Xbox Stereo Headset review: wired and worth it
Microsoft’s Xbox Stereo Headset is the no-frills affordable counterpart to its excellent Wireless Headset, with a permanently affixed 3.5mm cable in place of any Bluetooth or 2.4GHz connectivity. The $59.99 Stereo Headset combines that same performance from its wireless sibling and mixes it with better pricing and the flexibility of a wired connection, making this headset easy to recommend to gamers using any console or PC. It was announced back in the summer of 2021, and since then, we have also seen a 20th-anniversary variant released as well as frequent discounts making it even more affordable. While it’s easy to recommend, it is not without its shortcomings.
The Xbox Stereo Headset shares most specs and hardware with the Xbox Wireless Headset. Both are an over-ear design, constructed primarily from plastic with pleather-wrapped foam padding to cushion your head and ears. Each model houses 40mm neodymium speakers in their respective earcups and similar boom mics on the left side that are bendable for positioning closer to your mouth or tucking up and away. I wish the boom mics were removable for a more streamlined look when they’re not needed, but these headsets are not designed to replace your headphones for dedicated music listening.
From there, the headsets have their differences, such as the Stereo Headset using a sliding mute switch instead of the push-button mute with LED light of the wireless model. As for the sleek turnable earcups for volume adjustment and audio/chat mix featured on the Wireless Headset? The Stereo Headset meets it halfway: the right earcup has the same volume control, but the left earcup is stationary with no added function. That may be why Microsoft opted not to highlight the earcups of the
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