What headsets are linux gamers using? : linux

[-] Horsey@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

If you need a good wireless headset that can do audio and microphone at the same time, you’re forced to get a WiFi (2.4Ghz) dongle enabled headset, or get an aftermarket dongle. Bluetooth cannot support high quality audio and microphone use at the same time due to the intrinsic limitations of Bluetooth (which may change in the future)

[-] PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 day ago

yeah plus I hate the UX of bluetooth, the pairing and auto-connecting to other devices is annoying

[-] craigers@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

I've also been on the search for the perfect headset. I have 3 requirements :

I want two independent output devices to show up natively without software, 1 for main output and 1 for voice chat output
I want on the fly mixing between the 2 outputs, preferably without additonal software, with a physical knob
I want good sidetone, preferably with volume knob

Checking all these boxes has been near impossible. I currently have an older steel series arctis and it does it. Newer models tho and almost every OEM out there has some shit software that's windows only. Newer steel series for instance only has the chat mix as a virtual output in software. I know I can achieve similar with Pipewire. The only headset I found that was close was the audeze gaming headset but the sidetone was awful, static and crackle.

If someone has a rec that can check all those boxes for me let me know.

[-] ne0phyte@feddit.org 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I know you specifically want a hardware solution, but if you use pipewire I have something for you that took forever to figure out from the docs and does just what you want with a single static config file: https://pastebin.com/XigrzvfD

Put this in ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/10-virtual-sinks.conf and restart pipewire once. It is safe to try this. Once you remove the file and restart pipewire everything is back to normal.

This creates virtual output devices that you can assign applications to and control with e.g. pavucontrol. It's mapped to use my specific output devices, if you uncomment the lines and remove the node name expressions then all USB/PCIe devices are used.

It creates a setup of: virtual:[Games, Media, Comms] -> virtual:Main -> virtual:All Physical Outputs -> [output devices]

I wanted all audio to always play on all devices. You can of course adapt it to your use case. In my case the virtual Main is my global mute for everything. I never touch volumes or mute of the actual output devices.

I have the volume of these output nodes mapped to physical knobs to control games/voice/media independently globally.

EDIT: To control the nodes I use this script: https://pastebin.com/pANNDvup

Mute toggle: volume.sh set-mute virtual:Games toggle

Volume: volume.sh set-volume virtual:Games %d

You will have to adapt that slightly as I use it with OpenDeck and a stream deck clone for control. OpenDeck outputs [-]10 but wpctl needs 10-/10+. There is currently no way to set an absolute volume with that script since I didn't have the need.

[-] craigers@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

This is dope thanks man. I knew I could do it with Pipewire virtual devices, just hadn't fully researched it yet. I been using the StreamController app for my elgato deck. It's been solid, I'm wondering if I can adapt this to their knobs or I should look at open deck.

[-] arcine@jlai.lu 4 points 2 days ago

Corsair Virtuoso XT ! Best microphone on a wireless headset I've ever heard !

Remember to use JamesDSP and make a profile with the proper AutoEQ data no matter which headset you buy ! Makes it sound instantly much better and less muddled. I can't live without it x)

[-] PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 days ago

Ohh I've been using Easy Effects for a quick bass boost but James DSP looks much more advanced!

[-] Eyck_of_denesle@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 days ago

Bookmark worthy thread. Really good info here.

[-] PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 days ago

For real. I was hoping for like a handful of responses, and I got a plethora hahah

[-] SCmSTR 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

why wireless?
what budget?
music?

3a) what genres are your favorites?

3b) what genres you don't listen to?

how old are you
environment?
what games are your favorites in the past?

6a) what games are your favorites now?

6b) what games are you looking forwards to?

[-] SoulKaribou@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

Do you mind if I hijack, asking for a friend

Wired please
200 USD max
Oh yeah 3.1 thrash metal, reggae, electro, rap, 60s 3.2 classic, pop, rock
42 !
Home, but quite noisy near the road
Apex Legend, cyberpunk 2077, baldurs gate, civilisation... 6.1 Gloomheaven, door kickers 6.2 Stray, Deadlock

[-] SCmSTR 2 points 2 days ago

Are you just looking for headphones, or do you need a mic on it, too? Because you get get away with a pair of sony mdr-7506's and a modmic for that. I generally think a boom arm and a real mic is better than 2-in-1 headsets in a lot of cases, but I also recognize the utility that committing to a microphone attached brings to the table. Those headphones are 80-90 bucks msrp, but everything's been going up in price so ymmv. And if you attach a modmic to them, your options, value, and repairability open way up. Those headphones are great all rounders and punch way above their weight, don't require an amp to get 90% of the oomph from them, but still have options later down the line if you so choose. And they're closed back.

IF you want open back, buy a pair of massdrop 6xx for 200$. Those have even higher value:price ratio. But those generally do require an amp to open up. Not a great amp, but an extra 200$ to step into a schiit stack would be minimum imo. I've bought too many little dac+amp combos and I just don't like them; the initial value is by far higher, but there's no upgrade path, they're usually shitty and don't have the wattage to drive authoritatively, and are aimed at basically kids and are questionably robust at best. Keep in mind, this option is both more expensive and doesn't net you a mic - but, it is a proper path if you want great quality stuff that you won't buy and soon after consider regretting. The sony mdr 7506 is great, but it is a cheap pair of headphones.

Friendly neighbor headphones that you might want to take a look at are the audio technica m40x. I don't like beyerdynamic because they have pretty high distortion. Counter strike players like them because they're bright as shit to hear footsteps, but I got that you like listening to music more and play rpgs; Deadlock is still too much of a wildcard at this point.

Also, Stray was really good but relatively short with basically no replayability.

[-] SoulKaribou@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

Thanks for the detailed answer ! I think close back would be better to block the surrounding noise. I'll take a look at your suggestions, and I understand the need of an extra amp, but that might be over budget. Thanks again for your answer, it helps me choose

[-] SCmSTR 2 points 2 days ago

I own several pairs of much nicer headphones and have used many different headphones and amps for all kinds of different purposes and genres and sources of music and audio and stuff. I daily drive those sony's (with software eq) directly out from my interface headphone monitor out, and it's more than fine. I really like the audeze tech and what they output, but for whatever reason, these relatively cheaper 7506's just... They hit that midground for me where I have zero guilt using them and leaving them out and all that, and also like the sound signature. Nothing about them is perfect and nothing about them is deeply flawed. Honestly, the closest things I can come up with to be serious flaws are that their earcups aren't very big or deep, and that they have about an inch of (tiny) very exposed wires on either side that run from the band to the actual earcup, but somehow they never seem to fail.

I use SoundID Reference (software eq program in Windows) to eq them, but you can easily use an oratory1990 eq preset https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/ on whatever eq might be available on Linux. EQ isn't perfect and doesn't really solve problems, but it can make appreciable and remarkable differences.

Actually, and this question is to anybody who might know: is there a good Equalizer APO equivalent (with a good gui) on Linux?

[-] SoulKaribou@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

May I further ask what's your take on in ear monitors ?

The main advantage to me is that they wouldn't compress my glasses against my skull so much. I currently have Razer Nari (no, not on the head please !) and they compress my glasses so much that my skull is kind of curved in now at these points.

[-] SCmSTR 2 points 1 day ago

IEMs? Are we talking just earbuds or full-on custom ear canal casts?

First off, stop buying Razer products, at all, full stop. Razer is a hella sexist misogynist company.

Secondly, Razer is known and only got famous for making high performance gaming mice, particularly their optical sensors and mouse-click switches (yes, I know they had a ball mouse but that's not what really made them famous/big/successful). Everything else on top of that is literally just branded garbage, ESPECIALLY their shitty headphones.

Headphone clamp pressure really is a thing, and ranges from too low all the way to too high. I wish I could answer all these questions and infodump at you in person, because there's really a lot to go over on this subject.

So, broadly, there are some big categories of headphones in this context: on-ear vs over-ear, and closed-back vs open-back.

In general, on-ear is cheap crap, just skip that design entirely. It's bad, cheap, uncomfortable, and inferior. It's marketed as compact and trendy, but in reality it's just cheaper to manufacture and has higher margins. I'm sorry Grado and fans. It's just kind of a weird, outdated design. Instead of the part of the earcups that actually touch you being wider and sitting/touching you actually on your skull AROUND your ear, they sit directly on the ear.

Over-ear, in comparison, doesn't (shouldn't) compress the actual ear and just covers your ear.

Then you have the next two: closed or open. This is where shit starts to get a little more complex to fully explain. I'm inclined to start by explaining how sound is vibrations in the air and how the cochlea works and psychoacoustics and all that, but to keep this not monstrously long and overly complex, just know that with speakers, you're hearing a lot of the actual room, as well as the speaker itself. And so with headphones, you don't hear a room, since the headphone is basically directly on your ear and is very close to directly transducing air motion into your ear canal.

Except... That there is a room. Or, more precisely, an acoustic space that matters. The shapes of both your ear and your ear canal, the resonances (along with a ton of other stuff) of those spaces and materials all matter! Think about how much you notice something seemingly so small as even your fingertips lightly touching your headphones when they're on your head - the scale of things that matter has shrunk, and seemingly small differences are QUITE noticeable.

So, for closed-back vs open-back, the physical difference is that, literally, the back of the headphone, behind the cone/driver is either a closed space or open to the room/space that you're in. It's very much like if you hold your cupped hand and cover your ear. In both types of headphones, you obviously have a headphone housing and some sort of driver covering your ear, but with open-backed headphones, the opposing side to your ear is open.

Why does this matter? Well, because the headphone driver is essentially acting as an electric pump that's going back and forth really fucking fast, doing its best to recreate recorded or synthesized sound. It's transducing (like alchemy) alternating current into air vibrations, and thus sounds. Electric motors do the same thing, but instead of with the goal being air vibrations, the goal is the kinetic motion itself, usually with the purpose of controlled, powerful rotation. Speakers and headphones (and in reverse order, microphones!) are just electric motors.

Sorry, tangent!

Okay, so, now we know what the driver in the headphone is doing. But, now you have to account for getting that air pressure into the ear canal to affect the cochlea so that you can hear it!

And as most of us can intuit, air pressure that relatively small can diffuse quite easily, and does. So the first idea would be to basically run a sealed pipe or tube directly into the ear. But have to ever actually listened to a tube? Of course you have! That's what brass instruments like trumpets and wind instruments like clarinets are! And then the obvious issue with that is, tubes have a sound all their own, and we don't want everything to sound like it's coming through a tube, we want it to sound natural, like the listener hears natural, unrecorded sound.

IEMs attempt this. If you shove the driver wayyyy into your ear, you attempt to eliminate as many variables as you can. Generally, IEMs for performance also are Isolating, meaning they are designed to isolate the intended signal (the music coming out of them) from whatever sounds are happening in real life, usually an audience and all kinds of noise. And they generally do a great job.

The issue with IEMs, however, are many. Right off the bat, they are relatively expensive because they're hard to make. The expensive nice ones literally involve somebody CASTING YOUR EAR CANAL. Yes, this is as unpleasant as it sounds, no pun intended. Also, as the IEM name implies: they are monitors and generally not optimal for enjoyment listening. Each time you put them on or take them off, your ear canal is getting clapped and soaked by a very deep plug. Some people like this, but I suppose ymmv.

Also, now that you've stuck the driver way in to the side of your head, you've bypassed a good part of your ear canal, but the entire external part of your ear. And if you remember, tubes have sound; your own unique ears and ear canals have unique acoustic sounds that you subtly but definitely use to hear space and identify sounds. IEMs do not sound perfectly natural. This isn't the end of the world, but it is an effect inherent to the design.

Earbuds (the less deep, more consumery - less professionally versions, cheaper, and thus not really IEM (In Ear Monitors)), avoid some of these issues, but have all their own issues... From cost, to wireless security, to lifespans due to unreplaceable batteries, to cost efficiencies because you're now buying radios and software and support and tiny batteries and durable comfortable plastics that touch the insides of your ears, etc. They're undeniably convenient, but several times more expensive AND non-durable and basically disposable.

So, what does all of this have to do with open-backed and close-backed headphones, and why did I feel the need to tangent on it, especially when I'm trying to make this not monstrously long?

Yes, I'm doing my best to keep this short? But in order to explain all of this and not make assumptions on what you and whoever reads this might know, certain topics and definitions have to be at least conceptualized.

Open-back headphones generally attempt to bring you both your own ear canal and your own external ear, and do it all in a way that is balanced and robust. Sound reproduction is by no means a solved cluster of technology or principles in much the same way that visual display technologies isn't.

In sound and physics, there is a principle called the "proximity effect". It affects speakers, headphones, microphones, and normal real sounds, such as talking. Put very simply, the closer something is, the more bass it has. This has to do with the way energy is diffused, but in-context you can observe it by playing some music on your headphones and them lifting them off of your ears. You will still hear the treble/higher frequencies, but the bass will get quieter more than the treble will get quieter.

Oversimplifying, it's because the air is leaking out. With speakers, it's why small speakers generally sound small, and why big speakers sound big. So, for headphones, small drivers need to be close and have a air-sealed space (I'm sorry, I'm accelerating here because I have to wrap this up somehow), or you can create big drivers for headphones and just control for distance to be consistent.

So closed back, you'll get more bass but it'll be less accurate and less natural but the headphones will basically require them to be sealed to your head (stickier/wetter feeling earpads and more clamping force) and the drivers will be closer.

And open back will be bigger drivers with more velvet-like earcups.

Generally. None of this is hard rule, but that's an idea of the concepts and limits.

Some open back headphones (such as the Sennheiser hd-598, which i think is out of production and has been replaced several times over by its successor the hd-599) have such low clamping force that people complain they don't stay on your head. The 599 isn't as much like this, but because of the larger earcups (and deeper! For more ear space) and the soft velvety earpads (not pleather coated), it's a WAY more comfortable experience.

I cannot express how pissed I am at Razer (I've preferred their mice since like 2001) for making such shitty headphones and how much they sell them for. You're being had. Paying more for a worse experience.

If you're 42, depending on your hobbies, you should save up and invest in a $200-500 pair of open backs, get a dac and an amp and spend like 200-400, and have a much nicer experience while playing games and not have your shit break on you. It's not a small amount of money and I don't know your financial or life situation. But going off your games and music you like, I've made some inferences and can tell you this is the pricepoint to save up and try to hit for yourself. It's the happy medium point.

Resources for research are the headphones subreddit (fuck spez), headfi, the now retired Tyll Hertsens (that's his name) and his gone-website but still existing old videos on YouTube innerfidelity, Zeos from his yt channel and subreddit zreviews (he's uhh.. well... you'll see). There's a market of hype and elitism in this hobby/field, be ready. If your budget is actually only ever this exact 200, there's really only a few great options for you, the sony mdr 7506 is (still) very much a go-to, but not perfect for anybody. It is, however, a robust tried and true actual studio monitor headphones from the 1990s that's stil in use

[-] SCmSTR 1 points 1 day ago

I maxed out the length haha. But seeing as we're several comment levels deep already, i doubt anybody's going to read this far. If you have any questions now or forever, don't be afraid to message me or add to this comment chain, and I'll answer them if i can. I'm curious what you end up going with and why.

[-] Luffy879@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Sennheiser HD 280 pro

Main difference beetween that and most other monitoring stuff is the plastic build, but it.only costs like 80€ vs 120-150€, and it has lower impedance if you don't want a separate audio setup for it or want to buy it later

[-] Muffi@programming.dev 2 points 2 days ago

This is by far the best headset you can get for that amount of money. Easily repaired, great sound quality, sturdy build. Love this model. I have had mine for almost a decade now.

[-] yaroto98@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

So, I have 4 kids, and they're not very considerate with my tech. They don't actively throw or destroy anything, but they do frequently drop stuff.

https://a.co/d/0fmpfb36

It's no audiophile's wet dream, but they're not bad for $25. The audio lag is minimal, sound quality is better than expected, and they're pretty light and comfortable for long gaming sessions.

[-] FierroG@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

I Have a hyperx cloud flight (the first ones), very light, in arch based distros the range is pretty big (in mint and pop, for whatever reason, the range is abysmal), they work with no caveats on linux (though no battery report, there's a script or two floating on the internet to have it with no hassle). I'm sure there are better options these days (better battery and sound quality), but these are the ones I have experience with.

They're not my first choice in audio, but they did so much for me when I had my kid, you can drop in and out of your pc without needing to remove your headphones, they don't block much so you can even listen to the baby crying if you're at a low volume (or you can just have one ear out), you can hang out in calls while holding the bb, etc.

For any new parents out there, can't tell you how much they did for me, in particular the combination of

being for PC (no latency, being able to get in and out of your gaming sessions or whatever you do without even having to take them off)
having a decent quality microphone next to your mouth (you don't need to raise your voice and can be heard easily despite background noise, good signal to noise ratio)
not being that good at blocking sound, this is crucial when you can't compromise your full attention but can have most of it.
being light weight (I know there are some wireless headphones that are bulky and not that light).

[-] Coleslaw4145@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

I have a Logitech G533 headset that I've owned for close to ten years now and I've never had any issues with it in Linux. The USB dongle just plugs in and it works.

[-] Psythik@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Don't buy a wireless headset if you care about things like accurate audio positioning, sound quality, and latency. Get a good pair of over ear headphones and use a good condenser mic along with it (like what YouTubers and streamers use). If you don't care about mic quality (or just don't want a big bulky mic), they sell mics that can attach to your headphones.

For most people on a $20-500 budget (so 99% of people), I recommend the Superlux HD681-AIR. The build quality is poor but it makes up for it in every other department.

It has a mostly flat frequency response curve. There is some siblance in the highs—but it can be EQed out—or remedied with a piece of foam to muffle the sound a bit.

The bass is deep and full without being muddy, and extends to around ~10hz, which is incredibly impressive for semi-open back headphones.

Speaking of which, the semi-open back configuration gives you a wide, realistic soundstage and great imaging, which helps with pinpointing where sounds are coming from. If you want realistic 3D audio for things like movies, games, and music, it's hard to find a headphone under $300 that can accurately activate your pinna just right (which is what you want if you want your audio to sound like it's coming from all around you rather than inside your head). The Superlux cans are only $25. You cannot get better sound quality at this price point. The HD681-AIR gives you audiophile-quality sound for entry-level prices.

Like I said, the only catch is the build quality of the headphones themselves. All plastic and feels very cheap, but none of that matters the moment you put them on and hear how amazing they sound (no joke, you have to step up to the $500+ price point to get better audio from a pair of headphones). Get a nice pair of velour earpads to replace the sub-par stock leather ones, and then beat the crap out of them until you break them. Then buy another pair.

[-] JTskulk@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

I love my Steelseries Arctis 7. It doesn't need any software to configure at all, works out of the box in Linux. Has a nice hardware mixer right on the headphone so you can lower game sounds to hear voice chat better and vice versa.

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[-] _Nico198X_@piefed.europe.pub 25 points 4 days ago

Razer anything is terrible for Linux. avoid in the future.

[-] BurntWits@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

Are there any companies that are especially friendly towards Linux? I’m not looking to buy anytime soon but I’d be curious to know.

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[-] Horsey@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

My Sony XM3 headset works really well

[-] rustyricotta@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 days ago

Are you using the mic on that as well? When I use the mic + audio, the audio quality suffers a lot. I've attached a mod mic to mine and got the best of both worlds.

[-] Horsey@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Quality-wise, the mic on that headset is bad, but it’s not the fault of Linux.

[-] rustyricotta@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 days ago

Yes, same problem on windows. Using headset mode (audio + mic) changes the headphone audio to shit on top of the mic sucking. So to all reading this, it's not good as a headset. Just as headphones, it's fantastic.

[-] frog_brawler@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Ewww, I mute people that talk. Wtf.

[-] PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 days ago

Even if they tell you cool dinosaur facts? :3

[-] morbidcactus@lemmy.ca 15 points 4 days ago

Are you married to the idea of wireless? The old suggestion of decent headphones and a mic are imo the best way to do things. I've got an old blue yeti I use when I need a mic, but been considering getting a modmic to attach to my headphones. I ran with a pair of Beyerdynamic DT-880s for over a decade as my daily drivers with a FiiO DAC/amp combo, use a k5 pro now with some DT 1990s and found that to be a great combo.

[-] PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 3 days ago

I kinda am yeah :P I also want to use it for work, and I can't sit still so I am always getting up. I wanna be able to participate in a call while I'm in the kitchen for example :P

[-] Jessica@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 3 days ago

I hope you aren't playing any competitive games because wireless introduces extra latency and makes you play worse

[-] PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 days ago

Naw, and all the competitive games I've played in the past, trust me audio was not the bottleneck for my skill lol

[-] FierroG@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Are there dedicated desktop wireless headsets with noticeable latency? My shitty hyperx cloud flight have no noticeable latency and I even played around with some audio settings (on linux, windows audio drivers are very limited) and got it to the point where I could use them to monitor my usb mic in real time (which, for anyone who knows, is a very latency sensitive use case).

Afaik the latency thing is a problem with bluetooth.

[-] parzival@lemmy.org 1 points 2 days ago

I use a shitty broken Razer barracuda x, and some Sony when I want music

[-] Gelik@feddit.dk 4 points 3 days ago

steel series arctis nova 7, working great

[-] Bluefruit@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

I have never liked headsets. I wear glasses so over the ear headsets aren't comfortable for me. Not to mention, headsets are often overpriced and dont sound as good as a dedicated mic with headphones IMO, but I also make music so audio is a bit more important to me. I also just like having separate devices so that if something breaks, I don't have to throw out a whole device.

xlr mic paired with audio interface and whatever flavor of headphones you want is my go to.

I use a mxl 770 mic with a focusrite 2i2 interface and I use shure se215-K in ear monitors for headphones. I also use this setup for making music or for talking with friends over discord.

Focusrite works great on Linux on I haven't had any issues with this setup. This is a more expensive upfront but I haven't bought a new mic or headphones in years so I think it works out to be more cost effective over time.

For a wireless setup, if you're OK with your mic being wired, you could get a decent USB mic and pair that with a pair of wireless headphones.

[-] rtxn@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I used to own a HyperX Cloud Flight. It's the best wireless headset I've ever tried. It comes with a USB dongle, no Bluetooth. Worked out of the box on Arch. I bought mine before HP infested HyperX, but my sister uses a post-buyout one and she says it's perfect.

Pros:

Audio quality is great for fun (games and films), decent for music and critical listening. The frequency response has a common V shape, but the bass doesn't blow out the top ends (eat a dick, Raycon).
Eight-hour battery life, can be used while charge cable is connected.
Aux input that bypasses the internal DAC.
Signal can penetrate several solid brick walls.
Comfortable even on my melon head.
Mic is detachable. Quality is as good as an Aussie wanker can expect.

Cons:

Micro-USB charger port.
Volume control is a click wheel that sends volume up/down keystrokes to the PC. I had to remove it from mine because it wore out and would "bounce" and send several keystrokes every time I touched it.
The earpads are covered in shitty leatherette that will fall off in a few months.

In general, avoid anything "Gamer". You're paying for the brand, not the quality. Even the cheapest "audiophile" headphones are better.

Wireless headsets will always be limited by their internal DAC. Another option is to get a decent wired headset and a dedicated wireless DAC. I currently use a modded Beyerdynamic DT770 and an AKG K-240, and if I need them to be wireless, I clip a Fiio BTR5 to the headstrap and connect it with a short cable.

[-] Lets_Disco@retrolemmy.com 2 points 3 days ago

I can second Hyper X for Linux. Using the USB dongle is perfect for wireless, as I dont like having Bluetooth enabled all the time. I only enable it when using my controller on my laptop. Headphones are great and not crazy expensive. I just wanted headphones that worked and they do exactly that.

Haven't had a single issue with my Hyper X Stinger headset across the distros I've tried (PopOS, Nobara, Cachy, Endeavor).

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[-] the_swagmaster@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 days ago

I got a pair of Fractal Scapes. The software to modify them is just a website so it's easy to EQ them on Linux (I run bazzite). The EQ profiles are also saved locally so once it's set you never have to look at the website again. The works dick worked straight away and volume control+ play/pause work massively on Linux which is great

[-] craigers@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

No chat mix is what kills it for me. I'm spoiled with independent volume control between chat and game output. If I can find a solution for this it would open up a world of headsets for me. Steelseries used to do it on headset, now you need their shitty app on newer sets.

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[-] cecilkorik@piefed.ca 9 points 4 days ago

Razer is awful, they are about as proprietary as it is possible for a consumer electronics company to reasonably be. Avoid them at all costs.

Logitech is generally a better choice when available.

Steelseries, although I don't generally love their build quality, has worked well on Linux for me. I can't speak for their cheaper headsets but I specifically am using a Steelseries Arctis Pro Wireless in Bluetooth mode with a magnetic-tip USB cable for charging (leaving the Micro-USB tip in the headphones at all times, because fuck Micro-USB).

I assume the non-Bluetooth USB dongle works fine as well but I'm too lazy to use it and have probably lost it somewhere along the way so I can't personally confirm that. Bluetooth is my jam though.

[-] SlurpingPus@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

If you like music, you might want to check your selected model(s) on the AutoEQ site for how close they are to the ideal response. I've had some headphones that had way too loud high frequences.

Anything from Sennheiser or Audio-Technica should be great, but their Bluetooth stuff is pricey.

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