It seems like every company is releasing their own gaming earbuds, and they all claim to do nearly the same thing. With all the options available, how can you tell which one actually delivers a quality product at a fair price? In this article, we break down the top 5 gaming earbuds on the market this year based on performance and the situations they’ll be used in. So whether you’re looking for a set of gaming earbuds with advanced noise cancellation or a set that’s compatible with your Nintendo Switch, we’ll have an option for you. So if you’re interested in finding out which gaming earbuds will be best for you, stay tuned.
First up are the HyperX Cloud Earbuds, our pick for the best wired gaming earbuds. If you’re interested in making the Switch from over-the-ear headphones to lighter and more compact earbuds, HyperX’s Wired Cloud Earbuds offer good build quality, better mobility, immersive sound, and work great with the Nintendo Switch. These earbuds come with three different-sized silicone ear tips to enable the best fit possible, increase isolation, and reduce sound leakage. An inline microphone is placed midway down the tangle-resistant flat audio cable that will let you communicate with your squad for switch games that use in-game chat to help you get organized or even taunt your opponents. If you’re interested in a set of earbuds with a boom mic rather than an inline configuration, stick around for the Turtle Beach Battle Buds coming up later in the video. Sound is produced by the 14mm dynamic drivers that deliver a frequency range of 20Hz to 20,000Hz, giving you immersive gaming audio with enhanced bass and crystal clear lows, mids, and highs. The voices of your teammates will come in clearly, and in-game sounds such as footsteps have some weight to them, but more impressively, being able to determine the position of enemies is quite easy. And if you want to take them with you, these earbuds come with a protective travel case that will keep them safe in transit, rather than just stuffing them in your pocket or in a bag. A single button on the controller can be used for answering calls or playing music, making the operation quick and intuitive. And the connector at the end of the cable is oriented at 90 degrees, providing a less obtrusive connection optimized for handheld mode and for use with the Nintendo Switch. The HyperX Cloud earbuds are a great choice for anyone looking to switch to wired in-ear audio for the Nintendo Switch or for gaming in general. These earbuds deliver good sound quality for the money and are comfortable to wear. And even though they don’t have more advanced features like ANC or Surround, you’ll still get a decent gaming experience.
Next up is the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Pro, our pick for the best overall true wireless gaming earbuds. Razer’s Hammerhead True Wireless Pro earbuds offer summer vision over their first true wireless earbud release. They’ve switched to a sealed-fit design, have better sound with active noise cancellation, are THX-certified, and there’s a low-latency gaming mode to keep the earbuds in sync with your mobile gaming. The Hammerheads are compact and very lightweight, so they sit securely in the ear with no danger of falling out or causing discomfort. Razer packages seven sets of ear tips in the box that include standard silicone sizes (small, medium, and large) and the same sizes in a grippier version that’s meant for more active use, like running. You’ll also find a medium set of comply foam tips that make for a terrific seal. Each bud is accented with the green Razer logo that acts as a touch button where you’ll tap or hold to access the various gesture controls. Each stem houses a mic that’s used for active noise cancellation, while the mics that work for calls are positioned at the bottom of the stems for optimal voice pickup. Razer has packed 10mm drivers into these earbuds, and they’ve gone through THX certification to deliver a rich, balanced soundstage for all your movies, music, and gaming. So you’ll get articulate, well-balanced sound with some extra bass to spare if you want to dial up that part of the audio. The Hammerheads come in a sleek, pill-shaped carrying case that doubles as their charger and snaps magnetically into place on their side. The case is thin and flat, making it easy to slip into your pocket and take anywhere. If you’re looking for a good pair of wireless earbuds that will perform well, Razer’s Hammerhead True Wireless Earbuds are a good choice. They may not be well suited to audio files, but they provide solid performance for gaming.
Next up are the EPOS GTW270 Hybrid Earbuds. The EPOS GTW270 Hybrid Earbuds are a newcomer to the market and offer a USB-C dongle that can be plugged into a PC, Nintendo Switch, or PS5, effectively separating them from the pack. These true wireless earbuds look small, but they are still big enough that the rounded rectangular base of each bud pops out from your ear. Four sizes of rubber tips are included and offer plenty of options to help you find a solid seal to cut out ambient noise. They’re bigger than the small stems that emerge from your ears when using AirPods, but they look a little more elegant. There’s a single small button near the top of the left earbud, which controls phone-related functions like answering calls and media controls, including play, pause, and track selection. The 6mm drivers produce clear sound with nuanced details that help create an immersive gaming experience. That quality carries across both Bluetooth and dongle-based connections. Whereas many Bluetooth earbuds deliver washed-out, compressed-sounding audio, the GTW270 lets you hear a lot of the fine points in your favorite games and music. Like many true wireless earbuds, the GTW270 Hybrid comes with a carrying case that doubles as a charger and wireless networking hub. The small, dark, aluminum-coated box features a single button, which you can press to check the case’s battery life or hold to pair the earbuds via Bluetooth. The back has a USB-C port for charging and syncing on the PC. When you pop the top, you’ll find discrete molded spaces for both earbuds, ensuring that they’re secure and that the copper wireless charging contacts make a solid connection. The EPOS GTW270 hybrid earbuds perform well for mobile or PC gaming and listening to music, making them a very good choice. There’s no latency when using the USB-C dongle, and the use of upgradable firmware in both the earbuds and the dongle is also a big plus.
Next up is the Bose QuietComfort 20, our pick for the best gaming earbuds for noise cancellation. The Bose QuietComfort 20 gaming earbuds deliver excellent noise cancellation performance paired with rich bass response, crisp highs, and a comfortable, secure fit. These wired earbuds are offered in two models: the QuietComfort 20 for Android devices and the QuietComfort 20i intended for Apple devices, and both offer the most advanced and flexible ANC system you’ll find. And for overall sound quality, you’ll enjoy full, rich low-end and crisp highs that work well with gaming and music. The design of the QuietComfort earbuds is dark and muted, and like the HyperX Cloud earbuds, the QuietComfort 20 features an in-line remote control and microphone. The only differences between the 20 and 20i models are the one-button control for the Android version and a three-button control for the Apple version. Further along the cable are the noise cancellation control and battery compartment. It has green status LEDs to let you know what modes you’re in, and this compartment also houses a talk-through mode button that lowers the volume and uses the noise cancellation microphones to let you hear what’s happening in your environment without having to pull out the earbuds or pause your music with a single touch. Getting a good fit is made easy with the included silicone ear tips that effectively seal off the ear canal comfortably and securely. Overall sound performance is quite good, with a healthy low-end thumb that delivers plenty of punch without distortion, and it’s complemented by clear mid-range and high frequencies. If you’re looking for a set of gaming earbuds with great sound but, more importantly, effective noise cancellation, the Bose QuietComfort 20 gaming earbuds are a very good choice. And for greater convenience, the aware mode will let you quickly slip out of isolation without having to stop what you’re doing or pull the earbuds out of your ears.
Last but not least, the Turtle Beach Battle Buds. The Turtle Beach Battle Buds are portable, easy to use, and offer great value. While they’re not going to offer audiophile-quality sound, these wallet-friendly earbuds are perfect for gaming, and like the HyperX Cloud and EPOS GTW270 hybrid earbuds, these earbuds are also compatible with the Nintendo Switch. These earbuds have good volume and feature a powerful frequency response. The in-ear form factor performs well when combined with Dolby Atmos for positional audio, elevated further by Turtle Beach’s gaming-oriented sound profiling, so in-game footsteps and enemy movements are easy to distinguish. It’s not as immersive as some of Turtle Beach’s bigger headsets, owing to the in-ear form factor, but is tactically sound. The design is enhanced by a detachable boom mic, something we’ve not seen in any of the other earbuds in this video. Making them perfect for online gaming with friends, and when you want to relax and listen to some music, the mic can be detached so it’s not in the way. When you’re ready to start gaming again, just reattach the mic and connect it to your PC, Xbox, or any device with 3.5mm and get busy. For comfort and security, the BattleBuds come with three different sizes of rubber tips, including a stabilizer hook designed to sit inside your ear to prevent them from rotating while using the boom mic. When it comes to gaming audio, these buds don’t disappoint. Play in FPS, and you’ll hear shots and footsteps where you need to, and you’ll enjoy the OSTs running in the background of your favorite RPG, heightening your overall immersion in the game, and really, that’s what matters. If you’re looking for gaming earbuds with audio tuned for tactical sound, the Turtle Beach Battle Buds are a solid choice, and the removable Boom Mic adds greater dimension for multiplayer gaming. Alright, guys, that’s all for now.
