- HyperX Cloud III Wireless
- Steelseries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless
- Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless – Xbox
- Logitech Astro A50
In summary
The HyperX Cloud III Wireless is a wireless, multiplatform gaming headset. With its own wireless dongle you can connect it to any console and PC, except Xbox systems. The headset is ideally suited to games in which the direction of sounds is important, such as shooters. You can be heard clearly thanks to the removable boom mic. The headset also excels in wireless range and battery life. It is less suitable for music and media, because the sound sounds a bit messier in those applications.
In summary
The Steelseries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless is a wireless gaming headset that you can connect to any console and PC with the included dongle. You can also connect a telephone via Bluetooth at the same time. The headset has a nice sound, both when playing games and listening to music. The microphone transmits your voice loud and clear to your gaming buddies, even when you play in a noisy environment. The wearing comfort is good, although the headset does not sit very firmly on your head.
In summary
The Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is a luxurious wireless gaming headset with active noise cancellation, to which you can connect several gaming systems simultaneously. The headset supports all current consoles and the PC. The separate connection box communicates with the headphones via a wireless 2.4GHz connection. The sound is fine in every scenario, but not much better than that of cheaper gaming headsets without their own connection box. The included extra battery is special. You can charge this in the connection box and quickly exchange it with the battery in the headphones, so that you never run out of power.
In summary
The Logitech Astro A50 X is a very luxurious wireless gaming headset that you place between your game consoles and TV. You can connect up to three (game) computers to the charging station at the same time, with all current consoles supported. You can switch sources with a button on the headset. The sound is excellent, with warm bass, but also great placement of footsteps, gunshots and other game sounds. The microphone makes your voice sound very clear, but the volume could have been a bit higher. Given the hefty price, we think it is a shame that the headset does not have active noise cancellation.
There are wireless headsets for every game console. Handy if you don’t want to keep anyone awake during nighttime gaming sessions or if you play games where communication with team members is important. However, many of those headsets are console-specific or only work in combination with a limited number of systems. That doesn’t apply to the platform-agnostic gaming headphones in this round-up; They can all be used with different and often even all current consoles, PCs, tablets and smartphones.
For this round-up we took a closer look at four headsets: the HyperX Cloud III Wireless, the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless, the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless – Xbox and the Logitech Astro A50 extendable or fold-out boom mic. And for wireless communication between transmitter and headphones, they all use their own 2.4GHz signal without noticeable latency during gaming. But otherwise they are quite different from each other.
For example, two connect via a USB dongle, one uses a box with USB inputs and the fourth has a base station with two HDMI and three USB inputs, which you can switch between with a button on the headset. The prices also vary considerably. The HyperX Cloud III Wireless starts at 132 euros, the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless at 169 euros, the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless at 318 euros and the Logitech Astro A50 X at 399 euros.
The last two in particular are expensive and the big question is of course whether that large price difference will pay for itself in the form of better sound quality and greater ease of use. We will first discuss the four headsets individually on the coming pages, from the cheapest to the most expensive, and then discuss the wearing comfort, battery life and audio and chat performance in groups.
