I don’t have top of the line earbuds but the Bluetooth latency kills me. It’s just enough to be really irritating and rhythm games are infuriating. I’ve been trying to find 2.4ghz dongle type but none I could find seemed any good.

I use my Pixel Buds A-series and they work fine, but I haven’t played any games that require low latency.

AptX got open sourced in March this year, I’m hoping to see it come to the deck to help with latency.

I’ve been gaming using WH-1000XM3 headphones in Bluetooth mode for years and have never noticed latency, even with FPS games

Just this week I got a pair of Edifier W240TN earbuds. About $70 on Amazon. The sound quality is good (I’m not a complete audiophile but I’ve had some crappy earbuds in the past…these are better than any I’ve had). The noise canceling is okay, not as good as my headphones, but that’s okay.

But I realize that’s not what you’re asking about. They have a “low latency game mode”, advertised as “80 ms”. I was able to pair them with my Steam Deck fairly easily and had to change the button assignment in the app ahead of time, but I tried the game mode and it actually worked pretty well. I’m pretty sensitive to audio latency, but I was impressed with them. They might not cut it for high end play on rhythm games, but swinging around on Spider-Man felt good to me. I watched a cutscene and the dialogue matched up well enough to not be distracting. They might be worth a look.

Headphones that support AptX LL made a big difference for me. I picked up a cheap set on Amazon that work well but they have really terrible battery life. I may replace them now that I know AptX LL works pretty well.

I tried several other pairs that only supported SBC and AAC and the latency was irritating, even for the slow paced games I play (like Powerwash Simulator).

Edit: This is the pair I got, they’ve released a new model so maybe it’s improved but I certainly don’t get 20 hrs on a charge.

HomeSpot Neckband Wireless Earbuds [2023 Version] aptX Low Latency Bluetooth 5.1 Headphones https://a.co/d/6IU3ITL

My ears won’t hold any earbuds in so I chose the around the neck style. They still fall out.

I don’t have a lot to compare them to, but I’m using a pair of Pixel Bud Pro. They are really nice and the sound quality is good.

https://www.amazon.com/soundcore-Authorized-Accessories-Connection-Compatible/dp/B0B87MQG2N/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=soundcore+vr+p10&sr=8-2 no Bluetooth pairing fiasco and very good

Does the Steam Deck support Aptx LL in the first place?

Not what you asked for and you’re not a fan, but if you’re frequently finding yourself using your Deck at times you need to keep your ears open, I’d also recommend also finding a set of Bluetooth bone conduction headphones.

Of course it’s not the best sound and there’s a little lag, but I find myself needing to keep an ear on the world while using my Deck more often than I thought I would back when I got it. They’ve been really handy for a $50 Amazon pickup.

I use my pixel buds pro and they work just fine with low latency. I have it so it audio switches seamlessly when I turn it on.

I have used Jabra 85ts with the steam deck and have not noticed any latency issues. I do have to manually reconnect them after i put the deck to sleep. Otherwise they’re the best wireless earbuds i’ve used.

The Samsung ones work fine, I got them from work.

I think it’d only possibly be an issue for rhythm games, etc. I was playing emulated games and noticed no lag.

You can use any wireless earbuds