Black Friday is a great time to get a deal on a new gaming headset. Maybe you want to go wireless, or get fancy surround sound headphones. Maybe your old pair of headphones is a cracked mess that makes games sound as though they’re being played in a big metal bin, in which case you’ll find plenty of affordable options in the sales, like our current favourite, the HyperX Cloud Alpha. It’s over a year old now, but still offers that sweet mix of superb value and high-quality audio. We saw it pop up it in the Black Friday gaming headset deals last year, and it will certainly be back in November.
Even if you’re set with one of the best gaming headsets, Black Friday is a good opportunity to refresh your entire desktop setup, and maybe add an absurd glowing RGB mouse mat. Because why not? Check out our Black Friday deals page once the sales start for all the RAM, GPUs, mice, keyboards, and oh-so-fancy mouse mats a PC gamer could ever need. However, if all you want is a Black Friday gaming headset deal, then stick around and let us explain how to get one, and when to start looking.
Black Friday gaming headset deals—when do they go on sale?
(Image credit: Logitech)
Black Friday is late this year. The biggest discounts will arrive on November 29, but there’s also the following Cyber Monday to consider on December 2. Deals tend to start earlier each year, so it’s worth keeping a look out for a couple of weeks before the day itself, and over the weekend following Black Friday. The sales will likely run all the way to Christmas.
But which headsets should you be looking out for? If you want 7.1 surround sound at an accessible price, keep watch for the Razer Kraken Tournament Edition. It can’t quite match the Steelseries Arctis Pro for quality, but it costs less than half the price. The HyperX Cloud Alpha, which we mentioned above, delivers good sound for the money too. If you want to go premium and get a little bit of something unusual, then consider the Razer Nari Ultimate, which comes with remarkable haptic feedback functionality. Sounds weird, until you actually try it.
Black Friday gaming headset deals from 2018 (expired)
These discounts have lifted, but they give us a sense of the scale of price cuts we could see in the 2019 Black Friday sales. These examples show that you can get a premium set for middling prices if you find the right deal. For headsets the extra cost results in noticeable improvements.
Kingston HyperX Cloud II: $70, Amazon (save $50)
Still one of the best gaming headsets on the market, years into its reign. This is as cheap as we’ve seen the Cloud II, and for the quality and comfort on offer it’s frankly an absolute steal.
Sennheiser GAME ZERO Special Edition: $120, Amazon (save $60) With a mic so good you could direct air traffic with it and crisp, brilliant sound from Sennheiser’s open-backed earcups, $120 is an absolute steal.
How to save money on headsets during Black Friday
(Image credit: Steelseries)
Developers put vast resources into making their games sound awesome, so it’s a shame to see that good work go to waste on a pair of inadequate headphones. To be honest it’s hard to go too wrong if you go to reputable brands like Razer, Samsung, HyperX. There is remarkable variety out there, however, so it’s worth deciding what you really want ahead of Black Friday so you can get in on deals quickly before stocks run out.
1. Decide on a type of headset
There are a few fundamental decisions you might want to make before you start shopping for headsets. Do you want a wireless headset? Do you want surround sound functionality? How much are you happy to pay? It’s worth keeping in mind the type of games you normally play too. If you love shooters then headsets with a bit of extra bass response will make those shotguns sound fatter. If you enjoy adventure games with beautiful soundtracks then it might be worth investing in overall sound quality above anything else. If you often play socially then a quality mic is essential. Cheap, bad headsets often skimp on the mic, so be sure to check out user reviews and, of course, our guide to the best wireless gaming headsets if you want to declutter your set-up.
2. Use price comparison websites
We’ll be using these intensively during Black Friday to present you with the best deals, but if you want DIY deals then check CamelCamelCamel. This site will give you the price history of a given item, which will help you to dodge the common Black Friday practice of presenting shallow discounts that aren’t actually great deals.
3. Use bundles to refresh your desktop setup
Sometimes you can catch a bunch of peripherals in one bundle. Last year I picked up a new mouse, keyboard, and headset in one go. Now it feels like I own a whole new PC. Games sound amazing, and my desktop lights up in millions of different colours when I boot it up. Excellent.
Best PC gaming headset deals right now
The best deals are yet to come, but if you need a new pair of headphones right away then we can help. Expect steeper discounts in the coming weeks as we get closer to the big weekend.