Hi all (READ THIS BEFORE YOU BUY), Below is my one-week review with the product. I will edit it after a 3 month period. To start, I have lots of experience with headphones. I have had Beats Studios, Airpods Max, Turtle Beachs, Bose 700s, multiple Razer headsets, and even other Steelseries products like the Arctis 6. None of these compare to these for a few reasons I will go into below. I use headphones for gaming but also I work from home as a software engineer, so I am on the computer a LOT and in lots of zoom meetings. !!! Disclaimer !!!: These are the "Xbox" version of these. That means, on your multi-system adapter/DAC, one cord can go into a PC/PlayStation and one can go into an Xbox. **If you plan to use this for a PC and PlayStation, please go buy the non-Xbox version. That said, if you plan to ever use this with an Xbox, you will need this version. You CAN use the Xbox slot for a PC, but it will show up as an "Xbox Controller" and will have more limited functionality. Okay, back to the reasons. 1. Ease of use. I opened these up, plugged the multi-system DAC into my PC, turned on the headset and was ready to go. I had a few onboarding steps: Download Steelseries GG, update drivers, restart device (a few times?), but since then they have works FLAWLESSLY. 2. Wireless. These aren't just your typical wireless. I have had no connection issues. I can walk to the other side of the house, as long as I don't have too many walls between me and my computer these things still work, even then there was just some static. The quality is great as well. 3. Battery. This is HUGE. There is a battery in the headset that you can remove and swap with the one CHARGING IN THE DAC. Yes, you heard me, just swap the battery when you need and boom, full charge. You'll never need the direct connection outside of updates to the firmware. This really is fantastic and easy to use. 4. Microphone. I don't personally use the microphone, but the quality compared to most other headset mics I have used it up there. Some have asked me if you can use the mic while it is in the headset still. I'd say yes, but it will be lower volume and less clear, but I tested it and it would still work (and frankly was still better than like HyperX headset microphones that I've had. I wouldn't buy these FOR the microphone per-say, if you want a nice microphone you can buy a Blue Snowball for cheap on amazon on sale and it'll be all you need unless you want more professional stuff (get the Blue Yeti after that maybe). 5. Connection. I have only used the DAC connection which is really really good as I said in the wireless review. That said, I will be trying to Bluetooth to test that seamlessness they inspire there. I would LOVE if I could get phone notifications while also gaming or in work calls without interrupting those I'm talking to our my gaming experience too much (while of course also me still being alerted). 6. Look. These look great. They look professional enough that I can wear them on work calls. I would maybe thing twice if it was a client meeting, but other than that, I'd feel comfortable in these all day. 7. Comfort. This is only a one-week review, but I will say they are quite comfortable. The airpods max and arctis 6 are notable uncomfortable to me, the first being too heavy and the second putting too much pressure on parts of my head that I get a headache. That said, no problem with these so far. I like the ear cups actually, they're soft and feel premium (as they should for this price point). I know I've seen people complain online, but I've had no issues with these. If I do, you'll see an update right below here. Overall: Great connectivity and ease of use while looking nice enough for me to not be embarrassed because they're "gaming" all while being comfortable with good audio. This is a very high price point. If you really are a gamer and want a very intuitive product while avoiding crazy RGBs and your headsets looking too "gaming", and you can afford these, then absolutely. That said, this is not just money you're spending on this headset but it's money you could put elsewhere. Audio is important, but you could get a perfectly good headset for less and still not miss out on the gaming experience. These are absolutely a 'premium' product and thus the price point might not really align perfectly. That said, these are my favorite headphones to-date and I am very happy with my purchase, so you might be too. Please like this helpful if this was useful for you. Thanks for listening to my TED Talk :) Read more
After using the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, I can confidently say the consensus online is spot on—everyone was right. These are genuinely top-tier gaming headphones. The sound quality is excellent right out of the box: clear footsteps, strong positional audio, clean mids, and punchy but controlled bass. The DAC is a game-changer and makes dialing in EQ profiles incredibly easy. Wireless performance is rock solid with no noticeable latency, and the dual-device setup (gaming + Bluetooth) works flawlessly. Comfort overall is very good, build quality feels premium, and the mic is far better than what you’d expect from a wireless headset. The only real downside is the ear cups. They’re just a bit shallow, so if you have larger ears, they may lightly touch the drivers. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s noticeable during longer sessions. The good news is this is easily solved with aftermarket ear pads, which completely fixes the issue. All things considered, this headset absolutely lives up to its reputation. Expensive, yes—but if you’re looking for one of the best wireless gaming headsets available, this is it. Read more
I've only had these for about two days, but I wanted to write up some quick first impressions. The long and short of it is: good headphones with some minor, addressable comfort concerns. Cons: - As I just mentioned, the real primary negative to these headphones in my experience was the comfort of wearing them for long periods. Some users have trouble with the protruding bit of ANC housing on the inside of the cups. My ears are fairly flat to my skull, so I didn't notice this issue at all. However, the material the ear cushions are made of, a sort of pleather material, does retain heat like an oven. After an hour or two, my ears were very warm and it got uncomfortable to continue wearing them. Using the headphones while cleaning up around the house was like wearing a sauna suit specifically on my ears. Fortunately, there are aftermarket replacement ear cushions that address both of these issues with larger pads made from more breathable fabric. It's doesn't feel great immediately swapping pieces off of $400 tech, but at least the problem can be solved. I bought a pair from Wicked Cushions and first impressions of those are great, but I've barely had a chance to really test them. -Magnetic side panels hiding the battery and USB-C port have me concerned about longevity. While I'm glad the side panels aren't held on by cheap plastic clips that would inevitably break, the extremely sleek magnetic panels do feel a bit more form over function. The magnets inside the panels are just strong enough to hold the panels to the headset, and I haven't had them fall off yet, but I am worried about that happening after months or years of removing them to swap the battery. -The noise cancellation isn't absolute, but it's good enough to minimize white noise like fans or air conditioning. This wasn't really what I came to these headphones for. I am not particularly bothered by room noise. In fact, I do like a certain amount of situational awareness, and total noise cancellation makes me uneasy in the same way blindfolding myself with a VR headset does. This does a good enough job to obfuscate irritating noises like my neighbor's fender rattling bass or the humming fan of my refrigerator without making me feel like a home invader finally has a chance to get the drop on me. Pros: -There's a lot I love here. Firstly and most importantly, these sound great. I'm not an audio expert at all, but I am a video production professional and have worked closely with audio engineers and have some idea on the differences between high and low quality sounding headphones and sound systems. These are likely to satisfy anybody but the most demanding audiophiles out there. -They just work. I'm so sick of buying some expensive piece of tech and having to read a thousand Reddit posts just to figure out how to make the item work with my particular setup. These are about as plug and play as expensive gear gets in 2024. I opened the box, plugged the base station into a USB port, turned on the headphones, set the audio output to the headphones on my PC, and that was all I needed to do to make them work. The base station gets its power via the USB, so you don't even need to plug it into an electrical outlet. There's obviously driver updates and free software that you can download to manually set equalizers and fiddle with settings (which I do think works well and suggest downloading), but all you absolutely need is a PC with a USB port and ears. -Two batteries with one always charging in the base station. This is ingenious. Seriously, whoever on the SteelSeries team who suggested this, give them a raise, a company car, and a nice corner office with a good view. It's such a simple idea that solves the number one inconvenience with rechargeable gear. As long as you place the spare battery in the base station, you'll always be ready to go. -Simultaneously connect the headset to your PC or console and a Bluetooth device. I love to play video games and listen to podcasts. With these, I can play a game on PC (or console) and hear that audio on these headphones, while they're also connected to my phone playing a podcast at the same time. One of the primary reasons I have always preferred a nice sound system to nice headphones is that a sound system lets me indulge my broken, millennial attention span. With these headphones, now I can split my attention between multiple stimuli while also shutting out the rest of the world. -Not gamer aesthetic. This is more of a general shoutout to SteelSeries. Thank you for having options for those of us who don't want to die of embarrassment when we catch our reflection in the monitor. No gaudy, distracting RGB LEDs adorning every surface, no ridiculous cat ears mounted at the top. Just black headphones that go on your head and don't call more attention to themselves than the media they're playing. -The design is simple and functional. The mic coils inside the headphones when you do not need it. The buttons and nobs are all slightly raised so you can sense from feel what controls you're touching while wearing them. Like I mentioned above, these do not distract from the media they're playing. They're a tool to make your experience more enjoyable and otherwise be as undetectable as possible. It's a design direction that I find deeply appealing because it respects both the media it is playing and its users. Even the SteelSeries logo that is printed on the sides of the headset is barely visible without close inspection. I really cannot stress enough how much I appreciate what SteelSeries does in this regard. I have an old wired pair of headphones from SteelSeries as well, and they've only just been replaced by these. Read more
