Product: SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless X
Type: Gaming/Lifestyle Headset (Wireless)
Price: $649.00 AUD
Availability: Out Now
Link: steelseries.com/gaming-headsets/arctis-nova-pro-wireless-xbox

In terms of expectations, put the word ‘Pro’ in a product title and immediately the bar is raised. Of course when it comes to gaming gear, the word ‘Pro’ also doubles as a quick catch-all for something designed for those into the competitive side of things. In the land of audio equipment, slapping on a ‘Pro’ is pretty cut and dry. It’s just about always in reference to that mysterious audio engineer that sits in front of one of those comically large panels with a thousand dials and sliders on it. A mysterious engineer with an ear towards high quality, high fidelity sound; where balance, spatial detail, clarity, and booty shaking bass is the order of the day.

Okay, so booty shaking bass might be one of things we look for in a pair of headphones, but it’s clear the new SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless X is all about that premium audio experience. You’ve probably come to that conclusion on your own by simply taking a glance at the price. But, even though the Nova Pro Wireless is more expensive than most gaming headsets, its price is more in-line with mid-range lifestyle headsets you’d find from the likes of Sony, Bose, and others. In other words you’ve got a sleek and stylish gaming headset that looks like a sleek and stylish pair of headphones.

The key difference here being, the impressive GameDAC Gen 2, impressive PC software in the form of Sonar, and hardware support for every major gaming device. From Xbox to PlayStation to Nintendo Switch and PC; through to portable smart devices with a 3.5mm jack and anything with Bluetooth action.

Tech Talk

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As hinted at in the intro the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless X comes equipped with an external DAC dubbed the GameDAC Gen 2. With the Gen 2 bringing audiophile quality sound of the high-fidelity kind - thanks to the ESS Sabre Quad-DAC, a chip designed to bring great sound to mobile devices. If you’re not well versed in the ways of the DAC, it’s the thing that converts the audio signal from digital to analog so you get the best possible quality out of speakers or headphones. Usually housed in a wireless headset/USB stick, it’s not something you're aware of unless it’s in the external sound-card like form found here.

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"The key difference here being, the impressive GameDAC Gen 2, impressive PC software in the form of Sonar, and hardware support for every major gaming device."

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With two USB inputs supporting seamless device switching (say, from Xbox Series X to PC) SteelSeries has crafted a great little unit that serves as the audio hub for the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless X, across most devices. There’s Bluetooth and 3.5mm support too. And with two batteries supplied, you’ve got hot-swap charging with the GameDAC - meaning you’re rarely, if ever, going to run out of juice. One battery dies, put the next one in. A very cool addition.

Throw in a focus on keeping the signal clear and without noise degradation (there’s also wired support for up to 96KHz/24-Bit), and the surprisingly chunky external unit works in unison with the excellent and balanced drivers found in the headset itself. As wireless technologies are limited in terms of audiophile capabilities, we made sure to test wired mode using some 24-bit music. And yeah, doing so definitely brought the capabilities of the headset to the fore; subtle stereo and frequency detail was uniformly excellent.

As a wireless headset though, the difference isn’t night and day, and certainly not in the range of some of the more up-market audiophile headphones on the market. For everyday usage, gaming, and music, and with this level of versatility - it’s impressive. But, there is a secret weapon up SteelSeries' sleeves. And that comes from the mix of hardware and software that really showcase the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless X’s potential - whilst opening up the door to limitless customisation.

Headphone:

• Drivers: 40mm Neodymium Drivers
  
• Frequency response: 10 - 40,000 Hz (Wired) 10 - 22,000 Hz (Wireless)
  
• Surround:
  
• Microphone Pattern: Bidirectional Noise-Canceling
  
• Microphone
  
• Wireless Type: 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0
  
• Battery Life: Up to 44 Hours (dual battery)
  
• Headset controls: Volume, Mic Mute
  
• Active Noise Cancellation: 4-mic hybrid design with Transparency Mode
  
• Weight: 322 grams

For PC users, the SteelSeries Sonar platform is well on its way to becoming the high watermark for audio customisation, ease of use, and versatility. EQ tinkering and preset selection is something we’ve come to expect on the PC side, but the full parametric control (where you can adjust every little frequency range in real-time) you get here is nothing short of exceptional. Especially when the flat balanced sound of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless X is impressively full out of the box.

Yeah, these have definitely got the best booty shaking bass we’ve heard from a SteelSeries headset to date. Although Sonar is usable with any headset, it is software after all, it’s one of those things where quality begets quality. And the pure sound quality of the headset is amplified by Sonar’s great tools and features.

Design and Comfort

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With its sleek lifestyle-like look, we’re pleased to report that the iconic SteelSeries ski-band design is here; redesigned to fit the new form. Throw in comfortable memory foam cups that feature little to no audio-bleed for those that wear glasses, and you’ve got cans you could easily wear for hours, whether that’s gaming or on a flight. Having the microphone fully retract is a great touch, adding to the lifestyle feel. Plus little touches like having the replaceable battery and USB charge port sit underneath magnetic metallic cup-covers is very cool. The build quality is great too, making it one of the best looking and feeling SteelSeries headsets out there.

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"With its sleek lifestyle-like look, we’re pleased to report that the iconic SteelSeries ski-band design is here; redesigned to fit the new form. Throw in comfortable memory foam cups that feature little to no audio-bleed for those that wear glasses, and you’ve got cans you could easily wear for hours, whether that’s gaming or on a flight."

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Although the overall look and the addition of ANC does open the versatility door beyond something you’d pair with one or all of your at-home gaming devices, the results on that front are good but not amazing. There’s also the weird quirk where side-tone (that is hearing some of the mic’s audio) is on by default and not disabled when you switch on ANC. Which, yeah, ends up doing some damage to the overall sound. Also, I’m not an expert in ANC but from several tests carried out with the Nova Pro background noise was lessened but not eliminated in a game-changing way. The flip-side to this is that the ANC deployed here (when side-tone is disabled) doesn’t degrade or alter the sound in any sort of audible way. That is, when you’re listening to music or playing a game. So yeah, a definite plus.

Sounds Like

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Right, so it goes without saying that the default sound you get from SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless X is great. Balanced, full, with rich bass and detailed mids and highs. For music and general game-playing our first day with the headset on PC was in this sort of “pure audio” mode without Sonar to get a good feel. And really, if that’s all there was plus surround, nice job SteelSeries. On the surround front, on PS5 you’ve got an excellent partner for the console’s 3D Tempest audio here, which is great. Xbox users can make full use of Windows Sonic or any other virtual surround (like the subscription-based Dolby Atmos).

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"It goes without saying that the default sound you get from SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless X is great. Balanced, full, with rich bass and detailed mids and highs."

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On PC the SteelSeries Sonar platform has its own Spatial Audio solution, which in execution sounds just about on par with the excellent subscription-based DTS-X - where the effect is subtle yet profound, and more about frequency separation versus amplification. But it’s with the aforementioned EQ settings and presets within Sonar where you get to hear some true magic. Let’s take a look at the settings for Forza Horizon 5 and Apex Legends.

With the latter you’ve got a reduction in sub-bass frequencies to highlight footsteps, plus several mid-range and high-end frequency tweaks to support the actual in-game sound effects - while lessening the impact of some. The Forza Horizon 5 story is a little clearer, the bass is boosted to deliver that in-car audio feel for the radio stations, with the higher frequencies raised to elevate both environmental and vehicle effects - like tire sounds. Outside of them being designed specifically for the games in question, they highlight the versatility you can find across the numerous game, music, and movie presets.

Most importantly though they highlight the benefit you can get from full control over a detailed EQ. Which extends to separate EQ settings for chat, and some PC specific noise cancellation.

As versatile as it is, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless X is a brilliant PC headset on top of being good to go console-wise. Not to mention the lifestyle look and feel make these something you’d wear out and about. There are a few shortcomings, chat quality is identical to most Arctis models a lot cheaper than this, and the supplied 3.5mm wired cable is short and surprisingly flimsy (which is confusing when that’s the only way to get the proper HD audio experience). Plus, the DAC itself takes a bit of use to get the hang of. No side-tone controls on the headset itself also means getting up to fiddle with the DAC when couch gaming.

In the end though, SteelSeries has created something that more than lives up to its Pro branding. A headset for every device, or just one, take your pick. And if that’s PC, well, you’ve got the bright nova-like explosion SteelSeries was clearly aiming for; where hardware, software, comfort, and audio quality comes together in a single impressive package. And blow you away.