Customer Ratings & Reviews

Great product once you set it up right, not the best comfortably but great feature wise! Really enjoying them!

Works very well once you get to know all of the controls. I like that it pairs with the Xbox and phone at the same time so I can take calls if needed mud-game :)

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 product overall just a few things that need to be improved like for example the transparency mode and the microphone’s ability to cancel out background noise. As well as the controls for volume and muting

The sound quality for ear buds was fantastic and software the Steelers used for adjusting EQ is also great on the phone. But they barely lasted 3 months before the one piece broke.

Love this for both my gaming needs as well as everyday music listening while on my way to work. Love that I can pair these to my iPhone 16PM without a dongle attachment.

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

Be very careful the posting for this product indicates compatibility with PS4 and PS5. While the title for the product indicates compatibility, under the detailed specifications area Xbox, PC, and Mac are the only compatible systems. If you'd like to purchase the correct ones for PS5 or PS4 purchase model number 61706. Again the model 61707 IS NOT compatible with PS4 and PS5 and Bestbuy should fix the product listing to avoid confusion.

Good product only downside is that the play/pause feature activates on its own when listening to music or connected to any game console. Overall, besides the issue I’ve encountered, it is a 5 star product.

I uses it with my steam deck, gives me the option to uses the dongle for a direct connection with no latency. 100% recommended

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’ve been using the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds True Wireless Noise Cancelling Gaming Earbuds for about a week now, and I absolutely love them! These earbuds deliver outstanding sound quality, and the fit was perfect right out of the box. They come with small, medium, and large ear tips to accommodate different ear canal sizes; the medium size, which comes pre-installed, worked perfectly for me. One of the standout features of the GameBuds is their incredible versatility. You can connect them to virtually any device: PC, Xbox, PS5, PS4, Switch, tablets, and even VR systems, using either Bluetooth or the included 2.4GHz wireless connection. The earbuds come with a USB-C dongle neatly stored in the case, which plugs directly into your console or PC for a seamless wireless experience. Setup was fast and easy—they just work. I highly recommend downloading the SteelSeries Arctis app for your phone, as it unlocks the earbuds' full potential. The app includes an impressive 179 EQ presets tailored for various games, including custom settings from top professional gamers and streamers like those from FAZE. There are even special EQ profiles for heightened footstep awareness, making it easy to choose the perfect sound profile for gaming, listening to music, or watching movies. The app also lets you save your favorite presets for quick access, making it super convenient to switch settings between activities. The app provides even more customization, allowing you to toggle between Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) and Transparency modes and adjust their strength. You can also control mic volume, sidetone volume (hearing your own voice to avoid yelling), and even set a volume limiter to protect your hearing. Switching between Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless is seamless, and the app displays battery percentages for both the case and the earbuds. Speaking of the case, it’s a great addition to the package. The earbuds attach magnetically, and the dongle has its own plug hole for storage. The case can be charged via USB-C or wirelessly with Qi charging. Battery life is impressive: 10 hours on the earbuds and an additional 30 hours from the case. The sound quality is top-notch, with immersive bass and exceptional clarity. The IP55 rating for dust and splash resistance adds peace of mind, making these buds suitable for almost any environment. On the downside, while people on the other end of my calls said I sounded clear, some noted a slightly “hollow” effect, as if I were in a hallway or bathroom. However, this was minor, and on my end, everything sounded perfect. My regular daily gaming buddies, who are used to how I sound with my SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless headset, immediately noticed the difference—but that’s to be expected with daily use of such high-quality audio gear. Overall, the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds are an amazing addition to my gaming setup. The sound quality, customization options, and ease of use make them a standout product. Whether gaming or relaxing with a movie, these earbuds deliver an incredible experience. Highly recommended, there is no way to be disappointed with these gaming earbuds!

I wear glasses, so standard gaming headphones hurt after awhile. Ive tried bluetooth earbuds but they have a delay, these have the dongle and work great

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.

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).

I had a hard time with these! Not because it sounded bad or anything like that… long story short I guess I’m looking forward to the second or third generation of these. I was disappointed in some things, yet impressed and happy at the same time while still wishing for more! If that makes any sense. It was almost there I guess. First and foremost, the sound was great for its size, especially in 2.4 Ghz mode. During Call of Duty Black Ops 6, great, during Fortnite and . It sounds fantastic minus ANC. ANC isn’t bad, just not as good as you may be expecting. The bass is good enough, but I wish it hit a little harder. The positional audio is surprisingly good, but I wish it had a little more accuracy. The battery life was decent as well. The case was kind of cheap feeling as well as the button on the headset itself. The 2.4 Ghz USB dongle has a pairing button that’s in the way of pushing the dongle in a device! For example when I tried to put it in my PS5, it pressed the pairing button. It shouldn’t be an issue since you have to hold it for 3 seconds, but at the same time, I’d hate for it to enter pairing mode on accident. I’d recommend in the next iteration they move it to another location. Speaking of the dongle, there’s a tiny switch button on it that allows the switch to PC or Xbox. If you don’t notice this, then plugging it into you Tablet, Phone, PC or PS5 it’ll not be recognized. I struggled with this and thought it only worked over BT on the other systems and USB over Xbox. After reading the manual online I still couldn’t figure out why it kept saying it works on PS5, PC, Android, iOS, etc., over USB. I eventually noticed the tiny little switch on the dongle and it all became clear. All that said, it’s super easy to just quickly hook it up to a PC, Tablet, etc. with the USB-C dongle vs, pairing over BT, waiting, then repeating it on another device, and so on! It is basically like the old 3.5mm headphone jack. Plug the sucker in and you’re off to the races! LOVE this, absolutely LOVE this! On PS5, it has great audio and positioning. 3D audio seems to be working, but I can’t say if it’s Tempest Audio or not. There’s a lot of EQ presets and I honestly think it’s overkill. I ended up settling with the COD preset and sounds fine. I also use Bass Boost and Music presets. On Xbox Series X it sounds great too, and I have no complaints. The only thing I hate about using it on my Xbox is the USB C Dongle adapter. I think instead of a 10 inch wired adapter, they should have just given their customers a small dongle that’s just a USB A to USB-C adapter. You can get one yourself, mine worked just fine, but it still kind of a bummer. Lastly I want to talk about the bluetooth switcher. It’s honestly super convenient. It’s nice to be able to quickly swap it to my phone to my console. I love the size of this and how it’s easy to bring over to a buddies house and play some games and still have transparency mode on and hear them rather than an over the ear headset. I love these overall and highly recommend them. However I really do think with some iterations and improvements these can become significantly better!

I was excited to try these new Steelseries Artic wireless buds. The only gaming buds I currently use are wired. However, several minor issues quickly tempered my excitement. The Steelseries buds ship with a charging case, USB C dongle, and USB A conversion cable for devices without a USB C port. The case charges the buds and stores the USB receiver when not in use. Battery strength for the buds and case can be monitored in the Arctic companion app. At the time of writing this review, the QR code printed on the box is supposed to open a link to the Arctic companion app. However, it instead leads to a 500 internal server error. The QR code printed on the band around the case works fine and leads to the Steelseries Arctic companion app download. I installed the app and the buds were immediately detected in app, allowing me to manage settings and sound profiles. However, an annoying issue I keep encountering with the app is that the buds keep randomly powering off and disconnecting from my phone while I’m managing settings. They do not disconnect when gaming, only when in the app. I checked and verified the power saving auto power off is set to 30 minutes. But they power off after only a few minutes of inactivity. The buds also won’t play streaming audio from the phone despite being connected via Bluetooth. I fiddled with the settings for a while before abandoning the idea of phone use. I primarily ordered these for console use anyhow. It just seems odd that these buds have a smartphone companion app, yet don’t work with my smartphone. The buds connect to gaming devices via USB dongle or Bluetooth. I have to go into the app to manually switch between Bluetooth to 2.4Ghz mode. It does not switch dynamically when alternating between the receiver and Bluetooth. The dongle is USB C with a USB A converter cable included. There is a switch on the dongle to select PC or Series X compatibility. Another odd issue I’m experiencing is that the buds stay connected to devices even when stored inside the case. Oddly, I can’t detect or manage the buds with the Arctic app while they’re inside the case, but my laptop stays connected to them and sends all audio to them inside the case. Sound quality is acceptably good, although these buds are no match for a decent quality full-sized headset. However, they excel at portability and they sound good enough for occasional use. Primary and foreground sounds are clear and easily decipherable. Background sounds are well executed most times, but frequently sound too quiet or muffled. It has good sound effects isolation and positioning, but again not great. Sound reproduction is true and generated sounds are realistic and lifelike at times. Music sounds okay, but somewhat flat and lacks any oomph. The biggest issue with these buds is low volume. Even with volume maxed out, these buds sound much quieter than my headsets or even my music focused buds. The mic is okay. I haven’t used it a lot because I prefer the boom mic of a regular headset. It does reproduce my voice faithfully and I haven’t received any complaints from the remote gamers I chat with. The Arctic app contains dozens of presets for popular games. Most of the games I currently play are in there but a few aren’t. The presets are helpful for emphasizing the main sounds of certain games. There is also a customizable graphic equalizer for creating personalized presets. unfortunately, the only way to currently use it is to create an EQ preset in the SteelSeries GG desktop app and import it into the Arctic app. ANC is somewhat weak. There is a barely noticeable difference in moderate or loud background noise when toggled on or off. I’ve tried experimenting with different tips trying to get a tighter seal, but had no luck getting ANC to perform better. Overall, the biggest advantage of these buds is portability. I also like that they work well with the notoriously finicky Series X. However, the frequent random disconnects, failure to work with my phone, less than stellar sound quality, and weak ANC will likely keep these buds sidelined for now. I’ll try again after a few firmware updates which hopefully will address some of these issues.

Best earbuds for gaming noise canceling is so good. I give it a 10

I tried two of these headphones, the Xbox version and the blue box version for PlayStation and PC. If you listen to loud music and activate active noise cancellation, you will hear clicks, crackles, and distortion in the music. Hundreds of people already have this, and it will be more noticeable if you activate the bass a little deeper or for music that has bass. I recommend returning them and looking for another brand that knows how to do things.