Customer Ratings & Reviews

Pros: + Bluetooth 5.3 & 2.4GHz connectivity + Includes a USB-C to USB-A adapter + Toggle ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) and transparency with the push of a button + Clear phone calls to listen and Cons: - Custom EQ presets requires modifying via Sonar software on computer I'm not typically a big fan of in-ear headphones. I have used the likes of JBL, Pixel Buds, and other types that would never stay in my ear. I have had great success with these! The first use of these after a full charge in 2.4GHz mode (connected to a desktop PC) lasted me about 13 hours. This included listening to music, gaming, watching social media vids, and more. I'll be testing in bluetooth mode soon to see how they fair, but first impressions are great for these GameBuds!

I bought these to replace my Logitech G935 gaming headset. The G935s started to have a problem with powering on the first time. Sometimes well more than the first. I'd been looking for something I could use with my PS5 and PC. I also travel with a laptop from time-to-time and use the headsets with it. Since I have been using my AirPods Pros for a while with my phone I thought I'd look for some in-ear option for gaming. First a shout out to BB for always being there when I need/want something! Great price and ordering online and picking up in the store was a breeze. The main reason I bought these was the ability to connect to the PS5, PC and my iPhone. It does all of that. What I didn't know was the extended battery life these have. I've used them throughout the day for the past two days and have not managed to get them below 25% in a single use. My first connection was with my iPhone. Followed the instructions and was connected immediately. I had looked at a number of reviews and noticed all had said to turn off the limiter in the app. I haven't listened with the limiter on, but it gets very loud with it off. I've used these in Warzone with my phone and it has made the game much more enjoyable. Footsteps are very distinct and the sound is very immersive. I've also watched some videos on YouTube on listened to music. I'm debating on if these will become my everyday earbuds. I have used the mic in phone calls and was told it sounded good. I have not used it in-game or recorded it. Next was on my PS5 to check out the 2.4Ghz. They were very easy to pair and within minutes I was playing COD: BO6 and these truly shined. I clearly hear and distinguish the locations and types of sounds. The G935s were very good, but this is on another level. Lastly, I connected to my laptop. We're traveling so I thought it'd be a good test. They quickly connected with the GG software which seems really good, so far. Overall, these are a good option for me so far. I like the convenience, the long battery life and really good sound. I would recommend these if you are looking for great earbuds for gaming.

Let me start by saying that I generally despise earbuds because they seriously lack in every single way possible acoustically. Unfortunately I am a migraineur with Trigeminal Neuralgia which means that I can no longer wear headphones because they put pressure on the trigeminal nerve and trigger my migraines. I looked at several brands of in ear headsets and read reviews before coming across these gems. I know Steelseries from other products I own and eventually decided to take these over the ROG set due to the incompatibility with the PS systems. I have been listening to many different styles of music for about 3 hours now, only using about 2% of the battery so far (with the sound processing and active noise cancelling running) and I am impressed. The clarity is impeccable, distortion is undetectable, highs are crisp, lows are punchy, mids are resounding, vocals are clear and understandable even at high volume... The 3D emulation is precisely on point and executel perfectly. This was only on the bluetooth by the way... I expect that the 2.4Ghz digital connection will be even more incredible. As someone who was expressly AGAINST earbuds for ANY audio, I highly recommend these, if for nothing else than to listen to music with. Gaming will be at a whole new dimension.. The app is a fantastic touch as well for keeping track of charge, e.q. settings, and other tweaks and customization settings. Highly recommend!

These ain't it.. Compared to the Asus Cetra SpeedNova, no contest. The only thing the Gamebuds have going for them is the game profiles and a slight comfort level. Sound is what matters. The Gamebuds sound laughably low compared to the SpeedNova. The ANC also isn't up to par. I would rank the Gamebuds third in terms of gaming earbuds.... 1- Asus Speednova, 2- Sony Explore, 3- SS Gamebuds. I need my game buds to be loud and punchy. I'm just not getting that with the Gamebuds. The Gamebuds have a slightly more controlled/refined sound, but also sound whisper quiet in comparison to the competition. I need my music to over power my TV in the background with/without ANC, these don't do that. If I'm listening to Rock at volume. I shouldn't be able to hear a casual YT video of a product review playing on my TV/laptop. If you value your hearing. I guess it's not much of a concern :) The dongle and 2.4ghz tech is just okay.. Depending on your environment you'll get that SS metallic/robotic interference noise from the 2.4ghz connection. In dual mode, the phone takes over and cuts out sound way too often.. Dual mode needs a lot of work, and will cause complete disconnects (yes my firmware is up to date) probably a good idea to disconnect BT after setting sound profiles. I would recommend these overall. I think they're comfortable; but ear tips could be better. I don't think they're quality. I think third party ear-tips would provide better noise isolation. The sound is good, but if you're looking for loud and punchy, look elsewhere. Good battery life from the case and buds. Nice first attempt by SS.

Man ol man I grabbed these right before pitch the Nova Pro wireless after my Pro wireless started going out. These are amazingly good and come with tons of presets to use for so many different games. You still have the freedom to take calls while playing just like their big brother and they fit in ear so comfortable. I’ve had so many headphones and steel series has impressed me by far!

Honestly i love these things and I just bought them today 12/26/2024. The audio customization is amazing, the sound is phenomenal (coming from someone whos had airpods), and the case is a little on the “bigger” side but i dont mind that either. Harder to lose lol. The battery life is also great. Overall 10/10

Steelseries is my go to brand for any gaming products and I will always choose them if they have something available. That being said, I was extremely excited when I heard they were releasing gaming earbuds. I picked them up from my store immediately upon release. The first thing I did when I got home was connected them to my PC to update the firmware on Steelseries GG app. I then tinkered with the settings and it sounded phenomenal whether it was gaming, or music, or just watching Youtube. Everything was loud, crisp, distinguishable. So imagine my surprise when I go to test them on my PS5 and the sound is....well...nonexistent. No matter what I did, everything on the PS5 sounded extremely low volume despite all of my settings being at max. Fortunately I'm not the only one who was having this issue and I found some threads on Reddit, however no one has found a solution yet and that's a shame. And don't even get me started with the mobile companion app. For an app that only supports two products (Nova 5 and the Gamebuds), what an absolute headache it was trying to get the app to recognize the Buds. I tried on multiple occasions and it was a 10+ minute effort each time despite my phone being connected via bluetooth already. As the title goes, these are amazing for PC and Switch, but absolutely STAY AWAY if you're trying to pick these up for Playstation. I wonder if the Xbox version actually works on Xbox now.

These are comfortable earbuds has 3 different silicone sizes so that helps, quality is good, don’t use it for the mic, it’s good enough to hear at best mic wise.

Works great Good quality look and feel No issues whatsoever so far Price is a bit crazy, but so are most peripherals in PC gaming market these days. Work great with Sonar, easy to configure like other Sonar devices Decent range if you need to step off for the fridge Tested wirh Discord and many AAA titles along with some Indi.

I have a massive head and a bald one as well. I wear glasses as well if that helps picture why i needed these. I love my ps5 i love music too. The only complaint is having to switch the earbuds to bluetooth to listen to lisic or donanything on my phone but thats why we have the apple music app on ps5 for this issue. The spatial audio is amazing. Insurgency Sandstorm is amazing when paired with the app. You feel the gun shooting through the combo of controler and ear buds. This so punchy ive never had a ear bud like this. Just buy it. I also updated the buds through my laptop and have had no issues with these. I will be buying agian or ising my warranty if they break or wear out im in love.

Struggled to pair them to my PC initially but once I got them hooked up they work wonderfully. Solved all my issues with one product (being tethered, cable clutter, connection issues effecting sound quality). They sound amazing and happy not to have a clunky headset anymore.

I love these things. Some reviewers have bad things to say but honestly I don’t see it. Just remember to change the EQ preset to whatever game you’re playing. I give these bad boys 5 stars.

Great in ear buds! Use these all day everyday! Super comfrotable especially since i have small ear canals! Doesnt fall off and are able to pair these with multiple devices making it easy to transition using them from your computer to your phone!

The sound quality rivals top tier headsets. It’s comfortable and fits well. I did get foam tips for it. Battery life lasts at least 8 hours. I like that the controls are tactile and not touch sensitive which prevents accidental triggering.

Overall, I quite like these. I will be using them anytime I play Tarkov. Or just in general want something that is comfortable that I can wear for a long time and don’t want to mess up my hair. Or want some OK noise cancelling to get work done. SOUND 9/10: Sound to me is the most important part of any headset/earbud. These are incredibly sensitive to EQ where it is make or break for these guys. It comes with 100+ premade EQ’s. Which work great. You can make your own EQ but you have to do it through the Steelseries GG Desktop App and then import it in to the App. Which is cumbersome. If what I was playing had a preset EQ these sounded great. If not, it was hit or miss. I would classify them more as surgical immersive. Where I can easily tell everything apart and location over it all blending together. Which is exactly what I like. But for others comes across as a bit too clinical. I mostly tested them on Escape From Tarkov and I’ve never heard the game sound so good before. I was able to have pinpoint accuracy of where people were at, was hearing things I’ve never heard before, and weapons sounded great. Music was solid on “Movie: Immersive” mode. Where I really have no complaints. Bass isn’t as impactful as I think most are used to. More mid and treble focused. But again, could pull apart the different parts of songs, location of instruments, etc. Movies followed a similar trend. Again, “Movie: Immersive” preset. I could hear all the different parts. Bass was present and satisfying enough but wasn’t jaw dropping. Directional audio was superb. Vocals were clear making it easy to hear people. I could pull apart all the different sounds during action. And in general constantly felt quite immersed in all there categories. I do not recommend using “Volume Limited” as it dramatically changes the sound by limiting dynamics. Meaning if there is a loud explosion vs a quiet brush of leaves both will be similar in sound. Making everything sound a bit cloudy. Also, made adjustments in volume less impactful. But does help in competitive situations. TLDR: In general had great imaging (could hear how close/far a sound was), layering (pick apart a bunch of different sounds), and directional (pinpoint accuracy where a sound was coming from). Good dynamics. Fantastic for competitive gaming, great for immersion/causal gaming, music, and movies. But more surgical/clinical in sound. CONNECTION 5/10: Connection results were all over the place for me. 1. Triple pressing the right earcup will switch between Bluetooth 5.3 and 2.4 GHz mode. Appreciated. Would have preferred to see dual mode where I could get audio from both at the same time. 2. Hit and miss where sometimes both earbuds wouldn’t connect correctly making me have to put one or both back into the case for them to pair correctly. Often would hear one connect followed by 1 – 3 seconds for the second to connect. 3. Often on my iPhone 14 Pro Max they would not play, despite being connected via Bluetooth, on Bluetooth, and connected in the Steelseries App. 4. When connected to a laptop/PC via 2.4 GHz it wouldn’t always play like my iPhone but happened a lot less often. But often did require manually going into sound settings to switch them to the correct device (would not happen automatically). 5. Did have several occasions of drop outs. My environment is saturated. But clear line of site. Milage will vary here. 6. They do connect to the dongle/Bluetooth quickly when you first take them out of the case. With the exception of left/right pairing separately. Which I haven’t seen in wireless earbuds since they originally came out. 7. Latency is solid with 2.4 GHz where you can easily play games with it. Much faster than Bluetooth. Even Bluetooth didn’t have issues when watching media on Bluetooth mode. 8. 2.4 Wireless dongle can cover up other USB ports. COMFORT/CONTROLS 9/10: 1. Excellent fit and comfort. Can wear for long periods of time without any issues. Very similar to the shape/design/comfort as Jabra’s. 2. Physical buttons for control. Left earbud you have your transparency, off, and noise cancelling via single press. On the right play/pause single press, double press for skip forward, triple press for 2.4/Bluetooth mode. Quite responsive with minimal delay (maybe 200 – 500 ms). ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLING/TRANSPARENCY 7/10: 1. It’s solid. You get some passive noise isolation from them being earbuds. Then the active part helps eliminate say fan noise from a PC or air conditioner or any other similar sound which is constant. Along with lowering the overall noise floor of an environment. It isn’t the best I’ve heard and doesn’t compete with say dedicated noise cancelling earbuds. But is great for a gaming environment where you just want to focus on the game/media/music. 2. Transparency mode is similar. Solid. I can hear a lot more of what is going on around me. But isn’t to the same level as AirPods Pro. But equal to other companies that aren’t Apple. 3. Did not notice a difference in sound with it on/off. 4. Like how it announces the setting to you so you know exactly what it is. Voice sounds pretty good but still slightly robotic. CASE 8/10: 1. Is on the larger end but not terrible. Can easily fit in pocket. 2. Houses the earbuds that are held in via magnets. Along with housing the 2.4 GHz dongle. Also, magnetic shutting cover. 3. Plastic top with plastic hinge. Which feels cheap and not very satisfying to open/close. As there is a lip that you have to force past to get it to stay open. 4. USB-C Charging. 15 minute quite charge for 3 hours of gameplay. 5. Also supports qi-charging. 6. LED light on the front to notify you of stuff. Such as current battery level. 7. Comes with a nice USB-A to USB-C connector. Steelseries Phone App 10/10: 1. Used on iPhone 14 Pro Max. Basic utility that is easy to navigate. Similar to any other Steelseries software. 2. From top to bottom. Shows the earbuds, left, right, and case battery percentage left. Then you can select audio modes. What equalizer. The noise control and strength of said noise control. Microphone volume, and sidetone. Which I didn’t notice much of a difference with. And last volume limiter. 3. I has wear sense which worked alright. With about a second or two delay. 4. Do have some controls of what the buttons do (mute/unmute mic, volume down, volume up, cycle noise control, toggle audio mode, mobile voice assistant, play/pause, next tract, previous track).

Awesome earbuds i use them for my ps5 and pc battery life is good as well

These SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds True Wireless Noise Cancelling Gaming Earbuds are very nice and ideal for my needs. Multi-use functionality as gaming headphones, but also as headphones to use with my smartphone. The Arctis GameBuds operate on both Bluetooth version 5.3 and 2.4GHz Low Latency, which allows easy switching between devices and audio streams. At the press of a button I can jump from my PC game audio over to an incoming phone call on my iPhone. These have Active Noise Cancellation, and Transparency modes to give you flexibility on what you choose to hear in your personal surroundings. The fit on these GameBuds is actually fantastic for my personal preference. I struggle to find a proper fitting earbud that won't continually need adjusting or fall out. These Arctis GameBuds have been surprisingly comfortable for long periods of time for both gaming and for smartphone usage. You'll get the standard offering of small, medium, and large ear tips to choose your best comfort and fit. These are fairly discrete earbuds that look nice and offer a very upscale design/style. I've been using these particular GameBuds with my PC Gaming, but they're compatible for PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Mac as well. These GameBuds are IP55 water resistant which is nice if you happen to sweat a little bit, or get some water or dust on them doing your various tasks. I also like the hardshell case that these GameBuds come inside of. The case has a nice design, it's easy to hold, and houses the 2 GameBuds and the USB-C adapter very securely. The case is also a QI wireless charging case for more flexibility. There is a USB-C cable included in the package as well. The GameBuds will get you about 10 hours per charge, which should give you a total of up to 40 hours with the fully charged case. These have a quick charge capability which allows for a fast charge in 15 minutes that will give you 3 hours of usability. Using these GameBuds is a fun experience because of the 100+ Game Audio Presets that are offered for a lot of the most popular games. You can choose your desired game within the Arctis app and the audio is customized to the most ideal settings for that particular game. I have been playing various games and using the preset settings instead of my own desired preference. Many of the games sound incredibly better which allows me to hear more fine tuned sounds that are relevant to the style of game I'm playing. With the 360 degree spatial audio I feel like I'm getting a full 3D sound experience within this small profile GameBud placed into my ear. The microphone works fairly well for gaming, phone calls, and virtual online calls for work. Overall I'm a fan of these Arctis GameBuds. I feel like these are for the moments where I want the flexibility of gaming and phone usage at the same time. The audio clarity is very nice and I am happy with all the highs and lows in the sound range. Of course most over the ear headphones will have bigger drivers for larger sound, but the beauty of the GameBuds is their smaller discrete size and usability. I don't always want to wear over the ear headsets for gaming and get my hair messed up before stepping out to an event or function. I can use these Arctis GameBuds to game any time of day, and get all the same fun from my gaming experience while managing my professional look during my work day. The Arctis app works very well and is easy to navigate, so that you can maximize the usability of these GameBuds.

I play PS5 with my friends several times a week. So audio quality and microphone quality are a big deal to me. While there’s a lot to like about these earbuds, but for me, I just can’t recommend them over a solid pair of over the ear headset. IN THE BOX It comes in a small box, you get the earbuds in the case along with a USB-C dongle, a USB-C cable for charging, a USB-C to USB-A adapter, and large and small ear tips (the medium ones come preinstalled on the ear buds). DESIGN I like the color scheme as it matches the Playstation 5’s white vibe. The case is light and pretty small (as you’d expect). At first I was bummed that the lid wouldn’t stay open, then I realized it kind of clicks into place while open. Inside the case are the earbuds and the USB-C dongle for your PS5. The earbuds themselves look pretty good, they’re light, and I found them to be pretty comfortable for ear buds. I don’t plan on exercising in them, but they seemed secure enough that I could if I wanted to. Of course, fit with earbuds is entirely subjective and always depends on your own anatomy (not to mention the different size earbuds). SETUP Now, there’s not much to say anymore about setting up Bluetooth headphones or using a dongle, as we’ve all by now paired something to our phone. But here you’ll want to download the Arctic app on your phone (that’s where you’ll make any adjustments). I couldn’t pair the earbuds through the app, it couldn’t find them, but I was able to easily pair them through my phones settings and then the app found them. The first thing I was told to do - no surprise - was to update the firmware. It took me a minute to realize that you can’t update the firmware from your phone. You actually have to download the Arctic app on your computer and then update the firmware that way. Luckily the program shows you exactly what to do, but it requires plugging the case into your PC, as well as the USB-C dongle for the PS5 and leaving the case open. The update process took about 10 minutes. I wouldn’t expect to have to do this very often, but it was a tad bit inconvenient. If you’re using these on PC it’s a little less of an inconvenience. But once the firmware was updated and the earbuds paired, everything is set up and good to go. CONTROLS A few comments about the controls. With earbuds, there’s not a lot of space for buttons, so you have to navigate the controls by clicking the buttons on either ear bud. The important ones are turning on and off active noise cancellation and switching between Bluetooth mode and “wireless” mode (which connects to the dongle in your PS5). You have to click the right earbud 3 times to switch modes, and pushing once on the left earbud will switch between ANC and transparency. The sides of the earbuds aren’t touch sensitive, so you don’t swipe up or down to adjust the volume (like some earbuds like my Pixel Buds Pro). So to increase the volume you click and hold the right earbud button and to lower you click and hold the left. Of course, on your phone listening to music or on a call, you can adjust the volume with your volume rocker. Muting the microphone was a little dicier as it’s similar to adjusting the volume, you just don’t hold the button in as long. When paired to your PS5, you adjust the settings in your quick menu. If you’re like me, when it comes to the PS5 you don’t really mess with the settings once you find the right one. Meaning once I had the volume and microphone sensitivity right, I just left it there. But I have to admit, I very much prefer turning the wheel on the earcup of my Turtle Beach headset when I need to adjust the volume. But that’s just a matter of practicality, so I’m not complaining. SOUND QUALITY I use my Google Pixel Pro buds a lot. I’m very fond of them. I found the audio quality of the Arctic gamebuds to be on par for listening to music and podcasts. The bass wasn’t as deep as the Pixel Buds, but all-in-all, I found the sound to be pretty good. Some of it was probably due to a better seal in my ears than with the Arctic Gamebuds. I took a phone call and heard no complaints about the sound from the other caller. To me, the call sounded good. In short, it works well as earbuds for your phone. Video games, however, was a little bit more nuanced. In terms of sound quality, I found these earbuds to be close to my Turtle Beach headset. I mean that in terms of spatial surroundings and clarity. But the volume doesn’t get particularly loud. At first, I was disappointed, trying to turn it up as loud as I could. It seemed like the volume didn’t get close to what my Turtle Beach gets to - at least in terms of menu sounds. But when I was actually playing a game, I forgot about the volume. In other words, I was engrossed in the game with the sound and the volume issue I thought I had, was of no concern. Playing Call of Duty and College Football, I thought the spatial sound and recognizing sounds behind you, for example, was pretty good. Now, the microphone was a different story. My friends described me as sounding like I was in a “tin can.” I’m told the Turtle Beach headphones (from the other person’s perspective) sounded more full and balanced. They could hear me and I could hear them, but I was a bit disappointed they could tell I swapped headsets (I was hoping they couldn’t tell the difference). There is side tone, which I love and almost need in my headsets. That’s hearing you talk in the ear buds. You can adjust sidetone and turn it on within the app. It’s not terribly loud, but it’s enough to get a sense of how loud you’re talking (for those that don’t know, not being able to hear yourself chat is a bit annoying as you can’t regulate how loud you’re talking). I have to say that there’s many automatic EQ adjustment for games, but I’m a person that doesn’t typically fiddle with EQs (it’s just an extra step to take when I finally get time to sit down and play a game). So with all my headsets, I typically set it and forget it. I did go into the app and manually change my EQ settings for College Football, but I couldn’t tell any difference between it and the default. That could just be me, maybe I’m not that sensitive to it, but overall I think it’s nice to have EQ adjustments for those that really care about it. CONCLUSION All in all these are really good earbuds. I just don’t know who they’re for. I don’t mind wearing earbuds and carry them with me everyday, but I carry them because they’re small. I always prefer the cushion of ear cups in over the ear headsets. The advantage of these earbuds to me is the convenience of travel, but I rarely travel (if ever) with my PS5. So they end up sitting next to my PS5 where I game. And like I said, in terms of comfort, I’m going for my over the ear headset over earbuds every time. But that’s personal preference. But the microphone quality as told to me by my friends was a bummer; I don’t think it’s a dealbreaker, but it’s one less reason for me to use them while I game.

Arctis is supposed to make the best gaming experience with headphones according to many reviews for their products and from what my gaming sons tell me. These game buds do not disappoint. They sport 100+ game presets for PS5, long battery life and many features. Let us dig in to all the details. What is included in the package is everything you will need to get going. (see photo) The case is Qi wireless charging capable. Like apple airpods, and most earbuds of this nature on the market, this case holds a charge and charges the gamebuds while stored in the case. The case also has a slot for the USB-C 2.4Ghz dongle (i don’t have a pic of this as it’s plugged into the back of my PC and I’m not at home while writing this review). As mentioned, the case is Qi wireless, however, you also get a USB-C charging cable with these headphones. It’s not very long so you’ll have to be close to a charging port if you go that route. There is a USB-c to USB-A adapter included which I 100% needed. I only have 1 USB-C port on my gaming desktop. Arctis also provides extra ear bud tips to help accommodate all ear sizes, S/M/L. There is an aquabarrier that is rated IP55. IP rated stands for Ingress Protection and helps to keep particles and moisture from entering the earbuds. That’s a decent rating for earbuds. I used to work with industrial DC electric motors, and they were rated at IP60, so this IP55 is amazing for home use earbuds imo. These particular earbuds are rated for PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, and VR. My review is for PC. Sadly, one of my kids broke my Switch. I just purchased a PS5 but have not had the opportunity to get into that yet. (c'mon Christmas break!) Set up for Bluetooth and 2.4Ghz was fairly easy, I say fairly because there were quite a few hiccups with the arctis app on my PC and updates that spanned 2 days and made things very irritating. Speaking of PC, make sure you download the arctis software to help move things along. You do not need the phone app (see photo), but I highly recommend downloading it as a companion app. It makes it easy to switch back and forth between 2.4 or Bluetooth if you need to. The gaming presets are also on the app, making it super easy to switch at the touch of the screen. You can of course make your own custom preset for any game you are playing that may not have a preset loaded. Just do not forget to switch to another preset if you switch games! That happened to me, and I can see how that can easily be a regular occurrence. No fault of arctis, that is on my memory. Played a few rounds of Lethal Company with my kids, and they report the sound from my earbuds when talking, was to be expected from earbuds. They said it is not the same output mic quality as with a headset. We expected that though, because physically, earbuds are much further from your mouth than a headset adjustable mic would be. The audio quality I will give 3 stars, as it’s incredibly good with spatial audio, and the game audio is impressive for being earbuds. I am disappointed in the robotic noise that scrambles the audio for a second or two during gameplay. It is still happening after a few days of usage. I tried to correct it in the Arctis Sonar app. My kids told me they do not like the sonar and they stopped using it with their arctis headsets because it was buggy. The updates and the original setup as I mentioned was a nightmare, it took about 3 updates and restarts of my pc to get them going. The earbud controls are very intuitive, and they give you nice little instructions in the box. I thought the active noise cancellation was decent, not to the level of my apple airpods, but ok. I’ve been testing these for work as well, and they hold up well to constant teams calls and incoming calls. One thing that could be better is that I have to pair these things all the time, and it doesn’t work as well as it should. To pair, you put the earbuds in the case and open it. Press and hold for 3 seconds one of the earbuds. After 3 seconds they flash blue and you can pair to your phone, PC, PS5, Switch, VR. That doesn’t happen, sometimes it takes 2-4 times of opening the case and trying this before you can get them to flash blue. Most times I hold an earbud down for 3 seconds, nothing happens. Eventually they work so I don’t complain. Even once you’ve connected once or twice to a certain device, you still have to pair them quite often. There’s no opening the case and they connect automatically. The ear fit was wonderfully comfortable, they did not fall out and were comfortable for prolonged periods of time. The real star here is the battery life. I think I’ve charged these once and they’ve lasted me while working and coming home at night , gaming for an hour or two for a good 5 days straight. Overall, I would recommend these if you are looking for something more easily portable, and something different than a traditional headset. However, if you want higher quality audio and speaking audio, stick with a headset. These gamebuds will stand out if portability is a big factor for you. Nicely done Arctis, but there is definitely room for some improvements and refinement. I am sure Arctis will continue to improve on these as the years come. They do not have far to go, would recommend these to a friend.

Good sounding ANC earbuds with almost all the right features. They’re light, compact, and comfortable enough to wear all day without irritation. The sound quality is good, but nothing really remarkable. Bass response is clean, but doesn’t thump. Vocals and dialogue are clear with a seemingly neutral response. The Active Noise Canceling is a bit underwhelming. It does well eliminating fan noise, but everything else is audible, just at a lower volume. It’s not really that noticeable when you’re playing media, but don’t count on it to totally block out noises when nothing is playing (except fans). Connecting to the SteelSeries GG app opens up a plethora of tuning options with a customizable EQ, spatial audio, mic tuning, and over 100 presets which range from specific games, music, and movies. I’ve honestly been living on the presets, so I can’t comment on the manual EQ tuning, but it offers a good experience all around. They’re designed to be used as both gaming and daily use earbuds, which is a great thing if you intend to use up all 10 hours of battery life in the earbuds. There’s supposedly another 30 hours of recharge power in the case, which itself can charge wirelessly or through the USB-C port. Earbud connection comes by way of a 2.4GHz USB-C wireless dongle or bluetooth 5.3, both of which provide a reliable experience without any noticeable delay. The button controls are responsive with good tactile feedback. Their operation is slightly customizable, but pretty standard for wireless earbuds. I’m surprised that with a wireless USB dongle and bluetooth that I can’t use both connections at the same time. I’m forced to switch between my phone or PC, which I don’t have to do with my other gaming headphones. This means no streaming music from my phone while running around Night City or racing Laguna Seca. Not that big of a deal, I can just stream from my PC instead, or connect my phone to my PC, but it would be nicer if each device could maintain their own autonomy. The case plastic also feels a bit thin, but it’s been holding up well with regular abuse. Overall, the SteelSeries Arctis gamebuds are a solid set of gaming and day to day headphones. The sound quality is good with a 2.4GHz and bluetooth connection and a ton of presets. Unfortunately the noise cancelling is only ok. It blocks fan noise well, but mostly just reduces everything else. However, with 10 hours of usage time and a comfortable fit, it’s easy to enjoy these earbuds all day. PROS - Good sound quality - Decent bass response - Clear dialogue - Over 100 EQ presets - Buttons and controls work well - Earbuds are compact and look good - Comfortable for long hours - Works well as daily and gaming headphones - GG Sonar works well - Spatial audio with GG app - SteelSeries GG app has neat features - 10+ hours playtime in earbuds - 30+ hours of recharge time in case - Case holds USBC receiver too - Compact case - Wireless Q case charging - Includes 4 sizes of ear cushions CONS - Can’t play both bluetooth and 2.4 source at same time - Active Noise Cancelling doesn’t block loudest sounds - Case plastic feels a little cheap - A little confusing setting up between Sonar and EQ - Not audiophile sound quality