The Xbox Wireless Headset offers powerful sound and a lightweight, comfortable fit, though you might want to turn down the bass a bit.

• Lightweight and comfortable
• Robust sound
• Bluetooth connectivity

Remembers multiple wireless signals ,

Microsoft tosses its hat into the wireless gaming headset ring with the Xbox Wireless Headset. This $99.99 headset is designed to work with the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, along with the different Xbox One models, and it features Bluetooth so you can connect it to other devices, too. The headset looks and feels nice for the price, and it features powerful, bass-heavy audio. The bass can be a bit too heavy without tweaking the headset’s EQ, and the Bluetooth connection isn’t nearly as good as the Xbox wireless connection it uses with the consoles (or with Windows 10 PCs, with an optional adapter). Still, if you take Xbox Wireless Headset as an Xbox-specific headset first and foremost, it’s an excellent pick that earns our Editors’ Choice award. The Xbox Wireless Headset has a surprisingly simple design. It’s nearly all-black, with flat, matte plastic surfaces on the earcups and headband that evoke the Xbox Series X. The large, circular earpads are padded with soft memory foam and covered in supple, black faux leather, matched with similar padding on the headband’s underside. Thin, green rings around each earcup, along with an embossed Xbox logo on the right earcup’s back, give the headset a bit of Xbox personality.

The earcups and headband are a bit stiff at first, but once the headphones are fitted to your head size, the Xbox Wireless Headset feels lightweight and comfortable. You should be able to wear the Xbox Wireless Headset for long play sessions without issue.

The big, flat circles on each earcup are large, smoothly spinning dials that act as the headset’s primary controls. The right ear’s dial adjusts the headset’s master volume, while the left ear tweaks game/voice balance (with a helpful click-stop in the middle for setting the balance to neutral).

The left earcup’s back edge houses a small, green button that functions as both power and pairing. The boom microphone is mounted just below it, with its own tiny, mic mute button. The microphone is a long, narrow black capsule on a short, flexible arm that can curl up against the headset when not in use. That said, it doesn’t telescope or otherwise disappear from view.

The right earcup’s back edge has a USB-C port for charging the headset. According to Microsoft, the Xbox Wireless Headset can last up to 15 hours at a time. It takes three hours to fully charge, but plugging it in for 30 minutes will give it about four hours of use.

The Xbox Wireless Headset is designed to work with the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One’s wireless connections, pairing with the consoles just like an Xbox Wireless Controller. It’s Bluetooth 4.2 compatible, but only supports the standard SBC codec, not the higher-bitrate AptX or AAC codecs over Bluetooth. Between the lower bitrate limiting the audio quality and the Bluetooth connection’s higher latency, you should purchase the $25 Xbox Wireless Adapter if you plan to use the headset with your PC. It provides the same wireless connection as Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One consoles (and can improve your Xbox Wireless Controller’s performance over Bluetooth, if you use one with your PC, too).

I had no problem pairing the Xbox Wireless Headset to my Xbox Series X over its own wireless signal and to my Windows 10 PC over Bluetooth. The headset remembers multiple wireless signals, so it automatically connected to both when I turned it on after pairing. However, it also automatically turned my Xbox on whenever I powered on the headset.

The Xbox Wireless Headset lacks built-in, simulated surround processing, but it leverages Dolby Atmos, DTS Headphone:X, and Windows Sonic’s spatial audio through the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows 10 PCs. Windows Sonic is integrated into those platforms, but Dolby Atmos and DTS Headphone:X require separate app purchases through the Windows or Xbox stores.