SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless - Simply The Best
In my 13 odd years in the industry, I have had the pleasure to review many different gaming headsets and audio devices. From cheap and cheery plugin jobs to high priced wireless sets from premium European brands. All have had their pluses and minuses but in general, audio tech for gaming is in a pretty good state when I look back at all the devices I have used. So when I say the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is the best headset I have ever used by a country mile, you know it has impressed me. This, people, is the future of high-end gaming audio.
I know, I know. That is a big claim to make at the start of a review. But I have to say, I believe it with every fibre of my being. This single headset has brought new features I didn’t know I needed until now, improved on existing standard features in ways I didn’t think possible and added things to the mix that just make gaming better. Let me start with the design itself. Solid, comfortable and easy to adjust, the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless perfectly fits my massive head and is comfortable for long periods of wear. I have been using it for nearly four weeks now and have never felt the need to take it off because it was getting irritating, something I have never said about a headset before. Comfort doesn’t come at the cost of durability either. Everything feels incredibly well built, with no joins or attachments feeling like they are in danger of loosening or breaking after 12 months of use.
The Nova Pro comes with a fantastic little built-in microphone which easily exceeds what people expect from a headset microphone. Is it as good as a quality standalone mic? Probably not, but it is pretty darn close. So close in fact, it would do the job for all but the most dedicated streamers and podcasters. It certainly is (miles) more capable than simple in-game voice chat requires, providing a clear voice with no distortion and excellent background noise suppression to make sure it is only your voice your teammates hear and not the next-door neighbour’s lawn mower. If the mic is not needed, it slides neatly into the earcup and is barely perceptible unless you are looking for it.
The sound quality is the most important thing in any headset and I can say that the Nova Pro is above and beyond anything I have ever used. I threw everything I could think of at it. Games, music, movies, podcasts and even nature sounds and it aced all of it. Most gaming headsets sound great for games but can struggle with other media, but that is simply not the case here. Deep bass, high treble, not a problem. Even at ultra-loud volumes, there wasn’t the slightest hint of distortion. Add to this the class-leading active noise cancellation, astounding 7.1 emulation and a suite of software that allows for deep customisation and I honestly feel like I won’t ever need a new headset, surely tech can’t get better than this.
Speaking of the software, this is the main reason my review has taken a little longer. I wanted to wait until the full version of SteelSeries Sonar software had been released into the wild so I could play with all of the features that are linked with the Nova Pro. The aforementioned 7.1 surround sound is one and the noise cancellation the other. But the real game-changer is the ability of the software to focus on particular in-game sounds and bring them to the forefront. This may not sound like much but consider playing a competitive FPS and having the ability to turn off all sounds except footprints and it is easy to see how advantageous this feature could be. Honestly, I can see this being banned in esports tourneys because of the unfair advantage it would give players. Sonar also includes a host of pre-set equalizer settings for a range of popular games and the ability to set your own and save them for easy switching when playing different titles.
The next exciting feature for the Nova Pro is the fact instead of the standard USB dongle used to connect to a PC/Console it uses a fully functional DAC. For those that don’t know a DAC is essentially a USB powered soundcard that will give you much better sound than the standard motherboard based card on your PC. Trust me it makes the world of difference. The cool thing about this DAC is that it connects to just about everything. Xbox, PS4/5 and PC are all connectable and for things like the Switch or your phone, there is still the option of Bluetooth or even a 3.5mm cord. The DAC stores all of your saved equalizer settings so you can set up your ideal sound levels on your PC and that will then be able to be used with your console. The DAC also allows you to switch presets, outputs and various settings on fly. Finally it has an extra 3.5mm port that can be used for computer speakers or an extra set of headphones. This is especially cool to me as I quite often play with just speakers and not a headset.
Finally, perhaps the coolest feature is the headset comes with two interchangeable batteries. One sits in the headset and the other is always charging in the DAC. This is an absolute game-changer for me. I am forever forgetting to charge headsets so this is ideal. Whoops, I forgot to turn off my headset, no problems, a quick swap and I am on my way. It is honestly glorious and I am surprised it has been seen before.
Perhaps the only downside I can see for this headset is the hefty, but justified price tag. The Nova Pro Wireless retails in Australia for $649 so it is no small investment. That said, It feels like that price tag is earned. There is no luxury brand pricing here, just amazing tech that is taking the gaming headset space forwards in leaps and bounds. Regardless it is hard to ignore the sting that such a high price causes and I can see that putting a good number of people off buying.
But if the price is no barrier then I can, hand on my heart, say this is the best headset I have ever used. The sound clarity and range is second to none, the design is flawless and the technology and software does things I never knew I needed until now. I simply can’t fault it, all I can do is congratulate the boffins at SteelSeries on the stellar job they have done with this headset. Put plainly, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is simply the best.
Specifications
Speaker Drivers
- Neodymium Drivers – 40 mm
- Headphone Frequency Response (Wired) – 10–0,000Hz
- Headphone Frequency Response (Wireless) – 10–22,000 Hz
- Headphone Sensitivity – 93 dBSPL
- Headphone Impedance – 38Ohm
- Headphone Total Harmonic Distortion – < 1%
- Active Noise Cancellation – 4-mic hybrid design with Transparency Mode
- High-Res Audio Capable – Yes (Headphone Speakers)
Microphone
- Microphone Type – ClearCastGen 2 – Fully Retractable Boom
- Microphone Polar Pattern – Bidirectional Noise-Canceling
- Microphone Frequency Response – 100-6500 Hz
- Microphone Sensitivity – 38dBV/Pa
- Microphone Impedance – 2200Ohm
Infinity Power System
- Number of Batteries – 2
- At Home – Non-stop battery with hot-swap (within 8 seconds)
- On-the-go – 44 Hours – 2.4GHz Quantum 2.0 Gaming Wireless / 36 Hours – 2.4GHz Quantum 2.0
Gaming Wireless + BT (18-22 hours per battery) - Fast Charge – 15mins for 3 hours play
Dual Wireless
- Bluetooth Wireless – v 5.0
- Gaming Wireless Low Latency – 2.4 GHz
- Dual Connection – Simultaneous 2.4 Ghz & BT
- Wireless Range – 40 ft / 12m (2.4 GHz)
