Customer Ratings & Reviews

SteelSeries really went for it at $100 to offer HiRes sound (according to them) at an affordable price point. In many ways, they did a good job, but it's not perfectly executed across the board. As a quick note - the Arctis Prime uses the same drivers as the Arctis Pro (a $170 wired headset). The Prime lacks RGB, the athletic mesh earcup fabric, and the USB DAC that has a chat/game mix. This was not sent to me for review, I purchased this (like many other headsets I test). So, with that being said… SOUND QUALITY for Music - Starting with Music, it does an admirable job but has some faults. The bass output isn't really flat, with some notes hitting harder than others. I wish it had more sub bass (below 30 Hz) but overall the headset is still incredibly clear sounding. I think Rock exposes this headset’s weakness the most where there mid-range guitars don't quite "ring" as hard as a music-focused headset. It's certainly an enjoyable headset for music, but not class leading at this price (HyperX CloudX has better music performance.) I still enjoyed listening to music on these, as the sound stage is very open and wide. SOUND QUALITY for Gaming - This is where SteelSeries focus shows. While having some issues in music performance, these things absolutely crush it with game performance. For competitive players, I haven't tested a headset that gives you more positional awareness at the $100 price point. It’s truly remarkable, even with a straight connection to a controller or PC without using something like Atmos. The game performance is phenomenal with just the right mix of bass, mids, and highs that don’t overpower each other. These have a very open sound stage, with lots of detail without being too sharp or harsh sounding (like the Arctis 7X). MIC Quality – It has a higher mic sensitivity rating than the HyperX Cloud (by only 1dB), and higher sensitivity than new Recon 500, and BlackShark V2. Overall the mic quality is above average. It has good clarity and detail, and surprisingly strong background noise rejection considering it's a passive headset. The low bass is a little lacking but for chat it's fine (Recon 500 mic has more bass). The foam sock is a nice add, as it helps reduce wind and breathing noise into the mic. Comfort - Clamp force is a little higher than average, like all Arctis headsets using the Ski-Goggle style headband. The leatherette ear pads are nice and create a good seal around the ear but don't breathe as well as some other options. The Recon 500 is more comfortable for long gaming sessions, as it has a much lighter clamp force and uses athletic mesh fabric ear pads which breathes really well. The HyperX CloudX uses a similar ear cup shape and material as the Prime, but has a lighter clamp force. Lastly, although the Arctis ear cups rotate flat to lay around your neck, the clamp force is too strong for this and puts a lot of pressure on your neck (like a weak strangle-hold on your neck). Controls/Features - This is a big callout for me because I cannot stand in-line volume controls (cough, HyperX CloudX). The volume wheel on the left ear cup is amazing, with a smooth, high quality feel. No static sounds when adjusting volume. The mic mute is a push button right above the volume wheel that works well enough for its purpose. The Arctis Prime uses a rubber cable which is proprietary but detachable. A lot of people like braided cables but rubber is much quieter (no noise transferring into the ear cup as it brushes against you). Overall, this is an amazing headset. The Turtle Beach Recon 500 has a much softer/smoother sound profile, so if you like a more laid back sound, consider those. The HyperX CloudX sounds incredibly close to the Arctis Prime and is $30 less expensive, so you could argue that it’s a better value headset. If having a real volume and mic control is important to you, and you like the SteelSeries design, then I would consider the Arctis Primes. I like having a real volume and mic control enough that I could easily justify the $30 price premium over the CloudX. Lastly, the Arctis Prime includes a 5’ Y-Adapter so you can connect this to a desktop or sound card that uses a separate headphone and mic jack, should your machine not have a combo port. Overall it’s a solid buy and easy to recommend for gamers looking for an edge on a budget!

Comes with a included pop filter which is essentially since this will be close to your mouth, sound is great and you can listen to 2 audio connected devices through 3.5

I really like the comfort and sound quality on this product, but the durability lacks - velcro strap streched, ear muffins split, and chassis - cracked.

Great sound quality, comfortable gaming headphones. Surround sound is good and can hear everything around me when gaming. Loved the headphones until tonight when the left speaker went out mid game. They had not sustained any damage of any kind and they cracked before it cut out for good. Loved the headphones until this happened. Owned them for less than a year.

Great headset. Only last about a year though. My boys say they work great

Steelseries Arctic headsets are all always quite good, but you do get better performance with the more expensive models. These were comfortable on the ear and on the head. My voice came through the mic very clear, but output through the Xbox controllers was a little quite for my taste. The ear pads have lasted very well after years of use but the boom mic never really stays were I want it to. For the price these are better than the competitors but I would still recommend a higher level set for better quality audio

Great headset for under $100 (I bought this headset on sale). Sound quality is good and headset is comfortable.

Comfortable to wear. Mostly plastic. Very light and mic is pretty good.

Very good audio quality and very comfortable headset

These are pretty darn good. I am picky about the mic being in the way, so the fact that you can retreat the mic into the headset is super cool. I play FPS games that require significant use of hearing and these get the job done. I wish the lows were a little bit better, but that is subjective. Overall for the price these are pretty good headphones. Pros: mic gets out of the way, sound direction is great, mids and highs are super smooth, I love the headband! Cons: super lows aren’t bad, but overall lows are meh, (this is subjective because I do have some hearing damage) I wish the ear cushions were a little deeper, my ears just barely touch the cover for the drivers, which at first was annoying, but after a month I don’t notice it. I’m still thinking about purchasing 3rd party ear cushions.

Gets the job done but doesn't meet my needs for professional grade. Then again, this was purchased to be a tool to use for distance-learning classes and it fills the need just fine. Other than I'm not happy with the overall sound quality, do keep in mind I am an audio professional and am very picky about audio quality. This does lack silly features like color/LED garbage. Straight forward, to the point, rather comfortbale and the collapsing mic makes put-away nicer. Detachable cable packs nice. 2-piece main cable gives loads of options. Lost stars due to limited functionality, at least for me. Completely unsuitable for critical listening at least for me. Not suitable for mixing. Not suitable for live. I'm not gamer, so no comment on there but if being super accurate is your thing, these won't work. If being audible/intelligible is your thing, they'll suffice. For the distance learning stuff I am doing, I can only wear these cans for about 90 minutes before the quality gets to me and I gotta go take them off for a while. Then again, I really can't wear any cans for that long anyways as I don't like to regardless of brand or quality. Feels durable but will it stand the test of time? The first point of failure I see is the cable connection at the headphones. By not opting to use a standard 3.5mm TRRS port, once this breaks, these are garbage. Never been a supporter of proprietary ports that add cost and don't add value.

Not what I was looking for or needed and ended up returning but a good headset for what it was supposed to be.

Great budget friendly, I’ve had this headset for 4 years now, I had to buy a new one because I broke it while moving but it has been a really great headset

Great sound quality! Love the style. This brand is pretty decent so far. Get some.

These headphones are the best i have ever bought they have the best sound they bring out crisp highs and awesome lows for that bass your looking for

These sound pretty freaking good for $100. I play on PC and adjusting the sound quality through realtek helps a lot. I'd definitely recommend these at the price point. My only complaint is they're a little hot for longer gaming sessions, but they are comfortable.

Very comfy on the ears but it does feel weird at the top of head

I had the SSAP Pro Wireless before, and the sound was the best I've ever had in a gaming heatset. It has one critical flaw that this headset shares -- the connection from the band to the earcup is very prone to cracking/breaking over time. If you take these off one handed a lot it will strain that spot and eventually get a crack that will get worse until it snaps off completely. With that said I loved the sound so much that I got this pair because they have the same exact drivers, but this is standard audio not USB or wireless. I just attach them to my Logitech mic and then use the same equalizer settings. It's worth the value if you already have sound setup and don't need a USB DAC or otherwise.

These were for my son, the mic works great it is clear for others, sound is good (great for the price). The only complaint is that it fits a little tight on the head, not uncomfortable, just a little tighter than his previous hyper x.

Great headseat comfortable and easy to use would recommend