SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Multi-Platform Gaming Headset

Really great headset as i find wireless can be a gimmick. Led looks great and smooth, would recommend for a PC user mainly as then you can access the steel series software to customise the lights. These however do not fare well with my xbox as the audio crackles and transfers to only one ear after a while. In the description and on the box it said they were xbox compatible but after seeing the amazon title it may have been my mistake. Great for when on a different platform though!

After vacuuming up the cord of my very old Razer Cacharias (?) headset, it finally declared its death when my Discord group mentioned I was cutting in and out, and so it was time to replace my headset. For a very terrible 3 months, I bought a discount headset with plasticized ear cups, and while I could hear and communicate, it was very uncomfortable. I was looking into other Razer alternatives but didn’t really feel as if their features were as interesting as the Steelseries, and I also had a few recommendations for Steelseries from others. Attach to it RGB function (my tower is needlessly fluorescent) and I decided to plop down the funds for this wired version. I’ve never been a fan of wireless, just something about connection and not having to worry if the wireless is up in a clutch moment is just my style.

The headset is very stylish. I’m a small person, with an average size head and average but slightly pokey-outey ears. The fabric and the stretch fabric on the headset is very comfortable and breathable. It angles just a touch forward when I wear it, which is not noticeable after a few minutes. The retractable microphone works very well, and my raid leader says I’m very crisp – definitely not the case with my knockoff cheapo headset.

Length of the plug leading from the headset to the dial toggle is very generous, as well as from the dial toggle to the computer. Due to USB hogging I have to use the top of my tower USBs, but no problem at all, very forgiving in length. I haven’t had it fall out yet but I’m not headbanging while raid healing. The dial toggle is very cool! I can use it to easily mute out game noise if there’s an issue, or vice versa if everyone is just talking about nothing and I want to tone them down. At neutral, it’s equal for both.

RGB functionality is initially a bit complicated looking but is through Steelseries’ app that you can download, and you can make separate profiles. I have a violet/blue shifting thing for my Tauren Shadowpriesting and have several other profiles – glowing gold for my paladin, green for druid, etc. And there are sound function toggles.

Sound is great, crisp, and no reverb at all. The surround function at least in World of Warcraft is excellent and positionally is usually great, although for some reason sometimes when I’m mounting up on a specific mount the sound will originate more to the left, but, this isn’t always, and maybe is a function of my setup.

I especially like this for Youtube progressive house mixes, bass turned up! The noise cancellation is not really cancellation, but the muffling is enough that it takes out more ambient noise. I live by a freeway though, so there’s nothing killing that noise. Definitely softer.

I really like this headset. I would recommend if you’re in the market, give this a good try, I hope mine has a lot of life left in it. It’s a lightweight headset and the cords are fairly lightweight but give you great range.

Also a good wow factor, if anyone is watching you game, and I can make it match my tower RGB, hah hah. The little things, eh?

Exelente sonido muy buenos graves y bajo, el GG sonar exelente para personalizad tus headsets para cualquier juego cod, pubg, etcet…

Whether by accident or design all my peripherals to date have been Razer, this includes the Razer Kraken Tournament Edition Headset, it was a good headset with excellent sound and build quality, it lasted me for years despite being dropped, stepped on, twisted and bent, the mic finally gave out after i accidentally dropped it in a bucket of water and even then every other aspect of the headset worked.

If this sounds like a ringing endorsement of the Razer, it is, so much so i was intending to just buy the exact same headset to replace it. But instead i took a chance with the Steel Series Arctis Nova 3, it was slightly cheaper than the Kraken at the time and in my honest opinion it is better in every way, the sound clarity for the cost is appreciably better than the Kraken and the Mic comes with noise cancelling that i actually use because it works and isn’t a pointless gimmick.

But, where it truly shines over the Kraken is the absolutely better software if you’ve owned a Razer Headset you will agree that it can be a pain sometimes to get the software to function properly, and sometimes it just stops working randomly, not to mention there was an entire period of time where the THX feature of the Kraken {yes the biggest selling point of the headset} literally stopped working for months after a Razer software update, no such issue with Steel Series’ Sonar.

Another major complaint i had with the Razer is the control box for the THX spatial audio and other controls its an annoying dangling hinderance, it comes with sticky tape but that then limits how far away from your device you can take it, it’s by far the worst aspect of the Razer Kraken, all the controls for the Arctis Nova are flush with the headset and easily identifiable and useable without actually needing to see them.

Another problem with the Razer Kraken was the design of the ear muffs made my face a sticky sweaty mess, this made it difficult to wear for extended period in a non-air conditioned room, the Arctis Nova 3 is by far more comfortable and the weight of the headset is noticeably lighter than the Kraken.

All in all if you’re looking for a good sub 100$ dollar headset and you inevitably come up with a head to head between this and the Razer Kraken, this one is better by far.