Turtle Beach made a great SteelSeries headset clone that’s $50 much less

I actually favored the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, so the corporate didn’t need to say a lot to get me enthusiastic about its successor. The $399 Nova Pro Omni that got here out on May fifth has an identical design to the 2022 mannequin, however with some new and improved options — assist for wi-fi hi-res audio (24-bit / 96kHz audio over 2.4GHz), higher mic high quality, and compatibility with all consoles in each mannequin, to call the massive ones. All the $599 Nova Elite has on the Omni is healthier construct supplies and larger drivers.

But issues obtained fascinating when, only a few weeks earlier than the Omni was introduced, Turtle Beach confirmed off its Stealth Pro 2. To say that it’s impressed by earlier SteelSeries headsets is placing it calmly. It has swappable batteries, a battery-charging wi-fi base station, a companion app for shortly altering audio settings, and the power to take heed to 2.4GHz and Bluetooth audio concurrently. To high it off, it presents wi-fi hi-res audio assist, too, and a barely cheaper $349 price ticket.

So, I did what was essential: I referred to as in each to check them concurrently to see which I believed was the perfect worth. What I spotted was that SteelSeries’ $399 Arctis Nova Pro Omni and Turtle Beach’s $349 Stealth Pro 2 are each nice for a number of causes, however they aren’t value shopping for primarily based on their hi-res audio capabilities alone — a serious promoting level for each. I couldn’t discover the hi-res distinction in comparison with the default bit price (24-bit, 48kHz) on my Windows 11 PC.

I examined out a number of albums’ value of lossless tunes in Qobuz, and performed loads of Marathon, which is stuffed with little location-based sounds that may trace at my impending doom. I can’t think about myself an audiophile as a result of I’ve tinnitus, which prevents me from listening to some high-frequency sounds. Regardless, I’m in good firm with many different individuals who can not reliably spot the hi-res distinction. It all sounded the identical to me. Good, however not adequate to encourage you to spring for a brand new headset.

Functionally, the AirPods Max-inspired Stealth Pro 2 is the higher possibility in the event you don’t have your whole gaming gadgets in a centralized location. Mine are sprinkled round my residence, so I like that the Stealth Pro 2 has a button that toggles between transmitters (all whereas sustaining a simultaneous Bluetooth connection to my telephone).

Both the Omni and the Stealth Pro 2 allow you to make on-the-fly changes to equalizer and mic settings by way of a cellular companion app over Bluetooth, so that you gained’t need to race to your PC to tweak settings. However, Turtle Beach’s headset provides you extra on-device management choices. You can shuffle by way of equalizers with a button on the Stealth Pro 2, and there are three dials to regulate USB supply and Bluetooth quantity independently and alter sport / chat combine ranges. You may also customise what a few of its further inputs do in its app. SteelSeries delegates many of the controls to the GameHub station.

The Arctis Nova Pro Omni is a bit completely different in execution, however comparable in operate and design to the Nova Pro Wireless. Its station is the audio mind for your whole gaming devices, assuming all of them are inside 5 ft for its two included USB-C-to-USB-A cables to achieve. It can obtain 4 wired audio sources (three USB-C, and one 3.5mm line-in audio), and blend up three without delay, together with Bluetooth. The mic works throughout platforms, too. The Omni is the most suitable choice if its USB audio source-swapping base station is at all times inside attain.

These headsets are able to wealthy, balanced audio that made me really feel immersed in video games. Even with out their good energetic noise cancellation results turned on, their ear pads muffle a great quantity of out of doors sound. Both headsets’ software program presents in-depth equalizer customization by way of their PC apps, however I most popular how the Omni sounds even with an identical EQ waveforms throughout headsets. It has stronger mids and highs with heat when content material requires it, extra managed bass, and higher delineation between frequencies. The Stealth Pro 2 is shut, although.

One space the place SteelSeries pulls forward is with mic high quality. Its retractable growth mic is superior to what’s provided by Turtle Beach’s removable flip-to-mute mic. My voice sounds hotter and has extra element (and doesn’t sound as very like I’m speaking on the phone). Though, neither sounds higher than a devoted desktop mic.

Most individuals have most likely already found out which headset gels greatest with their setup. The Stealth Pro 2 has a extra interesting value that’s $50 lower than the Omni, plus a number of nice options that I’m extra used to seeing provided in a SteelSeries headset. Then once more, it may not be the correct match for everybody’s setup or sound preferences.

The Omni is a incredible headset, too, but when your price range is locked to underneath $300, the SteelSeries Nova Pro Wireless remains to be a heck of a headset that’s generally offered for round $270. Its lack of wi-fi hi-res audio isn’t a draw back to me, and there’s nonetheless a lot to like in regards to the look, really feel, and efficiency of the last-gen mannequin.

Photography by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge