We ranked every wired IEM and wireless gaming earbud we could get our hands on this quarter — across PC, PS5, Switch, Steam Deck and mobile. The winner isn’t a $400 wireless. It’s a $99 wired IEM most gamers have never heard of.
A 1DD + 3BA wired IEM that embarrasses $400 gaming headsets at 99 dollars.
Pick the path that matches where you are. Each one links to a self-contained article from the archive — no dead ends.
Start with comfort, fit, and what actually matters before you spend anything.
Earbuds vs Headsets →The full test — 2.4 GHz dongles, Bluetooth, and wired, side by side.
The Latency Test →What changes when every millisecond and positional cue counts.
Competitive vs Casual →Dynamic, BA, planar, hybrid — what each driver type does to the sound.
Driver Types →2.4 GHz, Bluetooth, and wired — what the millisecond difference actually feels like, and when it matters.
The comparison we get asked about more than any other — broken down by comfort, imaging, and long-session fatigue.
Dynamic, balanced armature, planar, hybrid — what each moves and why it matters.
How it works, what the marketing oversells, and when you’ll actually hear the difference.
A plain-English explainer on what spatial audio actually does — and where it helps most.
Two setups, two priorities — and why the same earbuds don’t always win both.
The revised take — with additional examples from single-player and FPS titles.
The short version: what it is, how it’s implemented, and what to listen for.
Dynamic, balanced armature, planar, hybrid — what each moves, and why gamers should care.
What actually improves in the experience as you climb tiers — and what doesn’t.
The three connection paths, measured and listened to side-by-side. The reference feature.
A short field story about the times audio stack has decided a match.
The reference read for anyone picking between wireless and wired. We keep revisiting this one.
Feature · long read →The question more readers open with than any other. What actually wears better, and for whom.
Feature · long read →Dynamic, balanced armature, planar, hybrid — the primer that makes every review make sense.
Primer · revised →Every millisecond between your ear and the game is either measured, marketed, or hidden — see the full Latency Test for the numbers.
We broke this one down in detail. Short version: it depends on how long you play, how hot you run, and whether glasses are in the picture.
Dynamic, balanced armature, planar, hybrid — our driver-types primer covers what each moves and why gamers care.
No — but the wrong tip, wrong fit, or wrong seal absolutely do. Here’s the 20-second check to get right.
Where wireless has closed the gap, where it hasn’t, and where it still cheats. From the Latency Test.
Our long-running feature on when to optimise for one over the other — and when you can actually have both.
The word is a shelf label, not a spec. What actually changes when a pair of earbuds is aimed at gamers — and what doesn’t.
What it is, how it’s implemented, and when you’ll actually hear the difference in the games you play.
An external DAC, a decent amp, and a set of wired IEMs is still the cleanest path. Wireless 2.4 GHz dongles have real use cases too — we cover which ones hold up.
// A PUBLICATION FOR PEOPLE WHO’VE OUTGROWN THE WORD “HEADSET.”