I generally use Bose Bluetooth wireless headphones. I just got a set of Viture glasses so I'll see how those speakers sound. On occasion I play without headphones, either built in speakers or no sound.
I tried using my Bluetooth earbuds with my LCD Deck but there was a very noticeable audio delay which made them basically useless. Nobody else seems to be having this issue so maybe they fixed it with an update. I have an OLED Deck now, I should try it again.
I have a pair of the “Drop + Sennheiser PC38X Gaming Headset” that have a built-in microphone that can be flipped up and down. Unfortunately I almost never use the microphone, but the sound quality is great and I can still hear what’s going on around me.
I don’t care for ear buds very much because I find them uncomfortable.
I use these wired headphones. They are not noise cancelling, they aren't even the new in ear style, no. They sit in your ear like old school ear buds, but built using modern technology.
They sound great, the bass is a little lacking but that can't be helped. The benefit is that I can still hear my family around me, so if someone starts talking to me I don't accidentally ignore them. They work great!
I got a pair of Zero:2 budget earphones. Wires are annoying when you’re used to wireless, but this was a good bet. Sure my AirPods block out plane noise better, but the passive noise cancellation is perfectly adequate on these, even on flights.
For mic audio you just can’t beat a physical wire.
Edit: these are a collaboration between 7Hz, a ChiFi manufacturer with a decent reputation, and Crinacle, an audio influencer(?) who tuned their sound. They’re 20 odd US dollars and sound awesome for the price, they’re my default backup pair of earphones and sometimes I’ll even just use them when I don’t really have to. I did change the cable to a braided one, the original picked up a lot of sound rubbing against my clothes, but hey, at 20$ I expect compromises like that.
Bluetooth headphones work well with the Steam Deck, I specially like how you can pair your phone to the Deck and it will mix the phone's audio with the game audio (so you can have music or a podcast playing, for instance)
For those asking how to do it, simply enable Bluetooth on the phone and then go to the Steam Deck's Bluetooth page, find the phone and pair it from there.
I paired both my phone and earbuds to the deck and the phone's audio was super choppy. It behaved better when in the deck's options menus but it was still bad. 🤔
I don't usually play games with friends, so I just use whatever pair I currently have available. Right now it's just a cheap enough pair of wired over the ear skull candy headphones. Don't know how good they'd be for things like audio calls that go on for extended periods of time, but they've been pretty good to me so far.
Thanks for your comment! I was thinking the XM4 for myself vs. The Bose Quietcomforts with like a V Moda Boom mic but was nervous about the latency and whether there were better set ups to be considered.
At least they fixed the breaking hinges. On my XM3 both are held on by super glue. Apart from that, they're great, over 5 years old and the battery still lasts 3 days of more than 10 hours a day usage
I got a cheap pair of bone conduction, open ear headphones. Sound quality isn't fantastic, but I keep my ears open for my family while also sparing them my game noise.
I'm a basic bitch and use my Galaxy buds. They work well enough. When docked, I have it connected to my DACAmp and blue snowball for a great audio experience.
I have mine docked under my TV but wow, the DACAmp seems awesome. I had to look that up. More money than I would like to spend but adding it for maybe a future purchase!
I don’t do voice chats on Deck. But when I only have a short time to play, I just use standard Apple earbuds that I’ve had for years.
When I get to game for more than an hour and feel like gaming on the couch, then I use my JBL Quantum TWS earbuds with the USB C adapter. These are primo ear buds, incredibly low latency, sound excellent, and are immersive with the noise canceling and noise isolating. Built in microphone, but I don’t use it for that purpose. I’d imagine for the price point the mic quality should be somewhere between good and great, depending on preference.
Edit: I chose the JBLs primarily because of the low latency. I can’t do Bluetooth because the input lag is so noticeable. Some Bluetooth headphones are great at reducing it, but nothing beats a USB receiver if you’re looking for low latency wireless. A note of caution that you’ll use up your USB C port so you can’t sit and charge your Deck. This setup works great for me though when I feel like having a semi long gaming session, but if I’m gonna game longer or play a more demanding game I head to my gaming PC instead.
Thank you! I was wondering how noticeable BT latency is. Unfortunately, my gaming PC is currently outdated (970) and that's a significant reason why I got a deck. I wanted to play newer games and with my friends again. Setting up audio for a full PC is something I'm more used to than the deck.
I personally can't notice it while using Airpod Pro 2's (around 125ms) with my Deck unless I'm playing an actual rhythm game. Then it completely messes me up and I switch to wired ones.
I don't have a Steam Deck, but I do have earbuds I use with Linux, which is similar. I have the EarFun buds (3, I think), which allow connection to multiple devices at once, have good compatibility, noise reduction, long battery life, and are relatively reasonably priced, under £60.