SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X evaluation

I’ve delay selecting up an trustworthy to goodness gaming headset for an embarrassing motive. In my audio adventures, once I’ve discovered a headset that sounds superb and does all the things I would like, likelihood is I am going to nonetheless set it apart for one quite simple motive: It is simply not cute sufficient.

And when a gaming headset does meet my excessive requirements for cuteness, it would doubtless have needed to lower corners someplace else. Nicely, I’ll lastly have fallen head over heels for a headset that’s each cute and nonetheless enjoys lots of the options I might need in-game.

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X wi-fi headset ticks off ‘cuteness’ with flying colors. Although accessible in numerous interesting colors, together with black, white, and aqua, I’m in love with the lilac colourway. Correctly purple throughout with nary an unsightly brand to distract, even the froth pop filter on the removable mic arm is lilac; it is a fairly pleasing strategy 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? Fortunately, no.

To start with, construct high quality is completely pitched for this worth level. The predominantly plastic outer shell is in no way creaky and will probably face up to a tumble or two onto carpet. Adjusting the peak and place of the earcups is a stunning easy 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 contains a floating headband design, with the headset’s 260 g weight balanced throughout an elastic strip quite than immediately 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 alter the place of this band to get it to take a seat properly throughout your noggin. All of this sensible design, coupled with the massive foam earcups, makes the Arctis Nova 3X an extremely snug headset to put on all day.

By way 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 beautiful, however each press of its on-ear buttons betrays its comparatively missing construct high quality with a metallic twang. It is also far much less snug by way of prolonged put on.

That stated, the $110/£100 Arctis Nova 3X might nonetheless be taught a factor or two from even this price range, $90/£40 set of headphones. For example, as somebody who wears make-up, I am lacking the choice of swappable earcups for the Arctis Nova 3X, or no less than ones produced from a wipe-clean materials like my JBLs. Moreover, the SteelSeries is surprisingly mild with regards to on-board buttons; on the left earcup, there’s solely a rounded mute button, a positively nonetheless welcome quantity dial, after which lastly a single button that handles each turning the system 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 straightforward to take the Arctis Nova 3X out on the go, although the shortage of a song-skip or pause button is a particular disadvantage. The truth that the SteelSeries headset would not have an IPX Waterproof ranking both must also make you suppose twice earlier than taking this on a tour away out of your desk—my aforementioned JBLs, alternatively, are rated for a lightweight splash of water resistance.

The SteelSeries’ devoted mute button silences your microphone unbiased of your video name software program settings, although I do preserve forgetting I’ve muted myself this manner. Talking of voice chats, the mic right here is completely serviceable. The audio high quality is okay for voice calls of every kind, and the removable arm itself could be very versatile whereas additionally holding its place nicely too. Nonetheless, as you may count on, the mic audio does get fairly bubbly and crunchy for those who pull it proper up near your mouth. So, it is positively not an excellent little bit of package for any semi-pro voiceover work, nevertheless it nonetheless presents a humorous method to underline the punchline of an in-joke over Discord.

Take heed to the microphone take a look at right here:

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

Alright, sufficient scene setting—how do SteelSeries’ lush lilac listeners really sound? Contemporary out of the field, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X presents a reasonably well-balanced although flat sound profile. This default is okay for informal listening, although you are not out of luck for those who’re in search of one thing somewhat richer.

On Apple and Android gadgets, you possibly can obtain the SteelSeries Arctis Companion app. Once 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. Moreover the music EQ profiles designated ‘vivid’, ‘clear vocals’, and ‘punchy’, ‘deep bass’ was maybe my favorite of the bunch. To be trustworthy, 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 small print.

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 all the things 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 might hear. In any other case, I preferred 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 carrying this headset—Une vie à t’aimer simply hits completely different with the deep bass EQ profile.

You can even create your individual customized EQ profiles too, although this requires yet one more little bit of software program, particularly the SteelSeries GG desktop app. Moreover EQ noodling, this software program additionally means that you can fiddle with how a lot mic monitoring sidetone you want to listen to to reassure you that the mic is definitely selecting up your voice and you have not by accident muted your self by way of the on-ear button once more. Helpful!

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 happen to’ve already obtained a whole lot of SteelSeries package, this should not be a trouble, however I personally favor a lighter-weight software program expertise that does not require an account simply so I can tinker with my peripherals.

Anyway, Clair Obscur is certainly one of a wholesome collection of video games that enjoys its personal devoted EQ profile right here—DOOM: The Darkish Ages is one other. Given how, in my final evaluation for the Razer Clio gaming chair headrest speaker, I dove into Doom Everlasting 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 Darkish Ages, I discovered the game-specific EQ profile sounded oddly crunchy over a Bluetooth connection. Taking a more in-depth take a look at Steelseries’ advisable parametrics on this game-specific EQ profile, I might see that a whole lot of the treble-y, top-end frequencies have been dialled proper down—this went some method to explaining the heftier low-end that emphasises footsteps and gun pictures, although it did not essentially account for the sort of hole sound general that I used to be listening to.

One might argue {that a} deep-fried sound profile is smart for fight in opposition to the hordes of hell, however I used to be unimpressed with the game-specific profile for Hello-Fi Rush for equally finger-lickin’ causes. One thing positively wasn’t including up—for one factor, I used to be having a way more pleasant 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 buddy nonsense was occurring in-game. To slender issues down, I examined the Bluetooth connection on one other machine. The bizarre compression continued even after a reboot, and likewise after swapping to my JBL headphones.

I reached out to SteelSeries immediately and, alongside a delicate reminder to make sure the Arctis Nova 3X’s firmware was updated by way of the Engine tab in GG, I used to be informed that the sound distortion I used to be experiencing might be attributable to two EQ profiles being by accident utilized directly by way of the GG software program. That is attainable as a result of Sonar presents digital processing at a software program stage in your PC, whereas the Engine portion of this system immediately interacts with the settings of the bodily headset itself—in order that’s two completely 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 an identical impact, stacking an EQ in your sound output earlier than it even passes by way of 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 informed that the distinction might be right down to which Bluetooth codec your system makes use of—for instance, the unique Nintendo Swap solely helps the usual SBC Bluetooth codec. SteelSeries additionally helps higher high quality, low-latency Bluetooth codecs resembling LC3, however not all of my gadgets 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. As soon as 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 am encountering whereas listening to my tunes over Bluetooth both on PC or my cellphone—it is simply in-game.

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

Take heed 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 example, Hello-Fi Rush enjoys a refined bass enhance that brings the rhythm operating by way of its coronary heart to much more vibrant life with out upstaging the small print of its brash soundscape. DOOM: The Darkish 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 finished 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 way of 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, nicely, let’s simply say I am critically contemplating a brand new recreation plus run—gotta scoop up these baguette weapons someday, proper? Lengthy, winding story brief, 2.4 GHz mode is the best way to play for those who’re in any respect keen on SteelSeries GG’s game-specific immersive EQ profiles. Whereas 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 may possibly 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 greatest.

In any other case, there’s nonetheless loads to like about this snug, to not point out trendy, headset—however is it the perfect gaming headset on the market? For a begin, it is positively not boasting the beefiest wi-fi headset battery—that honour goes to HyperX Cloud Alpha Wi-fi—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 stated, the equally priced Turtle Seashore Stealth 600 (Gen 3) presents twice as a lot play time alongside quick cost. However with regards to snug all-day put on, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X has our high choose for the perfect mid-range wi-fi gaming headset beat, due to its general 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. However 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 fastidiously curated color scheme—the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X are nonetheless those to beat.

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