SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Gaming Headset Review

The best new affordable gaming headset?

Alex Rowe
6 min readOct 13, 2022

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SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 headset lying on its side on a desk.
Photo taken by the author.

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 is the new entry point into the company’s recent complete headset lineup overhaul. It features the same new speakers, mic capsule, and upgraded industrial design as the excellent Arctis Nova 3 (read my review here), but without that model’s built-in DAC/Amp and RGB lighting.

If you’re looking for a great wallet-friendly gaming headset, and you’re already happy with whatever analog sound source you’re using, then this is an excellent choice. It’s a smart iteration on the older Arctis models, and a worthy successor to their strong legacy.

I bought this headset at retail with my own money. I wasn’t asked by SteelSeries to write this. I don’t use affiliate links or take sponsorships.

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 sells for $59.99 (official site here), which is a very competitive price for its level of performance. It’s available in black or white, as well as versions that are branded for Xbox and PS5 gamers, but all the Arctis Nova 1’s are the same core headset underneath. The console versions have differently colored headband straps and don’t come with a dual jack PC splitter cable, so you might as well get one of the two PC versions unless you really need that different headband color just to…

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Alex Rowe
Alex Rowe

Written by Alex Rowe

I write about gaming, tech, music, and their industries. Audio producer, video editor, and former magazine game critic. Look mom, I’m using my English degree!