Confused on Steam Play and Proton? Be sure to check out our guide.
Gaming headsets on Linux
Ehvis Dec 19, 2016
I asked this on IRC before, but it would be better archived here.

Which gaming head sets are good for using on Linux? A short word on quality and comfort would be nice, but the most important thing is how well they work on Linux.
Guppy Dec 20, 2016
I've yet to see a single headset that is platform dependent?


But unless you are dead set on a mic+headphone combo I would seriously consider getting a decent cardioid mic and a good pair of headphones, as the combos tends to have so-so audio quality and really shitty mics.

It's a very wide marked tho so with no indication on what your looking for (sound quality, price, open/closedback, ANC, etc) it's impossible to give specific recommendations.

So here are a few my favories ( criteria being sound quality and comfort = over ear ) in no particular order:

* Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO ( openback, needs a preamp as they are 250 ohm)
* Beyerdynamic DT 770
* Audio Technica ATH-M50 X
* Bose QC 25 ( the noise canceling isn't absolute, but it does remove all bass noise and with a bit of quiet music you wont hear anything )

Again mic recommendations depends entirely on what you will be using it for - these will serve you well even if you plan on doing pod casts/voice over ( again in no particuklare order );

* AT-2020+ ( make sure it's the "+" version as it has monitor out which can *Very* usefull, sadly I got mine before they added that :( )
* Samsung meteor
* Snowball
* Yeti
Ehvis Dec 20, 2016
Quoting: GuppyI've yet to see a single headset that is platform dependent?

That is mostly for the USB head sets which effectively act as USB sound cards.
Guppy Dec 20, 2016
USB sound cards are HID class devices and afaik well supported on linux.

My AT-2020 mic comes with a input only USB sound card builtin and all I've ever had to do to make it work on any flavor linux I've tried is plug it in.

So I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Xpander Dec 20, 2016
Gaming headsets are overrated. costing way too much and you dont get much of a quality sound from them.

i'd suggest looking for just good headphones which you can use for music listening also and then a microphone.

i myself have pretty cheap setup but with amazing sound quality. Superlux HD681 EVO headset ~37€, Superlux E205 Microphone ~42€, Scarlett 2i2 USB soundcard ~120€, works out of the box with linux and has amazing sound quality.
Ehvis Dec 21, 2016
Good headphones is probably a good idea. For me the mic can be pretty basic. It's just for a bit of communication. Nothing like recording videos or streaming, so a 100€ mic is massive overkill. But the info is still good as I'm sure others will be interested.
liamphmurphy Dec 22, 2016
Hey Ehvis,

I also highly recommend the 'proper headphone' and separate mic option. For gaming, non-gaming headsets will be superior for gaming in basically every scenario IMO.

Once you find a good pair of headphones, I would recommend looking at the Antlion Modmic. It's a microphone you can magnetically attach to your headphones and for simple communication it is great.

It's a tad spendy at around $40 USD. There is the omni-directional, which sounds better but picks up more background noise (can be bothersome if you have a mechanical keyboard.) Or the uni-directional which sounds just a tad worse, but will focus on your voice more and filter out the rest.

For simple comms, I recommend Uni. It's a great product.
Ehvis Jan 1, 2017
Just to report back, I got the Audio Technica one. As for the mic, I realised I was being a dumbass. I have PS3 Eye camera for headtracking sitting right on top of my monitor. That actually has a pretty decent mic in it and works just fine.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
Login / Register


Or login with...
Sign in with Steam Sign in with Google
Social logins require cookies to stay logged in.