Steelseries Arctis 9X Xbox One Wireless Review

A Closer Look & Performance

This is a gorgeous looking headset, no doubt about that. Of course, I would think that, since it looks pretty much identical to all the other high-end Arctis headsets, and I loved the look of those too. Of course, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Steelseries are riding a wave of one of the nicest looking headset designs I’ve seen in years, and they’ll do well to keep it.

Ergonomics

The headset keeps pretty much all the design features of even their most expensive models. It features rotatable ear cups, allowing it to be easily worn around the neck between games. Of course, this movement also helps with the fit around your ears, ensuring a comfortable and close fit. That being said, the drivers are not noise suppressing.

They’re fabric padded, so they do allow a little breathing and airflow. They do block some external noise, but not all of it. At the same time, they’re not going to lock the sound in either, as you would get with leather pads.

Headband

The outer headband is a single piece metal band that has some flex to it. However, it’s pretty robust and helps (comfortably) clamp the ear cups to your head. The soft foam ear cups help prevent it from feeling obtrusive, so don’t worry about that. The inner part of the headband has a thick rubber layer to prevent it from being uncomfortable too.

However, it’s the thick elastic band with a velcro adjustment strap that allows you to really tailor the fit. Tighten it up and it’ll fit smaller heads and younger gamers. For me, I pretty much may out the size, but it still fits very comfortably for me.

Closed Back

Now, while the ear cup padding doesn’t “lock-in” the sound. The drivers are closed backed. This does help keep a lot of noise in, but also keeps a tighter air pressure on the drivers. The end result, a much punchier lower end bass response. However, Steelseries tune their drivers pretty flat when it comes to their response. The sound is quite airy and bright, albeit not unrealistically so, but don’t expect a big “womp-womp” bass response like you get on most gaming headsets; which are often EQ’d to death before they leave the factory.

Control

When it comes to controls, everything is here really. The buttons are all different shapes and sizes to make it easier to find them while you’re not looking. However, the can be a little fiddly and do take some adjustment to use. There’s a volume wheel and microphone mute switch on this side. Below that, you’ll find the Bluetooth pairing button, as well as the master power button and charging port. Again, all fairly standard stuff. However, they’ve had to cram it all here, as the headset is wireless and otherwise has no other control unit.

Microphone

No worries about losing your microphone here. It rolls back into the ear cup for safe storage when not in use. This also allows you to set the length of the boom, and it’s flexible too. Finding that sweet spot of clear chat and not breathing into it like Darth Vader is easily achieved. Now Steelseries say this one is a better microphone, but honestly, the other one sounded bloody brilliant already, and I can’t find a difference myself. That’s not to say it isn’t great, it really is, and easily one of the better ones on the market too.

On the Xbox, you’ll no doubt be the best sounding member of your team. For online gaming and group chat, I really can’t fault it. Plus, if you pair with your mobile over Bluetooth, you can use it to make phone/Skype calls too, which is handy.

Gaming

Those drivers are certainly interesting, and quite powerful too. Now, Steelseries say you can get 20 hours usage out of this, albeit they didn’t specify at which volume level; I’ll bet 50%. That being said, I’ve been railing them pretty loud this last couple of days and we’re well past 10 hours now without a recharge. I would say, the battery life indicator isn’t all that clear, but you can charge and play so you shouldn’t be out of the action if it does run out. Plus, if you’re gaming more than 10-20 hours a day between charges… jeez, go outside, or ya know, get a wired model.

More Gaming

I’ve seen Amazon reviews of people saying they love the drivers, some saying they hate them. Personally, I think they sound fantastic. They have a “studio” sound to them that’s quite flat, and things sound as they should. I think people are setting them up wrong, so be sure to follow instructions and get into the Xbox audio settings. I’d suggest using Dolby Atmos for Headphone, not Windows Sonic (because it sucks) for most things. You can configure the EQ yourself, and the Supercrunch sound is pretty great, albeit not very accurate. However, some games like PUBG, Overwatch, etc, are much better with a flat response, as you can easily hear footsteps and the sound is amazingly directional. The downside, you need to hook it up to a PC to tinker with the EQ (via USB). Not a big deal though, as I suspect many will set it once and leave it and the four built-in profiles on the headset are no doubt more than enough for most users.

Music and Movies

Because they’re wireless, kicking back with a bit of Netflix is very enjoyable. Plus, with the Atmos mode on your Xbox (if you have that app), the surround is pretty fantastic, with a really good virtual centre for dialogue. The same is true for music, just drop it into stereo mode, kick back, and relax. The response is really tight, so everything from a bit of ambient chillout to death metal sounds clean and detailed.