SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless – Multi-System Gaming
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless – Multi-System Gaming Headset – Premium Hi-Fi Drivers – Active Noise Cancellation – Infinity Power System – PC, PS5, PS4, Switch, Mobile, Black
ComfortMAX System
Height-adjustable rotating earcups, flexible suspension band and pivoting hangers ensure a comfy wear no matter how long you play. Premium PVD-coated steel keeps your headset going and going and going.
| Weight: | 516 g |
| Dimensions: | 8.75 x 16.78 x 19.25 cm; 516 Grams |
| Brand: | SteelSeries |
| Model: | 61520 |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | Yes |
| Manufacture: | SteelSeries |
| Dimensions: | 8.75 x 16.78 x 19.25 cm; 516 Grams |
Great headse
I brought this headset as a gift for my boyfriend. Its really good quality and he’s very happy with them. They are also noise cancelling! It means I don’t need to hear the TV while he’s playing PlayStation (apparently hearing other people’s footsteps are important). I also don’t hear everyone online shouting down the headset like I did with his old headset. The only thing it doesn’t do is mute my boyfriend while he’s playing…
5.0 out of 5 stars Ex elle
Brilliant I did have the Astro A50 but wanted something different for my PC so choose these and there brilliant i prefer them to the AstroTurf A50 these seem bit more sterdy
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Quality and Highly Configurable
This headset is simply sublime. The quality is top notch, the noise cancelling is incredible and the amount of customisation you can do when paired with the SteelSeries app is amazing.
You have 2 batteries that are very plug-and-play, the battery life itself is good easily lasting for several days of gaming. The base station fully charges a battery in a matter of hours so you will never not have a charged battery. The base station also has a fair amount of functions that I won’t go into.
When paired with the SteelSeries app, you can customise your sound experience to best suit your needs and personal tastes.
Overall, while on the pricey side, I assure you they are 100% worth it and are easily some of the best headphones I’ve used for gaming.
4.0 out of 5 stars Good headset, poor software.
Works well but can be fiddly initially to set up- you’ll need the instructions for sure to get all the button presses correct. Sounds great once set up, but these are the most expensive headset I’ve bought, I’m no audiophile. You can do presets using the software and that’s where it loses points. I’m a Mac user, so software can be dodgy ports, this being no exception. The software is hit or miss, regular ‘fatal flaw’ notifications. You can update firmware but nerve racking as it’s seems to crash whilst installing. I imagine many new to this make of headphone will think features are broken initially- it requires a little patience to get it working the way you want. I found whatever set up, they felt a little loose but not insufferably. The headphone nipple problem many complain about didn’t cause me any problem, so a headset for people with big heads but small ears! I wanted an all singing headset that works with Mac’s, phones, ps5, tv and a switch, that also has wired options. Did have some interference occasionally but had it set up for speed not distance, latency wasn’t an issue. ANC impressed, not 100%, but cut out fan and dehumidifier noise which surprised how well it did. The magnetic covers don’t feel secure enough for outdoor use and imagine easy to lose, so if you’re out listening to music, I’d tape them on.
5.0 out of 5 stars best headphones ever , however .......
These are the best wireless headphones i have used , however there is an issue with the noise cancelling speaker being too close to the ear and can dig in. thicker ear foams are needed to stop this
Really great wireless gaming headse
I bought this headset hoping it would be an upgrade from my wireless corsair XT headphones. They certainly do not disappoint. The nova pro’s have a better sound range and bring alive more games and music. The comfort is amazing too, not much weight and has a nice balance when sat on my head.
Love the swapple batteries and buttons are all easy to access once used too.
One part I feel it falls behind my other headset by corsair is the microphone, while the steelseries is not a bad mic, it does fall behind in clarity to those of the corsair.
Over all, I am extremely happy with the nova wireless pro’s and live how you can switch between pc and ps5 with ease.
Highly recommended if you are happy with paying a premium price as the headsets certainly excels in many aspects.
Only one working battery
Comfortable, noise cancelling is decent, sound is perfect, mic is great too. But it only had one working battery, so hot swapping the batteries wasn’t a possibility – the battery is only sold on steelseries website for 20 and is out of stock anyway. Really disappointing for the cos
Awesome sound, But poor desig
I was so looking forward to using this headset. This was an up-grade from my Artics 7p which I had at launch with my PS5 a few years back. The 7p’s have great sound and are so comfy to wear, and I expected the same from the Nova Pros.
The sound from the Nova Pros is amazing, you can hear everything. The emersion you get with this head set is awesome. But the comfort is such a let down.
There is a nipple that sticks out inside both ear cups. These rub and press against your ears, and after a while it’s starts to hurt and becomes very uncomfortable. To the point after a few days of wearing it got that bad I went back to my Arcits 7p and they were so comfortable to wear again.
The Nova Pros is an awesome headset sound wise. The hype is real in that respect. But for me they are very uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time.
EDIT. After reading a few reviews and watching a few YT videos it was recommended to get a pair of wicked cushion’s replacement ear cups. And they have made all the difference. The Nova Pros are now perfect in comfort and also sound.
5.0 out of 5 stars Top headphones.
Amazing headphones. The software is also very good. lets you customise your EQ settings as much as you want – very in-depth.
ANC is also amazing and blocks out 90% of the noises and I like the fact that it can be turned on or off as I like.
The range can be better (only about 10m) but it’s good enough.
Buy it if you are considering it and can afford it.
I bought this as a One Headset To Rule Them All – mainly with working from home & to be able to switch to PC and console gaming when time permits.
Set up was pretty easy and the software worked fine, possibly helped by already owning a Steelseries mouse.
The desktop unit for setting the specific features of the headset took a little getting used to (found the manual a little confusing here!) but once I got the hang of holding in the button/wheel, all was good.
Build quality is damn fine. Feels robust and well made. Having 2 batteries that can be hotswapped out is probably one of the coolest features!
My only issue is getting the headset to switch between 2.4ghz and Bluetooth – which as a multipoint system was a big feature and selling point. It’s supposedly a seamless experience with easy movement between devices, however in reality, I have to power off and power on, specifically choosing the 2.4ghz OR Bluetooth.
Using one communication protocol seems to make things easier – as in, I can move between devices, but if I have 2.4ghz in use, it won’t swap to Bluetooth.
Overall, I’d recommend but warn about the issues with multipoint – although your mileage may vary!
These are by far the best headphones I’ve owned yet. The sound clarity and bass is perfect, it’s not over powering and it’s the best sound quality I’ve every experienced. As a long term Astro A40 user these are the next level up. Having tried the Astro A50 wireless headphone the sound quality was shocking I returned them the next day and bought these. I have no regrets.
Battery last a long time compared with my Corsair Void Pro Elite which would barely get me 4 hours play time before they died, I’ve been using these for a few days now and have only just had to put them on charge. This is even when the headset hadn’t arrived on 100% battery I’m yet to find out how long these will last.
The fact they’re wireless too is an added bonus. The stock earpads have to be changed ASAP as they’re thin faux leather cups and make your ears sweat! I found my head getting sore after a few hours use and the pads had moisture on from the sweat they cause.
I’ve swapped out the earpads with the WC FreeZe earpads, much thicker fabric pads with cooling gel. A lot more comfortable now it practically makes the headset perfect.
Don’t hesitate to buy these as I’m very picky about my headsets and sound quality/comfort. Mix with aftermarket earpads and this is a headset for life.
Great hardware, terrible software
The headset itself is of great quality. Audio and ANC are better than any other headset I’ve owned previously, the swappable battery is an amazing QoL feature and I won’t be able to go back to wired charging. Headband is not the most comfortable but sufficient and the hub is great for extra control.
However the software used, Steelseries GG, is extremely unstable. It has great features like Sonar and customizable profiles, but every other updates seems to break the software. Multiple times I had ‘catastrophic errors’ with no way to fix them other than wait for a patch that could take weeks to be shipped.
Overall, it’s still a best in class wireless headset, but the amount of hassle with drivers and the software is unacceptable for the price point.
These headphones are amazing, to be put simply.
The Steel Series engine that you use, especially with their feature called sonar which allows you to set different eq settings for music, browsing the web, gaming and chat, all individually adjusted in a quick and easy format. This means if you wanted a more fps oriented eq (without having to change anything) then you can set it so that only your games when you boot up (and it recognises games that all have their own eq if you wanted to) will have that eq setting. This can also be done with browsing Netflix or YouTube if you wanted a more immersive eq then you can have another without you ever having to change eq settings.
Not only is the engine amazing the sound quality is industry leading, the clearest quality in gaming I’ve ever experienced with just enough bass if you like that but the mids and high are crisp but not ear piercing like so many other headphones fall into doing. As Tod Howard once said “it just works”, in my opinion it is worth the price tag, however, what led me to return these headsets is what steel series has had a problem with for years now, the size.
While they have added stereoscopic plastic legs for the headset I found the headset still uncomfortable.
I have a big head so it touches the side where the bands attach and it just isn’t comfortable for me, unfortunately there is no cushioning if you remove the band so there isn’t a better option there.. BIG HEADS BEWARE.
By all means these headphones are amazing, just more suited for small-medium sized heads
I’ve never owned a high end pair of headphones before but I thought I’d go all out and order the Nova Pro since it came with the option to pay in 5 Installments.
Maybe I’m just a naive noob, who knows? But I cannot get over how good everything sounds with these. I planned to have a very short gaming session after work to test them out, but i ended up listening to some of my favourite albums for about 90 minutes because I couldn’t believe how good the audio quality is. The flat EQ out of the box was really underwhelming for me, but I found the right one for my style of music (punchy) and that was the sweet spot for me. I was hearing sounds I hadn’t heard before on albums I’d listened to thousands of times (for reference, I usually use mid-range Sony earphones).
Then I fired up Elden Ring, and the level of immersion is astonishing compared to my Sony sound bar. The crackling of the fire, birds chirping in the distance, the dull thud of footsteps as my character ran around the castle. Even the clicking sound when navigating through menus sounds vibrant and exciting. So good. This was with the surround sound switched on in the Sonar app, but I’m not sure if that made much difference.
To be honest, I was really starting to get buyer’s remorse after reading some of the reviews on Reddit and wondering if I would be left disappointed, but I’m definitely a convert to high-end headphones now, thanks to Steelseries. Can’t wait for my week off now so I can play more games and listen to music.
Well worth the high price tag if you ask me. Just get them if you’re on the fence.
God would approve
I previously had the Arctis 5 for about 4 years and they were slowly giving in so I bought myself these as I am 100% convinced with the longevity of steel series headsets.
I have to say since I have switched to these I could honestly never see myself buying another brand.
The batteries last AGES. I work from home on my PC and use them daily atleast 6 hours and the battery life will budge maybe 10-15% so I do always swap them out around half way as apparently thats the best way to go about batteries and dont always continue to charge fully charged batteries.
Back to the headset, at the start its a tiny bit tight but they loosen a little after a few wears to fit your head. (had the same with my Arctis 5)
If you buy these you NEED to download the Sonar app which lets you customise your sound outputs and effects THIS IS A GAME CHANGER and honestly from what i’ve seen from other brands it DOUBT they come anywhere near the novas.
I am absolutely in love with these headsets, I go around the house listening to music and continue to talk to colleagues or friends without the connection having an issue. 10/10 headphones.
Excellent!
Excellent headset! I had the Steelseries Arctis 9X before and they were great but this new headset has even more customisation and makes almost every game 3D surround sound, which is also fully and widely customisable for every game with presents available.
The headset is comfy as always expected by steelseries and durability is top tier.
Would highly recommend this headset to gamers of all levels!
A Good set for all round music films and gaming
Requires some tinkering in sonar to get the required sounds but once set all good. One gripe no instant mute button anywhere. Very little sound leakage at volume in or out but may get hot over extended periods. Tested against sound blaster ae-5 plus and paired with seinheisser hd25-1 and played rust have to say the footsteps were crisper with the seiheissers maybe some more tinkering required in sonar.
Was Plug and Play to get working. Oh did i mention no mute button…I did well will mention it again as I cannot hear the wife talking to me…A price i’m willing to pay 🙂
Good headset BUT....
The headset is great, not issues at all but: at low volume while connected via usb the headset is crackling, popping and you can barely hear something. If you increase the volume there is no issues at all but at low volume like 5-20% the popping comes again. There are few threads on web regarding this problem and hoping we gone have an update to fix this.
If you plug it through 3.5mm audio jack the crackling and popping dissapears but no rgb lights, so the issue appears while connected via usb. Apart from that the headset is great.
Sound quality is astonishing
I changed to these from a pair of Sony H9s, which are also considered in the top-tier, premium headset market. My word, the difference in quality is astonishing. These are as good as proper audio monitor headphones that I used to use when I was a hobbyist DJ in the early 2000s. You can hear everything, you can even tell if kick drums are synth or real.
I haven’t used too much else of the headset yet, I have it hooked up to my work laptop and my phone at the same time so I listen to Spotify through bluetooth from my phone, and when I get a call on either Teams or the Phone, I can take both through the headset.
Swappable battery is great, never again do I need to have a wire plugged in whilst wearing them because I forgot to pop them on charge.
These don’t feel like a gaming headset, they feel like proper audio equipment. Build quality is good, they aren’t oversized, and the loose strap for the top of the head is adjustable and comfortable.
I’ve already recommended these to family and friends.
As the headline says, Fantastic sound and a cracking set of headphones, using the software on my PC works very well and (Somewhat) Seamlessly after some tweaking.
I use a GOXLR with an XLR Microphone and wanted something I could use with my setup but also keep me wireless with as low a latency as possible so that I can monitor my voice in real time, I am happy to say this ticks all the boxes I needed and more.
It just works, pretty much straight out the box I hooked it up to my GOXLR and it all just did it’s thing, I didn’t install the software at first because I didn’t think I needed it but after realising the Surround sound stuff is the “Sonar” that you need the software for I begrudgingly installed yet another peripheral bit of software. It wasn’t that bad once I got it up and running. I do wish there was someway for it to use it without having to have an application though but I guess I am asking for something that can’t be done.
My one gripe with this headset is the way the earcups are made on the inside, they have these sort of raised nodules inside almost feels like a set of earbuds in each ear, I assume this is so you can get all the surround sound piped directly into your ears or some Audio magic. Either way the sound is great but on the right earcup this hard little nugget sticks right into my ear and genuinely caused pain and chafing for quite a while, I was on the verge of returning these headphones but after MUCH fiddling around with size and fit and I think just getting used to the feeling of it. I am now no longer bothered by it.
I still don’t think it’s good that I had to deal with that and “get used” to the uncomfortable feeling when I am paying through the nose for this headset.
I don’t really use the microphone on it, I only wanted it for the headphones but I have tested it out of curiosity and it is OK. Just OK. It certainly won’t be winning any awards for clarity or sound but it will do the trick in a pinch. I like the fact it retracts completely into the earcup so I don’t even have to think about it really. Out of sight, out of mind.
Overall a really solid pair of headphones, the base station is fantastic, the range is really good (I’d say a good 40 ft or so through lots of walls and appliances!) and the sound is easily the best I have ever used, combine that with the use case I had of wanting to listen to my voice back live for recordings and monitoring and it is exactly what I needed and wanted, the only downside is that strange little hard plastic bump in the ear cups that doesn’t feel quite right, or comfy.
A solid buy either way.
model: arctis nova pro wireless. great premium headset, works a treat with my dual pc wfh setup
got this for the dual inputs and bluetooth mix in, along with the infinity battery system, this will keep me able to answer calls for work while hotswapping to my pc after work for gaming. sound quality is great with fantastic eq and software.
if you dont need the bells and whistles though the artis 7 models are also fantastic, i used my last pair for about 5 years and only replaced it because the earcups were deteriorating from my constant use and the battery was starting to fade.
great all rounde
got the arctis pro for pc with no gamedac or anything extra, but it did come with the chatmix dial which has been a godsend for those voice chats where you never know how loud people will be! I used to use an analog arctis 3 with a creative soundcard, the soundcard was because I didn’t like the old steelseries software and it caused crashes. it was a really good combination for the price and has been hard to get away from, but now it’s getting old and there never was much bass.
So my experience installing this one, the software is more bloated than it used to be but it seems to not cause any crashes which is an improvement over the last one. It is essential to set the equalizer with these! it’s hidden behind a few menus but it’s absolutely worth finding, as the upper mids really needed tweaking up for me, otherwise it couldn’t hold a candle even to the arctis 3 setup. the other sliders are just personal preference, added some bass which is a big upgrade. the sound quality is slightly better than before, which is hard to do considering this is USB and all of the postprocessing is done in steelseries software. But the bass is much improved in strength and quality, it really adds a depth to anything it plays back and the surround is much better than the virtual surround I used to have.
So it’s a very nice headset to listen to, I am told the mic sounds good and it’s quite easy to set up.
Couldn't recommend it enough
This headset is honestly one of the best on the market, I love that it works with basically any console from my series x to my ps5.
Not a lot of headsets out there that work wirelessly on more than one device.
Sound quality is superb and it’s really comfortable on my larger than average head.
I will say 1 thing that would let this down is the fact it comes with mic monitoring pre-enabled and the only way to turn it off is to connect to a pc and download the app. Other than that I have no problems.
Finally may have actually settled on the perfect wireless headset. I’m not an audio file by any means so i just give the most subjective view i can with the sound and the sound is very good, it may lean a bit too much toward a bright sound, but everything mostly sounds very good, wide and clear.
The comfort on these things is fantastic. The adjustable headband sits plush on your head and doesn’t feel weighty at all. The earcups are the signature mesh that are always comfy, maybe too shallow if being picky. They can also be adjusted at the sides to add further perfect comfort incase you have a huge noggin like myself.
Connection is solid, the signal from the dongle never loses connection and the range is very good, I’ve walked all the way to my kitchen and it never dropped signal once. The same applied with the Bluetooth, just solid all round.
Compatibility seems good, just flick the switch to usb mode and you’re good to go on the pc. With the gg software there’s tons of adjustments you can add to make the headset sound better, although be warned if you want to save your settings for console use then it can only be done using the engine adjustments, sonar cannot be carried over and is for pc use only, I find Smiley is the best preset for console gaming. I use Sonar everytime for PC gaming. The game chat mix and the added presets for tons of different games and music. Although you can dabble with the eq adjustment yourself more than the engine to get your perfect sound.
There’s my personal review of this headset. At 144 on black friday i think it was well worth the value for a headset like this.
These actually work with the Quest 2. Since the headset is compatible with Android, I figured I could just stick the USB C receiver into the quest. I now have fully wireless audio with no latency while using the Quest 2. Pretty impressed with it.
The sound is better than I expected for a wireless headset too.
The ability to have a Bluetooth connection running to the headset at the same time as the other wireless channel is pretty cool.
Only knocked a star off because the headset often has to be restarted while connecting to the wireless receiver which is a pain.
I got these after a couple of Arctis 9 Wireless broke on me.
I really love these headphones but unfortunately they ended up breaking on me with stress fractures around where the headband attaches to the ear cups. SteelSeries in replacing them have replaced them with the new SteelSeries Actis Nova Pro Wireless. I also include a comparison of the 2 at the bottom of this review.
Things I like:
– comfortable
– changeable batteries
– bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless works at the same time
– removable ear cups can be washed
– noise cancelling on the microphone is very good – I have an old car, but after using them for a call with someone he asked me what car I had because it was surprisingly quiet.
– can plug into a 3.5mm jack (though this turns them into passive headphones so the wireless and bluetooth is disabled)
What’s not so good
– Broke with stress fractures – if I’d had a 2nd pair I would add something to take some of the stress from the joint – a couple of hair ties do quite nicely actually.
– The Bluetooth support is flawed – when an app changes the audio device it’s using, the headphones detect this and quickly reduce the volume to nothing and back to some preset. Some apps trigger this very often (for example duolingo), which means these headphones are not compatible with all kinds of app. It can be worked around by playing some continuous sound (such as quiet music or a white noise generator), but it’s silly to have to do this for premium headphones.
– can get quite sweaty if using alot and the ear cups can smell after some time.
– Base station/transmitter is enormous, so not so great for laptop users
Even though they broke on me, I would’ve had another pair because I really love them.
Having also tried the Nova Pros, if you’re wondering whether to get these or the Novas, here are some comparisons:
Better on Arctis Pros:
– ChatMix works without needing to use Sonar software – and the headphones present as 2 different audio devices for this and works reliably. On Nova Pros, ChatMix is a feature of the Sonar software and not of the headphones, and with Sonar it’s not reliable.
– Microphone is easier to pull out
– Ear pads removable for changing/cleaning
– Doesn’t need Sonar software for any of its features
– The texture of the removable ear cup covers feels nicer (novas is scratchy and I keep feeling like my nails are catching on it)
Better on Nova Pros:
– Lighter
– Connection from headband to ear cups seems sturdier
– Bluetooth volume control seems to work properly
– Dual USB inputs (though doesn’t work at the same time)
– Smaller base station/transmitter (albeit still big enough to be inconvenient for laptop users)
Which do I prefer? For the better bluetooth and the sturdier feeling connection to the headband I think I prefer the Nova Pros. But it’s not a no-brainer choice.
Don’t usually leave reviews but if you’re on the fence about buying this I’d say do it. I wanted a headset for the new call of duty and was willing to go up to around 200, I’ve had turtle beach 700 gen 2s for just over a year and wanted an upgrade. (Mainly for footstep accuracy)
I bought some Astro a50s but I wasn’t a fan of the all the quality was good but couldn’t justify the price. I got Astro a30s recently that we’re good quality but the phone app was buggy and you had to stay connected to your phone to use the eq and if you got a phone call it would minimise game sound.
After extensive YouTube research I came across these. Now I never really thought SteelSeries as a strong headset contender (my bad) but for the price they’re matching products I’ve previously had that were over 200 without the annoyance.
Yes there’s an app but after the initial update you dont have to use it again (I haven’t) there is a game to chat wheel (only on the Xbox version I believe) which is vital for me because I dont want to be in the middle of a game and have to go into an app to change the setting or whatever. Usually I want flip to mute mics for ease but the button is easy to press and the mic has a cool little light that turns red so you know when it’s on or not.
But the main thing is the audio quality right? Now it’s hard to explain but yes these are perfect, I can hear the difference between above and below and not just if they’re infront or behind but how far they are which is what my turtle beach lacked. I wouldn’t use these for anything else other than gaming though.
Some negatives are the mic isn’t great audio quality (physically it’s good quality the retractable is a nice feature) I personally don’t like the ear cup material but you can buy some leatherette ones from the SteelSeries website which was what my turtle beach had that I loved but they are pricey, apparently this helps reduce more of the background noise but I don’t have them yet so I can’t say for sure. For some reason they’ve made a usb c dongle for a series x headset when it doesn’t have a usb c port but the adapter does come with it so it’s kinda whatever really.
So that’s about everything you can customise the headband and the headset covers on the outside again from the SteelSeries website if you’re into that.
I made this review to help people like me because I know how hard it is to find a decent headset and reviews don’t want to say if it’s bad half the time but I will be keeping this headset as it’s what I was looking for and actually less than I’d pay for it so I would recommend this headset. Hope this helps you guys out 🙂
Overall the product is great. I have had countless headsets, keyboards and mice over the years from steel series and other companies (razer, logitech etc). The headset before this was the previous artis pro which i had for just under 2 years and it broke. Steel series provided a like for like replacement free of charge which is incredible when the headset was 250-300. I have to admit that process was painful and lengthy, but worth it!
How is that relevant? It gives me a lot of confidence that should anything go wrong they will support you and try to help rectify the issues, something that is important when spending so much money!
The product:
Brilliant, i had the wired headset before for the better sound quality and range, something i worried id notice if i went wireless. Wireless is such a great experience especially when gaming and getting up/moving around. The sound quality is phenomenal and if you have a pc their sound software is great, not sure games work with it yet but it has potential!
Super comfy, love the swappable batteries and they have a long battery life. Bluetooth works great and at the same time as the wireless technology, great for those mid game scrolls through tiktok!
I have left the bluetooth on over night and whenni have come to use the headset on the night the battery is very low, but it remained linked to my phone throughout that time, so the battery is pretty good!
It has been ‘laggy’ using Bluetooth when i tried playing games on my laptop outside, but that could have been the wifi connection to the game or any other factors. Based on that, gaming id recommend taking the dock with you to avoid any issues.
The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless iterates over the successful Arctis Pro Wireless giving really interesting options:
– the padding on the headphones is now covered with p.u. leather rather than fabric, this creates a better seal
– improved battery life with a single charge
– dual input on the receiver (ideal if you have two consoles or a PC + a console)
– you can use Bluetooth simultaneously with the connection to the receiver, this means you can effectively connect three devices and use two connection simultaneously!
– support for Xbox consoles with the “For Xbox” variant
– ANC
– the retractable microphone now goes flush with the earcup design
– a better EQ software on PC
– reinforced frame (earcups used to snap on the old version)
– carrier sack included in the box!
– hot swappable battery is still here!
The only cons I see are:
– you need a specific version for Xbox support and this forces you having one input which is usable only with Xbox consoles
– ANC is average, I wouldn’t use it if I were to use these as Bluetooth headphones going around
– you need a PC/Mac to update firmware anyway, so for console only players this is a con
– they’re expensive, so not everyone will be comfortable buying them
– No LDAC or AptX codec support over Bluetooth, which is a shame because the speakers on this cans are more than capable to deliver and they already support 24bit/48KHz over 2.4GHz quantum connection.
Bought this to replace a HyperX Cloud Revolver S when the inline mix-amp melted and wanted to give a wireless set a go. I use this purely with my PC so not tested it with a console.
I’m an avid gamer and also use this a lot whilst working from home at the moment due to Covid.
The headset and wireless terminal/charger are very solid and well made and look good. The ear cups are comfortable enough for my fairly big ears although have seen purchasing the leather ear cup replacements may be more comfortable.
Sounds quality is great for gaming, films, music, etc and there is very little noise leak from the headset and I’ve had no disruption at all in the delivery of sound to the headset over the wireless connection. There’s loads of EQ and other adjustments on the wireless terminal (so doesn’t need additional software – bonus!) to get it exactly how you want it. Surround sound seem to work pretty well too and directional sound in games/films is good! Sidetone is also a useful feature to ensure you’re not talking louder than you need to (or realise).
The retractable mic works well and friends and colleagues have said the sound is crisp and clear. It also seems to noise cancel pretty well as if I move it an inch further from my mouth people have commented I was a lot quieter.
The batteries last well and charge quick enough that you won’t find you have a dead headset with a less than fully charged spare. The only issue I have had a couple of times when putting the spare in to charge was for some reason it didn’t charge (poor contact maybe) and then when the battery in the headphones ran out the spare wasn’t ready to go. The set does provide wired power/charging options and comes with a 1m micro USB cable you can use to direct power the headset although that’s a bit short for my setup so had to use a longer one and somewhat defeats the point of it being a wireless set, but does get you out of trouble. There is an indicator on the charging box to show it is charging and if I ever find it hasn’t started to charge on putting a battery in then removing and putting the battery in again has done the trick or one one occasion I had to disconnect/reconnect the power to the box and problem solved – something to watch out for though albeit very infrequent. The battery usually lasts virtually all day, although using the bluetooth connection for calls does seem to reduce that fairly significantly, but not to a point where the spare hasn’t fully charged.
The bluetooth function is really useful for work so I can use the same headset for Teams/Zoom, etc through the PC and then use the bluetooth for calls on the mobile. The only slight issue I have found here is if I’m on a call on Teams/Zoom,etc through the PC (wireless) and someone calls on the mobile (bluetooth), and vice versa, it mutes the mic for the live call until you deal with the incoming call. So if you’re on to a colleague and an urgent customer call comes through, you can’t tell your colleague that you have to go and I’ve had to just cut some calls off to answer the incoming one, sending apologies by message to the colleague. May be fixable through settings but I’ve not found where.
The big criticism and what nearly led me to send it back is the headband. This is not padded/adjustable as with many headsets. Instead, adjustments can be made to the ski band which holds the overhead metal piece of the headset away from your head. For smaller heads, I’m sure this works great but for my large head, the headset bar is touching my head to be comfortably over my ears and the band does little to pad that contact. This can lead to discomfort if worn for extended periods of time or if the headband moves (made of metal) and the edge rubs against your head. Steelseries doesn’t seem to offer any solution to this so may look to add my own padding of some sort to resolve this.
I did find the price point for this pretty high at 280 at time of buying, however I bought it as Used – New (and it was perfect) and also got an Amazon Warehouse discount reducing the cost by about 120 overall so that made it worth it. Had I paid full whack I probably would have sent it back due to the head discomfort, but I love everything else about the headset and it was one of the consistently highest rated wireless headsets I found through research so am happy to look into resolving the head contact issue myself having already bought it for a great price and not knowing about this.