Whether you like to play competitive shooters, blockbuster adventures, cosy indie games, or all of the above, to truly make the most of your games, you need a great audio setup. Gaming headsets are ubiquitous these days and especially during peak shopping season, it can be difficult to know which of the many options you should go for.
Of course, gaming headsets don’t have to be used exclusively for gaming. Find one with good quality and a sleek form factor and you can comfortably use them for all your audio needs, whether playing at your PC or on-the-go, gaming or just listening to music on your phone.
If you’re looking for a headset with a wide range of features at a reasonable price point, it’s worth considering EKSA. EKSA specialises in wireless gaming headsets both for use at home or when out and about, and after putting a couple of its headsets to the test in various games on console, smartphone, and PC, it may give some of the more recognisable brands a run for their money.
There are two devices that are worth checking out depending on how you play your games:
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EKSA GT1 Cobra
In-ear headphones are becoming more popular with the rise in smartphone and cloud gaming, and the EKSA GT1 Cobra stands out with a tonne of useful features that keep you immersed, even when travelling. The first thing to note is its hassle-free auto-pairing that makes connecting them to your device painless, taking mere seconds.
These connect via Bluetooth 5.0, which isn’t quite as snappy or impervious to interruption as the proprietary 2.4GHz or 5.8GHz dongles you get with headsets, but it means it’ll pair with just about anything, whether that’s a Nintendo Switch, smartphone, laptop, or compatible PC (you can get USB dongles pretty cheap nowadays). Connect it to a device that also sports Bluetooth 5.0 or later, and it cuts the latency down to a respectable 38ms, which is useful when listening out for the footsteps of approaching soldiers in Call of Duty Mobile.
GT1 Cobra TWS gaming earbuds EKSA GT1 Cobra gaming earbuds $78.90 $45.99 View Network N earns affiliate commission from qualifying sales.
Switching from gaming to music? Simply press in the earpiece to switch from Game Mode to Music Mode to enjoy pounding bass and deep stereo sound. Tap once to pause your music to answer a call, and tap twice to skip to the next track. This function is especially useful when you’re out and about, making it so that you don’t have to fumble around in your pocket to find your phone.
At a full charge, the GT1 offers six hours of uninterrupted playback. Pop them back in the stylish charging case and you’ll be able to get 30 hours of audio from them.
We primarily tested the GT1 with a smartphone and found the audio quality and noise cancelling work wonderfully together when listening to music and podcasts. In a noisy gym environment we had no problem watching shows on Netflix without being disturbed by our surroundings or raising the volume to uncomfortable levels.
When it comes to gaming, the GT1 also performs admirably. In League of Legends: Wild Rift, our spells are given an impressive weight by the full and bassy sound produced by the headset. For its price, the GT1 is a great option for gamers on the go.
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EKSA E910
If you prefer to wrap your ears with a gaming headset, the EKSA E910 is quicker than the GT1 Cobra with next to no tangible latency. In fact, it’s zippier than most gaming headsets with its unique 5.8GHz connection, which lets you hear the blasts of an auto rifle or the rev of a supercar’s engine with no delays.
A key requirement for any gaming session is crystal clear communication, and the EKSA E910 provides just that with a retractable unidirectional microphone. Its call noise cancelling means you don’t have to worry about any pesky background noise interfering with your team comms. Environmental noise cancellation employs a dual-mic noise cancelling algorithm to filter out up to 90% of negative environmental noise, so if you’re the teammate who’s always getting yelled at to mute their mic, this headset could be the one for you. If you want to play solo, or just enjoy a movie or listen to music, you can slide the microphone arm back inside the casing when you’re finished with it.
We tested the EKSA E910 while playing Halo Infinite multiplayer and found it ticked all the boxes for our audio needs. The sound quality was apparent as soon as we booted the game and the iconic Halo theme drifted into our ears. Once we got into a game, we were impressed by how clearly we could hear the crack of the battle rifle or the blast of a grenade.
GT1 Cobra TWS gaming earbuds EKSA GT1 Cobra gaming earbuds $119.90 $89.99 View Network N earns affiliate commission from qualifying sales.
Virtual 7.1 surround sound can be divisive in multiplayer games, but the E910’s aural positioning helps identify the location of foes running up from behind, which has saved our skin on more than one occasion. Moving over to Forza Horizon 5, the E910’s tonal separation lets us appreciate the realism of car sounds and the clarity of the spoken dialogue over the thumping music and sound effects.
Much like the GT1 headset, the E910 comes with multiple modes. Hit a button on the headset and it’ll switch to stereo mode, which is optimal for listening to music or working with games that don’t play well with surround sound.
If you’re looking for a headset that can perform multiple functions on a budget, either one of these EKSA headsets is worth a closer look. To learn more about EKSA, see its full range and purchase a headset of your own by heading over to the official website. Better yet, you can save 15% on everything EKSA by popping in the discount code PCGamesN15 at the checkout.