The Xbox Stereo Headset is the wired and more budget-friendly counterpart of the Xbox Wireless Headset. While both headsets share the same well-built and comfortable design, this wired headset has notably fewer features, and you won't be able to customize its sound to your liking. Still, its boom mic has a great recording quality, ensuring that your teammates hear you clearly. Fans of action-packed gameplay can also enjoy this headset's very boomy and warm sound profile, which helps bring out sound effects. However, the mic struggles to separate your voice from moderate ambient noise around you. Not everyone can appreciate the dark treble range either, as it veils vocals and lead instruments.
Our Verdict
The Xbox Stereo Headset is mediocre for neutral sound. This headset has a very boomy sound profile, which adds intense body and warmth to mixes. However, this can sound very muddy, and since the treble range is also very underemphasized, vocals and lead instruments are dark, while sibilants like cymbals are dull. It's prone to inconsistencies in its audio delivery, too, so you may need to adjust its fit, positioning, and seal each time you use it to get a more consistent sound.
- Comfortable and well-built design.
- Prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery.
- Closed-off and small passive soundstage.
The Xbox Stereo Headset is poor for commute and travel. Although it has a comfortable and well-built design, it's also bulky and doesn't come with a carrying case to help protect it when you're on the go. Also, it struggles to block out the low rumble of bus and plane engines, and since it has a gamer-centric design, it lacks controls such as play/pause or answer/end calls.
- Comfortable and well-built design.
- Poor noise isolation performance.
- Non-detachable cable design.
The Xbox Stereo Headset is disappointing for sports and fitness. This headset isn't designed for this use as it has a bulky design and its wired cable isn't detachable, so it can get snagged on something and pull the headset off your ears. Also, the headset can move around on your head with more intense movement, and it lacks an IP certification for water resistance.
- Comfortable and well-built design.
- Can fall off your head with intense movement.
- Non-detachable cable design.
The Xbox Stereo Headset is sub-par for office use. This headset has a bulky, gamer-centric frame, and it struggles to block out background noise such as ambient chatter. It also lacks more robust controls such as play and pause audio as well as answer and end calls, which can be frustrating if you take calls for work. However, it has a well-built and comfortable design, so you shouldn't feel too much fatigue if you're wearing them for multiple hours at a time.
- Comfortable and well-built design.
- Prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery.
- Poor noise isolation performance.
The Xbox Stereo Headset is a wired headset, and you can't use it wirelessly.
The Xbox Stereo Headset is adequate for wired gaming. This headset has a comfortable and well-built design that shouldn't be too tiring to wear throughout a long gaming marathon. It has a boom mic that's able to record your voice clearly, although it has trouble separating speech from moderate ambient noise, which can be an issue if you're gaming near an open window with a lot of traffic. Unfortunately, it lacks sound customization features like an EQ to help adjust its sound to your liking.
- Mic has great recording quality.
- Comfortable and well-built design.
- Prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery.
- Closed-off and small passive soundstage.
The Xbox Stereo Headset is passable for phone calls. If you don't mind its gamer-centric design, it has a boom mic that offers a great recording quality, ensuring you're heard clearly. However, the mic struggles to separate your voice from ambient noise, which could be a problem if you're taking a call from a busy street. The headset doesn't block out ambient noise well either, so you may struggle to hear whoever's on the other end of the line clearly.
- Mic has great recording quality.
- Comfortable and well-built design.
- Prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery.
- Poor noise isolation performance.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Xbox Stereo Headset comes in one color variant: Black. You can see our model's label here. If you come across another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Xbox Stereo Headset is the more wallet-friendly and wired counterpart of the Xbox Wireless Headset. Like the wireless variant, it has easy-to-use controls and a comfortable, well-built design. Its boom mic also does a great job of recording your voice so you sound clear to your teammates. It doesn't offer any functionality when connected to Xbox Accessories software, though, and you won't be able to adjust their boomy sound profile. Unlike the Astro A10, the audio cable isn't detachable either, which is a little disappointing.
Check out our recommendations for the best headsets for Xbox Series X/S, the best Xbox One headsets, and the best gaming headsets under $100.
The Xbox Wireless Headset and the Xbox Stereo Headset are similar gaming headphones with different strengths. The Wireless support Xbox Wireless, although they have high latency, causing lip-sync mismatch. They also have a channel mixing dial, a better overall boom mic performance, and are compatible with Xbox Accessories software, which offers a graphic EQ and presets to help you adjust their sound. However, some users may prefer the Stereo's wired 1/8" TRRS design. The ear cups are also more breathable.
The Sony PULSE 3D Wireless are more versatile gaming headphones than the Xbox Stereo Headset. The Sony have more consistent audio delivery, their sound profile is more neutral, which some users may prefer, and they have low non-Bluetooth wireless latency. However, the Xbox Stereo are more comfortable and have a better build quality. Their boom mic also offers a significantly better overall performance.
The HyperX Cloud Alpha are better wired gaming headphones than the Xbox Stereo Headset. The HyperX are more comfortable, feel better built, and have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer. Their boom mic also has a better noise-handling performance, and they have a detachable audio cable. However, the Xbox headphones' mic has a better recording quality.
The Astro A10 are better wired gaming headphones than the Xbox Stereo Headset. The Astro have more consistent audio delivery, a better overall mic performance, and a detachable audio cable, which is handy if you break or lose it. However, the Xbox headphones are more comfortable and are compatible with virtual soundstage features like Window Sonic Spatial Audio.
Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
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