SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X evaluation

I’ve postpone selecting up an sincere to goodness gaming headset for an embarrassing cause. In my audio adventures, when I’ve discovered a headset that sounds superb and does every thing I would like, chances are high I’ll nonetheless set it apart for one quite simple cause: It’s simply not cute sufficient.

And when a gaming headset does meet my excessive requirements for cuteness, it’s going to possible have needed to lower corners some other place. Well, I could lastly have fallen head over heels for a headset that’s each cute and nonetheless enjoys lots of the options I’d need in-game.

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X wi-fi headset ticks off ‘cuteness’ with flying colors. Though out there in a variety of interesting colors, together with black, white, and aqua, I’m in love with the lilac colourway. Properly purple throughout with nary an unpleasant brand to distract, even the froth pop filter on the removable mic arm is lilac; it is a fairly pleasing method to a pastel colourway.

So, full marks for presentation—however does that imply that that is yet one more gaming headset that is all model and little else? Thankfully, no.

To start with, construct high quality is completely pitched for this value level. The predominantly plastic outer shell is by no means creaky and will probably stand up to a tumble or two onto carpet. Adjusting the peak and place of the earcups is a beautiful clean movement, providing simply sufficient resistance to carry it in place however in any other case not requiring an excessive amount of effort to maneuver.

This headset additionally incorporates a floating headband design, with the headset’s 260 g weight balanced throughout an elastic strip fairly than straight upon your bonce. This elastic strap is held in place by two plastic posts on both facet of the headset, plus three holes on the ends of the strap itself, which lets you regulate the place of this band to get it to take a seat properly throughout your noggin. All of this good design, coupled with the massive foam earcups, makes the Arctis Nova 3X an extremely comfy headset to put on all day.

In phrases of high quality, it simply stands head and shoulders above my different beloved, although significantly cheaper purple headset. The JBL Tune 720BT continues to be attractive, however each press of its on-ear buttons betrays its comparatively missing construct high quality with a metallic twang. It’s additionally far much less comfy by prolonged put on.

That mentioned, the $110/£100 Arctis Nova 3X may nonetheless be taught a factor or two from even this funds, $90/£40 set of headphones. For occasion, as somebody who wears make-up, I’m lacking the choice of swappable earcups for the Arctis Nova 3X, or not less than ones comprised of a wipe-clean materials like my JBLs. Furthermore, the SteelSeries is surprisingly mild in the case of on-board buttons; on the left earcup, there’s solely a rounded mute button, a undoubtedly nonetheless welcome quantity dial, after which lastly a single button that handles each turning the machine on or off, pairing, plus switching between 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth connection modes.

The headset’s comparatively light-weight and removable mic arm makes it simple to take the Arctis Nova 3X out on the go, although the shortage of a song-skip or pause button is a particular downside. The indisputable fact that the SteelSeries headset would not have an IPX Waterproof score both also needs to make you suppose twice earlier than taking this on a tour away out of your desk—my aforementioned JBLs, however, are rated for a light-weight splash of water resistance.

The SteelSeries’ devoted mute button silences your microphone impartial of your video name software program settings, although I do maintain forgetting I’ve muted myself this fashion. Speaking of voice chats, the mic right here is completely serviceable. The audio high quality is ok for voice calls of all types, and the removable arm itself could be very versatile whereas additionally holding its place effectively too. However, as you may count on, the mic audio does get fairly bubbly and crunchy when you pull it proper up near your mouth. So, it is undoubtedly not a terrific little bit of package for any semi-pro voiceover work, however it nonetheless gives a humorous strategy to underline the punchline of an in-joke over Discord.

Listen to the microphone take a look at right here:

Both the SteelSeries and the JBLs I maintain banging on about additionally supply quick charging, with the Arctis Nova 3X headset particularly providing 9 hours from solely quarter-hour of cost time. But maintain your applause—the JBL Tune 720BT is comparable on this entrance too, although its as much as 76-hour whole battery life comfortably leaves the Arctis Nova 3X’s as much as 40 hours within the mud. For most, that simply means you are going to be charging the SteelSeries barely extra typically, however I used to be shocked by this stark distinction of hours given the massive hole in value between the 2 units of cans.

Alright, sufficient scene setting—how do SteelSeries’ lush lilac listeners truly sound? Fresh out of the field, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X gives a reasonably well-balanced although flat sound profile. This default is ok for informal listening, although you are not out of luck when you’re in search of one thing a bit of richer.

On Apple and Android units, you possibly can obtain the SteelSeries Arctis Companion app. When you join your SteelSeries headset, this lets you select from a wealth of game-specific EQ profiles, plus a smattering particularly for music-listening or movie-watching. Besides the music EQ profiles designated ‘vivid’, ‘clear vocals’, and ‘punchy’, ‘deep bass’ was maybe my favorite of the bunch. To be sincere, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X aren’t the bassiest cans, however their 40 mm neodymium magnetic drivers do supply a shocking quantity of oomph with out muddying up the main points.

I used to be much less enamoured with the so-called ‘clear vocals’ EQ profile, which appeared to shift the vocals off to the facet whereas crushing down every thing else round them. The clear dialogs and immersion profiles for film watching supply a lot crisper vocal sound with out smudging out any audio element so far as I may hear. Otherwise, I favored the music listening expertise a lot that after hitting repeat on the soundtrack once more, I did begin to want I had performed Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for the primary time whereas sporting this headset—Une vie à t’aimer simply hits totally different with the deep bass EQ profile.

You can even create your individual customized EQ profiles too, although this requires but one other little bit of software program, specifically the SteelSeries GG desktop app. Besides EQ noodling, this software program additionally means that you can fiddle with how a lot mic monitoring sidetone you would like to listen to to reassure you that the mic is truly selecting up your voice and you have not by chance muted your self by way of the on-ear button once more. Handy!

After tweaking an EQ profile to your coronary heart’s content material by way of the intuitive parametric UI, you possibly can then import the profile into the cellphone app by way of your SteelSeries account. If you’ve got already acquired plenty of SteelSeries package, this should not be a problem, however I personally choose a lighter-weight software program expertise that does not require an account simply so I can tinker with my peripherals.

Anyway, Clair Obscur is one in all a wholesome number of video games that enjoys its personal devoted EQ profile right here—DOOM: The Dark Ages is one other. Given how, in my final evaluation for the Razer Clio gaming chair headrest speaker, I dove into Doom Eternal for the primary time to check out its particular THX spatial audio sound profile, it appeared solely proper that I do a spot of shield-bashing right here too.

Taking to a soggy battlefield in DOOM: The Dark Ages, I discovered the game-specific EQ profile sounded oddly crunchy over a Bluetooth connection. Taking a better take a look at Steelseries’ advisable parametrics on this game-specific EQ profile, I may see that plenty of the treble-y, top-end frequencies have been dialled proper down—this went some strategy to explaining the heftier low-end that emphasises footsteps and gun photographs, although it did not essentially account for the form of hole sound total that I used to be listening to.

One may argue {that a} deep-fried sound profile is sensible for fight in opposition to the hordes of hell, however I used to be unimpressed with the game-specific profile for Hi-Fi Rush for equally finger-lickin’ causes. Something undoubtedly wasn’t including up—for one factor, I used to be having a way more fulfilling listening expertise by way of Bluetooth on my cellphone, to not point out how Spotify on my PC was seemingly unaffected by no matter deep pal nonsense was happening in-game. To slender issues down, I examined the Bluetooth connection on one other machine. The bizarre compression persevered even after a reboot, and in addition after swapping to my JBL headphones.

I reached out to SteelSeries straight and, alongside a mild reminder to make sure the Arctis Nova 3X’s firmware was updated by way of the Engine tab in GG, I used to be instructed that the sound distortion I used to be experiencing might be because of two EQ profiles being by chance utilized directly by way of the GG software program. This is feasible as a result of Sonar gives digital processing at a software program degree in your PC, whereas the Engine portion of this system straight interacts with the settings of the bodily headset itself—in order that’s two totally different ‘layers’ the place an EQ profile might be utilized.

I used to be suggested to double-check that the Engine tab was set to the Flat EQ profile earlier than I dove again in-game. It seems that Dolby Atmos can have the same impact, stacking an EQ in your sound output earlier than it even passes by your SteelSeries GG settings. In that case, making use of the Flat EQ profile in each the Sonar and Engine tabs ought to assist.

I used to be additionally instructed that the distinction might be right down to which Bluetooth codec your machine makes use of—for instance, the unique Nintendo Switch solely helps the usual SBC Bluetooth codec. SteelSeries additionally helps higher high quality, low-latency Bluetooth codecs equivalent to LC3, however not all of my units are going to have the ability to take advantage of out of that.

EQ stacking is an annoying quirk of the GG software program, however simply addressed. Once I crossed these peaks and dotted these valleys, I discovered that the in-game audio over a Bluetooth connection was considerably improved, if not just a bit sibilant and compressed across the top-end frequencies. And, to reiterate, this is not an issue I’m encountering whereas listening to my tunes over Bluetooth both on PC or my cellphone—it is simply in-game.

Anyway, in any case of that, then I took the two.4 GHz mode out for a spin, and I found what the Arctis Nova 3X is de facto all about. The dongle included within the field comes with a USB-C connection for consoles, however may be slotted into one other dongle like a Megazord for a USB-A connection. Thankfully, SteelSeries GG’s EQ profiles play a lot better over the Arctis Nova 3X’s low-latency 2.4 GHz connection, in the end providing audio high quality that basically is banging.

Listen to the poetry studying microphone take a look at right here:

Over a 2.4 GHz connection, in-game audio is obvious, detailed, and splendidly immersive. For occasion, Hi-Fi Rush enjoys a delicate bass enhance that brings the rhythm operating by its coronary heart to much more vibrant life with out upstaging the main points of its brash soundscape. DOOM: The Dark Ages is bolstered by its personal game-specific EQ profile, too. Gibbing demons is all of the extra immersive for one factor, as you actually hear the viscera splatter throughout environments that might’ve executed with a deep clear lengthy earlier than all hell broke free. The slayer’s footfalls take pleasure in an actual sense of heft right here, too, making it an absolute pleasure to crash by Khalim and past; with my beautiful lavender listeners, I actually do really feel just like the chunky inexperienced man himself.

And as for my beloved Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, effectively, let’s simply say I’m critically contemplating a brand new sport plus run—gotta scoop up these baguette weapons someday, proper? Long, winding story quick, 2.4 GHz mode is the way in which to play when you’re in any respect focused on SteelSeries GG’s game-specific immersive EQ profiles. While my expertise with these over Bluetooth left me fairly grumpy, all was forgiven as quickly as I plugged in that 2.4 GHz dongle. It can really feel like a faff to recollect to pack a dongle for wi-fi headphones, however this actually is the connection the place the Arctis Nova 3X is at its finest.

Otherwise, there’s nonetheless so much to like about this comfy, to not point out trendy, headset—however is it one of the best gaming headset on the market? For a begin, it is undoubtedly not boasting the beefiest wi-fi headset battery—that honour goes to HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless—although quick cost does go some methods to creating the as much as 40-hour battery really feel much less prefer it’s holding you again.

That mentioned, the equally priced Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) gives twice as a lot play time alongside quick cost. But in the case of comfy all-day put on, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X has our prime choose for one of the best mid-range wi-fi gaming headset beat, due to its total lighter weight and floating headband design.

If consolation and flexibility actually are your chief considerations, plus you do not thoughts spending just a bit extra, the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds stay our favorite earbuds for gaming, providing nice sound from completely tiny 6 mm drivers. But do they arrive in purple, although? Apparently not, as an alternative restricted to black and white colourways alongside the double-take-worthy ‘Glorange’. So, for my cash—and my rigorously curated color scheme—the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X are nonetheless those to beat.