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What should I look for in a headset?
I am looking to buy a headset. It's for my child to use on PS4, and when stock comes back in on PS5.
Which models have you used and liked? Are there any you'd avoid?
I think I'd prefer either USB, or something easy to repair, or cheap so I can just buy a new set of this one breaks.
Are you looking for wireless or wired?
I'm also not sure if you know, but you can plug a regular pair of headphones into the headphone jack on the bottom of the PS4 controller, and the sound will then be transmitted through that. Use a pair with a microphone too, and it performs full headset duties with audio+mic.
I don't have a PS5 yet, but I believe this feature is still present on that as well.
If you have an old set of earphones which came with a phone or something, just plug those in if you just want something cheap and easy. Otherwise, anything with a 3.5mm jack will work in this manner as well.
This is my preferred method, as getting into more advanced headsets can get messy [and expensive]. The PS4 supports bluetooth audio out, but it doesn't support any microphones when in blutetooth mode.
If you want full wireless, you will have to get one with a USB dongle. There are plenty labelled as ps4+ps5 compatible.
This is a limitation to keep in mind if you want to get "general-purpose" bluetooth headphones, for your child to use with their phone/tablet as well, and it is one of the big annoyances with the audio solutions on consoles.
Based on this, I'd say it almost doesn't matter what you get, primarily because the target audience probably won't be able to notice the lesser quality of cheaper headphones. As such, you can consider going shopping based on appearance. There are headphones targetted at a young demographic, and so have "cool" appearances, with bright colours, patterns, animal ears, and so on. Perhaps shortlist a few, and then show your child what you've found, and have him/her choose based on what he/she sees.
Something with a volume limiter?