Because the headset man, even I get confused by the sheer variety of fashions on the market—particularly once they all have such comparable names. Say you don’t have an Xbox or PlayStation and wish one thing for the Swap or Swap 2. Most headsets are branded for Xbox or PlayStation, however many do assist the Swap. So, which of them are literally price shopping for?
Pricing is in all places, particularly right here in Australia, the place headsets usually go on sale. Generally it’s price choosing up a premium mannequin at a reduction quite than going for a “midrange” choice. The Arctis Nova 3X Wi-fi often go for a few hundred, however when discounted, these midrange cans punch above their value.
The Arctis Nova 3X Wi-fi is a little bit of a refresh, and in some contemporary new colors as effectively – we obtained the Aqua one, however there’s additionally white and lavender as effectively, however black too if you wish to go stealth. Now you’re in all probability questioning, why would I’ve the Xbox ones? Effectively, lengthy story quick, the one actual factor that you must know between the 3X and the 3P is that the 3X works on Xbox, the 3Ps don’t, however each will work on the rest. That features the Nintendo Swap 2, which the headsets have been up to date for (you would possibly must do a firmware replace although).
These are gentle and vibrant headsets. Whenever you choose them up, they’re clearly very light-weight however don’t really feel low cost in any respect. A number of the plastics may be on the essential aspect, however total, all of it feels fairly sturdy. The floating headband is tremendous comfy, and even for my fats head, with a little bit of adjustment, they sit up there and simply kind of soften away. There’s a very good quantity of stress in your noggin too. The ear cups are deep sufficient to assist get one of the best sound potential out of them. They’re not the highest-end headphones I’ve ever used, no—however they’re tremendous strong, and throughout a spread of video games, the audio was energetic and clear. Music sounded good too, with a noticeable bass-heavy leaning.
There’s no customized equaliser, however there are presets you’ll be able to set within the app for particular video games. Over 200 video games are listed, with SteelSeries tuning issues in order that, for instance, gunfire in shooters is less complicated to find. There’s even a preset for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp—I’m undecided how that one works, but it surely’s there. There’s no energetic noise cancellation, however as soon as the headset’s on and one thing’s enjoying, it does drown out a little bit of background noise. I had the washer going whereas blasting some Yello after which enjoying Donkey Kong Bananza, and it was completely tremendous.
This headset additionally works effectively as an everyday pair of headphones, due to the removable growth mic. Microphone high quality appears barely improved over earlier fashions, and the added pop filter on the growth doubtless helps with that. All of the controls are positioned on one aspect of the headset: there’s a mute change that sits just a little decrease when engaged (and makes an audible noise), and a scroll wheel for quantity. Oddly, altering the amount with the wheel doesn’t modify it concurrently within the app, which feels a bit inconsistent. The amount wheel additionally has a clickable perform, letting you pause/play music and carry out a bunch of different actions together with the facility button.
The facility button, by itself, turns the headset on and off when held—but it surely additionally switches between 2.4GHz and Bluetooth modes. Utilizing the facility button and quantity wheel collectively for controls can really feel a bit awkward although.Let’s discuss in regards to the dongle for a second. It’s good and easy, plugging into USB-C. On this 3X model, there’s a bodily change to toggle between Xbox and PC (with “PC” principally that means every part else). The dongle is compact too, which is nice when utilizing it on the Swap—it doesn’t stick out a lot. You too can plug it into the highest USB-C port on the Swap 2 to keep away from worrying about it getting bumped. There’s a USB-C to USB-A adapter within the field as effectively, so you should use it with the Swap or Swap 2 dock.
Battery life is nice with a promised 40 hours of battery when utilizing it in Bluetooth mode, I’ve been utilizing this continuous since I obtained it and haven’t needed to cost it as soon as (apart from when it was plugged in for a firmware replace). Additionally improbable is that it’ll get 9 hours of playback in simply quarter-hour of charging so when you do overlook to juice up, it gained’t take lengthy to get again to it. The one factor that worries me with the lighter colors is that they may stain or get soiled extra simply—however the ear cups are replaceable, in order that’s all the time an choice.
For the value, the Arctis Nova 3X Wi-fi is a strong piece of package. In comparison with the costlier Nova 5 fashions, it provides a lot of the identical expertise at a decrease price. The smaller dongle, the included adapter, and the flexibility to take away the microphone and use the headset as common headphones are all sensible additions. The brighter colors are additionally a welcome change from the same old sea of black gaming headsets. It’s positively one to maintain in your shortlist if it suits your price range.
The Steelseries Arctis Nova 3X is on the market now from a number of retailers together with JB Hello-Fi , for a RRP of $199.95AUD. Make sure you search for both the 3X or 3P model, because the “Nova 3” can be an older mannequin.
Vooks obtained an Steelseries Arctis Nova 3X for the aim of conducting this overview.
