SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless Review - Review 2022

SteelSeries makes a wide range of gaming headsets, from upkeep-priced wired models to expensive wireless bundles. The Arctis Pro Wireless is in the latter military camp, with a hefty $329.99 cost tag and the performance, build quality, and features to back it up. It features a dedicated transmitter with its own screen for adjusting sources, EQ settings, and sound mixing without fifty-fifty touching your PC or console, and comes with two batteries so y'all never have to plug it in to charge. Information technology also has Bluetooth connectivity and even a wired option, and so you lot tin can use information technology with your smartphone and leave the transmitter at home. Its full feature fix, strong audio performance, and comfortable fit earn it our Editors' Pick for wireless gaming headsets.

Design

The Arctis Pro Wireless headset is nearly identical to the wired Arctis Pro + GameDAC, but equipped with a battery and Bluetooth controls, and lacking colored lighting. It's understated and black, with slightly rubberized plastic earcups. Soft, breathable material-covered earpads easily fit over most ears, and a black anodized metallic headband holds each earcup on a most quarter-circle arm that lets them fold flat and pivot slightly vertically. An rubberband strap runs forth the length of the headband, providing adjustable pause that lifts the headset off of the scalp. This lets it fit comfortably over fifty-fifty large heads for adequately long periods of time. It's much more understated than the anodized colored aluminum piping of the Astro Gaming A50, and we notice the suspension on the headband a bit more than comfortable to habiliment than standard headband padding.

The left earcup holds about of the headset'southward controls and connectors along its edge. Starting on the back and working downwardly, in that location's a microphone mute button, a clickable multi-purpose volume wheel, a connector for the included headset cable (the same i used by the wired Arctis Pro), a 3.5mm pass-through to let other users hear the audio going through the headset, a micro USB port for charging, and a boom mic that stays retracted inside the earcup when not in use. The correct earcup features just two buttons, Power and Bluetooth, on the bottom edge, along with indicator lights for both. The back panel of each earcup is attached by magnets, and pulls off hands. The left earcup panel hides a geometric design and cipher of mechanical use, but the correct earcup panel covers the battery compartment.

Transmitter

The wireless transmitter is a 1.4-by-iv.3-by-4.3-inch (HWD) black box similar in shape and size to an Apple Television set, with a monochrome OLED display, clickable punch, and divide Dorsum button (that likewise toggles DTS simulated surroundings audio on and off) on the front end. The right side features a battery slot, while the dorsum holds 3.5mm and optical audio inputs and outputs, forth with a micro USB port and a butt plug ability connector (which is optional, but lets y'all keep the transmitter active so y'all tin can modify the headset'south settings without your PC or panel actively continued to it). The transmitter also enables loftier-res sound playback through the headset. It supports upward to 96kHz, 24-chip audio, which won't apply for nearly games merely can be a huge boon if you desire to mind to lossless music.

These are virtually all of the features you could want in a wireless gaming headset transmitter, except for a place to actually put it when not in use. Since it's just a blackness box, you tin can't prepare the headset securely over it like you tin with the Astro Gaming A50'due south combination transmitter and charging base.

By default, the transmitter shows the connected device, volume level, and current battery levels of both the battery in the headset and the one in the charging slot. Clicking the dial opens up the menu system, which lets you adjust audio settings like game/voice conversation mix, choose equalizer presets (or make your own custom EQ setting with a v-band equalizer), toggle fake surround sound, or modify the source betwixt PC (USB-only), PS4 (USB for vocalism chat, optical for game audio), and anything connected to the transmitter through the 3.5mm input.

Information technology's a functional interface and useful to take on hand instead of requiring diving into an app or menus on your TV or monitor, but information technology's much clunkier than the interface on the GameDAC included with the wired Arctis Pro. Fortunately, the clickable volume bicycle on the headset itself makes upward for it; while the transmitter requires going through menus, clicking the wheel cycles through volume control, game/vocalisation mix, equalizer, and audio source settings.

The Arctis Pro Wireless comes with all of the cables you need to utilize and keep it charged, including optical audio, USB-to-micro USB, mobile audio (proprietary headset connector-to-3.5mm), and 3.5mm. While information technology has connectors for charging the headset and using it wired, you don't demand any of them to keep the headset running. It comes automatically paired with the included wireless transmitter, which has a battery slot for charging. Since it comes with two batteries, you can swap them out and keep one charged at all times, so you don't always demand to plug in the headset itself to use information technology. According to SteelSeries, each battery can concluding up to x hours.

Connectivity and Microphone

The Arctis Pro Wireless is designed for use with a PC or PlayStation four, using the transmitter either continued through USB for a PC, or through both USB and optical sound for a PS4. The PS4 Slim doesn't have an optical audio output, but the optical sound output from your Television receiver will work just equally well. If your TV doesn't take an optical audio output, this headset isn't suitable for console gaming.

You tin can likewise apply the headset on its own over Bluetooth, past powering it on and holding the Bluetooth button down until it flashes. It can handle audio sent simultaneously both by the transmitter and the connected Bluetooth device, so y'all tin can continue your phone on manus while gaming. It likewise works standalone without the transmitter in Bluetooth fashion, or wired with the included cablevision.

The microphone on the Arctis Pro Wireless sounds very proficient. My voice came through clearly in exam recordings on a PC, with enough of detail and low-mid resonance without sounding particularly sibilant. I noticed a low-level hiss in the examination recordings, which seemed to come from our test lab's overzealous ventilation system more than than whatsoever sort of interference. The hiss didn't appear with the PS4 in our quieter test room, so it'due south something to proceed in mind if you have a noisy air conditioner.

Music Performance

The Arctis Pro Wireless handles music quite capably, with a sculpted sound that offers plenty of bass, typical for gaming headsets. At maximum and deadline unsafe volume levels, it reproduced the throbbing subwoofer-like bass drum in Run The Jewels' "Legend Has It" with appreciable force and no distortion. The vocals on the track came through clearly against the sub-bass notes, as did the shaker bankroll the mix.

Yes' "Roundabout" also sounded very good on the Arctis Pro Wireless. The guitar plucks in the opening had plenty of string texture, and the dumbo mix left enough room for the vocals and drums when things really kicked in. The electric slap bass didn't audio particularly punchy, simply it also didn't overwhelm the rest of the track or muddy the hits of the loftier-hat.

Game Operation

Similar the Arctis Pro + GameDAC, the Arctis Pro Wireless uses DTS Headphone:X for imitation environment audio. We've nonetheless to hear a headset that can produce real surround sound, but the Pro Wireless' 40mm stereo drivers can at least generate a bigger-sounding audio field with processing and mixing. You won't see much, if whatsoever, tactical advantage since accurate imaging of audio sources as in front of or backside yous is incommunicable, but it can all the same make the gaming experience more immersive.

Monster Hunter Globe sounds very good on the Arctis Pro Wireless. The headset produces merely enough low frequency response to give powerful hits some dial without overwhelming the rest of the game audio, and delicate sounds like using whetstones or mining minerals get a good corporeality of loftier frequency finesse. The DTS Headphone:Ten false environment sound offers strong lateral imaging, mixing the stereo channels to give a practiced sense of left-to-right positioning.

Nier: Automata also sounds excellent. The game's fantastic soundtrack has plenty of low-mid presence to give the instruments bombast, and higher frequency sound effects similar light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation blasts and audios cue to dodge come through cleanly. Dialogue can besides be hands heard even in the middle of battle.

Conclusions

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless is one of the nigh total-featured gaming headsets we've seen, with Bluetooth connectivity and a powerful transmitter with its own brandish and controls. It also sounds excellent and feels very comfortable to wearable, which helps justify its $320 price tag. For everything it offers, the Arctis Pro Wireless earns our Editors' Selection for wireless gaming headsets. If y'all want stiff performance for less coin, the Astro Gaming A20 and SteelSeries' own Arctis 7 are very expert wireless headsets that don't have quite the flexibility or build quality of the Arctis Pro, but are half the cost.

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Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/controllers-accessories-products/20122/steelseries-arctis-pro-wireless-review

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