AOC GH200 review: "It works and isn't uncomfortable to wear"

Despite being a prominent brand name in the world of the best gaming monitors, the AOC GH200 gaming headset is its first step into the audio market. Releasing simultaneously alongside the GH300, the AOC GH200 is the stereo offering of the pair, aimed at those looking for a budget solution to their gaming audio woes. Without the allure of wireless capabilities, 7.1 surround sound, or any special features you may find on products in our best gaming headsets list, however, how does it perform?

Design & Features

If you were to picture the most ordinary PC headset for gaming or similar, chances are, you've come up with something incredibly similar to the AOC GH200. A matte black coats the entire design, from the leather band at the top to the bulky earcups, which are perfectly circular rather than the oval shape you often find on gaming headphones. Bear in mind that if you've got bigger ears than most, they'll likely overlap slightly, rather than fitting entirely within the cushion.

The headset has a simple 3.5mm jack connection too, so it might just offer a good budget headset for those looking for a quick fix while their search for the best PS5 headset or best Xbox Series X headset takes a bit more consideration.

As far as comfort levels go, I've had no complaints after using them daily for a while now. It's a fairly lightweight pair of headphones coming in at just 326.5g and the cable is long enough to never be an issue, but also not hit that point of being too long it gets caught in your contender for best gaming chair, for example. The only issue I have had is that sometimes within the left earcup, there's a slight rattling sound that isn't always easy to replicate, but when it happens is very noticeable.

Performance

There's no beating around the bush here, unfortunately: only having stereo sound really lets the GH200 down. It's absolutely serviceable and if your usual premium gaming headset has broken and you need a budget replacement until you can get something more upmarket or if you just want a headset to talk to pals through party chat, then the GH200 will do a good job. But it's just not got the wow-factor that so many of the products on our aforementioned list of the top gaming headsets offer.

Again though, it's not bad, there's just so much more on the market that you could get that this headset comes hard to truly recommend. I've used it in numerous games now and nothing sounds bad – gunshots in Valorant are clear although footsteps are harder to distinguish, Pokemon cries and flufffruit throws in New Pokemon Snap sound adequate, and the whoosh of cars flying through the air to aerial the ball in Rocket League certainly happen – but it's nothing to write home about. It's all distortion-free, but not exciting.

Overall

At the £39 price point (US pricing is pending at the time of writing) though, you can't really go wrong. I've absolutely seen worse-performing headsets priced higher than this, but it does beg one question; why has AOC released both this and the GH300 simultaneously, when the GH300 offers 7.1 virtual surround sound at just £49, so only £10 more? I've not used the GH300 – it could well have some glaring flaws that make it a poor choice – but on paper, if they are essentially the same headset but with 7.1 surround sound over stereo, it is a no-brainer to fork out the extra £10. The audio quality should be worth the slight price increase because otherwise, the GH200 is a budget headset that might just serve as a temporary as a PS4 headset or Xbox One headset for example, but has no real features beyond convenience, and budget and can be summed up as "it works and isn't uncomfortable to wear".