You don't want Bluetooth headphones. Get wireless headphones that use an RF dongle instead. Better range, sounds quality etc. Just plug in the dongle and go.
this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2026
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Honestly if it needs an app it's probably overpriced garbage anyway. High quality analog headphones have been made for decades without any apps. As others have said ditch the "gaming" headphones, they almost always suck and are overpriced for what they offer.
You should ideally look for headphones with a frequency range of 20Hz to 40kHz (the full range of human hearing) but even a 40Hz to 20kHz range would be decent. This is the biggest quality factor for headphones.
If you're gonna plug it straight into your computer or audio card via aux or usb you want something with low ohms (either 2Ω or 6Ω) but if you're gonna use an audio interface or mixing board you want something with around 200 ohms. In laymans terms, low ohm headphones with powerful audio device = blowing out the headphones. High ohm headphones with tiny device (like a phone) = quiet muffled audio.
For microphones, range doesnt matter as much because most people talk around 200Hz and don't really go too high or low. Also look for "condenser" mics which capture voice much better than dynamic mics.
For connection, best quality is probably gonna be an audio interface. The mic connects via XLR cable, the headphones over aux, and it usually has a USB-A connection to the pc. If you're running Linux, Pulseaudio has great support and is much better than default ALSA.
My favorite mic brands are Shure and Rhode, and my favorite headphones are made by a German company called Beyerdynamic. Mackie also makes some cheap and quality mixing boards. Probably more info than you needed but the audio rabbit hole is very fun to explore!
It's not the range, it's the actual frequency response. See: Harman curve
Why do you want high ohms?
This is what worked for me: Abandon 'Gaming' and start looking at 'Audiophile'. Those guys and gals know EVERYTHING about sound and can probably tell you exactly which headphones and what mic are worth it for you.
None of my audio gear has an app (I think), so compatibility with Linux hasn't been an issue.
And I use headphones with a separate mic (on a long-ish arm) as I felt that the audio quality on all headsets I looked at was terrible.
I second this mostly.
Just need to make sure you look in the science backed audiophile places and not the cable lift snake oil sections
Do not listen to audiophiles. Distortion and frequency response are the only things people can AB test reliably about sound quality.
I prefer an aux cable headset. No charging, no connection issues, and the quality is always 100%. You will also never have compatibility issues.
Might not be for you, but just a thought.
It's wild how much people hate wired headphones...
I hate them on the go because they will strangle me if I'm wearing a acarf. Or the cable gets stuck somewhere on my backpack or bag.
But at the desk I don't wear a scarf or backpack so I prefer wired.
Indeed. I don't get it.
It's probably a generational thing.
Growing up with wired or nothing, and wired was a blessing. But iphones lost the 3.5 milly a decade ago, and wireless had obviously been around for longer.
So there's full on adults out there now, who just never had to put up with the cord.
If I got cans on and something happens around me, I instinctively take them off and put them down first. Someone who just never uses wired headphones in any other scenario, is just gonna stand up and walk away.
I feel like it's something people would quickly get used to, but maybe they've tried and can't?
A FiiO E10 and your choice of decent analog headphones should work fine. As for the mic situation, a decent lapel mic going to the analog mic input on your PC should also work fine.
Just to counter all of the (totally justified) corded propaganda, if you do want gamery Bluetooth headphones, Razer peripherals work very well with openrazer (backend) and polychromatic (front end) which are fairly easy to set up as long as you’re not using secure boot. Just make sure if you go this route you check the openrazer site for the list of supported devices before you buy.
I use cables, batteries are for ewaste.
There are replaceable battery wireless headphones
Senny
Same. I bought wireless Sennheiser headphones around 10 years ago and I don't see myself buying a different set anytime soon. I just replace the pads every couple of years. They are still on their original batteries too.
Wired HD 6XX, Fiio K1 r2r since my desktop dac is garbage, and Shure Mv7+. Obviously you don’t need anything as expensive as that but I think separate stuff will always be better. It is less convenient though for sure
I have a really simple setup since I don't really do content creation or music or anything really needing a quality microphone. I use the Drop/EPOS pc38x with the velour ear pads. As far as gaming headsets or just headsets in general, the sound quality is really good. Actually pretty decent mic for a headset, comfortable, braided cable, volume knob. Can't complain.
If I had more money I'd look at proper headphones and a standalone mic, but for 200 (160 when I bought them) it's solid. I personally don't like Bluetooth peripherals, wired gives the lowest latency and don't have to bother charging or having the batteries eventually needing replaced if they're even user replaceable. And not to mention not needing any bloatware to use. Just plug n play
I use a Motu M4 audio interface with headphones wired to it, as well as a Shure mic. Since I do music I already had it setup.