SteelSeries - Arctis Nova Pro Wireless (with GameDAC)
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Reddit Reviews:
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Based on 1 year's data from Jan 28, 2026 How it works
Liked most:
585
188
"I have the ear shape where in-ear headphones always make a loud bumping sound when I'm moving, so AirPods 4 give the benefits of noise cancelling and great sound without the in-ear effect. ... AirPods 3 always fell out my left ear but they dialed in the size perfect for the 4's, they sit perfect and I've never had it fall out or shake loose doing sprints and a full marathon."
"Took them on a 2hr walk with my dog today and had no issues. First IEMs I can actually wear laying on my side in bed."
"after 80+ miles on our last trip, I was the only one without foot problems of any kind."
419
82
"I had mine staked down in packed sand during a rainstorm that dropped 1.5”-2” per hour for 3 hours according to a ranger station nearby and it took it like a champ."
"after heavy and extreme and I mean extreme use in a very dirty environment, after a year the range suddenly cut down... I felt like I'd gotten my measly 20ish buck worth from them and didn't fault jlab due to the extreme circumstances I used them in daily. ... I work in a hot asa filthy steel mill and the fact they lasted a year was impressive to me."
"My old Breville lasted 10-11 years ... I got the new one 3 years ago with the air fryer option … if it breaks tomorrow I would figure out how to get it again - I seriously love it."
59
16
"It's been awesome for the month i've had mine and is able to connect to xbox/ps5 at the same time as your PC and can have dual-channel audio going on at the same time."
"easy to... pair with 2 devices at once. ... I use it to connect with my pc and my iPhone and it handles the audio switch really well."
"internal connections for example i use Sunshine & Moonlight to game stream to my living room TV or my bedroom projector and I get the full 2.5gig speed test to my desktop from the tv, projector and my phone that are on wifi"
41
8
"the most convenient, literally able to reload the headset battery (2 come with box) and charge in DAC or just USB C to headset"
"the inter-changeable batteries is a very nice feature that has saved my gaming sessions a good few times."
"the cherry on top is the swapable batteries. ... If swapping batteries is too hard for you, you probably struggle with a lot of things lol"
94
47
"The big PLUS for me on these compared to the Novas is that they have recessed 4kHz - it reduces fatigue and it’s not harsh on the ears. Especially with those high pitch gunshots and flash bangs."
"excellent imaging for FPS games ... SteelSeries has better imaging"
"I can hear more things than everyone i play with - footsteps etc.."
Disliked most:
5
25
"stopped doing edges ... each week it got worse at navigation, essentially only doing half rooms ... stopped sweeping and mopping anywhere it transitioned from rug to floor ... It would leave 2 ft circumference around every rug unswept which was horrible near dog doors and the rug in front of them (main reason I got vacuum!) ... But was not willing to deal with it stopping sweeping the entire floor. ... It was glitching out around edges"
"I cannot use that for these vacuums with factory firmware because then the app just won't work no matter which wifi my phone uses. ... The apps always phone home instead of using LAN."
"The main problem I have with them though is just the random problems that happen every now and then. ... the problems are always something really annoying like a really loud buzzing or just flat out the audio stops working. ... it's just small problems that shouldn't even happen that make them quite annoying to use sometimes."
406
448
"About a year and the right bud would last about 15 minutes on a full charge."
"I've had them for a few years and now the battery doesn't last for more than 40 mins, so looking for a different model."
"And then during a race in September the mid sole of one pulled right off with less than 200 km on them."
5
31
"Footsteps are terrible"
"everything is muffled regardless of which eq setting you use."
"The Nova pro doesn't and if I use my IEM's in the line out jack and swap to them they're max fucking volume. And I can't change that unless I bypass the base station."
0
3
"the first one's 6-pole mic button dying in less than 6 months with VERY minimal use of the button itself ... the new headset they sent as a replacement under warranty does 3 beeps when toggling the mic on/off ... 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. ... It uses the EXACT same faulty mic switch that the Arctis did ... 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."
"Same worked for me. ... struggling with the drivers and "steelseries GG" messing up the two audio channels (chat and game) ... the thing going mute ... or auto-shutting off while playing audio"
"I do have yo unplug and replug the dac because the mic is low sensitivity, but once rebooted, it's back to normal. I cringe, yes, but it's a sony problem"
2
10
"the ANC nub in the earcup pressed against my ear and caused pain within a short time of wearing them."
"The Nova Pro's have a nub on the inside of the ear cup for the noise canceling that sticks out quite far and it hits my ear. ... I can only wear the headphones for about an hour before my ears start to ache from that nub putting pressure on them. ... I've even gotten the thicker set of Wicked Cushions to try and get the nub away from my ear, but it still bothers me."
"a nub (I think for ANC?) dug into my ear if I wore them too long. ... I did find it a bit ridiculous to have that kind of issue at that price point."
Axphaxia 1.0OK, so it all depends on what you game on. So, some high-end headsets don’t work well with consoles because some features are not available for them in consoles, like the Artis Nova Elite and Pro Sonar program is not available for consoles, making them a bad option. Headsets that I tried for consoles that are good are Maxwells for casual gaming and Stealth Pro for shooters because of better footstep location. For PC, you can have all available features in all headsets if you play all types of games. Maxwells are a no-brainer, but if you want to have an edge on a specific game, just research popular competitive streamers that play the game you like and look at what type of headset they use, but most likely they use headphones.
belgarionx 1.0I have full stack Steelseries hardware (Nova Pro Wireless w/DAC, Apex Pro, Aerox 5 and even a mousepad) I love the hardware. But the app sucks balls. I don't know how it's possible to make such a shitty software :/ At least they reply fast to tickets and solve issues but still, not cool.
ChampionshipMore3737 1.0Not good Do the maxwells use planar magnetic drivers which are designed to be inherently flat and play audio in its purists form with little to no enhancements. You’ll get bass but not the rumbling/thumping bass you are probably use to hearing in standard dynamic drivers which 99.% if headsets use If you want bass I’d recommend the Astro A50x, Arctis nova pro wireless ore the Arctis nova 7ps. The turtle beach stealth 700 gen 3s are also a good choice The above will give you balanced audio with both bass and clarity/detail. The a50x and turtle beach headset are a smige more bass heavy but not overbearing though
Get the Arctis nova 7ps or the Arctis nova pro wireless headset if you want balanced audio that has clarity/detail as well as rumbling bass If you value extreme clarity/detail and don’t really care for rumbling bass or treble get the audeze maxwells
To the average casual gamer $600 is a steep price. But if gaming is your main hobby that you do every single day for hours on end and if you game on all three systems then yes, $600 is worth it. This is an endgame headset that will last you multiple console generations. Headsets like Artis Nova Elites and the Astro A50x aren’t meant for everyone. They are for gaming enthusiast who want the best equipment possible.
figbunkie 1.0Steel series arctis. I have the wired version with GameDAC, have had it for about 7 years and it's only just now starting to go out on me, with sound cutting out of one side of the plug isn't perfectly positioned. It's been so reliable for so long though. I'm stuck using some more basic headphones until I can replace them, but I'll be getting myself another steel series, but this time I'll go wireless.
rodrigobessa23 1.0dando meu pitaco aqui sobre dolby atmos. a qualidade em si do som melhora e só isso já faz valer a grana investida nele. sobre espacialidade, eu já joguei muito star wars battlefront 2 e battlefield 1 e eu geralmente sou meio rushado, então nem fico me ligando na direção dos tiros, mas quando eu foco no gameplay, cosigo sim identificar essas paradas. já usei steelseries arctis 3, arctis pro +gamedac (que to vendendo pq aperta muito minha cabeça) e hoje uso o kuba disco e em todos eles a situação da melhora do áudio é muito perceptível. só um adendo que existem alguns fones que já tem com dts hein, por exemplo hyperX e logitech, já os fones da corsair costumam vir com dolby, então fica ligada nisso.
scylver 1.0I’ve had the Nova Pro Wireless + GameDAC for years with wicked cushions and no amount of stretching has made them comfortable. I recently bought the gamebuds last week and it has completely changed the game for me regarding comfort and sound. The microphone may as well not exist as it truly is terrible, however I do have a separate microphone. Won’t be going back to headphones with SteelSeries.
WorldLove_Gaming 1.0If you're also a console player or use your headset with multiple devices simultaneously, definitely the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless or Logitech G Pro X2 Lightspeed. They're both headsets that have a 3.5 mm input on the wireless receiver. I'd go for the Nova Pro because the Logitech one can't control the audio of the 3.5 mm input whereas the Steelseries one has audio controls on its DAC with two USB and one 3.5 mm input (as well as an output for speakers and such) and can also connect to a Bluetooth device. It also allows you to replace the battery in a matter of seconds and includes a spare battery that charges inside the DAC so you're never low on battery. It also has noise cancelling unlike the Logitech.
Enderwigg1883 0.6What I can tell you is I have the Arctis Pros with the DAC and its coming up on almost 7 years. They are extremely well made. I’m on the original two batteries and all I’ve replaced is the ear cups. I would highly recommend SteelSeries. Before I got those I was on an almost yearly swap with various Sony wireless headphones. Batteries died early bands broke leather cracked. I’m glad I switched.
imLucki 0.6Was looking to finally get something for the console. Saw steel series and immediately ordered. Love mine on PC with the gamedac and if someone recommends steel series for what I'm looking for I'm sold. Thanks!
Soldierofgod01 0.6Get the Artctis wireless pro with gamedac the best unless these are newer better. The Sonys are trash steel series all the way.
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