SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wi-fi evaluate: An ultra-personalized gaming headset

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless gaming headset receives just about almost everything ideal, giving a powerful blend of design, comfort and ease, and Hi-Res audio that seems remarkable.

It also presents demanding players tons of techniques to personalize their audio experiences with capabilities like Professional Grade Parametric EQ and 3D Spatial Audio. And along with twin wi-fi performance (2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth), the Arctis Nova Professional arrive with a effortless base controller that lets you switch between your Pc and Xbox A person or Xbox X/S at the push of a button.

All this features will established you back $349.99, which seems a bit steep contemplating a non-wi-fi version retails for $100 much less. Nevertheless, for headphones with a stage of features that can actually make you a greater gamer, this could be properly worthy of the price tag.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wi-fi style and design

Some high quality gaming headsets get high marks for comfort but tumble brief in the design and style division. The SteelSeries Nova Professional Wi-fi, however, are a total package deal featuring a attractive, largely black exterior with a high quality-wanting gun metal leading band and earcup addresses.

SteelSeries has included its ComfortMAX program into the Nova Professional Wireless’ design, which is a extravagant way of expressing the style is developed to accommodate heads of every measurement and shape.

SteelSeries

Three key functions intention to enhance consolation: peak-adjustable sides, a central adaptable pressure band, and rotating earcups. I uncovered the pressure band to be far more at ease than the cushion in my present-day headphones, allowing for my head a lot more home to shift. The earcups also experience extremely soft—so considerably so that I hardly discovered I was wearing anything at all on my head after a long stint gaming.

The Nova Pro Wireless headphones are also remarkably challenging. The top rated band is created from PVD coated metal but is flexible. The outer element of the headphones are also created from steel, and they proved scratch resistant despite my tough use. Controls positioned on the left-hand aspect are straightforward to navigate with your fingers as soon as you locate them. The Arctis Nova Professional Wireless’ microphone retracts into the foundation, offering it loads of protection.

From an audio perspective the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is outstanding, not just in regards to the quality, but because the headset allows avid gamers to personalize their audio configurations specifically as they wish – from a decision of connectivity, appropriate down to their preferred EQ configurations.

For illustration, the headphones can be utilised wirelessly by way of a 2.4GHz connection or by using Bluetooth, but they can also be plugged in. These modes all have their respective pros and negatives – the biggest difference of which is the audio excellent. In wireless manner you get higher independence of movement, but without having the tonal range of the Hi-Res 96KHz/24-Little bit audio you get when plugged into the equipped GameDac Gen 2 base controller.

The new next era GameDAC options an current ESS Sabre Quad-DAC chip, which SteelSeries states extra properly lessens distortion and sound than its predecessor. I received a considerably richer audio knowledge plugged into it when enjoying online games like Skyrim and Elden Ring than I did wirelessly, allowing for me to select up refined sounds like the wind in the grass and trees. This richer soundscape really did increase far more atmosphere to my game titles and in general elevated my gaming experience. The microphone also made a decent audio high-quality that gained me a couple of compliments in voice chats.

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wi-fi headphones also score huge points for their Multi-Procedure Join functionality. Switching between my Computer system and my Xbox A single on the GameDAC needed just a number of twists and clicks. Changing parameters like the EQ and chat options throughout these platforms was also a cinch on the GameDAC’s generously-sized OLED show.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

You can transform the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and 360 Diploma Spatial Audio on or off whenever you like, but for the sake of my testing I held them switched on. Placing these two systems as a result of their paces, I uncovered the ANC didn’t fully block some exterior appears – this was extra noticeable watching films and listening to new music than gaming, where my headphones seemed more productive at isolating a game’s audio.

The 360 Diploma Spatial Audio on the other hand, was continuously outstanding it utilizes 5.1 or 7.1 surround audio tracks to send out the precise placement of sound in place. It actually increased my spatial consciousness in video games. Even without the need of altering any of the EQ configurations on the GameDAC controller, appears resonated still left and suitable and all around each ear, properly reflecting instructions and letting me to a lot more effortlessly identify enemies.

My wi-fi headphones also permit me activity through Wi-Fi connectivity although getting cell cellphone calls via a Bluetooth link, which means I never had to miss a contact. This simultaneous audio features can also be applied for listening to new music, podcasts or in Discord as well.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Software program

Building speedy equalization adjustments in the GameDAC controller is a really beneficial function but you can do a good deal much more in the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless’ Sonar software program, which you’ll locate in the SteelSeries GG application. Below I could personalize the Nova Professional Wireless’ EQ configurations for specific online games and also tweak the seem of my voice in chat, as properly as a bunch of microphone options.

Some thing pro players comprehend is that tweaking your EQ can give you a aggressive benefit. For instance, you can enhance your seem to select out your competitors’ footsteps from amid the in-match clatter. Carrying out this oneself can be rather finicky, but in Sonar, SteelSeries’ sound engineers give you 23 pre-made gaming presets to opt for from – some generic, but other people especially for titles optimized for online games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, Dota 2, Forza Horizon V and Contact of Duty: Warzone.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

With this in intellect, I analyzed a person of SteelSeries’ much more generic presets known as ‘FPS Footsteps’ in an previous preferred shooter, Insurgency. This worked a handle, conveniently amplifying the footsteps of everyone approaching me.

Remaining ready to superior listen to the footsteps of foes designed it less complicated to protect critical tactical factors, especially individuals that were indoors and now experienced a slight echo outcome. As you can envision, there’s no close to the volume of experimentation probable in Sonar, which is an remarkable prospect for when we assessment potential SteelSeries equipment.

Summary

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi is a quality gaming headset packing Hi-Res audio as effectively as 360 Diploma Spatial Audio, Energetic Sounds Cancellation and a ton of personalization selections. They’re also attractive, hardy, and at ease. Our overview established with twin wi-fi and wired connectivity does not occur low-priced at $350, but if you can do with out wi-fi, SteelSeries has a wired-only model for $100 more cost-effective.