Many people use a gaming headset for gaming or home office work. However, by now many devices are equipped with a feature that MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann absolutely dislikes.
A gaming headset often accompanies you throughout the day, whether at work or in your free time: If you are in a home office, you need it when you talk to colleagues. When you want to game, you talk to friends or listen to the sound in the game.
And I have already had a dozen or more headsets on my head, each with different strengths and weaknesses.
But if there is something that really annoys me, it is RGB lighting on gaming headsets. It feels like it’s the first thing I do with a new headset: I first turn off the lighting.
RGB lighting on gaming headsets is the biggest plague
Gaming headsets are primarily for communication and listening. They should therefore address exactly two senses: ears and mouth. That’s why I don’t understand the thought that the headset suddenly needs to blink and light up.
When I buy a headset, I expect good sound and comfort – not thousands of color variations that either blind me, make me nervous, or both at the same time.
While gaming, my eyes should be focused on the screen instead of chasing any blinking spots. With sometimes absurdly complex lighting, that just can’t work. I’m a gamer, not a billboard.
That’s why it annoys me: But why does it bother me on my head so much? The reasons are quite easy to explain:
- If the lighting actually has a purpose, I hardly notice it. I don’t see it because I wear the headset on my head. And even if I did, it would probably blind and distract me. I wouldn’t want to play my favorite shooter Apex Legends like this.
- If I wear a wireless headset with RGB lighting, then the lighting is even more useless. Because it affects the battery life. In the test of the Roccat Syn Pro Air, I was able to extend the battery life without RGB by a full 2 hours.
- If I shut down my gaming PC, the rest of the hardware turns off too. Then I gain nothing from the great RGB lighting on the headset. If I take off the headset while gaming, I hear nothing.
- Some headsets rely on a blinking indicator to show that the microphone is on. To see the indicator on some devices, I would have to either squint or take off the headset every time. And let’s be honest, do you constantly check that light on the microphone?
RGB lighting on gaming headsets really gets on my nerves. By the way, I am normally a huge fan of RGB lighting.
My keyboard and my mouse light up in colorful and cheerful ways, and at one time I even used a glowing mousepad. You can read our test of the Roccat Sense Aimo on MeinMMO. I also have RGB RAM and a processor cooler in my gaming PC, and even my motherboard lights up discreetly.
I think that’s really fine, but with the headset, RGB really needs to stop for me. And you can really find this RGB lighting at all manufacturers: Razer, Roccat, and Logitech, to name three larger manufacturers. Everyone has at least one headset with lighting in their range. Does it really have to be that way?
RGB on headsets is incredibly annoying – but I understand that it can be useful
Who ultimately benefits from it? As much as RGB lighting annoys me, I can understand that it’s not entirely without use. Streamers, for example, who are constantly in front of the camera can showcase their glowing headsets and bring some color in front of the camera. This is probably also not unimportant for sponsorship.
And it’s certainly also practical as entertainment for pets. My girlfriend’s cat is totally into RGB.
Forget RGB – A good gaming headset needs a good microphone and comfort
If you are looking for a headset or good headphones and check out something like the beyerdynamic MMX 300 or the EPOS | Sennheiser Game Zero, you will not find any RGB lighting. Colorful lighting is not necessarily an indicator of a good gaming headset.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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beyerdynamic MMX 300 Premium geschlossener Over-Ear Gaming-Headset (2nd Generation) mit Mikrofon,... | Zu Amazon |
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
Thus, I ultimately decided on the Logitech G Pro X after my long search for the perfect gaming headset. Logitech opts for a really simple look without aggressive lighting. Good sound, decent comfort, and a proper microphone – exactly what I get, and no RGB.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Logitech G Gaming Kopfhörer, Schwarz, Headset* | Zu Amazon |
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
Maybe I’ve just gotten too old for such gimmicks. But for gaming headsets, for me: RGB lighting has absolutely nothing to do here.
And if you’re still looking for a good gaming headset, check out our detailed buying guide on MeinMMO. Here we present the best gaming headsets you can currently buy.
