I made the mistake of believing some dumb guide online that recommended the Razer BlackShark v2 Pro for Linux. Literally the volume control is broken out of the box lol.
I just want a wireless headset. For listening to audio. And a mic. Don’t care for fancy features. Apparently too much to ask for a linux user.
What are y’all using and how is it working for you?
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I got a sennheiser something640 on special for almost half price. Definitely worth it. Most expensive I’ve ever bought and they were less than 200. Mic quality is great too
+1 sennheizer. Have to restart bt service once to create a pairing profile though.
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.
avoid anything “Gamer”
to be honest I’m looking for general purpose headset to also use for work, but looking for business headsets landed me in some crazy price ranges, so I’ve been looking for gaming headsets since. gonna look into HyperX, thanks!
It’s less about the concept of a game-centric headset and more about the brands that sell themselves as “We Are Gamers” with angular shapes and RGB out the ass. Steelseries, Razer, Alienware, Aorus, ROG… I’ve had many bad experiences both personally and professionally. The only one I didn’t end up regretting was Logitech G. The G502 mouse is a beast.
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).
Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. They’re excellent headphones, decent microphone. Comfy, long battery life. It’s the swap-able batteries dock station type. So they’re decently popular and this exists:
https://github.com/elegos/Linux-Arctis-Manager/
Edit: also has Bluetooth support. I use them with my phone too not just the 2.4Ghz Desktop dock.
these seem great but 300 bucks is… steep
Agreed, but you never specified price range :p
I consider these my upper limit but I think I can feasibly get over a decade of use out of this headset especially with the battery setup.
I got the $28 Nubwo headset and honestly have no complaints. Sound quality both in and out is decent. No connection issues. Has a mute button on the headset itself. Hasn’t degraded at all. Battery lasts months. It’s comfortable. The earcups breathe and don’t make my head all sweaty.
wow now that is CHEAP. gonna check these out, thx.
How is the bass quality in your experience? I do also listen to music and would like at least decent quality
I’m not really an audiophile. It sounds as good as my ATHM50x.
I have always used SteelSeries. It might not be the best (because it’s a gaming headset), but it has always worked on Linux and it’s Danish 😁
I’m using the cheapest wireless Hyper-X Cloud something for gaming and calls and watching stuff.
It worked immediately with no effort in Tumbleweed.
I’m running on Astro A50 - used to have it before Linux and reaaaaally liked the Gaming/Communication Hardware adjustable mix. Got it working after hacking some udev rules thanks to this gist.
Years later I am now aware of the above named arctix headset and would probably take this, since the new G-Suite for logitech headsets is shit on phone (phone bc not working on linux).
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.
Audio Technica M50X’s with a Fiio K5 Pro DAC/amp
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.
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
It’s not a wireless setup, but in case someone else is looking: Audio-Technia ath-m20x headphones driven by a Fosi Audio Q4 DAC (because your headphones will only sound as good as their source).
Sounds great for a ~$100 budget. And the DAC has worked right out of the box with no driver issues on the few (fedora based) distros I’ve tried.
Sony wh xm4. Remember that Bluetooth audio will suck if you are using vocal chat.
Sony xm4, yeah I know Sony is a shitty company but they are reliable and got then from a relative for cheap. It’s nice that you can use with jack and battery holds fairly much
I use the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3
I really like them. You can connect 2 different RF sources (USB dongle) as well as bluetooth and can even use RF + bluetooth simultaneously. This is great for example when gaming on my PS5 with them (using the USB dongle) while they’re also paired to my phone over bluetooth. Call comes in and I can answer directly (mic will switch over to BT) and hear both the game and the call at the same time. Hang up the call and the mic switches back to the RF source.
Anyway, I have one RF dongle in the PS5, the other RF dongle in my gaming desktop, and bluetooth connections to both my Linux laptop and my phone, so I can use any or all of them with the same set of headphones without changing anything.
I want to first say that if it was 2005, hi-fi was expensive. Today hi-fi is cheap and you quickly run into diminishing returns at like ~$300 for around ear headphones but IEMs are cost effective and you get good quality starting at like $20. The gist of the history is that ChiFi changed the whole audio market for quality at affordable prices
Any bluetooth headset will work from what I’ve tried. You don’t have to spend a lot. You can use the Anker brand Soundcore bluetooth noise cancelling headsets
https://www.amazon.com/Soundcore-Cancelling-Headphones-Comfortable-Bluetooth/dp/B08HMWZBXC
https://www.amazon.com/Soundcore-Adaptive-Active-Cancelling-Headphones/dp/B0B5VHRX7F
Not sure if anything beats the Q30 at its price point but bumping up to the Q45 is an increase in build quality so even though my Q30 are multiple years old, I’ve heard from others who are more abusive of their gear it breaking. You can also use wireless TWS earphones. Like I have moondrop and earfun brand TWS (category of earphones that Airpods are). They’re cheap and are adequate at low prices though you can jump to the higher priced ones they have and get better mic quality. Examples such as
https://www.amazon.com/EarFun-Canceling-Snapdragon-Bluetooth-Detection/dp/B0D5M9SH1X
https://www.amazon.com/Moondrop-Space-Travel-Noise-Canceling-Low-Latency/dp/B0FGDBP2ZZ
The IEM market is insanely competitive. You can google best IEM’s for $30 and see dozens of brands you’ve never heard of but if you aren’t deep in the placebo, you’ll probably find any of them pretty good
This is linux_gaming, any recommendation of Bluetooth headsets needs to account for latency. There’s huge variance between models and the headset is only half of the equation, the transmitting Bluetooth device can have a big impact on the latency too.
