Customer Ratings & Reviews

amazing in every single way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This new SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite headset is an interesting product to review. It's feature packed, the software works well, the included dock works perfectly, the headset feels high quality, has some weight to it, is very comfortable, and the swappable batteries are a great feature. I love not having to plug this thing in overnight to recharge it. Just swap the battery out, and you always have a full battery ready to go. Overall, the user experience is pretty incredible. I'm running this headset at 24bit/96kHz on my higher end gaming PC, and it has worked flawlessly. The sound is incredible for a wireless headset. The ANC works well. I prefer to leave ANC off as my house is quiet and I don't need it, but it does work well. I have used wired headphones from BeyerDynamic and Sennheiser over the years, and while I loved them, I prefer the sound signature of these Nova Elites for gaming. I don't really have anything negative to say about them...other than the price. The price definitely puts this headset out of reach for most gamers, but I still feel compelled to recommend them if it's within your budget. The overall package, comfort, sound quality, and features make this headset a great option at the higher end, but there are other top rated wireless options at a lower price that will still make most people happy. As with most things, "value" gets a little more muddied as price increases. However, this is still the best wireless gaming headset I've ever owned.

Most comfortable headphones and the batteries are great. The sound is very good as well.

Excellent product .. well worth the buy if your a content creator or you want something really premium. This headset should last for a long time.

Great product. Exceeded our expectations. Like the updated pads.

I bought these headphones for my son, he loves them, they're the best I've found so far, highly recommended.

Best headset yet! Have had no issues with it. Well worth the money

I used the Pros for a few years now, if you have those these are a awesome upgrade and definitely worth it !

One of Best headset I owned you wount be disappointe

Love it! Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove it!

It’s amazing I love used it for everything and all

They do alot of things really well, only con is they are on the heavier side

Best wireless headset I have used to date. Would recommend to friends.

“The product quality is consistently outstanding, exceeding my expectations every time.” “I was completely

Great Headset! Really nice to have if you game on multiple Platforms!

absolutely great sound quality, cool great noise canceling perfect, for gaming

Works really well i love them have had no issues so far

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is the cherry on top of what is now (IMO) the best gaming lineup you can buy. This headset slots in at the bleeding edge of mainstream luxury gaming headsets. I’m hard pressed to think of another headset that combines this feature set into one unit. ANC, aluminum and steel build, carbon fiber drivers, Bluetooth, 4 source mixing, and more. I’ve been using the Elite with Battlefield 6 on my PC and streaming music or playing local lossless via the 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connections. This headset, more than any other, handles multipoint connections and mixing flawlessly. Off the bat, the Sage/Gold color combination is quite classy. The gold accents are not gaudy and the matte finish on the whole headset is very sharp. No cheap finishes, no corners cut, they look Elite. The stamped ear cups are rock solid and the single side arms on the headset are impressively stiff. There is a little play in the joint between the single sided fork and the ear cup itself, but I am not concerned at all with the way this thing is so thoughtfully designed and well built. The headband is wide and distributes the weight of the headset very well. They’re deceptively adjustable, and this suspension design seems to serve well across the Arctis Nova line. There was too much clamping force when put them on for the first time. Each wear since then has been more pleasant, they seem to be perhaps breaking in, the ear pads have softened up considerably. I have a giant dome, I wear 60mm eyeglasses, and this fits great after about 5 days of use. I look forward to spending some serious time between these drivers. They aren’t hot or heavy, nor do they have pressure points that cause fatigue. I’m able to wear this set for 2 straight hours and not really notice them. The sound is better than I had expected. Games, music, and movies are all wonderfully rendered. Usually gaming headsets are lackluster with music, but the carbon fiber drivers in the super-solid ear cups are tightly controlled and still dynamic. These are not critical listening, perfectly flat frequency response cans, they’re listenable and still have a personality. They can recreate thunderous sub bass of a BF 6 building falling on you while also perfectly playing the ridiculously high pitch tones in the background of Tool’s Chocolate Chip Trip instrumental. Directional sound is available on this set from the GG Sonar software or from spatial surround run through Windows. I have been using them with DTX: Headphone. Directional positioning is right on par with the best I’ve used, no complaints there. Good or bad directional sound is very game-dependent, so make sure you try a few different games and surround techs. ANC is good. It does not compare directly with other dedicated noise cancelling headphones out there, but I wouldn’t expect them to. It injects a notable white noise while running and the interior microphones will sometimes echo heartbeats back into my ears. It is, however, the best ANC on any of the high end gaming headsets I’ve tried. The isolation provided by the solid ear cups helps as well. The microphone is good. Noise rejection is adjustable in the Sonar software as well as the Arctis app, which works great with this headset. Those of us with giant heads are often outside the directional microphone’s ideal location. This causes some microphones to treat our voices like noise. The Elite manages to work for me, which is great, but the sound quality, tone and volume are all affected and it shows on the other side. Some sort of longer microphone boom or something would be cool, but I’m not sure how that would work with the inspired roll up mic stowage system. I have my PC on one port 1, which is the one that allows Sonar control, my Mac on port 2, where it is recognized as an audio device, and I have my Xbox Series X on port 3. While the Mac is able to run the GG software, I didn’t find any options for Sonar when I connected it to port 1, but it’s nice to have some access, usually Macs are left in the lurch. The transmitter remembers your settings so I can turn off the PC and use it on the Mac or Xbox without having to fuss with settings. The controls and interactions with the headset and software are well polished and responsive. The controls are simple and intuitive, especially the volume wheel peeking out of the bottom of the left ear cup. If you want to use Bluetooth, you press the bluetooth button and it turns on, otherwise, unless you specify, Bluetooth stays off if you don’t want it. It doesn’t make cheap chip beeps and bleeps when responding to controls. This one feels like someone took time to think through stuff, or it was an opportunity for the Arctis folks to put in some refinements they could not on lower end models. Whatever it was, even if pure coincidence, interacting with the Elite is a pleasure. There isn’t a better gaming headset available. Fully recommended.

At this price range, you would expect everything to be top of the line, and while this improves on virtually every metric from the Arctic Nova Pro, it still fails to outperform the audio quality of the Maxwell. The base station with rechargeable batteries is still a solid feature, and the mic/sidetone performance compared to the Maxwell is significantly better, but if you can stomach those issues, spend 300 less on a headset that sounds better.

It took me longer than usual to review this device; it just does so much. I even had to read through the manual and check a few things online to fully grasp its capabilities. Overall, this is one heck of a headset; it covers a remarkable range of use cases. It can easily be your one headphone for work, music, gaming, and streaming. The on-device controls are well thought out, and usability is top-notch. Software support is strong too, with both a mobile companion app and a PC app that work exactly as expected. If money isn’t a concern; just get this, you will not be disappointed. ________________________________________ My Setup and Use Cases I’ve been using it in two different setups: Home theater setup: connected to my PS5 and Xbox One X. It works flawlessly with both of them. Office setup: connected to both my work and personal PCs, and it performs perfectly (as expected). It also works with Android devices over USB-C. ________________________________________ Comfort It looks and feels premium. The earpads are plush and comfortable, and my ears fit nicely inside the cups even though they don’t appear very large. There’s minimal pressure, and I can comfortably wear them with glasses; a big plus for long PC gaming sessions. The smaller driver design also helps with comfort. The clamping force is lighter than the HD6XX or Ananda; which makes a world of difference, especially when wearing glasses. The HD550 is slightly more comfortable; but this one is still great for long sessions without causing fatigue. They are a bit heavy though; not ideal for walking around, but that’s not what they’re made for and I am not planning to go jogging with them. I loved the color and gold accents but will continue with the more subtle black QC45 outside. ________________________________________ Design and Usability The charging port and battery compartments are cleverly hidden under magnetic covers. Button placement is intuitive, covering most essential functions: • ANC / Transparency on the power button • Play/Pause and Next/Previous tracks over Bluetooth However, Bluetooth playback controls don’t work when connected via 2.4GHz; which I consider a small oversight. Hopefully, a firmware update can fix this. The volume wheel doubling as DAC control is an excellent touch; you can manage volume or mute directly from the headset without needing a remote or app. The inclusion of replaceable batteries is another highlight; that alone makes a huge difference for longevity; unlike my QC45, which will eventually become e-waste once the internal battery dies. The DAC also supports dual audio mixing. For example, you can stream with your mic connected to one PC while gaming on a console; and you can balance the two audio sources. You can even take a Bluetooth call while hearing your game; or set the app to mute the game when a call comes in. Very thoughtful design. ________________________________________ Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) ANC performance is solid; I’d rate it on par with the Bose QC45. When background systems like HVAC kick in, both block a similar level of noise. You can control ANC and Transparency either with the power button or through the companion app. I couldn’t test how ANC affects the microphone, though. ________________________________________ Gaming Gaming on PS5 was seamless; the headset was detected automatically and switched over without issue. Audio quality is clear and consistent even from 10+ feet away. The companion app includes plenty of game-specific presets. While there wasn’t one for Uncharted 4 (which I’m currently playing); there are several for The Last of Us series and various FPS titles; which seem to be the main focus. No issues while gaming on PC either. I mostly used the flat preset instead of Sonar, and it performed as expected. ________________________________________ Music Quality (on PC) Although music isn’t the primary use case; it’s worth mentioning how impressively this headset performs with music playback; close to my dedicated audio headphones. Honestly, it’s convenient to have one pair that handles gaming, work, and music so well. Using the GG app, I updated both the DAC and the headset firmware before listening. I’ve tested many headphones recently; HD550, HD6XX, Ananda, Sundara, K550, QC45, etc.; and this headset holds its own. For most songs, the sound quality was surprisingly close to the HD550 or Ananda. The Punchy EQ preset in the GG app made many tracks shine. Treble is bright like the HD550 yet remains clean and balanced; similar to the Sundara; a great mix of both. Instrument separation is excellent; though the soundstage isn’t as wide as the Ananda (which feels like having 6-inch speakers on your face). The HD550 can sound slightly more refined on some tracks, but the gap is smaller than I expected. While I don’t have objective measurements; my subjective experience tells me these are impressively tuned. Of course, preferences, fit, and head shape all matter; but I listened to around 50 tracks and enjoyed the sound on 90% of them. You still get sparkle in the highs, airy mids, and decent bass presence. In A/B tests, other audiophile headphones may win on specific tracks, but the difference is subtle. ________________________________________ Misses The only real downside is codec support. SteelSeries included LC3 and LC3+; but no other high-resolution Bluetooth codecs like aptX or LDAC. This means that if you’re using an older phone without LC3 support; it will fall back to basic SBC quality. My Pixel 10 Pro supports Bluetooth LE Audio; but I couldn’t confirm if the headset was actually using it since the developer option for Bluetooth codec selection was greyed out. ________________________________________ Final Thoughts This headset is an incredibly versatile all-rounder. It’s not cheap; but it delivers across every category; comfort, design, connectivity, sound quality, and longevity. If you want one premium headset that can truly, do it all; this is the one to get.