I just tested these audiophile gaming earbuds — and they almost give my SteelSeries buds a run for their money

I’m an avid gamer who can get lost in an RPG for hours on end, and a pair of earbuds, like the Final VR3000 Wireless, can make that experience even more enjoyable.

I just tested the VR3000 Wireless and they go toe-to-toe with gaming buds from giants like SteelSeries — and that’s thanks to their extremely comfortable, premium design and 10mm drivers that create immersive soundscapes.

But these earbuds aren’t perfect. Alas, they aren’t compatible with Xbox consoles, customization is limited and their ANC could be a lot better.

Could these be the best gaming headset for you? Read my full Final VR3000 Wireless review to find out.

Final VR3000 Wireless review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A pair of wireless ANC earbuds for gaming
• Who is it for? Audiophiles who want a great pair of earbuds for gaming and everything else
• How much does it cost? The Final VR3000 Wireless buds are available for £89 — but they aren’t available in the U.S. yet
• What do we like? They’re very comfortable and sport a premium design, sound quality is fantastic and the battery life is long
• What don’t we like? Limited customization, ineffective ANC and absence of an Xbox version

Final VR3000 Wireless review: Specs

Final VR3000 Wireless review: The ups

From their sleek, comfortable design and long battery life to the immersive soundscapes they create, the Final VR3000 Wireless are fantastic earbuds.

Very comfortable

One of the most important things to consider when you’re buying any earbuds is whether you can wear them for hours on end — and you can definitely do that with the Final VR3000 Wireless buds. The earbuds barely weigh anything, with each bud coming in at 0.17oz — lighter than the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds (0.18oz, $159) and the Sony PlayStation Pulse Explore (0.48oz, $199).

That’s even lighter than some of the best wireless earbuds for music. For context, the Bose QuietComfort ($179) weigh 0.29oz each, while the Sony WF-C710Ns ($119) weigh 0.18oz each.

Four additional eartip sizes are included in the box, but I stuck with the pre-fitted default size, which made the VR3000 Wireless fit snugly in my ears, creating a good seal. I wore the VR3000 Wireless buds for six consecutive hours and didn’t feel any discomfort. And thanks to how light they are, there were moments when I forgot I had them in my ears.

Sleek, premium design

Not only are the Final VR3000 Wireless earbuds comfortable, but they also look great, sporting a sleek and premium design worthy of the Final name. Branding is low-key with the Hexcomb logo printed in small on each earbud.

Final has ditched the futuristic angular look debuted with the VR3000 wired buds ($79). Instead, the wireless earbuds have a drop stem design with slightly curved heads, which looks great, in my opinion.

I also like that each pair of eartips is color-coded, which helps identify and pair the different sizes more easily. This has me wishing that every brand did this!

Immersive soundscapes

The “VR” in Final VR3000 Wireless stands for Virtual Reality. As such, these earbuds would go great with the Meta Quest 3 ($499), for example, as they create immersive soundscapes, adding to the VR experience. But even without a VR headset, the VR3000 Wireless buds make you feel like you’re the main character in the game.

They’re fitted with 10mm F-Core VR with a 20Hz-20KHz frequency response range, which enables you to hear the softest of footsteps in stealth games and the loudest of explosions in FPS titles. I tested the VR3000 Wireless buds with my PS5 Slim by plugging in the USB-C dongle. According to Final, the dongle “ensures under 20ms delay, rivalling wired performance.” I didn’t notice any latency issues or audio delay in my testing.

Back to how the games sound. I tested the VR3000 Wireless by playing a few hours each of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, NFS Heat and EA Sports FC 24. Across all three titles, sound quality was impeccable.

NFS Heat

Sound can make or break a game, and I feel like that holds a lot of weight for racing titles. As there isn’t much of a plotline in NFS Heat and all you’re really doing is racing, it’s important to have a headset that makes you feel like you’re the driver behind the wheel — and that’s exactly what the VR3000 Wireless buds do. I could hear the precise moment I changed the gears, the screeching of the tires when I slammed the brakes and the burning of the tarmac when I made doughnuts.

Hearing my Lamborghini Huracan’s engine rumble, combined with the DualSense controller’s phenomenal haptic feedback, made NFS Heat far more immersive. Directional audio works well here, too. If a car overtook me on my left, I heard it only in my left ear, and if it merged into my lane, the audio carried from the left to the earbud seamlessly.

EA Sports FC 24

While playing EA Sports FC 24, the VR3000 Wireless earbuds made me feel like I was one of the footballers on the pitch. I could clearly hear every time the ball touched my player’s feet and he dribbled across the field. When it rained in the game, I could hear the very subtle splashes every time my player ran and the ball moved along the wet ground.

Directional audio is, again, the star here. When the crowd does a Mexican wave, you can hear it travel from one ear to the other as it makes its way around the stadium. It also works exactly as intended when, say, the goalkeeper kicks the ball from his net into the opposition’s half, and you can hear the ball traveling through the air.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

To test how the VR3000 Wireless buds handled heavy combat, I launched a frontal assault on a castle while playing as the samurai, Yasuke, in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. It didn’t take long for several enemies to surround me. As my long katana made quick work of them, I could hear faint but clear heavy footsteps in my right ear.

Quickly turning around revealed a brute charging towards me, so I quickly mashed the dodge button to get out of the way — and it worked. I was extremely impressed by the fact that I could hear something so easily missable amongst the commotion. I then proceeded to attack the brute with my katana, and I could hear the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments when my katana landed on the NPC’s club and my attack was halted.

Great for music

Because their all-black design makes them look discreet, the Final VR3000 Wireless can be used as a regular pair of earbuds when you’re out and about — and music sounds just as good as in-game soundscapes. I listened to a range of genres on Qobuz on my Google Pixel 7 Pro, and every song sounded fantastic with great bass response and clear vocals.

In bass-heavy tracks such as ‘Jumpsuit’ by Twenty One Pilots and ‘Money’ by Pink Floyd, the bass lines were thumping but not booming or overpowering. I also like that I could hear each note that was plucked in both songs, and the basslines had plenty of warmth to them with good low-end impact.

Lows, mids and highs are handled extremely well by the earbuds in tracks like ‘Unshatter’ by Linkin Park and ‘Sounds of Yesterday’ by Poets of the Fall. When the vocalist hit the high notes in the latter, they never pierced my ears, and the VR3000 Wireless didn’t make them sound too shrill either — everything felt perfectly balanced.

Long battery life

The Final VR3000 Wireless buds have great battery life, enabling you to play for hours on end. With ANC off, the earbuds can last up to 11 hours on a single charge and the case provides an additional 38 hours — that’s a lot! The SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds, in comparison, will last you 10 hours, with the case providing an additional 30.

These numbers drop to 8 hours and 28 hours from the charging case when ANC is enabled — an hour more than the Arctis GameBuds. The VR3000 Wireless buds also blow the Sony PlayStation Pulse Explore out of the water, as those earbuds last just 5 hours and their charging case provides only an additional 10.

Final VR3000 Wireless review: The downs

The Final VR3000 Wireless earbuds have a few drawbacks, such as limited customization, incompatibility with Xbox consoles and ANC that’s decent but not great.

Limited customization

Similar to some other gaming headsets I’ve tested, like the HyperX Cloud III S Wireless ($179), the Final VR3000 Wireless don’t offer much in terms of customization. You’ll need to download the Final Connect app on either your Android or iOS smartphone to customize the earbuds — but there isn’t much to customize, unfortunately.

You can enable and disable ANC, and there’s a 10-band equalizer for adjusting lows, mids and highs. The VR3000 Wireless sound so good; I just wish they had an app as good as the SteelSeries Arctis app that accompanies the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds and offers 100 game-tailored presets.

No Xbox version

The Final VR3000 Wireless earbuds are compatible with many consoles and devices: PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC, macOS, iOS and Android. Alas, they aren’t compatible with Xbox consoles.

The good news is that there are worthy alternatives available, such as the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds. If you aren’t opposed to over-ear cans, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 ($129) and the Cherry XTRFY H1 ($139) offer immersive sound and have Xbox-compatible versions.

Decent ANC but not great

Not many gaming earbuds and headsets offer active noise cancellation, so it’s always exciting to me when a pair does. The Final VR3000 Wireless earbuds feature ANC, which adds to their appeal and to the fact that you can use them as regular buds on your commute. But unlike the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds, the VR3000 Wireless’ ANC isn’t as effective.

The VR3000 Wireless’ ANC is decent enough that indoors, I could very slightly hear the kettle boiling while standing next to it. But on a packed bus, I could hear commuters speaking and even discern what they were saying. The VR3000 Wireless couldn’t block out the bus’s rattling either, which made for a frustrating journey.

If you want highly effective ANC that makes your work commute more bearable, I’d recommend the Arctis GameBuds over the VR3000 Wireless.

Final VR3000 Wireless review: Verdict

If you want a pair of gaming earbuds that don’t break the bank but also sound great, then the Final VR3000 Wireless should be on your radar. These earbuds are extremely comfortable for long gaming sessions, and they look premium. Their prowess lies in their ability to create immersive soundscapes in racing, RPG, FPS and other titles, thanks to the 10mm F-Core VR drivers. They would go perfectly with a VR headset.

The VR3000 Wireless buds are good for listening to music, too, with perfectly balanced lows, mids and highs, powerful basslines, and crystal clear vocals. Their long battery life is the cherry on top of the cake.

However, Xbox users will feel left out as these earbuds aren’t compatible with Microsoft’s consoles — but the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds are a superb alternative. Also, customization via the app is limited, and while the VR3000 Wireless have ANC, it isn’t as effective as the Arctis GameBuds’.

But if you’re on a budget, I can’t not recommend the VR3000 Wireless buds. They go toe-to-toe with SteelSeries and (almost) come out on top.