SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Gaming Headset Review

SteelSeries has many of the absolute best all-round gaming headsets on the market today, and that's been true for well over a decade, with the launch of their then extremely popular Siberia headsets, right through to the last few years with their Arctis lineup of products. However, today it's all about their new flagship, the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, a truly feature-rich gaming headset that's sure to appeal to the enthusiast gamers out there. Well, at least for those with deeper pockets and fatter wallets, as at £329.99 MSRP it's pretty expensive, however, it's often on sale for around £250, which is a less bitter pill to swallow. I wrote that a week ago, and by the time I completed this review, the price dropped to a very reasonable £219.50! Worn by Champions eSports pros love this headset, and the likes of Faker (T1), Rain (FaZe), and James Baldwin (Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS) wear the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless when earning the biggest wins of their lifetimes. Will owning one make you a pro? It's not bloody likely, but it's good to know some big names are behind this product. Features It's certainly well equipped, with active noise cancellation and side tone monitoring, premium drivers, an AI-powered noise cancelling microphone for flawless team chat, both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connectivity so you can play your games but still use your phone for calls, music, discord chat, etc. However, the best feature is the unlimited battery life, well, sort of. It comes with a desktop amp/DAC unit with a battery recharging dock built in. The headset comes with two batteries, so when one gets low, just hot-swap in the new one, put the other back on charge, and you're ready to rock those extremely long gaming sessions without wires. Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) with hear-through option Premium Hi-Res Capable Neodymium Magnetic Drivers AI-powered noise-cancelling mic with stealth retractable design Unlimited playing time with 2 hot-swap batteries + fast charging Simultaneous 2.4GHz & Bluetooth mixes game & mobile audio Dual USB connections support PC, Mac, PlayStation, Switch, VR, & more 360 Spatial Audio for PC (Sonar Software) and PS5 (Tempest 3D audio) For more information, please check out the official product page here. Packaging & Accessories The box looks great, with that classic SteelSeries design, and a large photo of both the headset and the base unit on the front of the box. Not sure how they got so many awards on the box from other websites though, both on the front and side of the box, when I was one of the first to get the product, so I suspect they're reusing awards that were generally given to other Arctis products and not this specific headset... Around the back, again we see more nice photos, and that it supports PlayStation, PC and Switch. It's very well packaged, with a durable inner and outer box, with foam in the lid, and a protective bag around the headset. There's a protective cardboard insert too, so there are four or five layers protecting each part of the headset. In the box, you'll find the headset itself, a second battery, audio and USB cables, as well as the base unit. A Closer Look Let's start with the base unit, it's basically the I/O hub with built-in amp controls and EQ system. It was protected by plastic, but the moment I opened it, it was a total dust magnet, which is a shame. Around the back, it has both a line-in and line-out, as well as two USB Type-C inputs, allowing you to hook up multiple systems and quickly swap between them. Along the side, you'll find a charging dock for the headset battery. Simply push it in, and it'll charge. This means you have one charging while the other battery is in use, meaning you're never without power! The headset is absolutely gorgeous, easily one of the best-looking headsets on the market right now. It features a stunning white aesthetic, but there is a black version available too if that's not your thing. I love the silver earcup backs too, with their raised SteelSeries logo in the middle making them really pop. Down the side of the left ear cup, you'll find a large and easy-to-index volume wheel, as well as a couple of buttons for muting audio and all the usual stuff. I'm surprised they have a volume wheel here though given you have that big desktop dock unit with its own volume wheel. The headband is a two-part construction, with a flexible but strong outer headband, and a softer suspension headband that will ensure a comfortable fit. However, it can also be extended using the side sliders, meaning this is one of the first SteelSeries headsets that fit my massive head properly. All their previous ones had to be maxed out and still felt tight on me, so it's a welcome improvement. On the side of the ear cups, you'll see some small pinholes, these are the ANC microphones, which allow for noise cancellation, but also for listening to sidetone, so even when you're in the heat of battle, you can still hear what's going on around you, such as a knock as the door or your significant other telling you to put the kettle on. The headset is wireless, but it also offers 3.5mm jack support, meaning it's largely compatible with just about any older gaming hardware and some mobile devices, such as the Nintendo Switch. Performance Thanks to the great ergonomics, this is a very easy headset to live with. The two-part headband allows for a comfortable fit, and you can adjust the tension of the inner padding section, as well as adjust the length of the outer headband. There's both tilt and pivot on the ear cups too, ensuring you get a nice and even weight distribution around your ears, but also ensuring a clean fit regardless of your head shape and side. This means the ear cup padding sits comfortably, and it does a pretty decent job of both locking in the sound and blocking out ambient noise, allowing you to get more immersed in your media. The padding is good quality too, and I love that it has that matching white aesthetic to compliment the rest of the headset. However, suppose you tend to be a bit of a sweaty person or like to eat a lot of Doritos. In that case, I fear this headset is going to get pretty grubby from extended use, so something to keep in mind, as they do make a black one, that's likely going to offer more Cheeto resistance. Setup of the headset is easy enough though, especially with the dock unit, allowing you to use low-latency USB Type-C connectivity for two devices, meaning you can hook up your console and PC and easily switch between the two. There's no optical input, which is a shame, as it would broaden the device support, but again, it's still pretty much plug-and-play anyway. Turning the headset on for the first time, it pairs with the base unit instantly, and you're ready to go... well, sort of. There are a lot of settings on the base unit, and while the headset sounds good out of the box, it does require some tinkering to get it to sound its best. Firstly, you're prompted "Are you located in the EU" and if you are, the max volume will be restricted. I suspect many users will simply lie about this. It's a nice enough display though, but weirdly, the OK button is mechanical by pushing in the big jog wheel, but the back button is a touch button (smaller circle to the left), and the mixture of tactile control and one that lacks feedback is a bit strange. You can configure the volume, EQ, profiles, devices, screen brightness, and so much more from the unit though, which is nice. Especially so on consoles, which often lack the added benefit PC users usually get from the desktop apps. EQ is a big deal on this headset, as the default profile sounds a little harsh to me. Thankfully, while it can be a little tedious, you can fully customise the EQ to your liking and save to profiles. For most users though, there are numerous profiles for popular titles, and I'm sure just spinning through these will find something perfect, or at least very close to your desired sound. The ANC is pretty potent, it drowned out the noise of my neighbour using their mower easily enough, and while it does have a slight impact on the overall sound quality, it seems like a reasonable tradeoff for those who are trying to game while blocking out ambient noise. The microphone for chat is pretty cool, with a retractable and highly flexible boom, it's easily deployed or hidden away, and the quality is really good too, bright, clear, and about as good as you could expect for a built-in boom microphone on a high-end headset. Overall, the headset sounds good right out of the box, but again, EQ, EQ, and EQ! The headset can push some impressive bass, good mid-range detail, and clear highs, but it just takes some experimentation to find the best settings, but it is worth it. The battery life is fantastic, and you can get over 30 hours using 2.4 GHz mode, or around 20 hours if you're simultaneously using both 2.4 GHz for gaming and Bluetooth to listen to music or chat on your phone. However, the drivers have a magnetic back, allowing you to hot-swap the batteries out. As I said, you leave the spare one on charge while playing. If you do manage to drain them both, a 15-minute charge will get you up to 3 hours of gameplay. How Much Does it Cost? The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Gaming Headset is available now from Amazon with an MSRP of around £330 when it launched earlier in the year, it was expensive, but as of this week, it seems to have dropped to just £219.99, which is obviously a lot better! This isn't a cheap headset, but looking at the sheer volume of features it comes with, it's not that bad for those looking to step up their audio. Overview SteelSeries has a great reputation for gaming audio, with many award-winning headsets over the last decade and beyond, and actually, I've given them many of those awards in that time, and can't really recall the last time they had a bad headset, if they ever did. Their more affordable models are fantastic in their own right, but their flagships are absolutely some of the best on the market right now, and this latest generation addresses all the minor issues I've had with previous models. The battery life was always good, but having to tether to a USB cable while playing so you can top up the charge is a big pain in the ass. With the new hot-swappable battery system, this is easily fixed. Furthermore, simply replacing a faulty battery could mean some soldering in the past. However, it's a magnetic cover and simply flip the battery out and you're good to put a new one in. Having two batteries included is fantastic, and with 20-36 hours of usage on a single battery depending on how you use the headset, it's likely most users will need to swap them once a week. I work and game at home though, so for me, every three or four days I need to swap the battery, but again, it takes 10 seconds to do. If you do somehow drain both batteries, such as if you're travelling and take the spare with you to play on mobile or Switch, that's still 40-72 hours of total usage. Plus in a USB Type-C cable to charge them for 15 minutes, and you'll get up to three hours of extra play time, but a full charge takes a fair few hours. Being able to use two USB-C inputs is awesome, that's not a common feature for headsets. I can have my PS5 on one, PC on the other, and switch between the two without swapping a single cable, and that's a big benefit for those with multiple gaming setups. The headset is wireless too, so cable-free gaming, but still retains support for a 3.5mm cable for other devices should you need it. I love that I can pair my phone via Bluetooth too, it means I can use Amazon Music, Plex, Discord, take calls, etc, while simultaneously using the USB input. This means I can play Battlefield on PC, listen to music on my phone, chat on Discord with my teammates, and mix all the levels on the fly thanks to the feature-rich desktop control unit. The sound quality is great, and while it needs a bit of tinkering, that's the luxury of such a feature-rich headset. You can EQ, customise ANC, side-tone, mix levels, hook up multiple devices, set up profiles, and much more. This is a complex headset, but that's kinda the point, it does so much and that is sure to appeal to the enthusiasts out there. If you want a plug-and-play simple headset, there are plenty of those on the market, but if you want options and versatility, this ticks all those boxes.