Customer Ratings & Reviews

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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).

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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

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 :)

The Steel Series Arctis Gamebuds are some of the best earbuds I have and the only ones designed for gaming on the PlayStation, PC’s and Nintendo Switch. First of all these earbuds are very comfortable. They fit perfect in my ears like they were made with a mold of my ears. I like that you can easily switch between Bluetooth and 2.4ghz mode in the app but it seems like it would be possible for them to do it seamlessly. I think some of my gaming headphones do that. However, I am still happy they have the dual mode regardless. When it comes to sound quality in games listening to music or even phone calls they are really good. The have pretty good low end bass for earbuds but they will break up a little if you feed to much bass with thy volume way up. They have three modes anc, transparent mode and everything off. The transparent mode sounds like you are talking to someone as usual with maybe a little less volume but it works pretty good. I don't feel like the mic applies the sound very much when compared to other earbuds I have but the sound is very clean. I do notice a pretty significant difference between anc and non anc though. I really enjoy these earbuds for all of the use cases they serve. They are very nice to have for times when you do not feel like wearing over the ear headphones. The definitely rank on the higher end of all of the other earbuds I have for sound quality and they are the most comfortable earbuds I have just amazing in that regard. It actually makes me want to wear them all of the time and they enable me to use them in long gaming sessions without issue. They have equalizer settings for a very large library of games as well which is really cool and something I have not seen before. It's also nice that the case has a spot for the USB-C 2.4ghz dongel for easy transport without worrying about losing it. I really enjoy using the Steel Series Arctis Gamebuds and get a little excited every time I an about to use them. They are really nice and I am glad I got them.

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

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

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.

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.