SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Review: Great Gaming Headphones

Price at the time of review

$ 349.99

Best Price Today: SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless

$ 349.99

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The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Gaming Headset handles almost everything right and offers a fascinating blend of style, comfort and striking high-resolution audio.

It also provides a variety of ways to personalize the audio experience for demanding gamers with features such as professional-grade parametric EQ and 3D spatial audio. In addition to dual wireless capabilities (2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth), Arctis Nova Pro also comes with a handy base controller that lets you switch between your PC and Xbox One or Xbox X / S at the push of a button. ..

All this feature will bring back $ 349.99. This seems a bit steep given the $ 100 cheaper retail price for non-wireless versions. Still, for headphones with levels of functionality that can really make you a better gamer, this may be worth the price.

SteelSeries Arctis NovaPro Wireless Design

Some premium gaming headsets have a good reputation for comfort, but not enough in the style department. However, the SteelSeries Nova Pro Wireless is a complete package with a stylish, mostly black exterior and a luxurious gunmetal topband and earcup cover.

SteelSeries incorporates the ComfortMAX system into the Nova Pro Wireless design. This means that the design is built to accommodate heads of all sizes and shapes.

SteelSeries

The three main functions are aimed at improving comfort. Height-adjustable sides, central flexible tension band, and rotating ear cups. Tension bands are more comfortable than current headphone cushions and allow you to move your head. The earcups also feel so soft that I barely noticed anything on my head after a long stint game.

NovaPro Wireless headphones are also very sturdy. The top band is made of PVD coated steel, but it is flexible. The outside of the headphones is also made of metal, so even if you use it roughly, it will not be scratched easily. The controls located on the left can be easily navigated with your finger once you find them. The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless microphone is housed in the base to provide adequate protection.

From an audio perspective, SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is great not only because of its quality, but also because it allows gamers to personalize their audio settings the way they want, from connection selection to desired EQ settings. ..

For example, headphones can be used wirelessly over a 2.4GHz connection or Bluetooth, but they can also be plugged in. All of these modes have their strengths and weaknesses, the biggest difference being audio quality. Wireless mode gives you more freedom of movement, but lacks the Hi-Res 96KHz / 24-bit audio tone range you get when you connect it to the included GameDac Gen2 base controller.

The new 2nd generation GameDAC features an updated ESS Sabre Quad-DAC chip, and SteelSeries states that it reduces distortion and noise more accurately than its predecessor.While playing games like, I got a much richer audio experience connected to it Skyrim When Elden Ring I was able to pick up subtle sounds like the wind of grass and trees than I did wirelessly. This richer soundscape actually added an atmosphere to my game and improved my gaming experience overall. Mike also produced decent audio quality that won some compliments to me in voice chat.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless headphones also earn a lot of points in the multi-system connect feature. To switch between PC and Xbox One with GameDAC, you only need a few twists and clicks. Adjusting parameters such as EQ and chat settings between these platforms was also easy with GameDAC’s large enough OLED display.

Dominique Bailey / IDG

Active noise canceling (ANC) and 360 degree spatial audio can be turned on or off at any time, but left on for testing. When these two technologies were paced together, we found that ANC did not completely block some external sounds. This was more noticeable in watching movies and listening to music than in games where headphones seemed to be effective in separating the audio of the game.

On the other hand, 360-degree spatial audio was consistently impressive. Use the 5.1 or 7.1 surround soundtrack to send the exact placement of the sound in space. It really heightened my spatial awareness in the game. The sound resonates left and right and around each ear without changing the GameDAC controller’s EQ settings, accurately reflecting direction and making it easier to find enemies.

With my wireless headphones, I can also play games over a Wi-Fi connection while calling my cell phone over a Bluetooth connection. So I didn’t have to miss the phone. This simultaneous audio feature can also be used to play music, podcasts, or Discord.

SteelSeries Arctis NovaPro Wireless Software

Quickly changing equalizations with the GameDAC controller is a very useful feature, but you can do much more with the Arctis NovaPro Wireless Sonar software in the SteelSeries GG app. Here you can personalize the Nova Pro Wireless EQ settings for individual games, and fine-tune the chat voice and set of microphone settings.

What pro gamers understand is that you can gain a competitive advantage by fine-tuning your EQ. For example, you can optimize the sound to find the footprints of your competitors in the rattling in the game. Doing this yourself can be a hassle, but Sonar gives SteelSeries sound engineers a choice of 23 off-the-shelf game presets. Some are common, while others are specifically for titles optimized for games such as: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, Dota 2, Forza Horizon V When Call of Duty: War Zone..

Dominique Bailey / IDG

With this in mind, I tested one of the more popular SteelSeries presets called “FPS Footsteps” in my old favorite shooter. Rebellion.. This became a hospitality and easily amplified the footprints of those who approached me.

Being able to hear the enemy’s footsteps better makes it easier to defend important tactical points, especially those that are indoors and already have a slight echo effect. As you can imagine, there is no end to the amount of experimentation possible with Sonar. This is an exciting prospect when considering future SteelSeries devices.

Conclusion

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is a premium gaming headset with high resolution audio, 360 degree spatial audio, active noise canceling, and numerous personalization options. They are also stylish, durable and comfortable. A review set with dual wireless and wired connectivity isn’t cheap at $ 350, but if you can do it without wireless, SteelSeries is $ 100 cheaper than the wired-only version.