Gamereactor's Hardware Awards 2019: Best Headset

Headsets, or perhaps just audio equipment in general, are part of a very vast and varied category. Within it, you'll find sleek little Apple AirPods you just pop in your ears while strolling down the street, as well as the heavy Razer Nari Ultimate that you put on when you need to concentrate on an intense game of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

We've tested many different products in this category in 2019 and have been continuously surprised by how many different uses we have to take into account when reviewing them. Here are the best of the bunch.

Winner: Libratone TrackAir+

The Libratone TrackAir+ was a true hit from the moment we first put it in our ears at Libratone's offices in Copenhagen. The form factor, sound experience, adjustment and customisation options via Libratone's app all came together to create something phenomenal. Following our visit, our positive impressions continued.

Not only does the TrackAir+ remain the in-ears that we'd immediately recommend, should anyone ask, they also offer an incredible sound experience, and despite the size of the devices, they managed to blow us away with the great noise reduction and robust bass and that's undoubtedly impressive.

There are bigger headsets and there are cheaper in-ears, but for us, Libratone managed to give us a little bit of everything with the TrackAir+.

Runner-up: Jabra Elite 85h

We'll mention the strategy of not necessarily being better than the competition, but offering your product at a cheaper price, a number of times as we compile our hardware favourites, however, it's a way to easily and elegantly impress us at Gamereactor.

This strategy was adopted by Jabra for its Elite 85h set of headphones. They might not provide a sound comparable to the Sony WH-1000XM3 or the Bose 700, but manage to deliver pretty much the same experience for a fraction of the price.

Offering innovation, solid sound and a fine software solution for £60 less than the Bose 700, the Elite 85h is a great pair of headphones.

Runner-up: Steelseries Arctis 9X

Steelseries has been at the forefront of gaming headsets for a long time and rightfully so. The sound is more often than not fantastic and with the 9X headset, the wireless model came to those who had chosen the Xbox console as their favourite platform.

Not only is the headset light and comfortable, but it sports great sound and a battery life of 20 hours. The build quality is great and let's not forget that this headset has adapted to the new dual standard, giving the consumer the option to not only use the headset wirelessly with one's Xbox One or PC but also with one's phone through Bluetooth at the same time.

Runner-up: Asus ROG Delta

With the ROG Delta, Asus chose to create a pair of audiophile gaming headphones that have USB-C and work with PlayStation 4 as well as PC.

In addition, it's also one of the cheaper products on this list. It has a quadruple DAC chip that manages to integrate nicely with appropriate playback software, allowing for high-resolution DXD files to be played. There's RGB on the headset but even better, there are really good earpads on there too.