Can You Use Regular Headphones For Gaming?


While some gamers believe that using regular headphones for playing CS: GO or Overwatch provides a staggering experience, others are convinced that you cannot get an immersive gaming experience unless you use a pair of quality gaming headsets. 

Yes, you can use regular headphones for gaming if you’re willing to compromise your gaming experience. However, they would not offer as many functionalities and features as gaming headsets to level up your gaming experience. 

Many people are constantly trying to make the masses believe that regular headphones can be used for gaming, so read on to unveil the ratio of truth this statement holds!

Gaming Headsets Vs. Regular Headphones?

Gaming headsets are considerably better for gaming as they significantly boost your overall gaming experience. For example, some gamers believe that using regular headphones for gaming is fine, and ordinary headsets can be purchased for much less than high-end ones. 

It can safely be stated that gamers who claim that regular headphones provide the same experience as gaming headsets are unaware of the experience they’re missing. 

Although gaming headsets are relatively more expensive than regular headphones, they offer a more immersive and enhanced gaming experience. Conventional headphones incorporate a single speaker per ear cup; however, the structure of gaming headphones is designed otherwise.

Because gaming involves pinpointing the location from where you’re being shot at and depth perception, the headphones designed for gaming consist of more than one speaker in each ear cup to produce that mind-blowing surround sound effect. 

Most gaming headphones consist of USB-type connectors over a 3.5mm jack. It relies on its sound processing technique and driver to ensure the accurate functioning of all earpieces, which enables the headphones to work just fine without a good card. 

Most gamers prefer brands, and hence visuals of gaming headsets play a crucial role in their selection process. Not only this, gaming headphones mostly incorporate appealing visuals, including sleek gaming peripherals to brightly colored gaming chairs. 

Reasons You Should Consider Gaming Headsets

The ideal selling point of gaming headphones lies in their mic, which makes them stand out from regular gaming headphones. To summarize it all, gaming headphones are an efficient solution if you aim for that plug-and-play experience along with gaming aesthetics. 

The inbuilt microphone in gaming headsets offers the convenience of having a headset and mic all in one place. On the contrary, if you wish to get regular headphones for gaming, you’d be required to separately purchase a microphone, like a small standing mic, to attach to your shirt. 

Adding an extra mic has its fair share of disadvantages. For example, who would deliberately sign up for those additional cables and connections that come with a spare mic? All this hassle is of no use when you can conveniently get a quality gaming headset with a built-in mic for yourself. 

Another important reason that many gamers prefer gaming headsets over regular ones is that they are exclusively designed to offer long-lasting comfort for more extended gaming sessions. On the contrary, regular headphones appear incredibly uncomfortable after a few hours of use. 

The earcups in gaming headsets are stuffed with high-quality foam that confines your years without exerting considerable pressure on your ears. Because of the memory foam, the earpads feel soft to your ears which allows them to be used for hours without your ears getting numb. 

Like any other product, the market comprises both expensive and cheap headset models. The market has a variety of affordable gaming headsets, which are potentially ideal for gamers who are just starting and don’t have a big budget. 

Added Comfort Through Gaming Headphones 

The earpads in gaming headphones are coated with a super porous material and soft to your ears, which allows them to be incredibly breathable. Due to the increased airflow, your ears will stay comfortable and dry. 

Gaming headsets also feature a comfortable headband design that sits firmly in your head without exerting excessive pressure on your ears and head. They also incorporate integrated control features and an attached microphone-all while still lightweight.

On the other hand, it cannot be concluded that gaming headsets offer more comfortability than regular headphones. However, when the convenience of gaming headsets is combined with comfort, you’ll see that it’s a win-win situation. 

Gaming headphones also offer surround sound, which is another notable feature. Surround sound is a unique and memorable sound that makes you feel that sound is directed through multiple directions rather than from one source. 

Surround sound is crucial for an immersive gaming experience because it enables you to efficiently hear your enemies and detect the direction they’re coming from. You can also warn your team members of looming danger through the microphone to stay alert. 

Gaming Headphones Have More To Offer

Regular headphones are specifically designed for listening to music as they offer excellent audio quality. However, gaming headphones provide:

  • The ideal amount of bass that can be adjusted
  • A full-body mid-range of sound
  • A more controllable treble sound

Such headphones tend to have an ideal balance as they are designed for all types of audio. Gaming headsets offer considerably more bass, providing a more immersive and explosive gaming experience. 

Gaming headsets incorporate exceptional aesthetics, which essentially complements their performance in no way but makes them stand out from the rest of headsets. On occasions, they occupy unique visuals like bright colors, distinct design, and LED lighting. 

Both regular and gaming headsets offer the noise cancellation and isolation feature and are excellent at filtering sounds, so they reach directly into your ears. This enables you to hear and identify gaming sounds more clearly, and hence detect the direction your enemies are entering. 

Headsets with a noise cancellation feature offer considerably less disruption to your surroundings. The ability of headphones to isolate and cancel sounds is based on their design. Some headsets feature a closed-back design, while others occupy an open-back plan. 

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