HardwareGaming AudioEarbuds & Headphones2024 was the year I returned to earbuds after writing them off for nearly a decade thanks to the SteelSeries Arctis GameBudsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
HardwareGaming AudioEarbuds & Headphones2024 was the year I returned to earbuds after writing them off for nearly a decade thanks to the SteelSeries Arctis GameBudsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future)
Gear of the Year(Image credit: Future)Check out more of the year’s best tech in ourPC Gamer Hardware Awards 2024coverage.
Gear of the Year
(Image credit: Future)Check out more of the year’s best tech in ourPC Gamer Hardware Awards 2024coverage.
(Image credit: Future)
Check out more of the year’s best tech in ourPC Gamer Hardware Awards 2024coverage.
Earlier in the year, PC Gamer packed me up and shipped me off to Denmark to take a look at some new SteelSeries gear. After filing into a SteelSeries office with a handful of other journos and SteelSeries PRs, it was revealed that The Big News were these new tiny earbuds. And my heart sank.I can’t stand earbuds, I thought.They really picked the wrong person to bring out here.
This wouldn’t have been possible if the Arctis GameBuds weren’t damn solid, though.
Why’s that? Well, for one, theyactually fit my weird little ears…
Anyway, moving on.
I actually ended up using the GameBuds in different ways than I thought I would. For instance, they’ve got me listening to audiobooks while tootling around the house doing chores, and they’ve even got me running to pick them up when I receive a phonecall. I shudder to think of the number of times my friends must have heard me say “call you back in a second, I’m just grabbing my earphones.” There’s just something about chatting hands-free, you know?
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Maybe this is old news to everyone who didn’t write off earbuds for the last decade. But part of the reason for me writing them off—apart from most earbuds not comfortably fitting my ears—is that there’s rarely enough benefit to weigh against the dreadful feeling of having your ears clogged.
But wait, what’s that, Transparency Mode (think the inverse of ANC) works a charm and makes your ears feel positively de-clogged? Yep, the GameBuds shine in that regard, too.
They simply work, in pretty much any circumstance I’ve put them in—any time, any place.
They simply work, in pretty much any circumstance I’ve put them in—any time, any place.
In fact, every barrier that I wanted to put up, the GameBuds smashed them down. Like a pushy but loveable puppy, they clawed their way through my protective barriers and made me admit:Okay, I’ll give you a shot.
And that’s why I gave them such a high score inmy Arctis GameBuds review: because there’s not a single area in which I feel they should be improved. (Okay, that’s aslightexaggeration because I later found out some third-party tips prevent them from fitting in their charging case, but that’s a small gripe.)
Image1of5(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: SteelSeries)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)
Image1of5(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: SteelSeries)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)
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(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: SteelSeries)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: SteelSeries)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)
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(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: SteelSeries)
(Image credit: SteelSeries)
(Image credit: SteelSeries)
(Image credit: SteelSeries)
(Image credit: SteelSeries)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Audio quality’s the obvious area to start with, and in this department they’ve been a blast. I’m used to my open-back Sennheiser HD 599 headphones, and while the earbuds don’tquiteget there—and it’d be a miracle if any 6 mm drivers did—they get close. This has made my train journeys 100x more pleasant than before, especially given I was previously using bone conduction earphones (ie, not earbuds, but over-ear earphones).
After spending just a day or two with them, I no longer had to think about it. They simply work, in pretty much any circumstance I’ve put them in—any time, any place.
And they fit my weird little ears. There’s that, too. That makes the Arctis GameBuds a 2024 champion in my ears… I mean eyes. I didn’t expect to consider a pair of earbuds to be my fave tech of 2024, either, but here we are.
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The JBL Quantum TWS earbuds are at their lowest ever price for Cyber Monday, making them probably the best PC gaming buds you’ll find for under $100Pud’s Dolbus gets you 5.1 surround sound from headphones with a side of deadly Saw trap nightmares
The JBL Quantum TWS earbuds are at their lowest ever price for Cyber Monday, making them probably the best PC gaming buds you’ll find for under $100
The JBL Quantum TWS earbuds are at their lowest ever price for Cyber Monday, making them probably the best PC gaming buds you’ll find for under $100
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LatestAssassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less ‘like a gas pedal’See more latest►
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