Wednesday, May 25th 2022
SteelSeries Launches the Arctis Nova Pro-series of Headsets
SteelSeries has released a pair of new headsets that builds on its well known Arctis-series, but brings with it a much more modern and premium looking design. Besides the overhaul of the design, SteelSeries has added support for 360 degree spatial audio and the company has also updated its GameDac, which is built around the ESS Sabre 9218PQ40 Quad-DAC. Other new features include an "AI-powered" noise cancelling microphone and a new headband design that's meant to be more comfortable. The wired Arctis Nova Pro comes in a PC and Xbox version, both sporting multi-system connect with dual USB inputs, although 3.5 mm jack input is also supported. A nice touch is that the ear pads are attached with magnets and should as such be easy to replace.
The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless on the other hand comes in three different versions, with a dedicated Xbox and Playstation version, as well as a PC version. Here, SteelSeries has also added active noise cancelling, which is not a feature you find on many gaming headsets. The ANC is using a 4 microphone hybrid system and has support for transparency mode. SteelSeries has replaced the GameDac with a wireless base station for the three wireless versions, which also charges the batteries, as SteelSeries has gone for user swappable battery packs. A 15 minute charge gives you three hours of usage, and a fully charged battery is good for up to 44 hours. Interestingly there's also an eight second power buffer, which allows you to hot swap the batteries, if you're fast. The wireless side of things consists of a proprietary low latency 2.4 GHz radio, as often is the case for wireless gaming headsets, as well as Bluetooth 5.0 support. There's support for simultaneous use of both wireless standards, which is a nice touch and something we've seen from a couple of SteelSeries competitors. The Arctis Nova Pro has an MSRP of US$249.99, with the wireless version costing US$349.99.
The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless on the other hand comes in three different versions, with a dedicated Xbox and Playstation version, as well as a PC version. Here, SteelSeries has also added active noise cancelling, which is not a feature you find on many gaming headsets. The ANC is using a 4 microphone hybrid system and has support for transparency mode. SteelSeries has replaced the GameDac with a wireless base station for the three wireless versions, which also charges the batteries, as SteelSeries has gone for user swappable battery packs. A 15 minute charge gives you three hours of usage, and a fully charged battery is good for up to 44 hours. Interestingly there's also an eight second power buffer, which allows you to hot swap the batteries, if you're fast. The wireless side of things consists of a proprietary low latency 2.4 GHz radio, as often is the case for wireless gaming headsets, as well as Bluetooth 5.0 support. There's support for simultaneous use of both wireless standards, which is a nice touch and something we've seen from a couple of SteelSeries competitors. The Arctis Nova Pro has an MSRP of US$249.99, with the wireless version costing US$349.99.