SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Gaming Headset Review

Not quite ready for launch?

Photo taken by the author.

Four years ago, SteelSeries launched the Arctis Pro family of headsets, promising better performance and aggressively pushing hi-res audio even though zero games supported it.

Now, they’re back with a ground-up redesign of their high-end headset models, and they’ve packed in even more features to both the wired and wireless versions. They’re also still prominently touting hi-res audio as a feature of the wired model — even though there are still no games that support it.

If you decide to take the wallet-busting plunge and get the Nova Pro, you’ll have to choose from four different models. The wired version is $249, and the wireless version is $349 (official site here). Both come in either standard or Xbox variants. The standard version offers two USB ports for two different source connections, and the Xbox version has one standard port and one Xbox port that’s been licensed to work properly with Microsoft’s family of game consoles.

The RGB lighting from the old, wired model is gone here, so if you want RGB the Nova isn’t for you. The wireless version doesn’t have hi-res support, but it does offer active noise cancelling and Bluetooth connections alongside its 2.4ghz mode and wired backup connection — though it is also weightier and more clampy on the head.

Photo taken by the author.

I bought the wireless Xbox version with my own funds at retail. I was neither asked by nor sponsored by SteelSeries to write this review, and I don’t use affiliate links in any of my stories.

After a week and a half with this headset, I’d say it’s different from the original rather than outright better. The sound performance has improved, and the ANC mode is nice to have, but it remains to be seen whether the ear cup hinge connection will hold up over time as the original version of this design broke for a lot of users. The new design also might not be as comfortable on certain head sizes in spite of its extra adjustability, and the whole platform has enough glitches present that it feels rushed to market.