Customer Ratings & Reviews

I’ve been using the steel series Arctis true wireless buds for about a week now and while I mostly enjoy using them, they fall a little short when it comes to some things. I love the design of these, the case is clean, charges via usb c or wireless with a qi charger. Super convenient, especially if you already own a wireless charging pad or usb c cables. I love the white / clean aesthetic of these buds and charging case. It’s a nice change from the usual copy and paste design of many headphones out there. The box includes a usb c dongle, an adapter for usb A, a cable to charge the buds and two extra pairs of rubber tips if you’d like to change the size. I opted to use the large tips as I feel they sit more comfortably in my ears and create a better seal. Sound quality is pretty good, I was expecting a little more bass out of these since they have noise cancellation. But I suppose the size of these drivers have limitations. You can download an app to customize the EQ and try a plethora of presets. As far as sound quality goes, I would say these have nice mids, treble. The bass isn’t very pronounced but you can hear it in explosions and gun fire. Although i dug through the menu of my ps5, I couldn’t get these to get very loud. Even at about 85/90% volume over PS5, the volume isn’t very loud. At least, not compared to other headphones at the same volume level. Not sure if it’s a driver limitation or a hearing protection feature built into these earbuds. Either way, they are loud enough for most games. My biggest and only complaint with these earbuds is that my friends said they could not hear me too well in game chat with these. They all said I sounded low and muffled. Sooo, I haven’t used them to chat with my friends online much since then. I just use them while playing singer player games or by myself. I like that they are compatible with my ps5 and Nintendo switch. You can even pair them over Bluetooth, but I use the included dongle for a better connection for gaming. Battery life is excellent, and I love the case these come in. All in all, I really like these earbuds. I typically wear these kind of earbuds when listening to music and watching media on my phone and laptop. So it’s a welcome change in design for gaming headphones. I just wish the microphones were better on these. And because of that.. it’s hard to recommend these to anyone who wants to use these to game and chat online. While they sound pretty good, they are not great for voice chatting. Perhaps with a firmware update somehow they can mitigate the issue. Would I recommend these? Yes and no.. If you mostly game by yourself or online but without chat.. these are good. Especially if you prefer buds over a headset. If you want a headset to chat with friends in game, I would say avoid these. You’ll feel like your screaming while talking and your friends will complaining about not being able to hear you still.

I've had the Razer Hyperspeed earbuds for Xbox since they were released so in part this is a head to head review between the two. I work 10 hour shifts with a headset for my job and I have a fairly reactive dog that barks at a lot of noises or things. When I'm relaxing in the evening I just prefer to have headphones for games or TV so the sounds don't trigger her or if she sees something on the TV or outside her barking isn't interrupting what I'm doing. She's a grouchy pomeranian and she only stops barking when she wants. Since I wear a headset all day for work I wanted earbuds to give my head some relief from over the ear headsets I need for calls. Audio quality for both the Razer and the Steelseries earbuds are decent. I'd probably give Steelseries the slight advantage. I was easily able to hear footsteps and determine their direction in Call of Duty. When watching shows and movies I can hear dialogue perfectly and I've never experienced a sound imbalance keeping me from hearing something I should. Steelseries definitely has the better battery life. From the get go with the Razer earbuds I felt like I only had 3-5 hours of use and it was super irritating. Steelseries can go 10+ hours, granted I'm not using ANC. Comfort, I'd say Razer has a slight edge on comfort. Only because I ran into some ear pain after multiple days of extended use on my right ear. This was solved by using the larger silicone earbud tip for my right ear. I feel like I can't really fault the earbud for this because I've always felt my right ear shape was a little wonky. However I've never really experienced an earbud give me as much trouble as the Steelseries did on my right ear. Again, fixed by using a larger earbud tip. Ease of use Steelseries wins big here. The main reason being the physical buttons on the earbuds and the audio queues when you adjust something. I had such a big issue with the Razer earbuds lowering or increasing the volume. You have to double tap and hold to increase or decrease. The Razer earbuds have no haptic feedback or audio tone to tell what you're doing. Steelseries has largely the same shortcuts but you have physical buttons and audible tones when decreasing or increasing the sound. Overall the Steelseries are a way better earbud option for Xbox. Only issue I've noticed is a buzzing when ANC is activated but I think i read that this is due to audio processing settings on the Xbox and if you turn that off it should resolve the issue. Haven't cared to investigate further since I just prefer without ANC for more battery life.

After reading so many disappointing reviews about the pulse explore gaming earbuds and needing to buy an extra piece to avoid disconnections I found out about these guys. I wanted gaming earbuds purely because my ears get hot and I hate wearing this big headset and these absolutely do the job! Super comfy especially with different sized ear pieces, super long battery life, and excellent sound! The steel series app works so well to fine tune your sound and has pre made settings for many games. My only gripe is they are loud but not like LOUD but honestly it’s such a minor difference. I definitely won’t be going back to a full headset anytime soon.

These earbuds are quite versatile, you can use them to play games and listen to music as they can connect through Bluetooth and wireless radio. They’re pretty compact and portable enough. Though the case is not as compact as typical earbuds case because it also contains a wireless radio mini dongle, I have no problem carrying the case in my pocket. I like the design of the case since it allows me to carry both the dongle and earbuds in one case, which could be important if you’re mobile and would like to use them to play Nintendo Switch. I use them for playing Helldivers 2 on PC and overall audio quality is good. Due to the design of the earbuds, audio input (microphone) quality is only acceptable. My teammates can still hear my voice and understand what I say, however, they notice significant difference had I been using a boom style mic headset. So, these earbuds are not the best for multiplayer games especially in games where intense communication with other players would be required. In terms of comfort, earbuds can be much more comfortable than boom style headset. These earbuds are light, and they fit nicely to my ears. The earbuds also sport active noise cancellation, which works quite well. There’s also transparency mode, which works okay but nothing stellar. The earbuds are also good for playing Xbox and since most Xbox games are single player, these earbuds are great for them. The dongle is USB-C so you would need to use the included converter in order to connect it to the front USB port on your Xbox. The dongle also works for PS 5 and Nintendo Switch, it’s great that the earbuds are so versatile to connect to different platforms. There’s an app that you can download to your phone and load more than 100 audio presets including Helldivers 2, Fortnite and Roblox. Like: Comfortable to use Versatility, connect to multiple platforms Easy to store case for both the dongle and earbuds Good overall audio performance Apps and so many presets Don’t like: Mic audio quality is average for earbuds, not on par with boom style microphone

Travel a lot for work and needed a new headset for Warzone and hearing footsteps. Comparing to Astro A40TR Pros, Astro A50s and Steel Series Arctis Nova Pros. Best to Worst 1. Steel Series Gamebuds 2. Steel Series Arctis Nova Pro 3. Astro A40 TR Pro 4. Astro A50 Pros: With custom EQ that I use, these by far have the best footstep hearing capability. Comfortable in ears. Music and video playback is better than my Sony wf-1000xm4. Playback time and compactness. Cons: The volume is lacking. In order to hear footsteps, I had to remove the Audio Limiter and max out volume on pc and earbuds. With the largest ear silicones on, they are still not snug feeling and would fall out if you tried to use them for say, running. If you are concerned about noise cancelling, these are garbage compared to my sony earbuds but they sound better and fit in ear better. Custom EQs: You can use your companion app or the steel series gg. At this time I still cannot save a custom eq to the earbuds/software is dumb. If you are using the steel series sonar on your pc, then you are good to go. Per friends in Discord, they mic quality is poor byt they can still hear me fine. Primary Use: PC and Phone Would I recommened? If you are looking for quality sound and hearing footsteps, 100%.

Overall, when opening the packaging the case and buds seem very premium. The case is a nice size that boasts a magnetic close that works well. The wireless charging for the case also works great. The headphones themselves sound great and fit in my ear really well. They buds come with three different tip sizes to help accommodate if needed. The noise cancellation worked well. The headphones were also able to easily pair with my phone. This allowed me to use a EA that best suited my taste. There are tons of different EQ you can use, so being able to adjust your music should come easily. The headphones also boast sensors that allow the buds to stop or play music depending on if they are in your ear or not. These sensors worked great when I took the headphones in and out of my ear. When doing general yardwork around the house, the sensors kept going off even though the earbuds were still in my ear. Not sure if these sensors are just too sensitive or what, but every so often the music would just randomly stop. It was random, but it seems like if the buds would shift in the ear at all, it would assume for a second that you took the buds out only to start the music back up a couple seconds later. This did happen to me in two separate pairs, so ultimately I ended up returning them as I could not take the random pauses.

I'll start this by saying that these are a great purchase if you are a My Best Buy Total member. The battery life is great as each ear bud gets 8-10 hours per charge and witha fully charged case you can get close to 40 hours. They charge quickly, too. They come with a low-profile 2.4 GHz USB-C dongle which gives you lag-free gaming audio by not using bluetooth connection. They fit comfortably like they should since they're ergonomically designed and have 3 different ear-tip choices. They include the option for ANC and Transparency mode. Some things that could be better to get 5 stars is the microphone quality - it's certainly not the best. The ANC doesn't work as well as other ear buds out there. You can't connect to 2.4 and Bluetooth simultaneously, so no dual audio. The reason I said it's a great purchase if you're a My Best Buy Total Member is because I'm on my third set in less than a year. They get replaced for free every time, but it's still a pain. The little speaker cover under the removable ear-tips is just barely glued on and starts to slip and slide after a few months depending on how much you use them. Once that come's off the sound is going to be atrocious. Overall, I'd recommend them, but there's also other options out there that may be better. I still need to try a few others out myself.

Honestly some of the most comfortable earbuds I’ve used, plus the sound is pretty great, too. Super convenient having wireless QI charging and the dongle being stored in the earbud case. Big gripe is needing a SECOND dongle to use with the Xbox, but that’s both a limitation in how the Xbox handles USB audio as well as Microsoft not including a USB-C in the console. Can’t fault SteelSeries for limitations Microsoft has imposed with their design and manufacturing. The app and Bluetooth work amazingly, I’m able to use it both for music as well as Discord on my phone. Biggest issue with the earbuds is that they can’t use Bluetooth AND 2.4GHz simultaneously like other SteelSeries headsets can do. This is especially frustrating as the earbuds DO connect to my iPhone’s Bluetooth when when playing console audio, evidenced by the phone showing Bluetooth connection before swapping modes, but still being unable to use both modes together.

These gaming buds are excellent. Occasionally one side will lose connection for a few seconds, but they automatically reconnect quickly without me having to do anything. I’m very happy with them overall. Traditional over-ear gaming headsets tend to give me headaches, and these completely solved that problem while still delivering great sound for gaming. I also use them with my iPad for watching movies, and they work great there too. Perfect for both gaming and streaming. Highly recommend.

My "Call of Duty" game has been stepped up so much because of these earbuds.( I still suck pretty bad, but not nearly as much.) I can hear the enemy coming up from behind me of even above my on the next floor. It's almost like cheating. It's not cheating, but I'm really feeling like I have a better edge on my opponents. So, let me tell you how I really feel. Lol! Out of the box, you get a fully charged pair of bluetooth earbuds( At least I did.), a small type C to type C cable & there's an adapter for it underneath that box for updates(we'll talk about that in a bit.) The buds come in a wirelessly chargeable case that also houses the dongle you'll be able to use for connecting to your PS5, Nintendo Switch, or VR headset. You cannn also use it on your PC(if your PC doesn't have bluetooth capabilities ). But as I am fortunate enough to not need it, it stays snugged in the case whi;e I game or talk on my phone. Yes. These do connect to your smartphones and tthey sound great. You've got 4 sets of ear gummies to make sure that you have the best fit for sound and Noise canceling comfort. They are dust and water resistant and have a 10 hour charge and 3 more full charges in the case. This means that I could go for two hours of cardio and still go home a endure another 8 hours of gaming. This is a serious no brainer. There is an app that ypu should definitely install for firmware updates and preset options. ( I had a problem with the update, but the tech team at Steelseries helped me out in spades. I was up and running in no time. These are just awesome. Get'em.

I just received the headphones and they sound great, the quality of the build and he ease at conencting them to my video and audio source is very easy. The app is simple and easy to use. SOUND The sound quality is good, it is crisp and clean sounding, no static or distortion at louder volumes. The music playback is nice, using my phone i paired the device using the bluetooth and the connection was stable. The bass is a little lacking but that is not their primary intention. The game playback sound is very good, it has many pre-sets for many games at your fingertips. There is a downside, in order to create a custom equalizer preset you need to use different software, not the easiest straightforward process. ANC The noise cancelling feature is not the greatest, i can barely tell the difference when it is on so it is not a huge selling point. The proper fit of the earbud tips and the crisp sound provide a secure seal and do a lot to block out the noise regardless of the ANC. GAMING The 2.4ghz connection to the xbox series X is very stable using the supplied dongle. It is pretty much plug and play. There was no distortion or signal loss. The use of the pre-set equalizer setting sis nice oif you happen to have the game. The case does have a storage space for the dongle which make it very convenient to carry around and keeps you from misplacing it. PROS CRISP CLEAN SOUND EASE OF CONNECTION SECURE FIT IN YOUR EAR EASE OF USE OF THE APP PRESET GAME EQUALIZER SETTINGS CONS NOISE CANCELLING IS NOT GREAT CAN NOT CREATE CUSTOM EQUALIZER PRESET WITHOUT ADDED SOFTWARE

Used on Xbox Series X TL;DR - Great earbuds for gaming and they are much better than what Razer offers. Remember these are wireless and in ear, do don't expect over the ear sound. Great battery life as well. You do need a PC to update the firmware, they have to be physically plugged in. I expect most negative reviews are coming from people that expect over the ear headphone sound out of these. They have great sound for gaming when considering they are earbuds, and are much better than what Razer offers. They are very comfortable. I have used them for 3-4 hours at a time on multiple occasions with no issues. These are great for those that wear glasses as well. I usually play with one ear cup off my ear so I can hear what is going on in the house, these allow me to wear only one at a time with better comfort. When asked, all my party said the microphone sounds great with no issues. It did pick up some background noise when the house is full of people but no more than my Razer Blackshark. I have not charged the case, except for the time it was plugged in the PC for the update, since I have purchased them. I have played a total of 20+ hours with that charge. I cannot speak to the noise canceling feature as I have not used it. The touch controls are a little wonky. You have to actually press a physical button, they are not "tap" like Airpods or other earbuds might be. Overall, when considering they are not standard over the ear headphones, these are great for those that want an earbud form factor. I would buy these again and recommend them to anyone looking for earbuds.

I’ve been looking for a great pair of gaming buds that offered Bluetooth and a 2.4 dongle and I always preferred Steelseries in the gaming headset department, but they never made a pair of buds until now. I didn’t really like the offerings from Inzone, Razer and others so this was on my radar when they released. The sound quality, connectivity, fit and sonar eq software for pc make this my top choice. The volume can be a little low for some but the master volume can be tweaked in the sonar software to push these a bit further. Whether it be for music, movies, and games for essentially all gaming platforms and mobile devices I think people will find these as their top choice for gaming buds.

The SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds have really nice build quality for 'Buds'. Its case is bigger than most pods you'd get, but for good reason as it has with it a wireless receiver for using with your Xbox/PC. The case, like other pods also doubles as a charging station for your buds. Inside the case you'll get an extra two pairs of ear cushions so you can find the size that fits you best. Fortunately for me the ones that came on it fit best so I didn't have to deal with swapping them out, but they are there in case you have to. The buds themselves are pretty solidly built. They have a little more weight to them than other buds that I have used, but nothing annoying. The SteelSeries icon you see on the outside is actually a physical button (not to be confused with a touch interface) that allows you to easily control your earbuds. That said, you have to 'click' these earbuds, not tap or touch as the instructions would have you believe. These are physical buttons. I didn't have a problem with them, but if you're eating chips/cheetos and touching these, I could see food particles or dirt getting trapped in the seam potentially causing issues. In actual use these things become hit or miss. Using on the console or PC I have no real issues. You use the included Wifi adapter for them and you're good to go. Its when you attempt to use their mobile app that it becomes a problem. For the life of me I could not get the Arctis app to connect to these Gamebuds. They would connect to my phone just fine, and all the touch controls worked as they should, but the app itself never would. So if there are any features of the App that would allow me to change sound profiles or anything, I wouldn't know. Sound quality of the Buds was decent. It wasn't anything revolutionary, it wasn't competing with my other high end buds, but it wasn't bad either. They work in strictly stereo mode with no emulated surround configuration that I found. But thats not bad, these are simple buds. The battery life is pretty good. I have used them from a full charge for over 10 hours and the case is still charging them. Because I don't have access through the app I can't tell the charge level of the case, but its still going. The buds never died on me in a gaming session either, with the longest gaming session I've done being 3 hours. Overall decent buds whose quality comes from being able to be shared between devices easily via the Wifi adapter. I wish the software worked better on the mobile side, but thankfully its not required.

The SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds are comfortable and provide excellent sound quality. They are ideal for both music listening and gaming, remaining comfortable even after several hours of use. The gamebuds come with different ear pieces that will fit into a bigger or smaller ear depending on what you need. The buttons on the buds require a firmer press than similar products, which is a benefit since it minimizes the chances of accidentally pressing them when leaning against a chair or having hair come in contact with them. You can adjust the equalizer settings through a mobile app, but the only available options are preset configurations for different games. For more precise equalizer tuning, you’ll need to use the computer app. The buds come with a microphone, which is not optimal for gaming with friends, as the mic is too quiet even at maximum volume; however, it works well for phone calls. The case is quite bulky, making it less convenient to carry in your pocket. I personally prefer to store them in my gym bag when I work out. The bulkiness is due to the included 2.4 USB-C dongle, which connects to your console and ensures accurate game sound without delay. When worn, the buds fit securely in your ears, so you won't have to worry about them falling out. Overall, the Arctis Gamebuds provide a great user experience. The main drawbacks are the limitation of the custom equalizer settings being only accessible through the computer app, and the button mappings on the buds can be somewhat difficult to remember.

These earbuds are pretty cool. They not only serve a purpose for gaming but also serve a purpose for general use on my phone. I use these to play BO6 on my PS5 through 2.4 mode with the include USB C receiver and listen to music or watch something on my phone through Bluetooth mode which is toggled with 3 presses of either bud. That capability for me divides these into gaming/general use category for headphones. Gaming: They aren't the best for gaming but if I didn't have my main headphones with me while traveling and wanted to game on a gaming laptop, they would be good enough. Let me explain. I mainly noticed that this pair of headphones wouldn't get loud enough for me. There is a setting on the app that makes you choose if you're in the EU or not because of some laws they have limiting the volume output on your earbuds or headphones. You can also toggle this in the app through the volume limiter. I personally could not hear a difference when this was toggled and when it wasn't except at the highest volume. When compared to my main headset, 100 while gaming on these Arctics is like 75 on my Razer Blackshark which was actually nice for a bit but still didn't have nearly the same impact. What is nice about these earbuds is you're able to choose your sound profile from a large set of games. I didn't see BO6 on there so I'm hoping these improve when there is a preset available. I will say though that you can create your own preset and customize it but you're not able to do this through the app itself. You have to download Steelseries GG separately on your computer and then import it onto the app. With a customized preset, I was able to game more comfortably knowing I was getting just the right audio output I wanted. General Use: Just like for gaming, these won't be the best for watching movies or listening to music but they are good enough in my opinion to carry around with me as a travel option backup. They won't take away my main set I use for music and movies while traveling but they're a good back up. The noise cancellation is good but sound does bleed in a little. I could faintly hear the clicks on my keyboard while writing this and listening to music with ANC on. I do like the transparency mode which is a more common feature these days allowing you to hear your surroundings so they're great for a work environment. Overall, I really like these earbuds. They'll be in my bag as that second option for general use and stay in my bag for when I game on laptop. However, I don't see myself using these for my daily gaming use set up at home. I did get ear fatigue after about an 1 hour and resorted back to my headset. The microphone for chat is decent but nearly not the same as from a headset with an extending mic so I muted myself after about 30 minutes since it was also catching some music that my wife was playing at the desk right next to me. I am now using these more often at work to use the transparency mode and I will say it makes work more enjoyable.

This is a great all around product. It has excellent battery life (I get 12 hours no BT or ANC), pretty good sound quality, good range, physical buttons instead of touch buttons on the buds, and for ear buds the mic is solid enough. These fit great and have minimal movement unlike my Asus pair. The ANC is below average and there are to many ways to apply equalizer on these ear buds, make sure you only do it in one place be it one of the two places in software or in windows. This is the only earbuds I would recommend of the three I own the other two being the Sony INZONE Buds and the Asus ROG Cetra True Wireless SpeedNova.

When it comes to multiplayer video games, I consider gaming headsets a must. My preference has always been a full size around-the-ear headset with a dedicated microphone, but I decided to try my hands at the SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds for PC and other platforms such as the PS5, PS4 and the Switch. They look great in white and pair nicely to my PS5. They connect either via Bluetooth or the included 2.4GHz wireless dongle. My big disappointment has been the impossibility to establish a reliable Bluetooth connection with either of my two phones through the app. The one time I was successful in establishing a Bluetooth connection, the app said to update the Gamebuds but it was an exercise in frustration that failed at every turn. For my PS5 and my gaming laptop, I connected with the provided 2.4GHz dongle. The connection was great and reliable with no noticeable lags. Playing Call of Duty on my PS5 was enjoyable. The sound was clear and well balanced. The microphone performed well according to my friends playing with me, but not as clear as it’s been with my dedicated gaming headsets. Because of their small size and lightweight, the Arctis Gamebuds can be worn comfortably for long periods of time and the battery lasts for hours. The controls for volume, microphone or sound modes are easy to master by tapping either the left or right earbud in different combinations and they are very responsive. The noise cancellation mode is great for those small earbuds, but not as effective as my dedicated headsets. To conclude, the Arctis Gamebuds look great on paper for they’re multi platform compatibility, good sound and long battery. However, in my case, they came up short with the Bluetooth connectivity issues that I was not able to resolve. Overall, they’re a good concept but not yet ready to supplant the traditional dedicated gaming headsets in my opinion.

Ive used these earbuds for my phone, computer, and console gaming and it has exceeded my expectations in many categories. For starters, you are able to have it connected to multiple dev I ces at a time. I have the dongle connected to my switch dock and am able to have the earbuds connected to my phone so i can call or listen to music at the same time. The battery life is also a huge perk as it was able to last almost all day without dying. The earbuds also feel high quality and if you download the app or intstall the aplication on a computer you can customize the audio to fit your needs as well as select from different preset audio settings reccomened for specific games.

The only headphone I’ve bought that stays in my ear no matter what. Outside of over the ear headphones you won’t get better noise cancelling. It’s so much that I recommend if you use them as running headphones or outdoor that you leave one out so you can hear traffic. It has a good connection to both my Xbox and my PC and with the use of the free app, the design of your sound preferences is seamless. My preferred gaming headphone was discontinued when I tried to update so I got this and it’s a substantial improvement.