SteelSeries - Arctis Pro Wired

Reality is that most gaming doesnt require audiophile sound quality. Its about convience, comfort, and large sound stage for good directional audio. I bought the steelseries pros like 3 years ago and I can't change. Been running DTS surround spacial audio with 7.1 enabled and it was night and day after fiddling with different stereo audio. Mic isnt as good as some nice diaphram mic but it is always at the perfect distance from my mouth. Only issue I had was some audio bleed to the mic but I think that has more to do with the bottom of the earmuff not sealing well on my jawline. Running something like nvidia broadcast fixed that though.

I have the arctis pro wired only been great for 3 or 4 years now.

Been using the wired version with DAC for 4 or 5 years now. Love em. Between that and their mice (I've had a few). I'd give they keyboards a shot next time I need a new one

For me I like Comtac VI, and Liberators. I use Steelseries Arctics Pro wired.

Steel series arctis pro iirc, I don't really think that hard about them, they're comfortable and sound fine enough to get the information I need. If I'm yearning for fidelity I'll hook up my pair of audeze LCD-GXs that I mainly use for music

Honestly most sounds I've heard aren't high enough quality to warrant it imo. Sure it sounds a bit better but most of the time it's not worth sacrificing the ease of use the steel series headphones give me when racing with buddies

steel series Artis pro user also. I find you need to play with EQ to get them nice. used for 4 years now. I mitigate the boom mic issue but using an at2020 mic. I like the fade between game sound and chat. also having your mobile on BT connect is good.

Steelseries arctis pro 7 x has been amazing i thought thatl the standard xbox headset was good until I bought this and how wrong was in

Yep 100% no issues with connection great on all games 360 spacial sound is amazing. I have set up dolby atmos on my series x and that's made them even better

I would vote against the steelseries pro as someone with a larger head. The connection point is weak, and not even a year later, it broke.

I used to like Steelseries, but honestly the durability has dropped significantly!!!! I do not remember what I had originally, but those suckers lasted a while and had really puffy earpieces. The problem arose when the leather pulled away from the foam. Plus they were wired so had several adapters, but I could care less if it was wired or not. The Arctis Pro + Gamedac I got to replace it did... not due as well. The gamedac had issues after a little less then a year, got a replacement, then the earpiece snapped off a little year after purchase... the place it connects tends to be flimsy. After requesting a replacement they had me butcher the set and I don't think they ever replaced it... my dad actually had to pay out of pocket for a replacement (Because they no longer sold the specific headset with gamedac... or they wouldn't include a gamedac, I can't remember) that crapped out again about a year and a half later. Likewise, Logitech was ok... each headset crapped out less then 2 years into use. They were the G935 wireless, I'd charge them each night, and without fail each of them just stopped charging. We replaced one of the batteries in one, but it didn't work. I'm currently looking into a replacement for the 2nd. It's been fun :')

I was a big fan of the 7 pros build quality was great, expensive, but really comfortable and I couldn't go back to any other branded headphones. After 2 years of using them they gave out on me so I got the nova pro wireless bc it was new at the time. I've always had problems with these fucking headphones man XD it constantly re routs my shit even with the setting turned off and everything else, besides the headphones, disabled thru my device manager still did it, ive run into problems with the doc constantly getting stuck in the screen "dragon is spawning in 30 seconds" reminder for league, sometimes it randomly disconnects and i need to factory reset it in order to get it re-paired, recently ive had this problem where my audio will bug out get really loud then just start dog whistling my ass and it also gets picked up with my mic so anyone unfortunate enough to be in disc with me also suffers the same fate, and as of yesterday GG wont even pick up my headset or recognize it despite everything else being able to half recognize the headset so now its (until further notice) all being routed thru the xbox funtion thru the doc -\_- 1 year. edit-figured out the last one just now tehee

I’ve had the steel series arctis wireless pro & the wireless nova pro. Wireless pro were completely bricked within a year & the nova pro DAC was bricked within a year.

Arctis Wireless Pro's breaking is why I'm here. The Steel Series connection just sucks and you shouldn't spend money on it.

Had both, and enjoyed both. Nova is better product overall, beside two cons: Arctis pro was more comfortable out of the box, with Nova I had to change the earpads because the inner mics were bothering after some time. Arctis pro had much better wireless range in my experience.

You're welcome! The Nova is a great product! I just wanted to mention that the range of the Arctis Pro was really impressive; it covered the entire house. In comparison, the range of the Nova Pro Wireless is only about 70%.

Update: I bought some nova pros while on sale at amazon. As someone that barely uses a PC I found that the out of the box settings were average at best. I did check the firmware was up to date on steelseries.gg and messed around with presets and sonar a little bit but it felt a real unnecessary faff for someone that doesn’t fully understand the expert level stuff. They were comfortable and the adjustable strap and arms were good however the fact that the chatmix feature is a pain to work, the sound I don’t think is high quality? Sounded very stereo, I’m gonna send them back for a refund and stick with my arctis pro wireless. The eq settings are good on my pro wireless like “balanced, immersion, music, voice” etc, they’re quite general but I like them, whereas a lot of the nova pro ones were for specific games like apex legends, fortnite, cod etc.

I have the arctis pro wireless at the minute, I may pick up the novas if they go on a black friday deal :)

I’ve not had any issues with the hinges like people have said on the arctis pro wireless, that being said when I take them off my head I don’t just grab the cups, I kinda support the hinge by holding there with my fingers and thumbs hold the cups. Similarly when putting them on I cover that connection point with my thumbs just incase I guess. I think if you’re generally careful with stuff you’ll be fine.

i picked up the arctis pro at best buy last week for $180. i love them

I have owned many, just went from the artic pro to the nova pro, which I gave the old one to my wife. Works with everything, never bugs, sounds awesome, comfortable - and the cherry on top is the swapable batteries. You can stream audio from two devices at the same time, like from phone bluetooth and the pc receiver. Need an aux entry or usb-c? Got that too. Thing is just incredible.

If you want the biggest advantage for footstep audio I think turtle beach stealth pro is taking the edge, in everything else they are pretty similar but the arctis is better. If you're playing on pc arctis pro is the best headset you can get with the right eqs.

Agreed. Dont love the head tensioning band, but otherwise they've been my favorite headset.

No. I have the Arctis Pro Wireless, and Nova Pro Wireless. I BABIED both of them. They've never been dropped, hit by anything, or even bumped up against anything other than my headset stand, or my wife/kids when they leaned in to give me a kiss. The Arctis Pro Wireless lasted around around 2 months of constantly having to mute/unmute the microphone (I have kids) before it started acting up and wanting to "beep" (activate/deactivate tone) any time I bumped it, moved my head, or even tilted my head. The Nova Pro Wireless lasted 6 fiscal Months before the sidetone would activate even though the microphone button wasn't depressed, and would require me finicking with it for five minutes to get it to stop allowing sidetone only for it to come right back on if I turned my head too sharply, or tilted my head, bumped it, etc. This, of course, came after only muting the microphone on the Nova MAYBE a total of 50 times. The ANC is "ehh.." It's okay, you can tell it's there, but it's definitely NOT as "good" as they market it to be at all. The sidetone doesn't even get HALF as loud as the Arctis Pro Wireless did, and has a noticeable delay compared to it (I'd say around 10ms). Then there's the connection issues - The headset would randomly restart, disconnect from the base and cause a loud distrotion sound to come across until I BOTH powered down the headset AND disconnected the USB cable from the back of the hub. Pair that with the headset just randomly disconnecting at times (typically when critical to HAVE it) and you have a recipe for disaster. I'm not even going to TOUCH the discomfort of this headset compared to the Arctis, but I will say this - For the price difference the Arctis is a MUCH better option for ANYONE that has ears, even if the soundstage is fkn piss poor in comparison. I actually JUST finished the RMA process for my Nova Pro Wireless which required me to quite literally snap the damned thing in half just to get a new one sent out. It uses the EXACT same faulty mic switch that the Arctis did, and I FULLY anticipate that in 6 months I'm going to be taking apart the new one, and either a. Soldering a new 6-pin switch onto it from Mouser, or B. Desoldering the microphone's switch entirely, wiring it into a CONSTANT off circuit, and using a second microphone/boom arm because I already know it's going to fail.

A slight necro, but I have the Arctis 7, Arctis Pro Wireless, and Arctis Nova Pro Wireless - They're all (except the 7's) complete and utter GARBAGE. The Arctis pro broke twice in 6 months, (mic mute button, frequent disconnects, and occasional issues where it refused to connect to the DAC at all.) The Nova pro is no better, with the first one's 6-pole mic button dying in less than 6 months with VERY minimal use of the button itself, and the new headset they sent as a replacement under warranty does 3 beeps when toggling the mic on/off, has "digital compression lag" from interference, picks up my G502x+ if the USB receiver is on the same HUB, constantly disconnects from the DAC, and reconnects, occasionally refuses to perceive a newly swapped battery as charged, occasionally won't turn on...and more. I honestly can't believe that their "high end line" is worse quality than their mid-range, but it DEFINITELY is. My experience with these headsets has turned me off steelseries COMPLETELY, and I doubt I'll ever purchase another product of theirs.

For what it's worth, I've had the Arctis Pro Wireless and the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and found the latter to be pretty a worthwhile upgrade.

Same mine started making a weird buzzing noise and it randomly cuts out and my batteries last like two hours instead of 5-6 hours like when I first got it. I actually gave mine to a family member so I’m going to need a replacement. I might just go back my good ol arctis pro wireless, what I had before this Nova pro crap. I was so excited when I heard steel series was coming out with a new wireless headset to replace the Arctis pro, and then the nova pro happened and I bought it and I was seriously unimpressed and was sad I sold my arctis pro wireless to make of for the funds I spent on the nova pro

I have a relatively pricey home theater setup worth around $4-5k and 2 pretty solid gaming headsets (astro a50 and steelseries arctis pro), i lean towards my headsets for gaming any time I'm playing solo for two reasons: 1) I can't crank up my stereo at night with my kids asleep upstairs 2) the 3d audio sounds better on games even if I could. Don't get me wrong, love my surround sound and use my stereo for tv/movies/music on the regular. But if I was asked about stereo options purely gaming, I would invest in a solid pair of wireless headphones, its totally worth the investment. Side note if you are playing with TV speakers only you should look into a soundbar, they're relatively cheap and make a huge difference. TV speakers on the whole are shit.

I agree like the Astros more. The arctis are great for the swappable battery and the sound is by no means bad but the comfort isn't as good as the astros. The ear cups aren't as form fitting and the headband never feels quite right on my head. The astros have the edge in sound quality and are more comfortable to wear. I had to replace the battery on them last year which was a bit of a pain. I think it was around 30$ off amazon and I had to dissasemble the headset and solder the connections, which I managed in an hour with no previous experience. The docking station kind of sucks too but I think its better on newer models. I still use both, I moved my arctis to my pc and use my astros for PS5, don't think you are going wrong with either and the arctis I got on a deep discount for almost half the cost of the Astro set. Haven't looked at pricing in awhile though so I might be off base with that.

THIS. This is my main issue regarding the Nova Pro Wireless. I don't like Sonar, but I use chatmix all the time. And since Sonar is required for Chatmix it's a big no. Still going strong on my current Arctis Pro Wireless!

Yeah they are so nice. The sound is great and the although the software can be a bit unwieldy it’s useful some sound profiles and the game/chat mix I love.

You can just buy new batteries on Amazon for like £10. Hell even the official ones are like £18. Batteries don’t last forever in anything, not really fair to use that as a dig on headsets like this, especially when they are so easily and cheaply replaceable.

I just ordered the Arctis Nova Pros, what do you mean they hurt your ears? Like the sound or the way they fit on you? Also, I’ve tried several different headsets over the last year and my OG SteelSeries Arctis Pros have been the best sounding. I’ve tried several IEMs as well, but they always sound too raspy to me.

I’m excited to try them, they get here on the 26th. So just in time for the event! And yeah, those batteries were a huge selling point for me lol. My OG Arctis Pros are basically perma dead because the cable port ate shit.

Absolutely adored my Arctis Pro's, great noise cancellation - exceptional mic.

Steelseries Arctis Pro, hands down best headset I’ve ever owned and I’ve had many.

This 👆 along with the ability to replace the elastic headband that is not changeable on some headsets make it a 9/10 for me

I’ve had arctis pros for five years and I love them.

As an Arctis Pro Wireless user, fuck this headset. It often gets into a state where it won't connect and NOWHERE does Steelseries tell you how to hard reset the headset (the trick is to hold the power and bluetooth buttons down for like 10 seconds). The replaceable batteries seem nice but they last about 5-6 hours. The sound quality is fine but to tweak the EQ you need to install their overbearing garbage software. I'm only still using them because they work and the next headset I get is going to be a good pair of quality headphones and a schittstack.

Are you talking about Nova Pros? Although still quite decent, Arctis Pros do not have hot-swap batteries nor ANC.

I got a pair of them last year but felt the sound was too weak. I had everything on max volume but never really felt good while playing a game.

My base broke after like 2 months, had it replaced by Amazon. All of My batteries broke next, had them replaced by Amazon. The headphones themselves cracked after like 5 months and were no longer usable. By far the most expensive and the worst headphones I ever had lol. They sounded alright though

The comparison videos mostly say the Arctis are better but for my use cases(console mostly) and having a phone app to be able to change settings is nice. Love having simultaneous Bluetooth. Only thing I don't like are the buttons but it's not too bad. The DAC on the Arctis is nice but I dont think I need all the added functions. I do like that it has two ports for both consoles at the same time on the Arctis.

i wouldn't recomand steelseries found this thread on reddit look's like the brand it's a disaster ... [https://www.reddit.com/r/steelseries/comments/kwvf5m/my\_personal\_review\_of\_the\_arctis\_pro\_wireless/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/steelseries/comments/kwvf5m/my_personal_review_of_the_arctis_pro_wireless/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)

I’ve had my Arctis Pro for over 5 years. Still going strong. Only had to swap the third party ear cups I got with them.

Agreed, these should be the most recommended simply for swappable battery. Only drawbacks is sometimes it’s finicky with connection in several areas IE won’t connect to the base, battery won’t connect with charger, battery won’t connect with headset. Find myself having to jiggle with it often

Agreed, these should be the most recommended simply for swappable battery. Only drawbacks is sometimes it’s finicky with connection in several areas IE won’t connect to the base, battery won’t connect with charger, battery won’t connect with headset. Find myself having to jiggle with it often

That notch in the ear tho. I had to replace my cushions with third party ones that put more distance between my ear and the anc notch.

This is wrong, Arctis Pros do have hot-swap batteries, but they do not have ANC.

I used Arctic 7's for like 4 years straight, daily use. Phenomenal in every aspect. Upgraded to the Pro's now. They have swappable batteries which is an incredible feature. Never have to plug in to recharge. 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, but they've been great the last year.

Cheers! I will say - the pros aren't like THAT big of an upgrade. They're great, but if your battery is still going strong after a swap there's really no reason to change it up. The 7's were phenomenal

Oh wow did not know you could mod them! I def replaced the ear pads a few times over the years - they get a bit funky when it's hot out. Never replaced the band, but I need to on my Pros already. It just gets stretched out and droops. I've been folding it once over on top of my head to compensate and that's been working just fine fortunately

For anyone coming back late, I've had 3 pairs of these: Arctis 7x, Arctis Pro Wireless, and Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. If you're looking between the two pros I really recommend the Nova, even with the price bump. I loved the Arctis 7x and had them for over 5 years. I tried replacing them with the Arctis Pro Wireless but after three weeks I ended up returning them. Issues included constant white noise, poor bluetooth range, crackling noises on every connection, and an uncomfortably tight fit. The Arctis Nova Pro was $120 more but so much better in every way, it feels totally worth it. It's super comfortable, has a smaller profile than the Arctis, and has a better bluetooth range. Most importantly it's completely silent: for the Arctis Pro I was part of the minority who heard the white noise and it drove me crazy, but the Nova is as silent as a pair of Airpods. Other improvements like the mic, build material, and replaceable batteries were all great too.

If you can find a new pair of Steelseries Arctis Pros they are by far my favorite headset I’ve ever bought. I think they discontinued them, but I recently bought a pair off Bestbuy.com for like half the price I paid 5-6 years ago. They retailed for 300 and I got a second pair for 148. Super great build quality and sound. Comes with a mixer that also charges the included battery packs.

The nova pros are huge downgrade. Search for Arctis Pros

Same here, 4 years and 100% best headset I’ve owned. If anyone’s in the market for a wireless headset these are a no brainer. If I still played as much as I did before I’d consider upgrading to the nova pros too

IMO the arctis pros sound like ass without a proper EQ curve. There are many standard industry ones out there re made in steel series sonar so just google it. Without it they sound hollow and tinny and overly bassy for how bad the rest of the audio is balanced.

Same here, I've had the Arctic Pro Wireless since 2019 and they're absolutely amazing headphones. Between the swappable batteries, comfort, sound, and even other things like being able to simultaneously use bluetooth and the receiver at the same time, there's nothing that compares to them for me. Also in my experience Steelseries customer support has been great, one of the ear cup swivels broke while under warranty (can't remember how but I'm quite sure it was my fault) and after following the warranty process, (completely breaking the headset and sending pictures) they sent a replacement right over

I’ve owned both and would say nova pro is better in almost every way. Build quality is superior and audio sounds fuller with more bass. I would say both were really comfortable. I have a large head as well and found both versions amazing for comfort. I also wear glasses. HOWEVER, arctis pros are like $139 in the US right now. That’s a massive price difference. If money is tight, the arctis pros are a steal.

I've had mine since 2020. They are great, I love them.

Steelseries Artcis Pro Game headphones for me. Got them 2 years ago - flawless performance and amazing quality.

Ive owned the arctis pro and the god damn cups broke off within 1 year and a half, took care with caution as well.

Yup. Just had my Arctis Pro's break where the little swivel goes into the actual ear piece. I had Razer Kraken Pro V2's that lasted me like twice as long and the only issue they had was a frayed, broken wire connection where it went into the volume wheel If I cut out the volume wheel and spliced the wire together I guarantee it'd work perfectly fine.

Can’t remember what steel series I bought. Probably the arctis pro. Absolutely love them. Cannot complain at all and a great battery life.

I've had or used A50s, Sennhieser Game Ones, Steelseries Arctis Pro Wireless and (briefly) Logitech Pro 2s. They are all really solid and good but I recently got a pair of Skullcandy Crusher Evo ANC 2 and they dwarf all of those with sound quality. It's very noticeable in games like Apex or Valorant. Pros: sound quality, Insane battery life, adjustable bass, easy connection to my pc or phone, usable in any situation. Cons: need standalone program for eq on pc, no built in mic (or I haven't bothered to try it). I have a pretty good standalone mic running thru my soundcard for my voice. I think the 'gaming' branded ones are good but these were better than any of those I listed above for me.

Same. I bought mine in 2018 and I'm still using them, though I bought new batteries 2-3 times. No way I can go back to wired. The swappable battery is a unique plus and I do like the simultaneous bluetooth connection to my phone as well. Nova Pro Wireless seems like a logical purchase when these give out give the same swappable battery etc, though considering I'm well over 6 years in who knows when that'll be.

Yeah I went with the Arctis Pro Wireless instead a lot of people told me to stay away from the buds. Potential, but not executed right.

I’ve had a few Razer top of the line headsets and quite frankly they all suck. The sound is ok, but the mics are mediocre, and the build quality is just bad. The plastic material of the the headset crack and the fake leather will start to fall apart. But for me the only Razer headset worth getting are the ones with Haptics. I kinda want to get the kraken V4 pro just for the haptics alone. They are pretty fun to wear in single player games that focuses on being immersive. Other than that I’ve been using Steelseries as my main go to. Arctis Pro wireless and Arctis Nova Pro wireless. No complaints there.

The novas have a much tighter clamping force imo. The headband also adds more pressure on top of the head. Also the earcups are not as comfortable. Even the aftermarket ones hurt after a while because they use the fake leather material on the inside and outside with a fabric on the contact face of them. It creates a sharp 90°angle that rubs my ears on the inner face. Gadgetrytech on YouTube I think just came out with some new pads that look more comfortable but I won't have access to them due to working overseas. The sound is similar, possibly better on the nova pros. I used the sonar with the pro wireless and use it with the nova pros so the eq settings are the same. The ANC on the nova pros is severely lacking imo. My pro wireless' passive noise reduction was more productive than the nova pro wireless ANC. I was unable to hear myself type with the pro wireless but I can hear myself type with the novas with anc on. If I could go back I would have kept my pro wireless. More comfortable and better noise isolation. Being that it's too late to return them, I may just try the audeze maxwell headset. It seems much better in almost every aspect minus not having simultaneous blue tooth. And it's roughly the same price.

Steelseries makes some pretty nice headsets I personally have the pro series ( out of your budget in this case ) and have had no issues with them but I hear there lower tier headsets aint so bad either.

can confirm, this is a steelseries issue in general. had the artic 7 pro that kept disconnecting, used warranty to get the artics 9 as a replacement. its no longer disconnecting but now the steelseries GG program is changing what my selection for audio output is when i turn my headset off while my pc is on. i have to go back in and change it back every time.

Steelseries all the way but their APP sure has..issues.

I can't speak for Beyerdynamic as I've not had a pair, I'd say go with your gut after checking reviews and comparison sites if there are any. Steelseries headsets are great if you treat them nice but their app sometimes bugs out a bunch and can be a hazzle to setup properly and deal with. Sonar settings are real nice but setup can be tricky. I mainly went steelseries for battery life and range, like 90% of my gaming buddies also have them. All from 7s to 9s and Pro's but mostly 7s.

I currently have the Apex Pros and previously had the 7s and no hinge issues on any of them, as far as distorted sound I doubt it, sometimes when you use the chatmix it can get distorted but easily fixed with just adjusting it slightly on the scroll wheel. I looked into the beyerdynamic pair and they look great and i'd definitely want to try those aswell, they might be more bang for the buck.

False. You're either literally saying something like HRTF which is already in the game itself, and mind you something that engineered headphones take into account for, or something like simulated 7.1, which 0 headphones can mimic an actual 7.1. Both "gaming" or "audiophile" headphones will only receive 2-channel stereo. Also an FYI, my HD800 can tell more in all directions than 99% of "gaming" headphones can. Source: HyperX Cloud 2 and Steelseries Arctis user before.

Never heard a headset sound worse than the steelseries arctis

I love my Steelseries Arctis. It's a touch out of your price range but the features are top notch.

My steelseries Arctis headset is still going strong after 7 years. I had a hyper x one that didn’t even last a month.

I have had them since release and the non novas before then id say they are good but lack on bass so if you want to hear footsteps like turtle beach then id say pass

Arctis steel series. I can hear more than my teammates typically with incoming cars etc

This is the best answer. I went steel series arctis until i upgrad

Whichever steel series arctis is in the range. I've had mine for 4 years and still going strong

It's kinda meh for me. I can dodo like the built in eq for games. It's kinda makes me have superpowers in CoD. I can hear footsteps across the map.

Yea SS is kinda overpriced for what it is. But it's also plug and play and easy to hook up to a PS, Switch, PC, or phone. I've had no issues with the headphones, but the keyboard I got is absolute crap. They marketed it as mechanical, but it's a clicky button that hits a membrane. Only took one year to die because the mechanical part broke the membrane. I won't be buying any steel series only because of the false advertisement from that. I love these headphones but there are other options since I only use them on my PC 90% of the time.