![\"Gizmodo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/editors-choice-2025.png\")
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I feel no compunction telling you the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite<\/a> gaming headset wasn\u2019t made for most of the people reading this review. How premium is it? It costs $600.<\/p>\n It comes with a special GameHub that will hook up to three consoles or PCs at once to let you seamlessly swap between all your devices. It also costs $600. It has some of the best premium audio I\u2019ve heard from a gaming headset all year. It will ask you to fork over $600 for the privilege. The Arctis Nova Elite chock-full of small amenities, which combines with all the other features to make the gaming headset so simple to operate. All, for $600. It\u2019s easily the most expensive headset I\u2019ve used, which makes it that much more annoying when I admit I enjoyed it as much as I did.<\/p>\n SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite<\/p>\n There are few gaming headsets as feature rich or as expensive as the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite. <\/p>\n Great sound for music or games Connects to all consoles at once Four simultaneous Bluetooth connections Easily swappable battery Comfortable earpads Tight on the head So expensive <\/p>\n The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite isn\u2019t doing anything we haven\u2019t seen before, even when its price tag is one of the highest we\u2019ve seen. The $400 Logitech G Astro A50 X<\/a> used a large base for video passthrough to hook up all your devices to one place. The more recent $180 Astro A20 X<\/a> does something similar to the Arctis Nova Elite, though with only two instead of three outputs for different consoles on a miniature station.\u00a0 SteelSeries\u2019 ultra-premium device isn\u2019t the first to use a miniature OLED screen to display your headset settings, either. The $400 Razer Kraken V4 Pro\u2019s<\/a> base station lacks the extra console and PC outputs, but its metal frame feels more premium when it\u2019s sitting on your desk than SteelSeries\u2019 plastic.<\/p>\n SteelSeries was adamant this is the first \u201cHi-Res\u201d gaming headset, mostly due to it receiving certification from the Japan Audio Society. But there are other companies promising their gaming headsets can offer players the audiophile experience. Gizmodo Senior Writer James Pero recently reviewed the $360 VZR Model One MK II<\/a> hi-fi headest. My ears are still begging me to return to the brilliant tones of the Sony Inzone H9 II<\/a>, which used the same audio drivers as the class-leading Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones<\/a>. So, no, this is not the first gaming headset with any variety of audiophile-level sound.<\/p>\n Instead, the Arctis Nova Elite is the first gaming headset I\u2019ve used that has everything (and like an everything bagel, that certainly won\u2019t please everyone). It\u2019s sporting some quality active noise cancellation (ANC), though not the best in its class. Its audio capabilities are certainly top tier (though I may still prefer the Sony Inzone H9 II for pure gaming audio bliss). The headset makes connecting to every one of my devices seamless, and it supports four separate streams of simultaneous audio (though it will require downloading the Arctis app to your phone and the GG app to your computer to adjust equalization options for each device individually). The Arctis Nova Elite is built for the dedicated gamer, the one who has one spot in their home where they play. In that very specific case, this is one of the best headsets I\u2019ve used.<\/p>\n The best for everything? There\u2019s no getting around it. The Arctis Nova Elite alone costs more than a PlayStation 5 console even after price hikes<\/a>. I\u2019ve used enough SteelSeries headsets to know its typical design ethos. In effect, the Arctis Nova Elite is an upgraded version of the Nova Pro Wireless, with metallic frames and a metallic volume wheel. This gaming headset looks especially good with its cream and gold colorway. I just don\u2019t know if anything about the it desgin reads that it\u2019s worth so much money.<\/p>\n The sound is where things matter, and that\u2019s what the Arctis Nova Elite has got going for it. The twin carbon fiber drivers offer a clean audio presence at its baseline. It\u2019s capable of lossless 24-bit, 96kHz wireless audio, though consoles like the Xbox Series X and PS5 are limited to 48k\/16-bit. It may take a few hours of listening, but eventually I came to recognize the Arctis Nova Elite\u2019s true potential once I put it through its paces in various titles of various styles.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re so used to shoving your AirPods<\/a> in your ears every morning commute, hearing quality audio from a dedicated hi-fi headset can honestly leave you in tears. You\u2019ll start to identify subtleties placed by careful hands in the songs you\u2019ve heard a million times before. There\u2019s a reason some people become obsessed with audio quality. Once you reach the top of the mountain, it\u2019s that much more difficult to crawl back down and live among the rocks and weeds.<\/p>\n Once I connected the Arctis Nova Elite to my phone, I wasn\u2019t forced to disconnect from PC or consoles. It makes living your life inside the headset easier. I couldn\u2019t stand it for too long, though. While the memory foam cups are plush with a pillow-like softness surrounding my ears, the headset wants to hug my head tighter than others to get that perfect seal. There was a growing pressure between my eyes as I used it, forcing me to take intermittent breaks.<\/p>\n The Arctis Nova Elite could easily be my one and only gaming headset. That being said, I don\u2019t really know many people who bother with more than one. SteelSeries suggested it could be your audio buddy even when you\u2019re not near your couch or desk. The gaming headset comes with a soft felt-lined pouch that snaps shut with a satisfying magnetic clasp. If you want something more protective like a hard case, you\u2019ll have to buy it separately. The thing is, the best headphones are designed so you don\u2019t look look like an alien when wearing them. You won\u2019t look classy with your head shoved between these cans like you do with your AirPods Max<\/a>. These are designed to wear for hours and hours. I couldn\u2019t stand them for that long. Maybe somebody with a thinner cranium would enjoy them for longer.<\/p>\n Every game requires its own finetuning If you don\u2019t go into the app to adjust the EQ profile to fit the game, you\u2019ll end up with a much worse experience overall. SteelSeries has a ludicrous number of game-specific profiles for some of the most popular games around and even more you would not expect the company to bother with (there\u2019s a preset for Doki Doki Literature Club!, for goodness\u2019 sake). So if you load up into your Cyberpunk 2077<\/a> save, and enter without the preset bass profile, it won\u2019t have anywhere near the levels you want to make your machine gun fire truly pop. This requires you to manually change their settings from game to game if you want the best experience.<\/p>\n Inevitably, you\u2019ll come across a game that\u2019s too new for it to have an EQ profile. I\u2019ve been playing The Outer Worlds 2, which has a soundtrack that\u2019s equal parts mystery and nostalgia. It doesn\u2019t sound bad by any margin with the \u201cflat\u201d preset in the Arctis app. I just know deep in my soul the game could sound better with a few knobs twisted. If you scroll through all the preset EQ options, you can find one or two that will sound better to your ears. For instance, I played Gears of War: Reloaded <\/a>with the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 preset and it sounded much better than with the stock standard profile.<\/p>\n At least, the GameHub lets you swap and adjust the volume mixing between the first and second USB inputs. Swapping between Bluetooth and the 2.4GHz connection doesn\u2019t require much input. Still, if you want to take a call in the headphones, you\u2019ll need to hit the Bluetooth button on the right earpad.<\/p>\n SteelSeries\u2019 \u201cflat\u201d profile is fine for most listening experiences, including music or when talking on video calls. When I got on with some of my coworkers, they told me I sounded extremely clear, nearly\u2014but not quite\u2014podcast levels of clarity. That\u2019s impressive considering the telescoping mic wasn\u2019t even wearing a pop filter. The mic offers 16-bit 32kHz recordings, and listening to myself back I can confirm it\u2019s of good quality. There\u2019s an additional mute button the left earcup if you need to avoid any back chatter when gaming with friends or even chatting with workmates. Again, it could be my everything headset when at home I could stand wearing it for too long.<\/p>\n Better battery life? Try more batteries There\u2019s a lot of positive qualities to this design. I could walk 30 feet away from the GameHub with a wall in between me and my desktop, and still hear my game as clear as if I was standing next to it. Only when I put multiple walls between me and the device did the sound start to waver.<\/p>\n The ANC is good enough I would repeatedly miss what my colleagues were saying even if they were talking right next to me. With the ANC on, I couldn\u2019t hear the blast of the loud fans from the Acer Predator Triton 14<\/a> gaming laptop I recently reviewed. Still, I could occasionally hear ambient noise, like the distant pop of a fire truck siren or a loud bang on a conversation my boss was having on the other side of the room. The Arctis Nova Elite is more than enough for your gaming den when you want to hole up like a happy otter and ignore the rushing river waters around you. It just won\u2019t offer anything close to the sensory deprivation chamber sensation of some high-end ANC wireless headphones like the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t \t\t\t\t If there\u2019s one thing missing from the Arctis Nova Elite, it\u2019s a battery life equal to its $600 price tag. SteelSeries promises you can get 60 hours of active listening, but that\u2019s only when you make use of two separate batteries. The GameHub comes with a small compartment that accepts one of two cells that come in the box. The magnetized cap on the right-hand earcup comes off to reveal the battery. It\u2019s not technically hot-swappable, as removing the battery will turn off the sound. Swapping in a fresh battery will immediately turn the headset on and return you back to your various connections. By comparison, a $300 HyperX Cloud Alpha 2<\/a> wireless can go for 250 hours before you need to plug it in.<\/p>\n Worth more than a console? I keep bringing up other headsets that cost less just to explain where we are with the current landscape of gaming cans. Nothing I\u2019ve tried has even came close to SteelSeries\u2019 price point. There are other gaming headsets that promise hi-fi audio or let you connect all your consoles. The Arctis Nova Elite is the only pair that I know of that provides both in one package. I can\u2019t think of any other headset I would want more if I have all my gaming devices in one spot.<\/p>\n I also know I personally couldn\u2019t drop $600 on any headset. Even if I did opt for the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite, I would have to consider if I could accept Bluetooth more often than the 2.4GHz connection. Even though I own a PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2, and get to test a rotating cast of PCs, I spend more time gaming on a handheld than anything else. There\u2019s certainly a few folks out there who are glued to their gaming chairs and want a headset for every single device they own. I can\u2019t think of anything better than the Arctis Nova Elite.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I feel no compunction telling you the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite gaming headset wasn\u2019t made for most of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273182,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,1590,63,1853,11134,108607,229,158716,105],"class_list":["post-273181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-au","tag-audio","tag-australia","tag-gaming","tag-headphones","tag-headsets","tag-reviews","tag-steelseries","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Steelseries](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SteelSeries-Arctis-Nova-Elite-04.jpg\")
As much as you may want to take these out on your commute, they\u2019re more bulky than any high-end heaphones. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n![\"Steelseries](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SteelSeries-Arctis-Nova-Elite-09.jpg\")
The microhone can retract into the headset. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n![\"Steelseries](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SteelSeries-Arctis-Nova-Elite-12.jpg\")
SteelSeries supplied us a stand for the headset, but you\u2019ll need to find your own favored way to display the $600 Arctis Nova Elite. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n![\"Steelseries](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SteelSeries-Arctis-Nova-Elite-06.jpg\")
Each memory foam earpad can be removed and replaced, if needed. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n![\"Steelseries](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SteelSeries-Arctis-Nova-Elite-07.jpg\")
Onboard controls include a power button that doubles as ANC controls, a mic mute, Bluetooth on\/off, and a metallic volume wheel. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n![\"Steelseries](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SteelSeries-Arctis-Nova-Elite-13.jpg\")
The GameHub lets you adjust volume or input mixing. It can control some headset settings, but you\u2019re better off downloading the Arctis GG software on PC or the mobile Arctis app. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n![\"Steelseries](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SteelSeries-Arctis-Nova-Elite-17.jpg\")
<\/a> \t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo \t\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t\t![\"Steelseries](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SteelSeries-Arctis-Nova-Elite-15.jpg\")
<\/a> \t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo \t\t\t\t \t\t <\/p>\n![\"Steelseries](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SteelSeries-Arctis-Nova-Elite-05.jpg\")
The cans can rest at 90 degrees, making them slightly more portable, even if the arms don\u2019t collapse. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n