My main concern that I don't think enough reviewers or almost any touch on is positional sound and vertical sound. Most FPS gamers care about positional sound more than bass. Bass is more for overall immersion, but information in FPS and knowing where guys are whether above/below you and which room etc. is a massive advantage with sound. It's something that I wish reviewers covered because I go through tons of reviews looking to find info on vertical/positional sound and no one ever covers it.
I've literally been searching days for this information and seem everyone is just trying to stay in the good graces of whatever company there reviewing which I get but annoying. I had my Sony platinum headset for the 3d and games like days gone and shooters immerse with surround audio is a game changer
I haven't had a need to view your content in quite a while but upon revisiting your channel for this review, but it's so good to see you're still going strong and your production quality and imagination and creativity hasn't slowed down one bit! Almost at 2M subs too! Way to go, my friend! Much love from Vancouver, BC. Awesome review, as always!
Man...I've been watching you guys for 10+ years and the quality of your reviews still amaze me. Also, that simultaneous BT + 2.4GHz connection might've sold me on these ones!
Yeah the simultaneous BT and 2.4Ghz is so amazing! When I do email I run Spotify through my phone but is so nice to watch content or play games from the PC without any interruptions. -D.
After years of drooling over Steelseries original wireless headset - in their Siberia lineup - I finally bought them at Memory Express, they were worth every dollar ($300 CAD at the time,8+ years ago). I especially loved the (sort of) hot-swap battery system, the rundown time was a constant 17 hours per charge.
I had the H wireless for a few years before it comically fell apart. No drops or anything just one day all the glue seemed to let go and it’s a pile of parts. I did have to replace those exact batteries once as they became spicy pillows, but this asking price is way to high for a mic that sounds like that.
Still have my H wireless in a box, the left earcup eventually broke off completely after 3ish years of owning it. I super glued it back together and used it another year before replacing it and putting it back in the box as a backup. Going back to using it though it is really uncomfortable at this point vs my current headset (arctis pro wireless, lost the wired cord and needed to use game chat on the xbox, cord is unfortunately proprietary unlike the H wireless).
I have the SS arctis pro wireless. €350. Brilliant but the hinge has a design weakness. At 2 year of delicate use broke at the ear cup. Plastic broke. What are these like?? Looks the same. Have the h series and starting to use these again.
Damn near the same thing happened to me, had the H wireless for a few years and the headband just shattered around the connection to one of the earcups, no amount of epoxy and duct tape could keep it fixed, but it was my favorite headset ive ever had.
Great review as always. I only wonder why nobody talks about the bad wireless range compared with the predecessor (Arctis Wireless Pro) headset. With the Arctis W. Pro using 2.4 Ghz I was able to move within my hole appartment and had a stable connection. After buying the Nova I could barely leave the room on 2.4 Ghz. I have no idea what they did to mess this up but that was a must-have feature for me so I returned my Novas and instead bought another pair of the Arctis Wireless Pro which seem to be no longer produced so I have a backup in case my current Arctis Wireless Pro ever fail. Also while I agree that the Novas have comfortable cushions the "in ear" knob within the ear pieces pushes against my inner ear and they start to hurt after some time. This is probably highly subjective and depends on how your ear is build but since that know could surely be removed with next to no impact on sound quality I don't get why you'd put that thing in there.
Unfortunately can't buy the arctis pro anymore. I would get another pair in a heartbeat since mine are a bit broken now. I'm thinking to get the nova pro, but I'm not sold yet
I’m someone who understands good audio as I’ve been around audio for over 25 years and as a long term SteelSeries user, I can honestly say that sound quality and imaging on the SteelSeries headsets are great. However, I’ve tested the Nova Pro Wireless and Nova 7 Wireless extensively in every game situation you can think of for a whole month and I can honestly say the £329 price for the Nova Pro Wireless is a big ask. In my opinion it’s definitely not worth that price. The sound is exceptional, but the Nova 7 Wireless has 95% of the sound quality of the Nova Pro Wireless, it’s a lot of more comfortable and has almost identical imaging. What I did is I bought the official SteelSeries soft memory foam leatherette ear pads for my Nova 7 and the sound is even better than what it was with the fabric ear pads and it’s a much better value headset at £180 (bought for £150) compared to £329 I see comments on here about vertical positional audio. To be honest it’s very hard to find a headset or headphone that can give you that kind of imaging. What most people don’t realise is, they think they can hear vertical positional audio, but in reality it’s because they’re familiar with the game and what’s above and below them i.e. wooden or concrete floor and other materials and because they hear an enemy above them on a wooden floor, they think the headset is giving them that vertical positional audio I’ve also extensively tested and compared the Nova Pro Wireless against cheaper headsets like the HyperX Cloud 2 Wireless (£150) HyperX Cloud Core Wireless (£100), Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max (£180). All of these have really good imaging, which has been professionally tested by some audio expert websites. The only advantage I had with Nova Pro Wireless was, it’s a louder headset, which means you get to hear those footsteps just a little louder, but it will not make any difference to overall positional audio as they all have really good imaging. In fact, as per professional testers the HyperX Cloud 2 Wireless has better imaging score Nova 7 is the best value SteelSeries headset, it has 90% of everything the Nova Pro Wireless has. Yes it’s super cool to have swappable batteries and a dedicated DAC on the Nova Pro Wireless, but the Nova 7 has 38 hours battery life and as for DAC convenience, you might not have that, but all you need to do is figure which EQ is best for you on the SteelSeries Engine or make your own custom EQ and you’ll probably never need to change it again and if you’re purely a PC gamer, you have the Sonor Software
Thank you for this comment. I was really thinking on either the Cloud Alpha Wireless or these. After reading your comment, I will be going for the Cloud Alpha's. I still have my normal Cloud 2 headset which still sounds great, but I've had them for so long they're falling apart. The $349 price tag is a very nasty price for a pair that aren't as good in sound quality as the Hyperx Cloud 2s.
@@trevorrenkevens4720 I’ve tried the Cloud Alpha Wireless. It’s very good and has good imaging. However, it’s not as good as the Cloud 2 Wireless. Cloud Alpha has a lot of bass and if you’re mostly an open world gamer you’ll enjoy it, but if you’re an FPS gamer then go for the Cloud 2 Wireless or Cloud Core Wireless as they have much better imaging and overall sound/EQ profile and still very good for open world games or if you don’t mind playing around with the EQ a little then get the Nova 7 as it beats all of them, but if you do get the Nova 7, make sure you order the official Nova 7 leatherette ear pads as it really makes the sound even better
@@famezy9103 Thank you for your input on this. I was debating between the cloud 2 wireless and the alpha. Im thinking I may go for the Nova Pro wireless since based on what I have researched, they are also fantastic for listening to music and work with all smartphones that support Bluetooth. All in all, I'm probably going to go for the Cloud 2 wireless instead. I'm more of a fan of wired earphones anyway.
That seems like a wonderful analysis. I've been super undecided between the two and I decided to go with the Nova Pro wireless. I found it 100£ cheaper via Amazon warehouse and thought that might be a good bargain. I also have a goxlr so it's just seemless to connect the line-in cable. It hasn't arrived yet and I do have a little bit of a buyer's remorse given the price but I'm hoping it should last a good 3-4 years esp that it's such a usable headset outside of my gaming setup. However the Nova 7 does still seem a brilliant option minus the dac.
@@JuvenileAlien You will really like it, but just be prepared, because if you have large ears like me, you’ll find them really uncomfortable as the ANC mics on the drivers will dig into your ears. My advise would be to find a pair of replacement ear pads that are thicker that will give more depth between your ears and the drivers. If you do replace the ear pads, make sure you also adjust your EQ, because generally any third party ear pads will drastically change the default sound profile
my biggest problem with the steel series has been the adjustable headband. always stretches out. This seems like a great middle ground. already added to a wishlist
I've had the previous pro for years and only had to change the strap once for the reason you highlighted. Id love to update to these new ones but I find them aesthetically repulsive.
Arctis 7's ear pads eventually ripped off of mine after a few years - they have a 'lip' around the foam that locks it in but that stretches out and eventually rips, so it doesnt go back on. I considered super gluing it or something but then I just decided to replace it with something else
Great review. After see all my favorite reviewers talk it up I bought a set. But I think I got a lemon. The Bluetooth is worse than anything I have used in five years and the ANC doesn't ANC, it just adds a squealing noise I can hear until about 75-80% music volume. But I can tell the sound quality is there, somewhere behind all the background noise. The hot swappable batteries are awesome. The Hub is good, the software is really good. I really love everything they were trying to do here, and after a month of trying to sort it out I am pretty sure I just got a bad set. But I decided to return them outright rather than try a replacement. I'll just do what I was avoiding, and buy one set of Bluetooth and one et of wired headsets.
I'm still rocking it's predecessor, the Arctis Pro Wireless, which I bought around the time of the first lockdowns. That swappable battery is a lifesaver when you're in non-stop meetings 🙂
I'm rocking the great grandparents with the H wireless. Wonder if they would work with the new receiver as I know steelseries says it can transmit to 2 headsets
I also have the pro’s and for some reason my left ear always hits the inside of the ear cup and I HATE the ski goggle band. But the hot swapable batteries are soooo nice.
If your ears don’t touch the metal bump and bar inside the earcups, this is a solid headset. For me this was painful within minutes of wearing it. Definitely buy this from a place with a good return policy just in case it’s a bad fit.
I owned SteelSeries H Wireless and now Arctis Pro Wireless. While it looks like they made some worthwhile upgrades this generation (auto turn on after swapping the battery, adjustable headphone length, ANC), I think there are a couple of steps back. I don't like that they went back to pleather - H Wireless had that, and it was causing my ears to sweat in the summer and didn't hold out very well (I had to replace them). Arctis Pro Wireless uses cloth, and after a year of owning them, they still look new, and they are very comfortable in the summer. Then there is the new base with no optical in/out - I love that I can connect my headphones base to the computer via USB and then the speakers to the base via the optical cable - this way, when I switch my headphones on, the speakers mute automatically, and vice-versa. It's also very convenient if you have a laptop that you want to connect at home with a single cable to a USB hub/monitor and have everything work out of the box. Having said that, based on my experience with the previous models, I think these are a safe bet for anyone looking for high-end wireless PC headphones.
It probably has to do with ANC. Those other materials wouldn't block out as much sound. I would have liked an option though to swap them out since I don't use ANC too much. Not sure how they would sound with different pads though. Hopefully some after-market pads will be made soon. I think someone made some 3D printed adapter somewhere on reddit.
Do they make a small humming/buzzing noise when nothing else is playing? I've tried loads of wireless headsets and they all have an ever so slight buzz very faint. Great review as always!
Hey i know what small noise you two are talking about i had it myself on my Arctis pro wireless. I have the Nova pro wireless now and there is no small humming or buzzing noise.
This is because your dac amp is next to your usb port, had the same issue or some other nearby electrical device is interfering with the wireless connection.
I had the arctis wireless pro and I absolutely LOVED the TRUE wireless portion of it with the swappable batteries. now they have these new ones, and you better believe I bought the nova pro wireless. SteelSeries is absolutely amazing.
im only disapointed they removed the optical pass through. no longer can I passthrough to my speakers for when I don't want to use my headphones, this is really handy for changing mid game as some apps crash when you change audio devices while in use
On the mixamp it's worth calling out on PC that it can integrate with games like League of Legends and will give you timers like "45 seconds till dragon spawns" etc
Just picked some of these up myself a couple of weeks ago and they're worth the money. The swappable batteries giving you that true wireless feel, the comfortable earpads, the Sonarr software and don't even get me started on the simultaneous 2.4Ghz and Bluetooth connectivity. They are amazing and would recommend to anyone. They are on the pricier side and can understand the hesitation but from someone who wears them both at work when in meetings or listening to music to playing games and watching anime / movies. It's an easy buy.
I just got the Corsiar HS80 Wireless and would love to see a side by side comparison. From what I saw in this review, I am not sure that the few benefits would justify the more than double pricetag of the HS80 wireless
Actually the hub can be good for many PC users, especially those that want to use an audio interface/separate mics. Being able to use a WIRELESS gaming headset while keeping your high quality mic by using the line in and line out if you want another mic to use when you walk away. The amount of times I wish I can walk away from my setup without pulling on my headset is too many.
ya i also connect my audio interface into the line in of the base station, its really a hidden feature that's so convenient. Only thing that is you have to switch the mic selection in sonar if you're switching mics.
@@darwintruong4161 if you have sonar, I select the audio interface as input and the eq in sonar actually works both on the headphones and mic as well, not sure if you have tried it.
That was an awesome review of that headset. Very detailed went over everything. We actually were able to hear what the microphone sounds like when used. Yeah, good job. Thank you.
The Razer Barracuda X (2022) has something *similar* in simultaneous BT and 2.4GHz. It will not mix the sounds and play them at the same time, but if the 2.4GHz source isn't producing any sound, then you can hear the sound from the BT source and vice versa. At $100 USD I think it is very very good,
I'm sad because these were at like $220 on Amazon's Early access prime sale, like a week ago and I was too slow to finalize the purchase... I regret it.
Really good review!! , i have the Artis Pro Set with the DAC and would advise everybody that plans to buy this version or the previous version to turn the SCREEN settings ->MODE->SCREEN OFF as it can end up with burn in screen as mine if used for a long period of time. Mine ended up with burn in screen on the DAC display with PC and the volume level.
Unfortunately, these new ones don't have the option to turn the display off, just to dim the screen after a while... definitely a pain when plugged into a device that has an always powered USB header: the DAC won't turn off until unplugged in that situation.
Yip this is true with the burn in as it happened to mine as well. Plus the most annoying thing that I thought they might have changed but they didnt was when your wearing them and have to change the battery in the earcup. Its all the clacking and banging you hear. I thought they might have at least lined the battery compartment with material to reduce this.
Having these headphones for the past few months, I would HIGHLY suggest getting the Wicked Cushions cooling ear pads. The default ear pads for me were fine and small, so you can wear the headphones in public without them looking gamer-y. But, the Wicked ear pads being much larger add some much-needed depth, so your ears don't get mashed by the inside bump and most of all are incredibly comfy and cooling with a similar cloth texture to the original arctis pros. If you spend this much on headphones, you might as well spend a bit more to make them the best you can!
Zero latency sidetone is excellent. I had to go with the HD650 out of my G6/amp combo so I could hear myself speaking. It really looks like they nailed every option in the book, specifically the adjustable earcup height.
@@indospartan Sorry for the late reply - The 650's are very open backed. I can hear myself speaking clearly, even without sidetone. The only way I can get near zero delay sidetone is plugging the headphones into a SB X3 directly.
The simulatanous main + blue tooth support is such a great feature. I typically use the blue tooth connection to stream music from my phone to the headphones while doing other stuff with the main connection. I have the artis pro wireless and the only things I don't like is how sweaty my ears get wearing them on long gaming sessions and you can't turn the blue tooth on without turning on the main connection too. Sounds like they resolved the latter issue with this new headset.
I love my Actis Pro Wireless. I have had mine for 5 years now. I have had to order new batteries and a few new headbands, but it has still be a great investment. The swappable battery is awesome and the base station is a million times better than some chunky USB dongle. This looks like a nice upgrade. I would really like a mic upgrade, somehow mics sound worse today than they did a decade ago.
What's weird is there are some wireless mics that sound great. Turtle Beach Stealth 700 gen 2 MAX have a solid mic and that Corsair HS80 is god tier wireless mic.
I found that just twisting the magnetic plates 90° is a way easier way to take them off instead of the fingernail method. bought them a month ago. beat headset ever with really nice audio quality
I've been using this for the past two months and I'm loving this. I connect this to both my work laptop and my home PC when I work from home, and I use the line in jack so I can listen to audio on my home PC, while I take Skype and Teams calls on my work PC. My only gripe is that there is no way to switch between USB sources in the headset, you can only do it via the base station.
Listening to this video on mine right now. I just upgraded from my 2nd arctis pro wireless. I thought the OG arctis pro's were great but there is a noticeable bump in quality and overall premium-ness with the nova's. I also love that the nova pro's inherited the extreme long hours comfort of the previous arctis headsets. Overall, very happy with my purchase. If steelseries releases another high end wireless headset in a few years I will definitely be looking at them.
@@jamesburger1127 I threw the first one across the living room and it smashed against the wall. Wasn't the headsets fault. WoW arena 3s was getting me heated. Also I feel like the arctis pro wireless came out more than 2 years ago but idk maybe you're right. Anyway, I think the fact that I was willing to buy a 2nd $350 headset after smashing the first like an idiot is a pretty good review.
Maybe my ears are broken but I tried the nova pro wireless and no matter what EQ or setting I used outside of some music it sounded like I was listening to audio through tin cans or something, specifically in game everything sounded flat and tinny. I tried both the normal EQ and different sonar EQs with no luck. It's a shame too because I liked the build quality, swappable batteries, and the dac.
Yeah, the sound is not very good. Ok on PC and on console it's even worse. I have to almost max the sound on console if I don't want to use high gain. I don't why some give it high praise for it's sound quality. The gaming features are great though.
I used these for like 3 days (tried multiple EQs and settings) and returned them..they are not as great as they say and they just complicate things a lot with so many gimmicks but also had crackling and buzzing sounds which ruined the experience. I went for Logitech G Pro Wireless and they are so much better.
Had a similar experience with my Nova Pros. On top of that; they were insanely uncomfortable on me (seen others report about them being uncomfortable, but also people saying they are insanely comfortable.. so yeah..). The depth of the cups were just not enough and the cushions were way too soft (read: in a bad way - they had too much give) - I had the top of my ears resting on the inside all the time. It really felt like they had some 10-year old be the QA on these, in terms of checking if they were comfortable in regards to size and depths of the cups. Nova Pro Wireless (assuming the non-wireless as well) isn't for everyone, that's for sure. The soundstage was really not that great - no matter how much fiddling you did with the software. No clue why they get so much praise for that. I gave mine to my nephew (he's a "young gamer", where brands are more important than anything else - so he loves them), after spending about a week with the headset and never really loving any minute of it.
Didnt Steelseries also break sidetone on these with a firmware update? Its a great headset for pc gamers - but not for consoles. Most of the actual magic is done via the Sonar pc software and for consoles this does not work at all.
Honest opinion on this headset. This is also why i returned it: > Good connectivity, fast connection and good range even inside my house so plus for that > Bluetooth and PC connection are really nice, but you dont really need it > ANC is great, but in my opinion if you have your own room you dont need it either > Sonar is nice (positional Sound), but its not what it seems to be. If you have a good Headset (e.g. Logitech G935 or G933) you can hear it even better even without constantly changing and modifying your settings. Sound quality it self is also not that great if you enjoy listening to music, tried various equalizers and without sonar or any EQ. I personally felt like it was muffeled especially in games that have distant sound like Squad, Arma III or even Battlefield V. > SteelSeries Software is fairly good, but thats what you think you get paying as much as >300$ for a single Headset. > Base Station and Battery Charging Station is great, especially the quality. Its just really worthy and everything works and doesnt lag or so. But it is annoying that the headset turns off as soon as you remove the battery. I wish they wouldve had a workaround for that like a small inside battery or condensators keeping a little charge, since it takes good 10 seconds break to change that. > The price is WAYYYY to high! I personally bought it since my old headset broke down (It was 4 years old or so, G935). I really enjoyed it since it had a strong punchy bass and a good response to almost every frequenzy. Battery Life is also great, but it also is on the G935 (which costs not even half) and if it needs a charge, just plug it in and you have a wired headset of a bit of time. You can do that with the Nova Pro too, but the Plug position is just soooooo stupid. Its on the left side (i think) vertical in. Concluding: Do not buy. It may be great, with all the features but as a "normal" gamer i´d say its completely over the top. The transparency mode isn´t good either. I also noticed that BT connection gives out better music quality than 2.4 Ghz or above. If you think of buying it, i´d suggest you do not, because its like i said way too much. Go with Logitech G Pro X, G733 Lightspeed or G935. Its more than enough and theyre also good headsets. If not, buy the HyperX Wireless one, which is around the same quality as the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro X Wireless.
I'm liking my Arctis Nova Pro Wirless X now after fine tuning the right Sonar settings for me. At first I didnt want this headset because of the earcup type but after searching that I can just 3D Print an adapter and buy the Nova fabric earcup then its complete for me! This is my headphone upgrade from Arctis Pro Wireless that I have been using for the past 4 years and here are the comparison I found with the new Nova Pro. - It's lighter than the Arctis Pro. - despite having a leather earcup its really soft and comfortable but still sweats over time so good thing I've change it to fabric. - It does not have the immersive bass which the Arctis Pro does have - You'll no longer use the default config as you'll be more on using the Sonar EQ. (its a separate EQ in SteelSeries GG) - The battery life is waaaaay longer than the Arctis Pro - Having the fabric earcups on, there isn't much of a difference with the leather earcup when ANC is on. - I do really hear the footsteps much clearer with this Nova Pro thanks to Sonar (im playing PUBG and Warzone btw) - Finally it no longer has that bluetooth volume issue in Android phones were it self adjust the volume when a sound/music initially plays. For those who already have the Arctis Pro Wireless, If you got the cash to buy this then its a good upgrade. For those who hasnt have an Arctis Pro yet and planing to get a gaming headphone then this is a recommended buy!
have the same headphone set and has been the best experience so far and in my opinion it's not worth the upgrade as it's similar with the Artis Pro. The only major problem i have with the Artis Pro is the DAC, because i left the screen on for to long it has now burn in screen with the setting turned on PC and whenever u scroll thru settings or somethilng else u can see the burn in screen. so i would advise anybody that plans to buy this with the DAC please turn the SCREEN settings ->MODE->SCREEN OFF!
@@jamesmadison3108 just paid $1000 for a new Samsung and $1400+ for the new consoles and monitor and I havent even started on a PC build so you dam right im being a cheapskate for the next few months 😂😂 it was time for a setup upgrade but goddam things are expensive now a days but then again the ps2 also launched at like $500 so I can’t complain too much
@@trollyoazz5439 I find it hilarious that people can drop a grand on a phone that they'll probably upgrade in a year or two, but a headset that you'll probably own for years? Nah, 100 bucks max lol
I switched to this headset like 3 Months ago. I was 3+y user of Astro A40TR's. Not gonna lie,first tow or three days was actually pain for me. They were more tight to my head and obviously heavier. At one point i started having light headache cos of headset. After these couple of days,i fully ajusted to the Nova Pro wireless. So far i'm very happy with it. I'm not using headset mic as i have Trust gxt 255+ onyx. Only weird thing i had with this headset is that one of my batterys did go "dead" 2 times so far. What i mean with this is that my headset would randomly die off at 30% battery charge. Then when i tried to recharge it back in the Steelseries hub,hub would not recognise the battery at all,like i didn't put it in. After brainstorming for couple of minutes,i figured out i'd give a try to plug the usb type C into headset while this "dead" battery was inisde. And after some time i still couldn't not see the battery on the Steelseries Engine program regardless of the headset working. After i had it plugged in like that for 1-2h,i took out the battery and put in back into Steelseries Hub and somehow battery came back to life and it got recognised again.
Indeed the only biggest weakness is the microphone. But what it lacks in mic it makes up in all it's features which is definitely a plus. I hope they improve the mic on their next iteration cause this one is by far top product.
They shouldnt even be classified as a gaming headset if the mic is crap.. its basically just a good headphone for listening to music at that point and people are better off just buying BOSE for that kind of money if they want great audio. Communication in a game is just or even more important than audio so if teammates cant understand you or youre making their ears bleed with terrible static and screeching sounds then the headphones are pretty much useless for gaming.
@@vertigo6982 the mic isn't completely crap idiot, its still clear just not the same as wired mics or other wireless products, there are no static or screeching sounds, watch the video.
I love the dual connection. More headsets should have that. I personally like to always have youtube in the background and have gone through some painful workarounds to route all sound through my main pc into my headset. However, I can't buy Steelseries headsets with that hinge anymore. It broke on both Arctis 7 I've had, one after only 1 year.
if they broke that fast its a warranty issue, or you could learn to weld plastic? Reinforce the weak part while you are at it.. Also the dual connection is not used like that sir. its for having two devices connected to it. Pc and xbox, or pc and playstation. The dac lets you choose the input for your gaming session. no need to reconnect or replug. To playback two audio sources on one pc does not require anything else than to play music from the source, then start ur game or whatever. no trickery needed. Nor multiple pc needed. why are you doing this to complicate dual audio playback?? You could just connect BT on ur phone or other pc for playback of music, then start the game and control the music from there? man u make it harder than it has to be
@@reyalPRON You're right that I should go after a warranty replacement. The first one was definitely out of warranty though. I opened the case and deemed it not within my skill set and the tools I have. And really if I have to manually fix their hinge that still makes it a product I don't want. As for the dual connection: I don't have that yet. The headset models I have don't have dual connections, so I have to route it into one. If you have a better idea how to route multiple audio sources to the same wireless headphones, I'd love to hear that in more detail. I don't really understand what you currently expect me to do there
I already own the Arctis Pro Wireless and that has much of the features and quality that this new one has. Yes, it's expensive, but it's absolutely worth it and when mine stops working, I'll get me one of these!
I totally agree. I wanted these when they first came out but waited to make sure about the reviews. I bought them like a month later and i can say without a doubt, i love these things too. The range and the hot swappable batteries are a definite thumbs up. Yes, the mic isn't the best but i think that can be tweaked later with software. Overall, if you can afford these, buy them now.
@@kamde610 "mic isnt the best" "i THINK that can be tweaked later" Those two phrases means this headphone is not a good buy for gaming. You just demonstrated wishful thinking, and I bet you, that the mic cannot be tweaked to be perfect or tweaked at all. IF its quiet, and/or all static .. its garbage and the only way to make it better would be to replace the entire microphone and wiring since either can be the cause for it being a trash mic. With that said this headphone is not worth the money and only a fool would buy it. You can get a better mic and halfway decent sounding headphones for under $100.
@@vertigo6982 the mic is perfect for me but if you want to like lets say stream, i wouldn't recommend it obviously because you need a dedicated mic for that but for what i need these for, the mic is fine. They don't sound staticy or too quiet as you said but it also depends on if you're using it in teamspeak or like discord because they all have their own settings. But each to their own. I'm just imparting my experience and i find them worth it. I game with these for quite a few hours and the battery lasts forever and they soudn really good for wireless headphones and i do use them with my phone with the bluetooth.
I'm following Hardware Canucks for almost a decade now and am still fascinated about the quality of your content! I have the Artics Nova 7P and I'd like to know why my sound quality is hollow, dull, and reverberant? I also customized some equalizers but it still sounds poor for me. I'm connected via Bluetooth. Can anyone relate?
So I’ve owned these things since day one and upgraded from the Arctis Pro Wireless. Honestly had buyer’s remorse after 2 weeks but still kept using them. The three biggest issues I had (and remedies) were: 1.) The noise cancelling mics in the ear cups HURT after an hour of use, and there’s no 3rd party ear cups that fit these cans. Luckily someone has 3D print plans (or can purchase off of Etsy) for an adapter that lets you replace the ear cups for thicker and more comfortable ones. 2.) The Line Out bugs out once in awhile. Like the previous versions you can have speakers routed to the Line Out of the base station to be in use while the headset is off. Sometimes we get headphone fatigue and just wanna use our nice speakers. However, the base station will bug out sometimes and route audio to both while the headset is in use. Only fix I have is to just go the extra step of turning off my speakers when not in use. 3.) Really minor, but that hump on the volume wheel makes it hard to easily mount this under a desk for a cleaner space. Luckily once again to the power of 3D printing, you can find a mount that fits perfectly and still gives access to the battery swap bay.
@@nelsonw9483 The cushions I purchased were the Wicked Cushions with cooling. I think due to the material, you end up loosing a decent amount of ANC. But the comfort trade-off is absolutely worth it.
Also, Wicked Cushions has a waiting list for those that are wanting replacement earpads for these headsets. Since it’s such a different shape, they probably want a decent number of people interested before they start producing.
HANDS DOWN THE BEST Video I have seen on this headset. I like how you showed the different sounds of the microphone. So we can understand what it's going to sound like before buying.
Amazing review. Spot on for the mic. I was all excited until I listened to de microphone. What a terrible mic. If it was at least 80% of the Corsair quality it would be a no brainer for me!!! Keep the good work Dimitri!
I have the XTs, I bought the nova pro wireless when they launched because I really wanted the mix amp and swappable batteries. I returned it after 2 days because the mic quality was so bad on the novas and the XTs were a lot more comfortable.
I've asked people on reddit whether which is better between the virtuoso xt and the nova pro wired and they always say the xts are bad. R they really that bad tho? I don't know which to choose among the virtuoso xt, nova pro wired, and the h6pro + gsx 300 amp
@@meisterm5562 I have Virtuoso SE (I don't need Bluetooth) and I am delighted with them. They are well made, comfortable, have a sensational quality microphone, which is also detachable, so it will be easier to replace it in case of failure. They also have one simple button on the side, which makes it easier to mute communication in games. IMO they are great. Although take into account that I'm not an audiophile and it's hard for me to make a professional assessment of the sound quality.
@@meisterm5562 the XTs is fantastic (and doesnt look like a plastic bomber) but you really should invest another 15-30 Euros on a second market earpads ... i bought some thicker ones and now i really find them comfortable ... the included earpads are too thin and had the drivers touch my ear .... why Corsair saves one dollar with thin earpads on such an expensive device is mindblowing
I took a punt on these based on your attention to detail and credibility: Best gaming head phones I've purchased in this price range and the battery replacement is like a cheery on the top. Thanks so much for the time you've invested.
I had to return mine due to the ANC nub in the headset. Bizarre design choice to have something stick out so much in the cup. Great headset outside of that and well worth the money if the ANC nub doesn’t press against your ear.
I made the jump to Steelseries from Logitech about 4 years ago now, and I never looked back. I play quite a few multiplayer games, as well as atmospheric horror games, and I've always found the sound quality to be mindblowing. I went from the Arctis 5 on Ps4, to the Arctis 9 Wireless to the Nova Pro Wireless on PC since 2018, not because I've needed to, but because I haven't been able to stop myself from moving up the ladder to the more premium options. I used to be in the mindset "I will never spend more than $150 to $200 for a headset", but while the price is super high for the Nova Pro Wireless, it's worth it if audio is a major priority. Thankfully, Steelseries has dropped a whole range of Nova headsets for different budgets and platforms.
Been loving this headset, especially the swapping of batteries. Works with my PC, phone, ps5.... etc Replaced my a50s with these. Also just got a set of 3d printed earpad plates so I could use cushions from wicked cushions, super comfy and still great noise isolation with them.
Duuude! I love the A50’s, it’s been lasting me for years! But unfortunately it is reaching the end and now I am looking into other headsets 😢 Hoping this one is good enough to replace it with. Not liking the mic though
To easily remove the magnetic cover over the battery just twist it 1/4 turn and the magnets won't line up. Then it just falls right out for a quick battery change
Can never understand why folks pay so much for gimmicky gamer cups that doesnt last while same amount of money an be used on audiophile ones. Its fine if its below a certain budget but at this price its totally not worth the money.
You do know you can order new batteries right? They cost 30 bucks for 2 pack. As for the plastic cracking near where the cups connect to the headband - yes this has been a problem for a long time. Much less on the Arctis line compared to the predecessors but it's still there. I was able to make mine last for 4 years before they cracked. The trick is to put them on your head and take them off by holding the headband and not the cups. Most people grab them by the cups and that will lead to premature cracking. Thankfully SteelSeries has had the common sense not to insult people by saying that they're "holding it wrong" like one other big company.
@@Will_Fong Show me audiophile ones that are wireless and actually have good sound in games. Because they're all wired and they are great for music or movies but crap for games where positional audio is important.
I’ve been waiting for this review! I bought this headphone the week it dropped but I’ve been wanting to hear how amazing y’all think these headphones are because I absolutely love the Nova Pro.
I got that headset initially but it was so incredibly uncomfortable to wear that I had to return it. My ears was cramped in the headset and the nub inside of it was really aggravating. I got the Sony Inzone headset now and it is much better for me personally.
@@DevilDriver555 H7 and H9 is the same except for sound pass-through and noise cancelation. I got the H9 but if I were to choose again now I'd get the H7 since it is cheaper.
@@PowerSenpai the h7s have different material for the cup which don't heat as fast and are much better imo, but they don't feel as premium as the foe leather
This reviews almost makes me instantly buy it online, if not for the reason of 2 most important point for a wireless headphone (for me) not being stated here : 1. How is the sound delay in games, especially competitive online games? I had some highly praised wireless headphones and earphones before that have slight delay in them. In the end I had to use cable instead to play fps games. 2. Are the ear pads removable? Since "comfort" varies from person to person due to different ear shape, being able to change/mod the earpad is a must for a high-end headphones. Also, not everyone like using leather ear pad, it can be really sweat magnet even if one were to use it in air-conditioned room. 3. (Optional, not really important) How good is it at holding it place while being worn. It looks sleek and (light) sport friendly, so been wondering maybe it can be a great gym partner. I know we're in a TWS era and stuff, but it doesn't hurt to be able to seamlessly use only 1 device for everything, hence, a "partner". Anyway, as always, I love your way of reviewing things. Almost all the details I needed are checked, but I hope you will consider including the above 2 questions into the reviews as well. Thank you
1. I have never noticed a delay. And im the kind of person who notices when TH-cam drops from 1440p to lower or my screen is not at it's maximum 165Hz. Besides the 2.4Ghz radio is about as good as you can get for wireless headphones. Obviously Bluetooth is not recommended for games as it has lower bandwidth and bigger delay. 2. They are tho mine are pretty tight. On my previous Arctis Pro they were replaceable too. 3. I would not recommend that. The fit and seal is tight but i imagine the sweat buildup in a gym would be a horror show for headset with pleather ear pads.
I’ve had this headset for about a year and I can honestly say it’s my fav headset I’ve ever bought and I’ve recommended it to my friends who now all have it and can’t say anything negative about it. Awesome audio quality, really well built, and the awesome double battery system. This thing absolutely slaps. 😎
The Corsair Virtuoso XT does everything but the swappable batteries. for alot less money. Also, judging by your mic test the virtuoso hash a much better mic.
first time i saw this man i thought starlord had a youtube channel and a gaming one as well. turn out it was a different person all along. but i love this channel been watching their review on every gear before i bought them. never dissapoint me till now on. keep the good stuff going man
I don't use a wireless headset, but for battery life, wouldn't the HyperX headset (don't remember the name of it) be better, since it does 300 hours on a single charge? I imagine charging once a month or so would be much easier/less effort than to change the battery every other day.
That's the beauty of SteelSeries design that for some reason no one else has copied. With two batteries (and you can buy more too) you never run out unless for some reason you forget to put the empty one in the base/charge station. I call it true wireless. For me every other wireless headset is only partially wireless because at some point - be in a few days, once a week or even once a month (tho that can only be with very light use) yo have to plug them in and use them with a wire or wait until charged.
@hardware canucks, for the aluminum caps, since they are magnetic you don't have to just try to force it off by digging your nail under the little gap instead twist it first, left or right doesn't matter, and then pull it up. There are only two main magnetic contact points so once you twist it either way past those points it basically just falls off.
About time headphones come with USB-C and replaceable batteries, huge respect for companies that want things to not just be thrown out after 1-2 years.
@@MlDVS yeah my Arctis 7 is in a landfill somewhere unfortunately after the ear pads stretched out, fell off and the mic quality was never good so I just chucked it and am now shopping for a new headset lol - i did get 5 years out of it though!!!!
Regarding taking off the aluminium covers. You don't have to use your fingernail to pop it off. Just turn the cover and the magnets lose contact. The cover will pop right off
I have the arctis pro wireless and it seems to be exatly the same headset and charging station with a change of aestetic only and some very minor tweaks
Indeed it's a refresh but you can expect Pro to dissapear from retail shortly. So if you like the old design more i suggest buying now because they will continue with the Nova.
@@Raivo_K I own the Arctis Pro already. I love it, it's everything i wanted and more. I'm glad they are not just discontinuing it but the old one is perfect already. I don't know what this one has that's so different.
@@tomasmartins5009 They added Active Noise Cancellation and 7 second buffer for battery swaps on the Nova. Meaning it will block outside noises better and if you can swap the battery in 7 seconds then it wont even turn off (it has a small battery built in for this purpose). Aside from that it's mostly design changes.
Just bought the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and they fixed the anc bump finally. When I removed my earpads I noticed that the ANC bump was very little and different from everybody else that reviewed them so I contacted SteelSeries to know if mine was broken. They contacted the product team and confirmed that these were a new design.
i have a large head and was happy to see this headset in a local tech store to try it on and let me tell you.... this is the first steelseries headset that fits my watermelon head and also being super comfortable, idk what these ear cushions are but they feel super nice! Can't say anything about the sound since 400EUR was a bit too much, so i went with the Razer BlackShark:) will be hoping that there is a good deal on these for black friday!
@@varunaX heyy im not into hats so idk 😅 for motorcycle helmet it would be size 60. the nova was a tight fit but it felt comfy, i just had it on for a minute or less tho. For the blackshark i can say i still have some space to adjust and the clamping force is not hurting (i have to wear glasses aswell).
This is my favorite headset so far! I do have 2 massive (for me) complaints. 1. I was really hoping that the simultaneous Bluetooth connection would let me seamlessly switch between my primary PC and a secondary PC that’s connected via Bluetooth. Unfortunately the headset/software is unable to detect phones calls that come in on the secondary PC (via programs like MS Teams). I can still wire in both PCs but I have to manually switch between them which is not as convenient. 2. When I have the headset simultaneously connected to my phone, and I receive a phone call, my mic and audio switch from my computer to my phone when the phone is just ringing. This puts me in an awkward position where I can’t hear games or communicate to my teammates that I have to take a quick phone call. In my opinion the audio should switch After answering the phone call Not before.
I have arctic 7 and been considering the upgrade and I’m convinced what I want for Christmas ;-) thanks for the review, I have been waiting for this ine
Have a look at the Arctis Nova 7, if you can do without the DAC, ANC and swappable battery, you'll get virtually the same audio experience, bluetooth/PC combo, looks etc at half the price. Actually it's slightly more comfortable because the leather earcups on these make your ears hot vs sports cloth on the Nova 7.
I spent thousands buying top end headphones and amps and sold them all in favor for wireless nova pros. None of those headphones made me a better player, or immersed me more in any game than a good “gaming” headset. Also, what becomes important when gaming is comfort and feature, and that’s where the markets is headed.
Could the headset's microphone be moved away from the side of the mouth in order to reduce the plosives and mouth noises down to the minimum? Maybe have the mic positioned about 45 to 50º angle? I do have a cheap onmi-directional microphone that attaches to the side of my Samson SR860 and I do get a good quality sound. The microphone that is currently unavailable in Amazon is the Seenheiser brand with a 1/8" plug. Mine plugs into the 1/8" to XLR adapter and to my audio interface. I do not get any plosives or breath/mouth noise with a cheap microphone.
Bro your kinda offbase with this video, the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless has a 350 hour batterylife and beats it in treble accuracy, bass accuracy etc. etc., Comfort, basically every category. Also is only $180, i think you were paid to make this review lol
I tried the alpha for a few days, easily one of the worst sounding headsets I’ve ever used. Returned it and ended up getting the Astro A50’s with the amp for the same price. My preferred headset is the Corsair HS70 in terms of sound and comfort but it has a terrible mic and isn’t built to last
You did not watch the video all the way did you. These headphones don’t have 350 hrs battery life. They have No battery life at all. And the 180 price tag? I don’t think it’s better in sound what so ever
@@NightFoxZero I had the Astro for the longest time. Every since first gen. They stopped upgrading it for some reason so I had to choose either new A50 I kept buying or something like the steel series . Went with the nova pro wireless since it had unlimited battery life and bluetooth.
Hey I'm stuck on sound..I can't hear anything and everything is connected..I Read lots of people have this problem and I bet it's right in front of me can you help?,.ty Greg... please let me know if you csn demetrey
Now that they FINALLY made a white one I'm thinking about buying it. I've had the Arctis Pro Wireless since early 2019 & it really did become my go to headset both at my PC and out & about. It really did become my go to both at my PC & out and about. It only just recently broke and that's after 5 years of wearing it everywhere, lugging it around in various bags, and even dropping it on concrete a few times. Crazy part is that it still totally works just as well as when I first fired it up, I just cracked the housing where the stem meets the earcup.
I picked this thing up after my second Logitech G935 died. WELL worth the money. took a bit to get my headset to fit right. tweaked the sizing alot. still not 100% there but sound quality and extra features is on point with this thing.
NOTE my fellow gamers! The Sonar software also works with all other audio devices! I love this Headset with all it's features. If you go into the Sonar software and Click on Mixer under playback you can choose other devices and get a full EQ also Spatial Sound audio support and with the right settings almost all my headphones now have a larger sound stage with good imaging :). My current favorite setup is using my Topping DX3 Pro Plus with my HD560s. With Spatial Audio set @ Performance set to about -10 and Distance about 45-50 almost all my headphones and Even IEMs sound really good for gaming. :)
I love my arctic wireless pro, the hub is a brilliant qol addition to a setup. Really like that simply turning off the headset diverts sound to speakers. Also the dual connection is great, mostly use it for phone calls.
this with my gigabyte monitor with built in KVM let's me swap PCs without having to physically swap any of my devices. little hack is adding a 4 port USB hub to back of monitor to allow for more devices to use between the 2 pcs
Does anyone know if I can connect my Ps5 and my PC at the same time with the Doc of the Xbox version of the headset? The Xbox version is cheaper so I wonder why someone would buy the PlayStation version.
2:18 Havent we had 1000 zone backlighting? I really dont like brands claiming miniLED when the contrast resolution is under 240p, let alone the ....... 25p? contrast resolution of the terrible 576 zones
the steel series app is so good! even if you dont have a steel series product, you can make use of the sonar to adjust how your microphone sounds. real time processing!
I now have the Sony H9 for PC gaming, I followed my own thoughts, watched a lot of videos, etc.... And the H9 is really good for PC gaming. Of course, you can adjust the Inzone software to your own wishes, but you must also set the correct sound option in Windows itself, otherwise you cannot increase the bass in the InZone software, etc. Fits well on the head, good ear cushions, good sound too, good microphone, we use Skype, I do have a recent and fairly expensive gaming PC and my buddy has a 2000 euro laptop so we both bought good equipment so we don't have to worry about anything. experiencing problems with the headphones or skype etc....
My main concern that I don't think enough reviewers or almost any touch on is positional sound and vertical sound. Most FPS gamers care about positional sound more than bass. Bass is more for overall immersion, but information in FPS and knowing where guys are whether above/below you and which room etc. is a massive advantage with sound. It's something that I wish reviewers covered because I go through tons of reviews looking to find info on vertical/positional sound and no one ever covers it.
I've literally been searching days for this information and seem everyone is just trying to stay in the good graces of whatever company there reviewing which I get but annoying. I had my Sony platinum headset for the 3d and games like days gone and shooters immerse with surround audio is a game changer
I bought these and I feel like I can locate more people in multiple FPS games off footsteps sounds now. Highly suggest this headset, sounds great.
@@fredmeta is it easy to tell if the foosteps are above or below you?
@@TheWittyish yup, which was a surprisingly nice compared to my previous headset.
@@fredmeta it only comes down to previous headsets you had.. What were your previous models? So we can have a point of comparison
I haven't had a need to view your content in quite a while but upon revisiting your channel for this review, but it's so good to see you're still going strong and your production quality and imagination and creativity hasn't slowed down one bit! Almost at 2M subs too! Way to go, my friend! Much love from Vancouver, BC. Awesome review, as always!
Man...I've been watching you guys for 10+ years and the quality of your reviews still amaze me. Also, that simultaneous BT + 2.4GHz connection might've sold me on these ones!
Yeah the simultaneous BT and 2.4Ghz is so amazing! When I do email I run Spotify through my phone but is so nice to watch content or play games from the PC without any interruptions.
-D.
Most expensive headsets have this nowadays. Not a particular reason to buy these.
Audeze Mobius(Penrose) has been able to have two connections for like 5 years.
my turtle beach px7 from 2008 had simultaneous BT + 2.4ghz
After years of drooling over Steelseries original wireless headset - in their Siberia lineup - I finally bought them at Memory Express, they were worth every dollar ($300 CAD at the time,8+ years ago).
I especially loved the (sort of) hot-swap battery system, the rundown time was a constant 17 hours per charge.
I had the H wireless for a few years before it comically fell apart. No drops or anything just one day all the glue seemed to let go and it’s a pile of parts. I did have to replace those exact batteries once as they became spicy pillows, but this asking price is way to high for a mic that sounds like that.
Still have my H wireless in a box, the left earcup eventually broke off completely after 3ish years of owning it. I super glued it back together and used it another year before replacing it and putting it back in the box as a backup. Going back to using it though it is really uncomfortable at this point vs my current headset (arctis pro wireless, lost the wired cord and needed to use game chat on the xbox, cord is unfortunately proprietary unlike the H wireless).
I have the SS arctis pro wireless. €350. Brilliant but the hinge has a design weakness. At 2 year of delicate use broke at the ear cup. Plastic broke. What are these like?? Looks the same.
Have the h series and starting to use these again.
Damn near the same thing happened to me, had the H wireless for a few years and the headband just shattered around the connection to one of the earcups, no amount of epoxy and duct tape could keep it fixed, but it was my favorite headset ive ever had.
Great review as always. I only wonder why nobody talks about the bad wireless range compared with the predecessor (Arctis Wireless Pro) headset. With the Arctis W. Pro using 2.4 Ghz I was able to move within my hole appartment and had a stable connection. After buying the Nova I could barely leave the room on 2.4 Ghz. I have no idea what they did to mess this up but that was a must-have feature for me so I returned my Novas and instead bought another pair of the Arctis Wireless Pro which seem to be no longer produced so I have a backup in case my current Arctis Wireless Pro ever fail. Also while I agree that the Novas have comfortable cushions the "in ear" knob within the ear pieces pushes against my inner ear and they start to hurt after some time. This is probably highly subjective and depends on how your ear is build but since that know could surely be removed with next to no impact on sound quality I don't get why you'd put that thing in there.
You managed to describe every major issue I have with this headset in one comment. Thank you!
Unfortunately can't buy the arctis pro anymore. I would get another pair in a heartbeat since mine are a bit broken now. I'm thinking to get the nova pro, but I'm not sold yet
I’m someone who understands good audio as I’ve been around audio for over 25 years and as a long term SteelSeries user, I can honestly say that sound quality and imaging on the SteelSeries headsets are great. However, I’ve tested the Nova Pro Wireless and Nova 7 Wireless extensively in every game situation you can think of for a whole month and I can honestly say the £329 price for the Nova Pro Wireless is a big ask. In my opinion it’s definitely not worth that price. The sound is exceptional, but the Nova 7 Wireless has 95% of the sound quality of the Nova Pro Wireless, it’s a lot of more comfortable and has almost identical imaging. What I did is I bought the official SteelSeries soft memory foam leatherette ear pads for my Nova 7 and the sound is even better than what it was with the fabric ear pads and it’s a much better value headset at £180 (bought for £150) compared to £329
I see comments on here about vertical positional audio. To be honest it’s very hard to find a headset or headphone that can give you that kind of imaging. What most people don’t realise is, they think they can hear vertical positional audio, but in reality it’s because they’re familiar with the game and what’s above and below them i.e. wooden or concrete floor and other materials and because they hear an enemy above them on a wooden floor, they think the headset is giving them that vertical positional audio
I’ve also extensively tested and compared the Nova Pro Wireless against cheaper headsets like the HyperX Cloud 2 Wireless (£150) HyperX Cloud Core Wireless (£100), Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max (£180). All of these have really good imaging, which has been professionally tested by some audio expert websites. The only advantage I had with Nova Pro Wireless was, it’s a louder headset, which means you get to hear those footsteps just a little louder, but it will not make any difference to overall positional audio as they all have really good imaging. In fact, as per professional testers the HyperX Cloud 2 Wireless has better imaging score
Nova 7 is the best value SteelSeries headset, it has 90% of everything the Nova Pro Wireless has. Yes it’s super cool to have swappable batteries and a dedicated DAC on the Nova Pro Wireless, but the Nova 7 has 38 hours battery life and as for DAC convenience, you might not have that, but all you need to do is figure which EQ is best for you on the SteelSeries Engine or make your own custom EQ and you’ll probably never need to change it again and if you’re purely a PC gamer, you have the Sonor Software
Thank you for this comment. I was really thinking on either the Cloud Alpha Wireless or these. After reading your comment, I will be going for the Cloud Alpha's. I still have my normal Cloud 2 headset which still sounds great, but I've had them for so long they're falling apart. The $349 price tag is a very nasty price for a pair that aren't as good in sound quality as the Hyperx Cloud 2s.
@@trevorrenkevens4720 I’ve tried the Cloud Alpha Wireless. It’s very good and has good imaging. However, it’s not as good as the Cloud 2 Wireless. Cloud Alpha has a lot of bass and if you’re mostly an open world gamer you’ll enjoy it, but if you’re an FPS gamer then go for the Cloud 2 Wireless or Cloud Core Wireless as they have much better imaging and overall sound/EQ profile and still very good for open world games or if you don’t mind playing around with the EQ a little then get the Nova 7 as it beats all of them, but if you do get the Nova 7, make sure you order the official Nova 7 leatherette ear pads as it really makes the sound even better
@@famezy9103 Thank you for your input on this. I was debating between the cloud 2 wireless and the alpha. Im thinking I may go for the Nova Pro wireless since based on what I have researched, they are also fantastic for listening to music and work with all smartphones that support Bluetooth. All in all, I'm probably going to go for the Cloud 2 wireless instead. I'm more of a fan of wired earphones anyway.
That seems like a wonderful analysis. I've been super undecided between the two and I decided to go with the Nova Pro wireless. I found it 100£ cheaper via Amazon warehouse and thought that might be a good bargain. I also have a goxlr so it's just seemless to connect the line-in cable. It hasn't arrived yet and I do have a little bit of a buyer's remorse given the price but I'm hoping it should last a good 3-4 years esp that it's such a usable headset outside of my gaming setup.
However the Nova 7 does still seem a brilliant option minus the dac.
@@JuvenileAlien You will really like it, but just be prepared, because if you have large ears like me, you’ll find them really uncomfortable as the ANC mics on the drivers will dig into your ears. My advise would be to find a pair of replacement ear pads that are thicker that will give more depth between your ears and the drivers. If you do replace the ear pads, make sure you also adjust your EQ, because generally any third party ear pads will drastically change the default sound profile
my biggest problem with the steel series has been the adjustable headband. always stretches out. This seems like a great middle ground. already added to a wishlist
I've had the previous pro for years and only had to change the strap once for the reason you highlighted. Id love to update to these new ones but I find them aesthetically repulsive.
Ive been using my pro wireless for 3 years and the headband is holding up just fine imho.
@@NeonXXP Still using arctis 7. Bought it about 6 years ago.
Arctis 7's ear pads eventually ripped off of mine after a few years - they have a 'lip' around the foam that locks it in but that stretches out and eventually rips, so it doesnt go back on. I considered super gluing it or something but then I just decided to replace it with something else
Great review. After see all my favorite reviewers talk it up I bought a set. But I think I got a lemon. The Bluetooth is worse than anything I have used in five years and the ANC doesn't ANC, it just adds a squealing noise I can hear until about 75-80% music volume. But I can tell the sound quality is there, somewhere behind all the background noise. The hot swappable batteries are awesome. The Hub is good, the software is really good. I really love everything they were trying to do here, and after a month of trying to sort it out I am pretty sure I just got a bad set. But I decided to return them outright rather than try a replacement. I'll just do what I was avoiding, and buy one set of Bluetooth and one et of wired headsets.
I'm still rocking it's predecessor, the Arctis Pro Wireless, which I bought around the time of the first lockdowns.
That swappable battery is a lifesaver when you're in non-stop meetings 🙂
I kept a wired headset for this very reason! I second this.
Same, I'm tempted to upgrade but not sure whether it would be worth it, the Arctic Pro Wireless is already soooooo good 😍
I'm rocking the great grandparents with the H wireless. Wonder if they would work with the new receiver as I know steelseries says it can transmit to 2 headsets
I also have the pro’s and for some reason my left ear always hits the inside of the ear cup and I HATE the ski goggle band. But the hot swapable batteries are soooo nice.
Been rocking the same ones for a while now too. It's amazing.
If your ears don’t touch the metal bump and bar inside the earcups, this is a solid headset. For me this was painful within minutes of wearing it. Definitely buy this from a place with a good return policy just in case it’s a bad fit.
Alternatively you can purchase third-party earcups which are a lot thicker to prevent your ears from touching the drivers
@@selphy_ what earcups do you recommend?
@@CamShanksPlays wicked cushions
@@selphy_3rd party earcups will worsen the ANC quality
I owned SteelSeries H Wireless and now Arctis Pro Wireless. While it looks like they made some worthwhile upgrades this generation (auto turn on after swapping the battery, adjustable headphone length, ANC), I think there are a couple of steps back. I don't like that they went back to pleather - H Wireless had that, and it was causing my ears to sweat in the summer and didn't hold out very well (I had to replace them). Arctis Pro Wireless uses cloth, and after a year of owning them, they still look new, and they are very comfortable in the summer. Then there is the new base with no optical in/out - I love that I can connect my headphones base to the computer via USB and then the speakers to the base via the optical cable - this way, when I switch my headphones on, the speakers mute automatically, and vice-versa. It's also very convenient if you have a laptop that you want to connect at home with a single cable to a USB hub/monitor and have everything work out of the box. Having said that, based on my experience with the previous models, I think these are a safe bet for anyone looking for high-end wireless PC headphones.
Agreed on the earcup material. For this price they should have included extra pair of fabric cups (like the Pro's had) in the box.
It probably has to do with ANC. Those other materials wouldn't block out as much sound. I would have liked an option though to swap them out since I don't use ANC too much. Not sure how they would sound with different pads though. Hopefully some after-market pads will be made soon. I think someone made some 3D printed adapter somewhere on reddit.
For people whom are thinking about upgrading and are on artic 7; wireless range is about 2/3 of the arctic 7 even on long range settings.
if your more the 3 feet away from the monitor, your doing it wrong
Do they make a small humming/buzzing noise when nothing else is playing? I've tried loads of wireless headsets and they all have an ever so slight buzz very faint. Great review as always!
That was exactly the reason why I returned the Arctis Pro Wirless back then... I hope these don't have any white noise.
Never noticed it with my Arctis Pro Wireless. I should receive Nova Pro Wireless in a few days time but i believe the internals are largely the same.
I think y'all have your audio way too high if that's an issue you're having.
Hey i know what small noise you two are talking about i had it myself on my Arctis pro wireless. I have the Nova pro wireless now and there is no small humming or buzzing noise.
This is because your dac amp is next to your usb port, had the same issue or some other nearby electrical device is interfering with the wireless connection.
I had the arctis wireless pro and I absolutely LOVED the TRUE wireless portion of it with the swappable batteries.
now they have these new ones, and you better believe I bought the nova pro wireless. SteelSeries is absolutely amazing.
Is it worth the upgrade and by how much?
Out of curiosity, does the audio improve when used while wired?
im only disapointed they removed the optical pass through. no longer can I passthrough to my speakers for when I don't want to use my headphones, this is really handy for changing mid game as some apps crash when you change audio devices while in use
@@ashikchowdhury1001 I haven't received the nova primes just yet but I'm sure it is.
@@gfcwb yes. Anything wired tends to have better quality. But I find wires highly irritating
On the mixamp it's worth calling out on PC that it can integrate with games like League of Legends and will give you timers like "45 seconds till dragon spawns" etc
Just picked some of these up myself a couple of weeks ago and they're worth the money. The swappable batteries giving you that true wireless feel, the comfortable earpads, the Sonarr software and don't even get me started on the simultaneous 2.4Ghz and Bluetooth connectivity. They are amazing and would recommend to anyone. They are on the pricier side and can understand the hesitation but from someone who wears them both at work when in meetings or listening to music to playing games and watching anime / movies. It's an easy buy.
How’s the microphone quality?
@@noot4597 Since the sound is soooooo shit, you won't ever have to worry about your mic being bad.
JESUS, that rolling focus at 3:43 was so clean. That looked so good
Would love to see more reviews on the artics nova lineup and see how they compare to corsair's HS series.
I just got the Corsiar HS80 Wireless and would love to see a side by side comparison. From what I saw in this review, I am not sure that the few benefits would justify the more than double pricetag of the HS80 wireless
i had a hs80 and had to return it the microphone was just to quiet, i had 2 and they both had the same issue
@@ManeaterMV yes HS80 are great I wouldn't even know how to improve them apart from battery duration
Actually the hub can be good for many PC users, especially those that want to use an audio interface/separate mics. Being able to use a WIRELESS gaming headset while keeping your high quality mic by using the line in and line out if you want another mic to use when you walk away. The amount of times I wish I can walk away from my setup without pulling on my headset is too many.
ya i also connect my audio interface into the line in of the base station, its really a hidden feature that's so convenient. Only thing that is you have to switch the mic selection in sonar if you're switching mics.
btw do you choose ur interface as the input in the game playback input or (headphones nova pro wireless)
@@lucuschen9911 I would use it by using my interface as my audio device with my computer. The nova is just for a wireless headphone.
@@darwintruong4161 if you have sonar, I select the audio interface as input and the eq in sonar actually works both on the headphones and mic as well, not sure if you have tried it.
That was an awesome review of that headset. Very detailed went over everything. We actually were able to hear what the microphone sounds like when used. Yeah, good job. Thank you.
The Razer Barracuda X (2022) has something *similar* in simultaneous BT and 2.4GHz. It will not mix the sounds and play them at the same time, but if the 2.4GHz source isn't producing any sound, then you can hear the sound from the BT source and vice versa. At $100 USD I think it is very very good,
I'm sad because these were at like $220 on Amazon's Early access prime sale, like a week ago and I was too slow to finalize the purchase... I regret it.
Its now $175 for Black friday, u cheeky lil monkey
watching this video while using this exact headset.
I can say i'm happy.
I hope they release different padding so my ears wont melt in the summer.
Wicked cushions - thank me later (when they drop the padding for this headphone)
Really good review!! , i have the Artis Pro Set with the DAC and would advise everybody that plans to buy this version or the previous version to turn the SCREEN settings ->MODE->SCREEN OFF as it can end up with burn in screen as mine if used for a long period of time.
Mine ended up with burn in screen on the DAC display with PC and the volume level.
Unfortunately, these new ones don't have the option to turn the display off, just to dim the screen after a while... definitely a pain when plugged into a device that has an always powered USB header: the DAC won't turn off until unplugged in that situation.
Yip this is true with the burn in as it happened to mine as well. Plus the most annoying thing that I thought they might have changed but they didnt was when your wearing them and have to change the battery in the earcup. Its all the clacking and banging you hear. I thought they might have at least lined the battery compartment with material to reduce this.
Having these headphones for the past few months, I would HIGHLY suggest getting the Wicked Cushions cooling ear pads. The default ear pads for me were fine and small, so you can wear the headphones in public without them looking gamer-y. But, the Wicked ear pads being much larger add some much-needed depth, so your ears don't get mashed by the inside bump and most of all are incredibly comfy and cooling with a similar cloth texture to the original arctis pros. If you spend this much on headphones, you might as well spend a bit more to make them the best you can!
Just bought a pair today
Zero latency sidetone is excellent. I had to go with the HD650 out of my G6/amp combo so I could hear myself speaking. It really looks like they nailed every option in the book, specifically the adjustable earcup height.
How did you make that work? hear yourself?
@@indospartan Sorry for the late reply - The 650's are very open backed. I can hear myself speaking clearly, even without sidetone. The only way I can get near zero delay sidetone is plugging the headphones into a SB X3 directly.
@@indospartan yep, you can hear your own voice. It's a cool feature.
The simulatanous main + blue tooth support is such a great feature. I typically use the blue tooth connection to stream music from my phone to the headphones while doing other stuff with the main connection. I have the artis pro wireless and the only things I don't like is how sweaty my ears get wearing them on long gaming sessions and you can't turn the blue tooth on without turning on the main connection too. Sounds like they resolved the latter issue with this new headset.
I love my Actis Pro Wireless. I have had mine for 5 years now. I have had to order new batteries and a few new headbands, but it has still be a great investment. The swappable battery is awesome and the base station is a million times better than some chunky USB dongle. This looks like a nice upgrade. I would really like a mic upgrade, somehow mics sound worse today than they did a decade ago.
What's weird is there are some wireless mics that sound great. Turtle Beach Stealth 700 gen 2 MAX have a solid mic and that Corsair HS80 is god tier wireless mic.
I found that just twisting the magnetic plates 90° is a way easier way to take them off instead of the fingernail method. bought them a month ago. beat headset ever with really nice audio quality
I've been using this for the past two months and I'm loving this. I connect this to both my work laptop and my home PC when I work from home, and I use the line in jack so I can listen to audio on my home PC, while I take Skype and Teams calls on my work PC. My only gripe is that there is no way to switch between USB sources in the headset, you can only do it via the base station.
Listening to this video on mine right now. I just upgraded from my 2nd arctis pro wireless. I thought the OG arctis pro's were great but there is a noticeable bump in quality and overall premium-ness with the nova's. I also love that the nova pro's inherited the extreme long hours comfort of the previous arctis headsets. Overall, very happy with my purchase. If steelseries releases another high end wireless headset in a few years I will definitely be looking at them.
If you are on your 2nd pair of a headset that was released two years ago, it doesn't sound like a quality product to me.
@@jamesburger1127 I threw the first one across the living room and it smashed against the wall. Wasn't the headsets fault. WoW arena 3s was getting me heated. Also I feel like the arctis pro wireless came out more than 2 years ago but idk maybe you're right. Anyway, I think the fact that I was willing to buy a 2nd $350 headset after smashing the first like an idiot is a pretty good review.
Maybe my ears are broken but I tried the nova pro wireless and no matter what EQ or setting I used outside of some music it sounded like I was listening to audio through tin cans or something, specifically in game everything sounded flat and tinny. I tried both the normal EQ and different sonar EQs with no luck. It's a shame too because I liked the build quality, swappable batteries, and the dac.
Yeah, the sound is not very good. Ok on PC and on console it's even worse. I have to almost max the sound on console if I don't want to use high gain. I don't why some give it high praise for it's sound quality. The gaming features are great though.
If only they kept the optical input. It would be great to change between PC and TV quickly.
I used these for like 3 days (tried multiple EQs and settings) and returned them..they are not as great as they say and they just complicate things a lot with so many gimmicks but also had crackling and buzzing sounds which ruined the experience.
I went for Logitech G Pro Wireless and they are so much better.
Had a similar experience with my Nova Pros. On top of that; they were insanely uncomfortable on me (seen others report about them being uncomfortable, but also people saying they are insanely comfortable.. so yeah..).
The depth of the cups were just not enough and the cushions were way too soft (read: in a bad way - they had too much give) - I had the top of my ears resting on the inside all the time.
It really felt like they had some 10-year old be the QA on these, in terms of checking if they were comfortable in regards to size and depths of the cups.
Nova Pro Wireless (assuming the non-wireless as well) isn't for everyone, that's for sure.
The soundstage was really not that great - no matter how much fiddling you did with the software. No clue why they get so much praise for that.
I gave mine to my nephew (he's a "young gamer", where brands are more important than anything else - so he loves them), after spending about a week with the headset and never really loving any minute of it.
Didnt Steelseries also break sidetone on these with a firmware update?
Its a great headset for pc gamers - but not for consoles. Most of the actual magic is done via the Sonar pc software and for consoles this does not work at all.
Honest opinion on this headset. This is also why i returned it:
> Good connectivity, fast connection and good range even inside my house so plus for that
> Bluetooth and PC connection are really nice, but you dont really need it
> ANC is great, but in my opinion if you have your own room you dont need it either
> Sonar is nice (positional Sound), but its not what it seems to be. If you have a good Headset (e.g. Logitech G935 or G933) you can hear it even better even without constantly changing and modifying your settings. Sound quality it self is also not that great if you enjoy listening to music, tried various equalizers and without sonar or any EQ. I personally felt like it was muffeled especially in games that have distant sound like Squad, Arma III or even Battlefield V.
> SteelSeries Software is fairly good, but thats what you think you get paying as much as >300$ for a single Headset.
> Base Station and Battery Charging Station is great, especially the quality. Its just really worthy and everything works and doesnt lag or so. But it is annoying that the headset turns off as soon as you remove the battery. I wish they wouldve had a workaround for that like a small inside battery or condensators keeping a little charge, since it takes good 10 seconds break to change that.
> The price is WAYYYY to high! I personally bought it since my old headset broke down (It was 4 years old or so, G935). I really enjoyed it since it had a strong punchy bass and a good response to almost every frequenzy. Battery Life is also great, but it also is on the G935 (which costs not even half) and if it needs a charge, just plug it in and you have a wired headset of a bit of time. You can do that with the Nova Pro too, but the Plug position is just soooooo stupid. Its on the left side (i think) vertical in.
Concluding: Do not buy. It may be great, with all the features but as a "normal" gamer i´d say its completely over the top. The transparency mode isn´t good either. I also noticed that BT connection gives out better music quality than 2.4 Ghz or above. If you think of buying it, i´d suggest you do not, because its like i said way too much. Go with Logitech G Pro X, G733 Lightspeed or G935. Its more than enough and theyre also good headsets. If not, buy the HyperX Wireless one, which is around the same quality as the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro X Wireless.
I'm liking my Arctis Nova Pro Wirless X now after fine tuning the right Sonar settings for me. At first I didnt want this headset because of the earcup type but after searching that I can just 3D Print an adapter and buy the Nova fabric earcup then its complete for me!
This is my headphone upgrade from Arctis Pro Wireless that I have been using for the past 4 years and here are the comparison I found with the new Nova Pro.
- It's lighter than the Arctis Pro.
- despite having a leather earcup its really soft and comfortable but still sweats over time so good thing I've change it to fabric.
- It does not have the immersive bass which the Arctis Pro does have
- You'll no longer use the default config as you'll be more on using the Sonar EQ. (its a separate EQ in SteelSeries GG)
- The battery life is waaaaay longer than the Arctis Pro
- Having the fabric earcups on, there isn't much of a difference with the leather earcup when ANC is on.
- I do really hear the footsteps much clearer with this Nova Pro thanks to Sonar (im playing PUBG and Warzone btw)
- Finally it no longer has that bluetooth volume issue in Android phones were it self adjust the volume when a sound/music initially plays.
For those who already have the Arctis Pro Wireless, If you got the cash to buy this then its a good upgrade. For those who hasnt have an Arctis Pro yet and planing to get a gaming headphone then this is a recommended buy!
have the same headphone set and has been the best experience so far and in my opinion it's not worth the upgrade as it's similar with the Artis Pro.
The only major problem i have with the Artis Pro is the DAC, because i left the screen on for to long it has now burn in screen with the setting turned on PC and whenever u scroll thru settings or somethilng else u can see the burn in screen.
so i would advise anybody that plans to buy this with the DAC please turn the SCREEN settings ->MODE->SCREEN OFF!
@@horatyuhory yeah i had the burn in also on my hub its due to leaving it 10 brightness with no screen off. Thats a total negligence on my part
Link to those fabric earcups?
as good as this seems...i cannot justify paying $345 for them.
Why? I purchased this as well as now pre-ordered the audeze maxwell. What u expect to pay? $100?
@@jamesmadison3108 $95
@@trollyoazz5439 cheapskate
@@jamesmadison3108 just paid $1000 for a new Samsung and $1400+ for the new consoles and monitor and I havent even started on a PC build so you dam right im being a cheapskate for the next few months 😂😂 it was time for a setup upgrade but goddam things are expensive now a days but then again the ps2 also launched at like $500 so I can’t complain too much
@@trollyoazz5439 I find it hilarious that people can drop a grand on a phone that they'll probably upgrade in a year or two, but a headset that you'll probably own for years? Nah, 100 bucks max lol
I switched to this headset like 3 Months ago.
I was 3+y user of Astro A40TR's.
Not gonna lie,first tow or three days was actually pain for me.
They were more tight to my head and obviously heavier.
At one point i started having light headache cos of headset.
After these couple of days,i fully ajusted to the Nova Pro wireless.
So far i'm very happy with it.
I'm not using headset mic as i have Trust gxt 255+ onyx.
Only weird thing i had with this headset is that one of my batterys did go "dead" 2 times so far.
What i mean with this is that my headset would randomly die off at 30% battery charge.
Then when i tried to recharge it back in the Steelseries hub,hub would not recognise the battery at all,like i didn't put it in.
After brainstorming for couple of minutes,i figured out i'd give a try to plug the usb type C into headset while this "dead" battery was inisde.
And after some time i still couldn't not see the battery on the Steelseries Engine program regardless of the headset working.
After i had it plugged in like that for 1-2h,i took out the battery and put in back into Steelseries Hub and somehow battery came back to life and it got recognised again.
how does the audio quality on music/games compare?
did you use EQs on the A40s and/or these ones?
Indeed the only biggest weakness is the microphone. But what it lacks in mic it makes up in all it's features which is definitely a plus. I hope they improve the mic on their next iteration cause this one is by far top product.
Definitely! Those "S"'s were painful
way too expensive for such a basic flaw : (
They shouldnt even be classified as a gaming headset if the mic is crap.. its basically just a good headphone for listening to music at that point and people are better off just buying BOSE for that kind of money if they want great audio. Communication in a game is just or even more important than audio so if teammates cant understand you or youre making their ears bleed with terrible static and screeching sounds then the headphones are pretty much useless for gaming.
They clearly designed around the retractable feature, which is a casual gamer mindset.
@@vertigo6982 the mic isn't completely crap idiot, its still clear just not the same as wired mics or other wireless products, there are no static or screeching sounds, watch the video.
I love the dual connection. More headsets should have that. I personally like to always have youtube in the background and have gone through some painful workarounds to route all sound through my main pc into my headset.
However, I can't buy Steelseries headsets with that hinge anymore. It broke on both Arctis 7 I've had, one after only 1 year.
I felt the swivel the first time I had it and never trusted it since, but now, 2+ years after owning them, the right side finally broke
Same here. SteelSeries has a major design flaw with that hinge that ruined my Arctis Pro after a year. Will never by SteelSeries headsets again.
redesigned with help from Bang & Olufsen. they're solid this go around.
if they broke that fast its a warranty issue, or you could learn to weld plastic? Reinforce the weak part while you are at it..
Also the dual connection is not used like that sir. its for having two devices connected to it. Pc and xbox, or pc and playstation. The dac lets you choose the input for your gaming session. no need to reconnect or replug. To playback two audio sources on one pc does not require anything else than to play music from the source, then start ur game or whatever. no trickery needed. Nor multiple pc needed. why are you doing this to complicate dual audio playback??
You could just connect BT on ur phone or other pc for playback of music, then start the game and control the music from there? man u make it harder than it has to be
@@reyalPRON You're right that I should go after a warranty replacement. The first one was definitely out of warranty though. I opened the case and deemed it not within my skill set and the tools I have.
And really if I have to manually fix their hinge that still makes it a product I don't want.
As for the dual connection: I don't have that yet. The headset models I have don't have dual connections, so I have to route it into one. If you have a better idea how to route multiple audio sources to the same wireless headphones, I'd love to hear that in more detail. I don't really understand what you currently expect me to do there
I already own the Arctis Pro Wireless and that has much of the features and quality that this new one has. Yes, it's expensive, but it's absolutely worth it and when mine stops working, I'll get me one of these!
I totally agree. I wanted these when they first came out but waited to make sure about the reviews. I bought them like a month later and i can say without a doubt, i love these things too. The range and the hot swappable batteries are a definite thumbs up. Yes, the mic isn't the best but i think that can be tweaked later with software. Overall, if you can afford these, buy them now.
@@kamde610 "mic isnt the best" "i THINK that can be tweaked later" Those two phrases means this headphone is not a good buy for gaming. You just demonstrated wishful thinking, and I bet you, that the mic cannot be tweaked to be perfect or tweaked at all. IF its quiet, and/or all static .. its garbage and the only way to make it better would be to replace the entire microphone and wiring since either can be the cause for it being a trash mic. With that said this headphone is not worth the money and only a fool would buy it. You can get a better mic and halfway decent sounding headphones for under $100.
@@vertigo6982 the mic is perfect for me but if you want to like lets say stream, i wouldn't recommend it obviously because you need a dedicated mic for that but for what i need these for, the mic is fine. They don't sound staticy or too quiet as you said but it also depends on if you're using it in teamspeak or like discord because they all have their own settings. But each to their own. I'm just imparting my experience and i find them worth it. I game with these for quite a few hours and the battery lasts forever and they soudn really good for wireless headphones and i do use them with my phone with the bluetooth.
I'm following Hardware Canucks for almost a decade now and am still fascinated about the quality of your content! I have the Artics Nova 7P and I'd like to know why my sound quality is hollow, dull, and reverberant? I also customized some equalizers but it still sounds poor for me. I'm connected via Bluetooth. Can anyone relate?
So I’ve owned these things since day one and upgraded from the Arctis Pro Wireless.
Honestly had buyer’s remorse after 2 weeks but still kept using them.
The three biggest issues I had (and remedies) were:
1.) The noise cancelling mics in the ear cups HURT after an hour of use, and there’s no 3rd party ear cups that fit these cans. Luckily someone has 3D print plans (or can purchase off of Etsy) for an adapter that lets you replace the ear cups for thicker and more comfortable ones.
2.) The Line Out bugs out once in awhile. Like the previous versions you can have speakers routed to the Line Out of the base station to be in use while the headset is off. Sometimes we get headphone fatigue and just wanna use our nice speakers. However, the base station will bug out sometimes and route audio to both while the headset is in use. Only fix I have is to just go the extra step of turning off my speakers when not in use.
3.) Really minor, but that hump on the volume wheel makes it hard to easily mount this under a desk for a cleaner space. Luckily once again to the power of 3D printing, you can find a mount that fits perfectly and still gives access to the battery swap bay.
How does the sound quality and 3D compare? Is it better?
Hello Honnin did you notice any big difference in audio?
@@nelsonw9483 The cushions I purchased were the Wicked Cushions with cooling. I think due to the material, you end up loosing a decent amount of ANC. But the comfort trade-off is absolutely worth it.
@@brun0silva938 The only difference in sound that I have noticed is the ANC. Everything else is fine.
Also, Wicked Cushions has a waiting list for those that are wanting replacement earpads for these headsets. Since it’s such a different shape, they probably want a decent number of people interested before they start producing.
HANDS DOWN THE BEST Video I have seen on this headset. I like how you showed the different sounds of the microphone. So we can understand what it's going to sound like before buying.
Amazing review. Spot on for the mic. I was all excited until I listened to de microphone. What a terrible mic. If it was at least 80% of the Corsair quality it would be a no brainer for me!!! Keep the good work Dimitri!
Yeah really sucks to have such a bad mic in comparison to the HS80.
-D.
Just bought these after seeing this review. Thank you. Finally one wireless headset for all of my platforms. They’re even better than I expected.
those are horrible
Looks great but a bit pricey considering that Corsair Virtuoso XT is cheaper and has a amazing microphone quality.
I have the XTs, I bought the nova pro wireless when they launched because I really wanted the mix amp and swappable batteries. I returned it after 2 days because the mic quality was so bad on the novas and the XTs were a lot more comfortable.
I've asked people on reddit whether which is better between the virtuoso xt and the nova pro wired and they always say the xts are bad. R they really that bad tho? I don't know which to choose among the virtuoso xt, nova pro wired, and the h6pro + gsx 300 amp
@@meisterm5562 I have Virtuoso SE (I don't need Bluetooth) and I am delighted with them. They are well made, comfortable, have a sensational quality microphone, which is also detachable, so it will be easier to replace it in case of failure.
They also have one simple button on the side, which makes it easier to mute communication in games.
IMO they are great.
Although take into account that I'm not an audiophile and it's hard for me to make a professional assessment of the sound quality.
@@meisterm5562 the XTs is fantastic (and doesnt look like a plastic bomber) but you really should invest another 15-30 Euros on a second market earpads ... i bought some thicker ones and now i really find them comfortable ... the included earpads are too thin and had the drivers touch my ear .... why Corsair saves one dollar with thin earpads on such an expensive device is mindblowing
I took a punt on these based on your attention to detail and credibility: Best gaming head phones I've purchased in this price range and the battery replacement is like a cheery on the top. Thanks so much for the time you've invested.
I had to return mine due to the ANC nub in the headset. Bizarre design choice to have something stick out so much in the cup. Great headset outside of that and well worth the money if the ANC nub doesn’t press against your ear.
yeah, you might like the nova 7, most of the features except no hub and swappable battery or ANC.
Yeah, that point alone makes it a no go for me. The price tag doesn't help either.
@@NotMorganFreeman. There are printed adaptors that fix the problem.
@@NotMorganFreeman. They probably have 1000s of returns due to the nub
I made the jump to Steelseries from Logitech about 4 years ago now, and I never looked back. I play quite a few multiplayer games, as well as atmospheric horror games, and I've always found the sound quality to be mindblowing. I went from the Arctis 5 on Ps4, to the Arctis 9 Wireless to the Nova Pro Wireless on PC since 2018, not because I've needed to, but because I haven't been able to stop myself from moving up the ladder to the more premium options. I used to be in the mindset "I will never spend more than $150 to $200 for a headset", but while the price is super high for the Nova Pro Wireless, it's worth it if audio is a major priority. Thankfully, Steelseries has dropped a whole range of Nova headsets for different budgets and platforms.
Been loving this headset, especially the swapping of batteries. Works with my PC, phone, ps5.... etc
Replaced my a50s with these.
Also just got a set of 3d printed earpad plates so I could use cushions from wicked cushions, super comfy and still great noise isolation with them.
Duuude! I love the A50’s, it’s been lasting me for years! But unfortunately it is reaching the end and now I am looking into other headsets 😢
Hoping this one is good enough to replace it with. Not liking the mic though
@@hustla0228 I personally recommend this one I pair it with a yeti mic that I have mounted on my desk
how does the audio quality on music/games compare?
did you use EQs on the A50s and/or these ones?
I have A50s right now (:
You can take off the side cups with twisting them. They come off like butter without any pressure.
I love that you actually changed the audio to let us hear the disbalance in stereo. Tip top production once again HC
To easily remove the magnetic cover over the battery just twist it 1/4 turn and the magnets won't line up. Then it just falls right out for a quick battery change
Used to love SteelSeries but then their set of batteries started dying faster and their plastic would crack after about a year of daily use :(
That being my experience with two sets of arctis pros 🥲
Can never understand why folks pay so much for gimmicky gamer cups that doesnt last while same amount of money an be used on audiophile ones. Its fine if its below a certain budget but at this price its totally not worth the money.
You do know you can order new batteries right? They cost 30 bucks for 2 pack.
As for the plastic cracking near where the cups connect to the headband - yes this has been a problem for a long time. Much less on the Arctis line compared to the predecessors but it's still there.
I was able to make mine last for 4 years before they cracked. The trick is to put them on your head and take them off by holding the headband and not the cups. Most people grab them by the cups and that will lead to premature cracking. Thankfully SteelSeries has had the common sense not to insult people by saying that they're "holding it wrong" like one other big company.
@@Will_Fong Show me audiophile ones that are wireless and actually have good sound in games. Because they're all wired and they are great for music or movies but crap for games where positional audio is important.
@@Will_Fong I prefer the Corsair wireless atm
I’ve been waiting for this review! I bought this headphone the week it dropped but I’ve been wanting to hear how amazing y’all think these headphones are because I absolutely love the Nova Pro.
I got that headset initially but it was so incredibly uncomfortable to wear that I had to return it. My ears was cramped in the headset and the nub inside of it was really aggravating.
I got the Sony Inzone headset now and it is much better for me personally.
Same, intone h7s are so comfortable, the h9 gets too hot for me with the leather
comfort above anything when using headphones!
which inzone did u get? is that much big of a difference between H7 & H9?
@@DevilDriver555 H7 and H9 is the same except for sound pass-through and noise cancelation. I got the H9 but if I were to choose again now I'd get the H7 since it is cheaper.
@@PowerSenpai the h7s have different material for the cup which don't heat as fast and are much better imo, but they don't feel as premium as the foe leather
This reviews almost makes me instantly buy it online, if not for the reason of 2 most important point for a wireless headphone (for me) not being stated here :
1. How is the sound delay in games, especially competitive online games? I had some highly praised wireless headphones and earphones before that have slight delay in them. In the end I had to use cable instead to play fps games.
2. Are the ear pads removable? Since "comfort" varies from person to person due to different ear shape, being able to change/mod the earpad is a must for a high-end headphones. Also, not everyone like using leather ear pad, it can be really sweat magnet even if one were to use it in air-conditioned room.
3. (Optional, not really important) How good is it at holding it place while being worn. It looks sleek and (light) sport friendly, so been wondering maybe it can be a great gym partner. I know we're in a TWS era and stuff, but it doesn't hurt to be able to seamlessly use only 1 device for everything, hence, a "partner".
Anyway, as always, I love your way of reviewing things. Almost all the details I needed are checked, but I hope you will consider including the above 2 questions into the reviews as well. Thank you
1. I have never noticed a delay. And im the kind of person who notices when TH-cam drops from 1440p to lower or my screen is not at it's maximum 165Hz. Besides the 2.4Ghz radio is about as good as you can get for wireless headphones. Obviously Bluetooth is not recommended for games as it has lower bandwidth and bigger delay.
2. They are tho mine are pretty tight. On my previous Arctis Pro they were replaceable too.
3. I would not recommend that. The fit and seal is tight but i imagine the sweat buildup in a gym would be a horror show for headset with pleather ear pads.
I’ve had this headset for about a year and I can honestly say it’s my fav headset I’ve ever bought and I’ve recommended it to my friends who now all have it and can’t say anything negative about it. Awesome audio quality, really well built, and the awesome double battery system. This thing absolutely slaps. 😎
Is it good for fps games? I play a lot of siege on pc and wanted to know if I can get good positional sound for footsteps
@@genericpootis9811 yeah they’re good for that and they have custom EQ presets and I believe they have one for siege
Do you have small ears? the earcups aren't that deep and i had to buy 3rd party ones because my ear was pressing on the hard plastic
@@CatBot007 herd to get different ear cushions all together due to how hot I herd your ears get with the defualt
how does this compare to the JBL quantum 810?
The Corsair Virtuoso XT does everything but the swappable batteries. for alot less money. Also, judging by your mic test the virtuoso hash a much better mic.
The Corsair Virtuoso may be heavy and uncomfortable for some people, I had to return it for this reason.
The swappable batteries is a game changer imo that’s the reason why I got this headset in the first place
first time i saw this man i thought starlord had a youtube channel and a gaming one as well. turn out it was a different person all along. but i love this channel been watching their review on every gear before i bought them. never dissapoint me till now on. keep the good stuff going man
I don't use a wireless headset, but for battery life, wouldn't the HyperX headset (don't remember the name of it) be better, since it does 300 hours on a single charge? I imagine charging once a month or so would be much easier/less effort than to change the battery every other day.
HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless :)
30hours* and yeah i never run out of battery.. but they're only good for fps games.
@@n9ne The model mentioned by Loxion EX was the one I meant - it gets around 300 hours (not 30) of battery life as tested by iFixit.
That's the beauty of SteelSeries design that for some reason no one else has copied. With two batteries (and you can buy more too) you never run out unless for some reason you forget to put the empty one in the base/charge station. I call it true wireless. For me every other wireless headset is only partially wireless because at some point - be in a few days, once a week or even once a month (tho that can only be with very light use) yo have to plug them in and use them with a wire or wait until charged.
I have those headphones (HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless) it's been like 3 months and didn't charge them yet. Rtings test show 346.4 hrs, is just 😮
@hardware canucks, for the aluminum caps, since they are magnetic you don't have to just try to force it off by digging your nail under the little gap instead twist it first, left or right doesn't matter, and then pull it up. There are only two main magnetic contact points so once you twist it either way past those points it basically just falls off.
About time headphones come with USB-C and replaceable batteries, huge respect for companies that want things to not just be thrown out after 1-2 years.
funny you say that ybout steelseries
@@MlDVS yeah my Arctis 7 is in a landfill somewhere unfortunately after the ear pads stretched out, fell off and the mic quality was never good so I just chucked it and am now shopping for a new headset lol - i did get 5 years out of it though!!!!
Regarding taking off the aluminium covers. You don't have to use your fingernail to pop it off. Just turn the cover and the magnets lose contact. The cover will pop right off
I reviewed this thing months ago and said the same thing!!!
Haven't Changed my mind since. Best all in one gaming headset out right now..
I love it! 2months in, I hope it lasts for years.
-D.
Price dropped on Amazon today for $250 and I bought it! Comes in this week
Steelseries already has a product like this, it's the Arctis Pro Wireless. This looks like it's just a refresh.
I have the arctis pro wireless and it seems to be exatly the same headset and charging station with a change of aestetic only and some very minor tweaks
Indeed it's a refresh but you can expect Pro to dissapear from retail shortly. So if you like the old design more i suggest buying now because they will continue with the Nova.
@@Raivo_K I own the Arctis Pro already. I love it, it's everything i wanted and more. I'm glad they are not just discontinuing it but the old one is perfect already. I don't know what this one has that's so different.
@@tomasmartins5009 They added Active Noise Cancellation and 7 second buffer for battery swaps on the Nova. Meaning it will block outside noises better and if you can swap the battery in 7 seconds then it wont even turn off (it has a small battery built in for this purpose). Aside from that it's mostly design changes.
Just bought the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and they fixed the anc bump finally. When I removed my earpads I noticed that the ANC bump was very little and different from everybody else that reviewed them so I contacted SteelSeries to know if mine was broken. They contacted the product team and confirmed that these were a new design.
i have a large head and was happy to see this headset in a local tech store to try it on and let me tell you.... this is the first steelseries headset that fits my watermelon head and also being super comfortable, idk what these ear cushions are but they feel super nice! Can't say anything about the sound since 400EUR was a bit too much, so i went with the Razer BlackShark:) will be hoping that there is a good deal on these for black friday!
what size hat are you? im 8 1/4 and this headset does NOT fit me at all
@@varunaX heyy im not into hats so idk 😅 for motorcycle helmet it would be size 60. the nova was a tight fit but it felt comfy, i just had it on for a minute or less tho. For the blackshark i can say i still have some space to adjust and the clamping force is not hurting (i have to wear glasses aswell).
Is it too much work for them to put on a proper supercardoid lavmic capsule as the microphone??
This is my favorite headset so far! I do have 2 massive (for me) complaints.
1. I was really hoping that the simultaneous Bluetooth connection would let me seamlessly switch between my primary PC and a secondary PC that’s connected via Bluetooth. Unfortunately the headset/software is unable to detect phones calls that come in on the secondary PC (via programs like MS Teams). I can still wire in both PCs but I have to manually switch between them which is not as convenient.
2. When I have the headset simultaneously connected to my phone, and I receive a phone call, my mic and audio switch from my computer to my phone when the phone is just ringing. This puts me in an awkward position where I can’t hear games or communicate to my teammates that I have to take a quick phone call. In my opinion the audio should switch After answering the phone call Not before.
The audio doesn't switch though right? It should play both simultaneously
@@TheGeekySalsa when my phone rings it completely cuts out my ability to hear my computer audio or talk in discord.
daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn dimitri! that transition to sponsor was sick! HAHAHAHA very well done.
ha thanks :)
-D.
I'm using the Nova pro wired, the quality is brutal
So is that good or bad?
I have Nova pro wired too... Amazing Sound and micro Quali!
I have arctic 7 and been considering the upgrade and I’m convinced what I want for Christmas ;-) thanks for the review, I have been waiting for this ine
Have a look at the Arctis Nova 7, if you can do without the DAC, ANC and swappable battery, you'll get virtually the same audio experience, bluetooth/PC combo, looks etc at half the price.
Actually it's slightly more comfortable because the leather earcups on these make your ears hot vs sports cloth on the Nova 7.
Its fine, but i doubt the sound can compare to the likes of beyerdynamic or senheisser
Wireless
You forgot the VZR model ones they sound pretty great and they're game headphones made for audiophiles.
I spent thousands buying top end headphones and amps and sold them all in favor for wireless nova pros.
None of those headphones made me a better player, or immersed me more in any game than a good “gaming” headset.
Also, what becomes important when gaming is comfort and feature, and that’s where the markets is headed.
You’re comparing a gaming headset to audiophile brands. Apples to oranges. Try harder next time.
Do you know what is the best Closed Back headphones from Senheisser for PS5 gaming and movies, music etc? I'm looking for a good headset.
Could the headset's microphone be moved away from the side of the mouth in order to reduce the plosives and mouth noises down to the minimum? Maybe have the mic positioned about 45 to 50º angle? I do have a cheap onmi-directional microphone that attaches to the side of my Samson SR860 and I do get a good quality sound. The microphone that is currently unavailable in Amazon is the Seenheiser brand with a 1/8" plug. Mine plugs into the 1/8" to XLR adapter and to my audio interface. I do not get any plosives or breath/mouth noise with a cheap microphone.
I just got mine and they are very uncomfortable. If you have a large head, I do not recommend this over priced headset.
That happened to me on one or there other hedsets it’s vary heavy, high clamping force and tarable mic😢
You made the best review for these headset on TH-cam, you covered everything unlike other reviews
Bro your kinda offbase with this video, the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless has a 350 hour batterylife and beats it in treble accuracy, bass accuracy etc. etc., Comfort, basically every category. Also is only $180, i think you were paid to make this review lol
I tried the alpha for a few days, easily one of the worst sounding headsets I’ve ever used. Returned it and ended up getting the Astro A50’s with the amp for the same price. My preferred headset is the Corsair HS70 in terms of sound and comfort but it has a terrible mic and isn’t built to last
You did not watch the video all the way did you. These headphones don’t have 350 hrs battery life. They have No battery life at all. And the 180 price tag? I don’t think it’s better in sound what so ever
@@NightFoxZero I had the Astro for the longest time. Every since first gen. They stopped upgrading it for some reason so I had to choose either new A50 I kept buying or something like the steel series . Went with the nova pro wireless since it had unlimited battery life and bluetooth.
How'd you even know if it had better "treble/bass accuracy etc etc"? Sounds like a "trust me bro" statement.
@@Qimchiy Rtings website
Hey I'm stuck on sound..I can't hear anything and everything is connected..I Read lots of people have this problem and I bet it's right in front of me can you help?,.ty
Greg... please let me know if you csn demetrey
Now that they FINALLY made a white one I'm thinking about buying it. I've had the Arctis Pro Wireless since early 2019 & it really did become my go to headset both at my PC and out & about. It really did become my go to both at my PC & out and about. It only just recently broke and that's after 5 years of wearing it everywhere, lugging it around in various bags, and even dropping it on concrete a few times. Crazy part is that it still totally works just as well as when I first fired it up, I just cracked the housing where the stem meets the earcup.
Direct to the point! Nice review and I would definitely check this out.
I was always a astro a50 guy but now imma a nova arctis pro guy. These are so cozy and the spund is outstanding! I love it
Just bought one here in AUSTRALIA. It's fantastic and the Sound Quality is brilliant with SONAR.
The ad was so interesting and relevant that I had to watch it. Well done
I picked this thing up after my second Logitech G935 died. WELL worth the money. took a bit to get my headset to fit right. tweaked the sizing alot. still not 100% there but sound quality and extra features is on point with this thing.
That battery solution is pretty intuitive and ingenious. Good going Steep Series!
NOTE my fellow gamers! The Sonar software also works with all other audio devices! I love this Headset with all it's features. If you go into the Sonar software and Click on Mixer under playback you can choose other devices and get a full EQ also Spatial Sound audio support and with the right settings almost all my headphones now have a larger sound stage with good imaging :). My current favorite setup is using my Topping DX3 Pro Plus with my HD560s. With Spatial Audio set @ Performance set to about -10 and Distance about 45-50 almost all my headphones and Even IEMs sound really good for gaming. :)
I love my arctic wireless pro, the hub is a brilliant qol addition to a setup. Really like that simply turning off the headset diverts sound to speakers. Also the dual connection is great, mostly use it for phone calls.
Does the headset mic pass through to the phone call?
@@JeandrePetzer yes it does
this with my gigabyte monitor with built in KVM let's me swap PCs without having to physically swap any of my devices. little hack is adding a 4 port USB hub to back of monitor to allow for more devices to use between the 2 pcs
Does anyone know if I can connect my Ps5 and my PC at the same time with the Doc of the Xbox version of the headset? The Xbox version is cheaper so I wonder why someone would buy the PlayStation version.
2:18 Havent we had 1000 zone backlighting?
I really dont like brands claiming miniLED when the contrast resolution is under 240p, let alone the ....... 25p? contrast resolution of the terrible 576 zones
Of note, 240p contrast resolution is over 10k dimming zones.
How does this relate to a headphone review?
@@Raivo_K the mid-roll ad
@@denvera1g1 I use sponsorblock so i guess i did not see that.
Is it worth the upgrade over Cloud 2 wireless?
Absolute gem of a review. Always genuine and considerate :D
3:57 Ah yes, nothing speaks of good build quality like being confident that a premium product will last a couple years.
the steel series app is so good! even if you dont have a steel series product, you can make use of the sonar to adjust how your microphone sounds. real time processing!
I now have the Sony H9 for PC gaming, I followed my own thoughts, watched a lot of videos, etc.... And the H9 is really good for PC gaming. Of course, you can adjust the Inzone software to your own wishes, but you must also set the correct sound option in Windows itself, otherwise you cannot increase the bass in the InZone software, etc.
Fits well on the head, good ear cushions, good sound too, good microphone, we use Skype, I do have a recent and fairly expensive gaming PC and my buddy has a 2000 euro laptop so we both bought good equipment so we don't have to worry about anything. experiencing problems with the headphones or skype etc....
Cool video! What kind of glasses are you wearing at @3:27? They look really nice.