Customer Ratings & Reviews

Took a little troubleshooting to get everything working with the PC, but headphones are pretty comfortable and seem to do a good job with all the many different EQ options that are available in the app. They have active noise cancellation, but even without the ANC on they block most of the ambient noise around you. They also have a transparency mode if you need to be aware of what's happening around you which is pretty neat. Quality headphones so far.

Here's the bottom line with these gamebuds, if you game while you're traveling or you mostly play solo then these are pretty good. But they are NOT a "main" headset that I would use daily especially while gaming with friends. The biggest problem with these gamebuds are the mic, they're practically unusable. The other issue is the design and ergonomics which I'll go into more below. My main headset is the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless which are excellent, but I get tired of wearing them because they're so heavy and they make me look like I'm about to taxi a plane, so I wanted something small, lightweight, and demure if you will. I tested them while playing on both PC and PS5 with friends and on the first day I became the butt of many jokes by my friends because of the mic quality. The feedback that I got from others was that they either couldn't hear me because I sounded so quiet compared to everyone else (even with my mic volume at max), or the mic kept cutting in and out constantly. When I finally switched back to my Nova Pro Wireless headset my friends let out an audible sigh of relief in unison, thats how bad these gamebuds are apparently. Aside from the mic quality, the sound quality is actually decent. I do agree with other reviewers that the bass is actually not bad with these and I would go as far as to say that I would recommend them if all you do is play solo. I had zero issues with connectivity for either bluetooth or 2.4 and it worked perfectly fine for both PC and PS5. Now on to the design of these gamebuds as I mentioned at the start - it's terrible. The biggest problem is these gamebuds either fit really well for you or they're a constant pain that you have to keep adjusting. It was the latter for me, and for some context I have AirPods Pro which fit me perfectly. In addition to the fitment issues when you adjust the earbuds you will 100% accidentally touch the very large side buttons which are pre-programmed to switch you from 2.4 to bluetooth or change your ANC setting (depending on which earbud you touch). Every...single...time that I adjusted the earbuds (which seemed like every few minutes) I would end up touching the buttons, it's infuriating. But wait, theres more - because theres only one button on each earbud in order to do simple things like mute your mic you have to hold the button for a "short time" (Steelseries actual language). The problem with that is if you hold the button for too short of a time it registers as a tap and switches you to a different connection mode, if you hold it for too long then it increases the volume. Basically muting yourself becomes a side quest in and of itself. To wrap things up here - the only reason I would keep these is if I was traveling and playing solo which is not something I do often, so unfortunately these are going back to Best Buy.

They are amazing! It does the job i can use it for my pc and xbox. And i can take calls so quick when its linked to my phone. Battery life is great, sound quality is beautiful. With plenty of settings for differnent volume presets. Also has very great comfort with different ear pieces!

SteelSeries is premium. These hold a charge longer then … well longer than I would expect. They’re great. Many software presets available to make tuning these easy but if you can set the EQ just right, to your own sound preference, you won’t be disappointed. Great bass, mids, even with the ANC (active noise canceling off) are impressive. I’ll be using these while on my PC but if I need to step away or take my dog for a walk I can just use the app and switch to Bluetooth and these easily convert from my gaming headset to exercise or general-use pods. They work great.

These things are awesome! A great fit in the ear, and comfortable for long wear. The sound quality is unmatched for an earbud, both directionally and treble/base performance. Battery life is fair to below average, but is to be expected given they are ear buds, and the case has plenty of extra juice. Very happy with these!

From a usability standpoint, these are by far my favorite earbuds for gaming. Love the ability to use the USB dongle on my handheld and Bluetooth to my phone. One button to switch back and forth. Plus I think good sound and great ANC. Have also used Apple Air pods and ROG earbuds... as well as some cheap brands. However, from a reliability/durability standpoint they get a big, meh. I have had to return two units so far (got my first pair in Oct 2024, this review is Nov 2025) from sound not working to the constant high pitch buzz. But while the return process is cumbersome, SteelSeries replaced them both free of change. So overall giving these 4 ****

They are great at what they do. I have the Steelseries Arctis Pro Wireless headset and they are pretty similar, but in earbud form. They connect with 2.4 wireless and bluetooth, but you can't listen to audio from both simultaneously, unlike the full size headsets. You can swap between 2.4 and bluetooth with a button, and I think it can automatically change to bluetooth if you get a call, which is nice. The ANC is not as good as something from Bose or Sony but it is better than nothing. It is great that you can use them as gaming buds or just regular bluetooth earbuds.

I am a steelseries stan. I have converted 5 people to their products already. All over the ear headphones. I got these as soon as i could. The quality is great. The bass is there. Million of presets for games in the app. I have found the dongle doesnt work with my work chromebook though, which is sad because i need it to work there so i can bluetooth to my phone still. The dongle works with my home comouter just fine. My friends are all about to get a pair of these as well. Oh and the other thing i dont like is you have to use the computer to create presets THEN move them over from the computer to your phone. Thats too much work. I should be able to create EQ mixes from my phone as well.

Sound is great, and the connectivity between devices is amazing and the battery life is UNREAL

I have not done a lot of tech reviews so just want to say that up front. I am a fan of SteelSeries and their products and wanted a set of wireless buds so decided to finally get the Gamer Buds. First thing I will say: update the firmware. It was a night and day difference on sound. I have not had the issue with fit that seems to be a common complaint so I on the regular use them for 5-6 hours at a time for gaming. Sound is great and has that sour round feel. Options in the Arctis app for changing presets have been very helpful for finding the best sound for different types of games. I have especially liked them for Marvel Rivals and Monster Hunter. I would say the biggest negative is for changing the sound level itself you have to hold down the bud and and wait, which can be frustrating if you don’t do it correctly and turn off noise cancelling or such. The app allows you to change it directly but sometimes annoying to have to open the app to do this

These SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds are a great option for gamers who want wireless freedom without sacrificing performance. What really sets this version apart is the native Xbox compatibility—it’s super convenient to switch between Xbox and other devices using the toggle on the dongle. The audio is crisp with decent bass, and the noise cancellation helps keep the focus on gameplay. They fit well and are comfortable even during longer gaming sessions. I also like the case—it’s compact and cleverly designed to store the dongle, which makes it great for travel. One small downside is that the mic quality is just average, especially compared to full-size headsets. But if you're prioritizing portability and multi-platform support, this set delivers where it matters most.

Great sound and mic quality, especially for wireless ear buds. No connectivity issues while playing. Noise cancellation eliminates all distractions. Will always recommend.

The sound coming out of these things is insane. Insane is an understatement, I truly had no idea what to expect with “gaming buds”, but man. These things pack an absolute punch. The only, and I mean only downside is the mic quality. Everything else is great, but my friends complain about how flat I sound, and that’s even if the buds pick up every word that I’m saying. If the mic were even a little better on these, I’d give em a 5, but it is a bit annoying trying to communicate with a party full of my friends and not feel annoyed/annoying.

Great ear buds. They're loud and clear. Eat tips are nice, soft and cozy for long term use. Quick switch isn't the easiest but it does work. Only problem I had, is it kept randomly dropping connection, but I'll look into it and get it fixed. App has over 200+ preset eqs for every game you can think of (however that might be the reason for the disconnect.) Would absolutely recommend. I used mine with the ps5

We bought the SteelSeries-Arctis gaming earbuds for Xbox, we had no problem pairing them with the Xbox, noise canceling is great, audio in game play is awesome, fits comfortably in the ears, nice to wear these instead of wearing the headset all the time, would recommend purchasing

Love the sound fits great in the ear. Also the program you can download from the company is super friendly and useful

Ok lets be real here, i was a 15 minutes to take they back to best buy because the anc is broken and the volumen is low , i go to sonar edit the presets , disabled volumen limit and they now sound extreme loud and clear but in Xbox, pc and the phone , the ps5 have a great volumen problem.. In PS5 the volumen is to low that i cant hear nothing around me but this is a software problem im waiting to steelserie to fix this soon and the anc distortion problem soon or i going to take this back and really dont want

Great quality and comfortable to wear. Got these because I hated the headset hair and sure enough this was a great solution.

I wear ear buds all day and wanted to switch to buds for gaming. These have great sound and are pretty comofortable but the button duntions arent the best and the mute takes 4 seconds to turn on and off. Also the tone for mute and inmite arent very easy to figure iut which is which. I do recommend them.

Comfy , noise canceling is good and the transparency is really good! Easy app UI