Technologies

Best PS4 Gaming Headset for 2022

Looking for a new headset for your PS4 or PS5? Here are our current top picks, from basic budget models that cost less than $50 to high-end feature-packed powerhouses.

PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 are popular consoles that are widely used by gamers internationally. In order to enhance the gaming experience, Sony developed a range of headphones that are specifically designed to work with these consoles. The PlayStation 4 headphones are known for their high-quality sound, noise-cancellation technology, and comfortable design. They offer a great balance of sound and chat audio, making them perfect for online gaming.

Gaming is a great way to take a break from the grind of daily life and escape to expansive, fantastic worlds, as well as a way to stay in touch with friends from around the globe. If gaming time is the way you and your friends keep in touch, then you’ll probably want to invest in a proper gaming headset with top-notch audio quality. A great headset offers high-caliber sound for an even more immersive gaming experience, and can be crucial when it comes to coordinating a raid, co-adventuring in a fantasy world or deciding which pal among you is more of an im-pal-ster. And no matter your needs or your budget, there’s a perfect headset out there for you.

You don’t have to buy Sony headphones either. Most standard wired headphones with microphones technically work as headsets for the PS4 (you simply plug the headphone into the 3.5mm jack on your controller), but having a dedicated «gaming» headset, like the PS4 compatible headsets below, ensures an optimized sound experience. One of the best PS4 headset features is the noise isolation, which can block out background noise for a more immersive experience, and another great gaming headset feature is a good mic that ensures others can hear you clearly when you’re in the middle of a long gaming session. Seriously, when you’re going head-to-head with another squad, mic quality matters.

Many people with a PlayStation 4 choose to go with a wired headset simply because it can be plugged into the already wireless controller. It’s also worth noting that many, if not most, wired PS4 headphones also work just fine with the PS5, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, Windows PCs, Macs and the Nintendo Switch.

But what if you don’t want your headphones to be tied down by wires? If you want to eliminate the cord that goes from the controller to your headphones, some of the best PS4 headset options let you go completely wireless. Just be aware that these PS4 headsets all include — and require — a low-latency wireless dongle that plugs into the USB port on your PS4 (there should be no audio delay).

Note: Almost no PS4 wireless gaming headsets will also work with the Xbox One. The Switch, meanwhile, requires a USB-C wireless dongle for wireless headset connectivity (though some of the USB dongles do work via the Switch’s dock).

Some midrange and high-end PS4 gaming headset models feature 7.1 virtual surround sound. To be clear, this isn’t real surround sound but it can help with the sound quality to create a richer, more immersive audio experience. It also gives you a better sense of spatial awareness with certain games where that can be an advantage. When looking for the best PS4 headsets, we also took mic quality into consideration if you’re playing online, because that’s especially important if your gaming session requires group coordination. If you can’t be heard, you can’t strategize!

With those basics established, let’s talk about the best PS4 headset. These are the results of our own home-based testing — we thought about everything from noise cancellation to the comfiness of the ear cushions. This list is updated periodically and includes some options suggested in GameSpot’s list of best gaming headsets.

More gaming recommendations

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 14, #948

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 14 #948.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. The blue category, not the purple one today, expects you to find hidden words in four of the words given in the grid. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: That’s not going anywhere.

Green group hint: End user or customer.

Blue group hint: Ask a meteorologist.

Purple group hint: Not noisy.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Fixed.

Green group: Receiver of goods or services.

Blue group: Starting with weather conditions.

Purple group: Silent ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is fixed. The four answers are fast, firm, secure and tight.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is receiver of goods or services. The four answers are account, client, consumer and user.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is starting with weather conditions. The four answers are frosty (frost), mistletoe (mist), rainmaker (rain) and snowman (snow).

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is silent ____. The four answers are auction, movie, partner and treatment.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Jan. 14, #1670

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Jan. 14, No. 1,670.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a tough one, with a letter that is rarely used and which I just never guess. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has three vowels.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with A.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with D.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can mean to keep away from something or someone.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is AVOID.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Jan. 13, No. 1669 was GUMBO.

Recent Wordle answers

Jan. 9, No. 1665: EIGHT

Jan. 10, No. 1666: MANIC

Jan. 11, No. 1667: QUARK

Jan. 12, No. 1668: TRIAL

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Apple Launches Creator Studio Package as $13 a Month Subscription

Mac users can still buy the apps individually, but subscribers get access to Final Cut Pro and other Studio tools.

Apple is bundling its pro filmmaking and audio tools including Final Cut Pro with its productivity apps Keynote, Pages and Numbers into a subscription software suite called Apple Creator Studio.

The package, which includes apps for Mac, iPad and iPhone, includes Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, MainStage and the whiteboard app Freeform. Creator Studio will be available starting Jan. 28 at a cost of $13 per month or $129 per year, or $3 per month or $30 per year for students and educators. Mac users will still have the option to purchase software like Final Cut Pro for a one-time free. The current price for Final Cut Pro in the Mac App Store is $300.

While apps such as Keynote and Pages are already free on Apple platforms, it appears that new versions of those apps will receive access to beta features that will roll out first to Creator Studio subscribers. The announcement by Apple alludes to «new AI features and premium content» in some of the apps it otherwise makes available to use for free.

What the Creator Studio bundle comes with

The star of the show in Creator Studio is Final Cut Pro, the video editing software that will now include Transcript Search on both Mac and iPad. There is also a new Beat Detection feature Apple says uses an AI model to analyze a music track and display a beat grid, making it easier to cut video to music rhythms. The software also will include a new Montage Maker on iPad for quick social video creation.

Motion, the 2D and 3D graphics tool, and Compressor also integrate with Final Cut Pro. Apple touted Motion’s Magnetic Mask feature for isolating objects or people without the need for a green screen.

Logic Pro has new features for musicians, including a Synth Player addition to AI Session Players. Chord ID, a new AI feature, can create chord progressions from audio or MIDI recordings. A new Sound Library will have hundreds of royalty-free clips, samples and loops.

A revamped MainStage app gives subscribers access to instrument, voice-professing and guitar rig tools. Pixelmator Pro arrives with new tools and filters, and there will be an iPad version in addition to the Mac tool.

Freeform in the Creator Studio package will add premium content, including curated photos, graphics and illustrations. It will also get new AI features that include image creation.