Closer Examination

The design of the Arctis Pro + GameDAC is almost an exact copy of what we saw on the wireless Arctis 7 gaming headset. I see that as a great thing as the Arctis 7 looks fantastic, feels luxurious, and is one of the most comfortable gaming headsets on the market.


The outer headband is made out of steel with a gunmetal finish. It looks beautiful and feels extremely robust, completely in line with the asking price. The top of the headband is covered with an elastic fabric also used on ski goggles to keep everything firmly attached to your head. In this case, it functions as something that improves comfort and makes the headset look more interesting; it is also a stretchable inner headband that makes sure the top of your head never directly touches the other metal headband.


The tightness of the inner elastic headband can be changed by adjusting the Velcro straps. Should you want to do so, you can replace it with a different one. SteelSeries offers a wide selection of designs, and a couple of designer options are made by street artists. All of these will cost you $15 apiece. Should you already have a set of headbands you bought for your Arctis 7, you'll be able to use those with the Arctis Pro + GameDAC as well. If you're willing to dish out an additional $60, SteelSeries will gladly sell you their handcrafted, American-made leather headband.


The ear cushions don't differ much from what we saw on the Arctis 5 or 7. In other words, their shape is elliptical and they completely surround the ears. SteelSeries covered them with a fabric used to make running shirts in order for them to be as soft and breathable as possible. Thanks to that, they're superbly comfortable and much less likely to cause your ears to sweat during prolonged gaming sessions. If you're so inclined, you can take them off and easily replace them with leather or velour ear cushions, which SteelSeries sells as an accessory for $15 a pair, regardless of which pair you choose.


The outer side of both ear cups is covered in a fine layer of rubber, which has these feels very nice to the touch. But that's not the main reason you'll like them. This is where SteelSeries decided to implement a bit of RGB action. The entire outer edge of each ear cup lights up in any color you select in the settings. It can even slowly blend from one color to another in an endless cycle. I'm still not sold on the whole concept of adding RGB LEDs to a headset, a device you can't see while using it, but if you're into such shenanigans, you'll definitely like the way the RGB LEDs have been implemented on the Arctis Pro. The colors look beautiful, and the whole system isn't too in-your-face. I can't believe I'm going to say this about an RGB system, but it almost looks classy.


The plates on the ear cups can easily be removed and replaced, which is a new layer of headset customization SteelSeries decided to add with the Arctis Pro lineup. They attach to the ear cups magnetically, so putting them back on is a breeze. Some of you might even forgo using these plates at all as their removal changes the look of the RGB lighting system and with it, the aesthetics of the headset as a whole.


On the outer edge of the left ear cup is a microphone mute button. It's much larger than it was on the Arctis 5 and 7, which is quite obviously SteelSeries' direct response to complaints that some users had about the same button being too small before. After you press it, it protrudes a bit, which makes it easy to find when you want to unmute the microphone.


I like the fact that the head of the microphone also lights up when muted. That way, you know for sure whether it's on or off, and there won't be a chance your teammates will miss something you said into a potentially muted microphone. The color of this LED can be selected in the settings on the GameDAC.


The volume dial is right below the microphone mute button. It's easy to find and use, although I have to admit I kept turning it by accident when taking the headset off or putting it back on, which was somewhat annoying, especially since the GameDAC also sports a large volume knob, and that was my preferred way of controlling the volume anyway.


Close to the volume dial is where you'll find the USB and 3.5-mm analogue audio port. The USB port may strike you as unusual-looking and lead you to believe it's proprietary, but it actually isn't. What we're dealing with here is a less common 8-pin Mini-USB port. Why did SteelSeries go with that rather than using a standard and equally compact Micro-USB port? Most likely to get you to buy the replacement cable directly from them should you lose or break it. They're selling it as an accessory for $8. Both cables are obviously detachable, but connect to the headset snugly, so there's no risk of them disconnecting during normal use.


The built-in bidirectional microphone, affixed to a rubberized arm, is retractable. You can pull it out and push it back in with relative ease, but you'll need to use two hands to do so, at least until after the initial break-in period. Not once did it get stuck or fall out of its resting place when I didn't want it to while using it. Thanks to the way its arm is made, it also stays exactly where you put it.


Should you want to put a windscreen on it, SteelSeries got you covered—this time around, a windscreen is included in the package.