SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Multi-System Gaming Headset – Premium Hi-Fi Drivers – Active Noise Cancellation – Infinity Power System – Stealth Retractable Mic – PC, PS5/PS4, Switch, Mobile

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 🙂

I got the PS5 version instead of the XBOX version because I never plan to buy an Xbox. Even though the Xbox model is compatible with the PS5, XBox & Pc. The PS5 model is only compatible with PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, & Mobile. So that’s a decision that you’ll have to make whenever you go to buy these.

FEEL:
The feel to me is a premium feel, the headset is made of plastic but feels really sturdy & build quality seems well built. The adjustable headband is comfortable & feels really comfortable for my head. The band stretches enough to accomodate big headed people as well as the peanut head person. The buttons click & give you a responsive feedback to let you know that the button was pressed. The magnetic ear covers are nice feeling & you can feel the magnets attracting when you remove or place the cover on to the headset. The Base Station is built just like the headset, made of plastic material but great quality of work. The wheel rolls smoothly & the back button is a touch button that has no feedback to it.

SOUND QUALITY:
The sound quality was shocking to me. Shocking because these sound great every way that I used them. I used these to listen to music & was blown away, these sound awesome. I couldn’t believe how good these sound with the normal music that I listen to on a daily basis. Future, Lil Durk, Kevin Gates, everything that I threw at it sounded so frickin good. The bass hits hard, the & the clearness is solid. Gaming was the same way, now I’m no pro gamer but these sound so good tha tI heard all types of footsteps that I never heard before, the bad part was I still couldn’t figure out where the hell they were coming from. (I told you I’m no or gamer) Honestly tho the gun sounds sound so crisp & loud, the little 8 years old cussing you out or calling you the N-word was so clear, I felt like they were in the room with me. The Steelseries Artic Nova Pro headset sound the same wired or wireless, I wasn’t able to hear any difference. Listening to these on my PC is a different experience, that’s when you have to download the Steelseries Sonar program from their website. When you download this program your experience will get a lot better. Not that it wasn’t good to begin with, but this just upgrades the headset & takes it to the next level. Within the Sonar program you will open up a mixer to wear you can toggle through the settings & change the sound settings for the Game Chat, the Chat Chat, the Media Chat, The Aux Chat & the Mic Chat. It also connected with my GoXLR so it gives you more tweaking that you can do. In the different settings you can adjust the BASS, THE VOICE & TREBLE. You can go into the CONFIGURATION & change the different presets, you should go through these & figure out what sounds best to you. If you go into the GAME configuration you can change the game that your playing, there is over 50 different games that you can choose from. Sonar Software makes the Artis Nova Pro a premium set of wireless gaming headphones. Without it, I would say these are still powerful & a great headset but maybe just a step down. Also if you don’t have a PC to download the Sonar Software you can’t get to the mixer or the presets, so that’s something to consider when buying these.

CONNECTIVITY:
Bluetooth connection works with any device that has Bluetooth. When playing on a console, you can connect it directly to your controller & not use the interface, connect the interface to your console & use it wirelessly or use Bluetooth to use wireless on your pc, use the interface to use it wirelessly or connect the headphones directly to your pc with a 3.5mm cable. It’s noted that you can get 40ft range from these, I didn’t actually try to measure to see how far you could actually use these but I can say that the distance is very good with these, I was on different floors & across my house & the connection was still strong, so the connection gets a A+ from me.

BUILD QUALITY/DURABILITY:
The headset is made of mostly plastic material, it doesn’t have a cheap feel tho, the material feels sturdy & pretty high quality. The ear cups are removable & are really soft & comfortable on my ears. The headband is durable & flexible enough to bend but not break under some tension. The buttons are durable & give you a nice responsive feedback feel when pressing the buttons.

ANC TEST:
Press the power button once to activate, double tap to activate TRANSPARENCY MODE. The ANC on these are pretty good, good enough to block out most sounds from outside of the headphones when using them. I sat next to my fan with the fan on & while gaming I couldn’t hear the fan, if I just had the headset on but wasn’t playing a game then I could hear the fan. When I’m gaming my wife literally has to throw something at me to get my attention because I can’t hear her with these on, plus I think she just likes chucking random objects across the room at me. Transparency Mode is okay, not something that I activate much but it is useful.

MIC TEST: B
For Gaming: PS5
For Muzik: B+
For PC: A+
Call Quality: A
Glasses Test: A+

Battery Life:
I found that the battery life was really good. Both batteries lasting 20 hours a piece totaling 40 hours of continuous use if needed. The only issue & it might be 100% user error was I struggled to get the battery into the charging dock. It would go into the slot but wouldn’t stay in there for some reason. You can fast charge the Artic Nova Pro by charging them for 15 minutes & you’ll get 3 hours of battery life.

Likes:
The look of these are definitely a great quality, they don’t look cheap or like a bum ass pair of headphones. The ear cushions are really comfortable & fluffy, they fit over my ears & my ears just rest in them. The material that the era cushions are made of are nice as well, I don’t think it’s leather but it’s leather like, they’re comfortable enough to keep on your ears for several hours at a time but you might get a little ear sweat if you use them long enough, not really a problem if your in a cool room, but if your room is hot or room temperature they’ll most likely make your ears sweat. The headband is really comfy too, it’s not heavy or odd feeling, a lot of times I forgot that I was wearing these, the band fits my head perfectly. The controls on the ear cups are easy to reach & not get confused, the volume dial is convenient & won’t let you go from 0% to 100% in 1 swipe. Bluetooth button is easy to access as it’s the lone button on the right ear cup. Sound quality is really good straight out of the box, if you connect it to a pc & access the Sonar settings in the Steelseries GG program then you can tweak the equalizer settings a lot more to get a better sound out of your headset. The battery life on these are crazy, I’ve been using these for about a month & I’ve only changed the battery once, thats with over 50 hours of gameplay.

Dislikes:
The charger port location, why out it under the removable ear cup cover? That just seems unnecessary to me, I wouldn’t have much rather have seen it on the side of the ear cup for better placement & easier access. The battery going into the wireless base station, I still haven’t gotten that down completely. The mic is nice but I think it’s probably the weakest part of this headset, it’s clear but it still sounds like your talking into a plastic cup or through a wall or something. The way you remove the earcups to me makes me nervous every time that I do it, I feel that I’m going to break a clip & then ruin the ear cups, they are replaceable so if that happens it’s not the end of the world but who wants to spend more money when they don’t have to?The magnetic ear cups are dope, but they attract way too many fingerprints, but I have a solution for that at the end of the video so MAKE SURE TO WATCH THE WHOLE VIDEO!!!

You can use the Bluetooth w/ the 2.4Gz at the same time, it’s a dope feature to have but something that I don’t utilize that often bc it’s not something that I really think is needed. Example I don’t listen to music while I’m gaming, especially when playing COD & games where I need to hear every little thing then I can’t listen to music bc I have to hear everything else.

THE WRAP UP:
I can honestly say this is the best gaming headset that I have ever used. Caveat, this is only maybe the fourth or fifth pair that I’ve ever had. These are by far the most expensive pair that I ever bought. I am no gaming headset connoisseur, but if I had a dream set of gaming headphones, this is what they would be. I have no allegiance whatsoever with Steelseries, they didn’t send me these so I gain nothing by saying these are good if I actually think they’re not. Get you a pair of these ASAP. I’ve had several PlayStation branded gaming headsets, a few pair of Turtle Beach headsets & I used a my kids Steelseries Artic 1 wireless headphones before & none of them felt, sound or look as premium as these do, they also did t cost as much either. The features put the Steelseries Artic Nova Pro headphones above all other gaming headsets.

After my new HyperX Cloud Flight’s battery died, I decided to get a new headset to use for both work from home applications, and gaming. I read multiple reviews online and after doing so decided to purchase these. The packaging is high-quality and the clarity of this headset is very good in my opinion. However, I find this headset lacking in detail for listening to music and lacking significantly in base frequency response. This is likely due to the size of the drivers in the headset. The microphone is fine though I use a Shure sm7b for the vast majority of my communication. I did enjoy the ability to mix a Bluetooth source with a desktop audio source.

With that said, I missed the punchy bass response of my previous headset. I had occasional dropouts with the Bluetooth signal as well when connected to iPhone 14 Pro Max. The final straw was I found these hurt my ear cartilage to wear for longer than an hour. Ultimately, I returned these for a pair of Audeze Maxwells and could not be happier with them.

If you can find these on sale for $75 off list price then I think it’s a good value proposition. You may need to get some aftermarket cushions for them. I still feel they work well for those who are using them exclusively for gaming and don’t mind the software package that requires some dialing in to get the best sound.

I see the top review is by a guy named M. Webb.
I’d like to address some of his points and how just a few seconds of reading the instructions would have addressed all but one concern he has because the optical port was removed.

I have no issues with the GG software. There is a feature that will allow you to hear yourself with ANC on when you’re using the mic. If you go to the break-out box, you can turn that off. Other than that, I don’t see why he is recommending to stay away from it. You NEED it to update the firmware.

1. “you’re restricted to only making changes to sound profiles, etc when you use the software”
Hold the button down, it will go into the menus to adjust the sound profiles. It says so in the instruction manual. After updating the firmware I closed the app and have not opened it again. It’s running in the background, and I have not used to adjust levels or anything. I do it all with the break-out box it came with.

2. “So they give you this charging box now that doesn’t let you do anything other than adjust the volume and chatmix”
Again, HOLD THE BUTTON DOWN for like 2 seconds and you can adjust everything from the break-out box just like the previous model.
You CAN change sound profiles.
You CAN adjust the chant mix
You CAN switch input/output modes
Read the instructions.

3. “Smaller battery – the previous generation used 1000 mah – they reduced the size to 700 mah. Less capacity so now we have to charge more often / buy more batteries”
This is just flat out WRONG. The batteries easily last twice as long as the previous model. The previous model had a much shorter battery life, I have no idea WTF he’s even talking about, to be honest.

4. They didn’t get rid of digital output, but they did get rid of the optical output, that’s his first valid point. But I don’t know why you would need it anymore. You can link this with any device that has a USB with the included USB C cable. And yes, it’s in surround, not stereo. Again, it seems like he just needs to read instructions, I have had 0 issues swapping devices without having to unplug/plug in any device. The headset outputs surround sound, check your settings.

5. ” They decided to use the cheapest plastic design at this single point of failure resulting in headphones that deteriorate well within the warranty period unless you have a tiny head or treat them like they’re made of glass.”
I have no idea what he’s even talking about. These are some of the sturdiest headphones I’ve ever bought. They feel like a tank and are solid. I don’t know where this “single point of failure is.” He doesn’t explain or elaborate. I am looking all over my set and can’t find what he’s talking about. Everything is sturdy, there are made from metal and thick plastic, but it doesn’t feel heavy to wear.

6. “ANC is shit quality. I Have 4 year old BOSE with ANC that work so much better at masking / eliminating drone noise.”
The ANC is not the best you can get, but it works really well. Based on his previous complaints, I would guess he doesn’t know how to turn the ANC on. I cannot hear my PC next to me, I cannot hear the AC running from where I’m sitting with the ANC turned on. Is the ANC as good as my Sony XM5s? Hell no, but those are the best in the industry. If you’re getting these to wear everywhere and block sound, they are not the best, for that. But for just sitting at home playing games, again, it works really well.

So in conclusion, he has no idea what he’s talking about. These are some of the best feeling and sounding gaming headsets I’ve ever bought. Wearing them kind of feels just like the Sony XM4/5s. So if you like how those fit and feel, you will like this headset. You can connect to 2 devices with this at once too using the breakout box and Bluetooth. So you can listen to a podcast/music on your phone and be connected to your PC/PS5 at the same time listening to both. So I would very much recommend this if you can afford it. They are a very good headset and a justifiable upgrade over the previous model.

Some other things to address.
I saw another complaint about that, Bluetooth not working. It works fine if you connect it correctly and don’t walk away too far. But I can walk downstairs and still listen to my phone with this if the phone is upstairs connected with Bluetooth. I have not had any issues dropping the connection. Maybe it’s a defect and he should exchange them? I don’t know, I don’t have that issue.

Another complaint was about having to use the software to adjust the chatmix. You CAN NOT use the software for that. If you try and adjust it with the software it tells you to use the box! See the included screenshot.

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.