SteelSeries - Arctis 5
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 30, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
1102
404
"The roborock I have kicked and smashed with my foot so many times out of anger when it doesn't collaborate, and still he rocks 4-5 yrs later and no broken parts"
"they are extremely durable. ... I’ve got well over 1000 miles out of a pair and they still have grip and the uppers are in great shape"
"I've used them for 1500 miles of multi-day hiking with no issues!"
1050
311
"Noble fokus rex5 best sounding change my mind. ... Five drivers per ear bud game changing for sure ... Yes, you're so right. They are by far number one. ... There may be a few airbuds that get better battery a little bit, better ANC but right now my two cents worth, there's nothing on a planet that sounds better than these. ... I have all the heavy hitters. The techniques 80/100 Sony 4 and 5 sennheisers 3 and 4 and the Devialet gemini II. ... Ronontech on YouTube did a review on the Aviot a few days ago. I belive he liked the Nobels better. ... Also on YouTube, check out Flossie Carter review on the Nobles, he went absolutely nuts. Best sounding wireless earbuds he has ever heard."
"As for gaming I'd probably rank them 1. A50 ... As for music I'd rank them 1. A50 ... And for movies I would rank them 1. A50."
"these fifth generation A50s sound better than anything I’ve ever used. ... New DAC, new Graphene drivers, really nice sounding."
4
2
"I effing love my Steelseries Arctis 7 headset. ... The two separate audio streams for chat and game are amazing. ... Best feature ever"
"That extra wheel to balance voice chat and other sounds is such a good idea."
"I decided to go with the SteelSeries Arctis 7 when I needed a headset that could handle both game audio and chat."
127
42
"The pinpoint accuracy is insane. I played Valorant on PS5, xDefiant and Warzone. ... This was more noticeable on Valorant as it is a more sound dependent game. You won't miss anything with these. I started to watch out at angles I wouldn't watch with the others because some audio cue made me suspect a door and ... it was 100% right all the time. I could tell where they were with excellent accuracy, both horizontal and vertical."
"For gaming, these are perfect. ... As a valorant immortal, tier 2 and premier player, I can confidently say that the imaging and soundstage are spot-on. ... Footsteps, directional cues, and in-game sounds are incredibly precise and natural, giving a competitive edge without any unnecessary bass/treble bloat."
"directional audio is amazing can hear all the opponents"
14
1
"it fits my ears perfectly"
"Definitely would pick Aful over OL due to comfort and size."
"Definitely would pick Aful over OL due to comfort and size."
Disliked most:
217
168
"QC issues, on my 2nd pair and they have a strange white noise that occurs randomly. ... First pair left earbud white noise was bad and had to return. ... 2nd pair same left earbud white noise and I’ve returned them. All happened within a week of light use."
"every 60 seconds or so it shrieked for a couple of seconds in an electric staticy kinda way."
"the Tea Pro are absolutely terrible. ... I couldn't sell them quick enough. ... Utter dogshit & not 10% as good as the Tea 2. ... utter crap with horrific mids, dreadful bass & terrible treble"
29
89
"I kept feeling them on and thinking they would fall off my ears at any moment, it would distract me from my run."
"I find I can't wear them for more than an hour without my ears hurting."
"Only downside is the faux leather ear foams are absolute garbage out the box. ... Had to get a cooling gel ones on Amazon for like $15"
1
15
"auto-shutting off while playing audio ... If I don't run steelseries GG, it'll default to the setting that is shuts down after 30 minutes. ... The only way to circumvent that bullshit then, is to actively use the microphone, that registers as "being used". Not the fucking fact that there's audio playing through the headphone :( ... I sometimes manage to get the auto-shutdown to 'never' via a profile in steelseries GG, but it usually only works a limited time :("
"It’s a pain in the ass to have to set sonar as the primary source every time."
"STAY AWAY from anything DTS related‼️Especially drivers and DO NOT install DTS app - it will destroy any FPS gaming performance. ... I did the mistake couple days ago, thinking they fixed the driver/latency/distortion issues and ohh boy was I wrong! Tried everything to get rid of those, but eventually had to completely wipe out the system and start with fresh windows install."
0
2
"My other issue is with the cable and where it plugs into the headset. It's basically forcing pressure on the micro usb connection and bending the cord. ... I've had to replace the cord 2 times ... They are fully failing now. The usb port is loose in the headset, wiggling makes audio sound like robo porn. ... I don't want wired again because that's the failing point on every set I've had"
"My wired Arctis Series 5 finally took a dump after the cord deteriorated and stopped carrying sound."
Audeze Maxwell - Considered one of the best wireless gaming headsets. Popular with music creators as well as for gaming. Mic is reasonably good, though can clip a little. Comes with leather earpads, but they can be replaced easily. Drop + EPOS PC38X - One of the best wired gaming headsets for sound clarity and mic quality. Bass reproduction is a bit muted, which is common for older style EPOS / Sennheiser headsets, and common with open back headphones in general. The mic is essentially the best of any consumer headset you can buy. Generally can only be bought directly from Drop's site. Comes with both cloth and velour earpads. [https://drop.com/buy/drop-epos-pc38x-gaming-headset](https://drop.com/buy/drop-epos-pc38x-gaming-headset) Steel Series Arctis headsets are generally a decent middle ground in terms of decent bass and mic quality. The overall audio quality isn't as good as either the Maxwell or PC38X, but they're closed back so their bass response is more like the Maxwell. And the mic quality is generally better than the Maxwell, but no where near as good as the PC38X. Most (maybe all?) use cloth earpads. Nova Pro Wireless and Nova 9 are both quite good, with the Nova 9 being slightly better in terms of audio clarity and mic quality, but the Pro Wireless has better bass and noise cancelling.
r/buildapc • What's the best Gaming headset in terms of Sound quality and quality microphone? ->This take is stupid. It depends entirely on what you're doing with them. I don't WFH, no zoom calls, and I'm not a streamer. I've found my Arctis headset to be convenient and perfectly adequate for playing BF6 or Arc Raiders with a couple friends. I have some Edifier MR4 monitors that I use when not using the headset. Picked them up for $80 on black Friday a couple years ago. Pretty happy with those as well, though I'm no audio engineer.
r/buildapc • Is it just me or we barely talk about the audio in a built? ->The Arctis ones do it with a cool little dedicated box where you can also control other things. I had some years ago and it was a very handy feature...though yes, windows now does much better, channel-based volume control. Still not as cool as a dial on a box though :)
r/PUBG • best headset for playing the game ->Arc Steel Series is another solid option. I have a wireless one I purchased for $100 two years ago and haven’t had a single problem. Crisp, clear audio and super comfortable too.
r/XboxGamers • Headset recommendations ->To throw a spanner in the works the Arctic 5 Pro still has Bluetooth/dongle connections you can swap between with a button on the headset and doesn't need use the control station/selector thing. You don't even need to install the software to use this function and I swap back and forth between my PC and PS5 seamlessly. You can probably get it for a great price over there.
r/playstation • Which would you choose, and why? ->I have a steel series arctis something and it’s solid. I’m on Mac so I can’t use the software but they are still good imo.
r/GeForceNOW • Headset for GeForce Now ->I've got the white arctis and it has been great so far. Great sound, comfortable and mic works well and retracts. Highly recommend
r/playstation • Which would you choose, and why? ->Had my Arctis 5’s since they launched in 2016. Still sound great, super comfy and buy new ear cushions every few years because they are cheap and only probably I had was the cord went bad, which cost like $15 to replace.
r/BuyItForLife • A gaming headset with low latency after 4+ years of regular use — what actually held up ->Got a Steelseries Arctis 5 headset but it gets hot quite often. I *am* using synthetic cushions so that could be part of the problem. Looking for something I can wear while doing chores to listen to music and talk that doesn't get hot. Was looking at the Kimura Duo but that isn't wireless, is it? I do have an old modmic so I guess I could use a wireless adapter with like a Sennheiser? I can get Sennheiser HD560S, HD599 or HD569 for 130€ or less. Yay or nay? HD650 for 200? **Budget:** up to 400€, preferrably in the 100-200 range **Location:** Germany **Source:** mainly (if not only) PC, Android **How the gear will be used**: Mainly going to use it at home for listening to music and voice chat. Also gaming and movies. Looking for a setup I can use in other rooms as well. **Preferred tonal balance**: I like crisp sound, be it bass and drums or treble. I guess balanced would be right for me? **Preferred music genres**: ***JPop, JRock***, old Rock, Power Metal, Heavy Metal. Stuff like **Ado, Loluet, Aimer, Vocaloid covers, Beast in Black**, Disturbed, **Linkin Park**. Some oldies like Def Leppard. **Past gear experience**: Steelseries Arctis 5, some 30€ JBL on-ear for my phone, otherwise Philips or Sony in-ear headphones. **Anything else?** Would be good if I had a mute button on the device or the mic didn't pick up surrounding sound.
r/headphones • r/headphones Shopping, Setup, and Technical Help Desk ->The Arctis steel series ones that are marketed for Xbox work with PlayStation too and I see now they have some PlayStation branded ones too
r/PS5pro • Headset recommendations ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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