If you’re a gamer, you definitely know how important audio quality is for your gaming sessions. Not only do they provide you with a better experience, but they also help improve your gaming skills by providing you with the needed audio signals that you get by playing with a team.
Today, you have a decision to make. Should you use gaming headsets or speakers for gaming? Well, both of them have their own pros and cons. Both are perfect for certain gamers that have specific gaming wants and needs for their gaming sessions. However, if you’re unsure which system to get, then you’re in luck!
We’re going to discuss both of their pros and cons to help you decide. We’ll also talk about which type of gamer would be best suited for a gaming headset or speaker. Now, let’s get into it!
Gaming Headsets
Gaming headsets are one of the most popular gaming equipment you’ll need. That said, many gamers prefer to use an external gaming headset as opposed to their PC’s internal speakers. However, if we’re talking about stereo speaker sound systems, then gaming headsets may be in for a fight. We’ll talk more about speakers, later on. So, before that, let’s discuss the pros and cons of using a gaming headset for your gaming sessions.
Pros of Using a Gaming Headset for Gaming
Pro 1: Noise Cancellation and Noise Isolation
One of the biggest pros of using a gaming headset is that they are able to filter out any unnecessary noise that can distract you from your gaming session. Gaming headsets can filter out noise in two ways, through noise cancellation or through noise isolation. Some gaming headsets can provide you with both.
So, what’s the difference between the two technologies? Well, noise cancellation is more of an electronic process wherein the headset actively filters out the noise. Meanwhile, noise isolation is more of a passive technology. It is something that “plugs” your ears to be able to block out sound, somewhat similar to earplugs. Most close-back headsets provide you with noise isolation. Whereas open-back headsets provide you with noise cancellation.
Having this technology in your headset helps enhance your gaming experience as it helps to block out noise that may distract you during your gaming sessions.
Pro 2: Small and Portable
Secondly, gaming headsets are small and portable, ready for you to bring anywhere you may want to game. Unlike speakers that are quite big and can take a lot of time to set up, gaming headsets are much easier to bring along and set up since they’re typically a plug-and-play type of device. You can easily bring them along when you travel, making it much easier for you to play games along the road or at a different place.
A wireless gaming headset is the best portable headset since you won’t have to deal with wires and all that. Just connect it to your system via Bluetooth, and you’re good to go.
If you’re unsure if you should get a wired or wireless gaming headset, you can check out our article about it here.
Pro 3: Great for Communication
There are numerous games that may require you to communicate with your team, like Fortnite, Valorant, Among Us, and many more. All these online multiplayer games will require you to communicate, and that can be a hassle if you use speakers.
Having a gaming headset with a microphone will make online multiplayer games so much easier. You’ll be able to talk to your team loud and clear, which helps to avoid miscommunication. Additionally, there are headsets that have noise canceling microphones, meaning, the headset can block out unnecessary noise.
Although you can buy an external microphone, that’ll add to the list of expenses you have to pay for.
Cons of Using a Gaming Headset for Gaming
Con 1: Can Become Uncomfortable
On the cons side of using a gaming headset is that wearing a gaming headset for a very long period of time may slowly become uncomfortable. If the gaming headset you have isn’t designed properly, it may become quite uncomfortable to wear as time passes. It may also cause your ears to overheat from the humidity or sweat, and if the headband isn’t properly padded, it may also begin to hurt the top of your head.
There are also headsets that are built a bit smaller or bigger. However, this is not always the case, so it would be best to check the sizing and the comfortability of the headset before you buy one.
Con 2: Expensive
Another con of gaming headsets is that most of the higher-quality headsets tend to be more expensive. Admittedly, premium gaming headsets offer a bigger advantage compared to the lower range of headsets. As some say, “Everything comes at a price,” which is definitely the case for gaming headsets.
To begin with, premium gaming headsets offer more comfort and better sound quality. But that is not to say that low to mid-range headsets are bad. They’re perfectly fine, especially if you’re on a budget. However, you do have to consider the factors that made them cheaper, such as lower quality materials and so on.
If you’re looking for a budget-friendly headset, then you may want to check out our article, “The Best Gaming Headsets Under $100.”
Speakers
Now that we’re done with gaming headsets, let’s talk about the pros and cons of using speakers for gaming.
Pros of Using Speakers for Gaming
Pro 1: True Surround Sound Experience
Using speakers for gaming will be able to give you the truest surround sound experience than any gaming headset will provide you. A surround sound speaker system will be able to give you the most “realistic” experience, especially if you have two of them on both sides of your ears. This kind of technology is able to surpass even the highest quality that a 7.1 surround sound headset is able to provide you.
Pro 2: Much More Comfortable
Another pro of speakers is that they’re much more comfortable since you won’t really have to wear them for a long period of time. Gaming headsets tend to be much heavier on the head because of their hardware and technology.
Cons of Using Speakers for Gaming
Con 1: Complicated to Set Up
The first con of using speakers is that it can be quite a bit complicated to set up at first. You may have to configure the speakers for your system and set them up to your preferences. However, once you do get it up and running, you won’t really have to reset it again, unless you remove it from your system or if you want to set it up in a new setup.
Con 2: May Not Be The Best for Multiplayer Games
Unlike gaming headsets that have microphones to allow you to talk to your team much more easily and clearly, speakers may not be able to offer you the same ease. Speakers are more for listening to audio instead of communication. So, using speakers may not really be ideal, especially if you play multiplayer games most of the time. However, as mentioned before, you can buy an external microphone so that you can communicate properly with your team.
If you don’t have the budget to buy both a speaker and an external microphone, then we highly recommend that you purchase a dedicated headset with a microphone instead. But if you want to get the true surround sound while also being able to communicate clearly with your team, then you can buy a speaker and microphone.
Con 3: Not as Portable
Speakers and soundbars are quite large, making them not as travel-friendly as you may want them to be. There are smaller speakers that you can bring along, however, they may not have the same technology and quality that a dedicated surround system may provide you.
If you travel often, then speakers may not be the ideal choice to take along with you on your travels. Well, that’s unless you want to be hassled by bringing your speakers, then that’s also fine. But you do have to take note that speakers are quite a hassle to set up. So, you might have a hard time bringing it along and a harder time setting it up.
But if you don’t bring your gaming system with you when you travel, then you’re totally fine.
Con 4: Does Not Block Out Background Noise
What’s great about gaming headsets is that they are able to block out background noise through noise cancellation or isolation technology. But with speakers, they don’t really have this feature.
You may get a true surround sound experience, but that experience may degrade since they are not able to filter out unnecessary noise. These external noises may or may not distract you from your gaming session, which may hinder you from getting the best gaming experience.
However, external noise may not be a huge factor if your gaming room is soundproof. That’s only if you do have a soundproof room as your gaming setup. But if you don’t, then you may have to deal with a lot of background noise, especially if you live with other people or if you live in a noisy area.
Con 5: Little to No Sound Privacy
Similar to the fourth con, speakers won’t give you any sound privacy, unless you have a soundproof room. In any case that you don’t have a soundproof gaming setup, then your games’ audio and just anything that comes out of your speakers can be heard by anyone, which is kind of embarrassing and distracting for other people as well.
But if you don’t live with anyone and can afford soundproofing, then good for you.
Final Verdict: Should You Use Gaming Headsets or Speakers?
So, as a gamer, between a gaming headset and speakers, which one should you use?
Use Gaming Headsets if:
If you’re a gamer who plays a lot of multiplayer games, then a gaming headset is what we highly recommend. This is because a gaming headset is the easiest way to have both quality audio and a microphone. A microphone is incredibly important for multiplayer games, so a speaker isn’t really ideal for it.
Gaming headsets are also very portable and easy to bring along, so if you travel a lot and want to play games on the go, then you should definitely get a gaming headset.
There are a lot of gaming headsets to choose from with different aesthetics to fit your gaming setup and different price ranges to fit your budget. We highly recommend Sennheiser gaming headsets as they have a variety of high-quality headsets with varying prices to choose from.
Use Speakers if:
Whereas, you should get speakers if you’re a gamer who has thick walls, a huge gaming room, and if you want to get that really realistic gaming experience. Speakers are also ideal for single-players as you won’t really need to use a microphone to communicate with other players.
Speakers are also an all-rounder device that you can use for many activities, such as watching, listening to music, and, of course, playing your favorite games. They’re also very comfortable, so you won’t have to worry about fatigue or overheating.
Speakers are also ideal for non-travelers since they’re quite heavy to bring along.
Final Thoughts
Both gaming headsets and speakers offer a whole lot of great features that every gamer will definitely enjoy. Both of them will enhance your gaming experience and make gaming much more enjoyable. So, it really just boils down to personal preference, your gaming requirements, and gaming wants.
So, to choose which of the two is better for gaming, you’ll have to consider the many factors that will contribute to your gaming experience.
We hope this article helped you to choose which sound system you should purchase for your gaming endeavors. If you want to check out more articles similar to this, then you can check out our blog, Techzumo.com, for more!
Happy gaming!
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