good, sure. They fit ok on your head, and they come with an aux cord. So far, so good right? They hurt a little after you’re playing Fortnite for a couple hours, but it’s no big deal.
Now, let’s say you put forth that extra $25, and bought the Steelseries TUSQ. Now, put the earphones in. They fit into your ear like a glove. All of a sudden, the outside world is completely gone – you don’t just hear the sound of the game you’re playing, you feel it all the way down to your soul.
You find yourself using the TUSQ for your PS4, Xbox One, PC – it effortlessly works for them all. And, soon, they become a critical part of your gaming experience – they add so much, you can’t live without them.
That picture in your head – everything you’re imagining right now? That’s why a good gaming headset review is important.
Our goal is to open your eyes to this world. Teach you a little bit, and then give you the tools to go out and search for the best gaming headsets yourself. We don’t give you the fish, we want to teach you how to fish.
That’s why this article features one headset – what we think is the absolute best. But, you can take all the points we used to review it, and apply it to your own tastes. Now, you can find a set that suits you better.
That’s why our gaming reviews are so important to gamers out there.
Conclusion – Carry on our wayward gamer
To wrap up, we’ve provided a whole lot of information about the best gaming headset on a budget. We’ve shown you the quality of the Steelseries Arctis 1 - and why it’s such great quality, for the best gaming headsets under $150.
We’ve also explored why we do what we do – why a review is so important to readers and gamers such as yourself. The what and the how were questions we also answered – how we do our gaming headset reviews, and what we look for. So, what are you waiting for? Buy a cheap gaming headset that suits you!
