SteelSeries has hit the big time with the Arctis Nova 5 wireless headset. And we mean it: this titular gaming headset is a truly versatile headset that’s great for watching movies and listening to music, and it’s also well priced in the mid-range (around $300 AUD in most regions), light as a feather, has great battery life, and is packed with features.
No joke, it’s the best $300 I’ve ever spent on audio equipment.
So, let’s dig deeper into this. The Arctis Nova 5 comes equipped with a dongle for a 2.4GHz connection to anything you can plug a USB 3.0 into (Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, ROG Ally), and Bluetooth for anything you can’t plug a USB 3.0 into (iPhone, Android console, ROG Ally with a power pack plugged in to last more than 30 minutes). Naturally, you’ll want the faster, lower latency 2.4GHz connection when playing games, but if you’re listening to music on the train, watching movies on a plane, or just want to have headphones tightly pressed to your head, the Bluetooth option is very nice (and I’d argue a must-have for a headset).
But the benefits of Bluetooth connectivity don’t end there. One of the best features of the Nova 5 is that it comes with an app for both iOS and Android. Download this little app and you can see your battery level at a glance (and be amazed at how slowly it drains) and try out some of the features. For example, you can adjust your sidetone with a quick slide of your finger. Sidetone affects the amount of ambient noise the headset lets in, which is handy if you want to tune out or be less tuned in to your surroundings.
Perhaps more importantly, you can instantly switch between 100 different EQ profiles for different games, instantly adjusting your headset to the best settings for that particular game. Unfortunately, this feature wasn’t designed with users like me in mind; the folks at SteelSeries probably don’t even know half the games I play exist, and the settings for Quintessential Quintuplets aren’t even there.
But even here, there’s a much greater recognition that some people might prefer to use a headset for more than just the fun war crime spree of Call of Duty. Movies have different settings depending on whether you’re watching a Michael Bay production or something intelligent enough that you want to actually hear the dialogue. The same can be said for music: in a few months, if you buy the limited edition of my visual novel with a CD soundtrack full of ballroom dance music, you’ll have the perfect headset to slip over your ears and get grooving.
The fact that all of this is actually easy to use is its best feature – you’re not bogged down with an app that seems designed for game developers rather than gamers or the general public – this is an app that’s accessible, minimalistic, elegant, and yet plenty powerful.
The headset is actually a joy to wear. It doesn’t feel heavy, the ear cups are big, and the foam is soft. There’s no ugly branding that screams “gamer” when you want to rush to the store for some beer and chips but are enjoying the music too much to turn it off. There’s nothing worse than standing at the register with a frozen pizza and announcing to the world that you’re a gamer because your headset is big and green and the microphone is shoved right in front of your mouth. The Nova 5 is discreet, thin, sleek, and with a stowable microphone when not in use, you’ll look rad even while secretly listening to Taylor Swift (and having a frozen pizza).
When it comes to sound quality, the great irony of the Nova 5 is that for a gaming headset it tends to perform weakest in gaming. For movies and music, the customizability of the EQ settings means you can easily switch between tracks you want to feel (i.e. deep bass or a disco party mood) and tracks you want to hear (i.e. the singer is actually good).
The same goes for movies. It works for the breathtaking soundscapes of The Lord of the Rings, the big action of The Avengers, and even Barbarella, because… you know why I watch that one. It works for every movie. Again, the EQ settings help, with profiles tuned for everything from talky to punchy.
Where I’m not so fond of the Nova 5 is when there’s too much information. In games, noises come from multiple directions in a way that isn’t carefully tuned. You’re following footsteps, listening to the soundtrack in the background, talking to your buddies on the mic, and the headset tends to interpret all of this information as slightly aggressive, and the balance isn’t as pleasant on the ears as I’d like. In games, I found it best to turn the headset volume down a bit.
On the other hand, instead of playing Final Fantasy XIV, you could load up the soundtrack, close your eyes, and doze off while the music masterpiece wraps you up in a warm blanket. It’s just as fun as actually playing the game, and the headset kicks you back into gear in no time.
Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but video games bad You’re not going to get the exact same experience with the Nova 5, but that’s the only thing that separates this headset from a really high-end headset. You’re still going to get better sound quality than a cheaper headset, and you’re going to enjoy the artistry that went into both the sound design and the music. But you’re not going to get a $600 headset for $300, because we live in a capitalist world and things just don’t work that way.
The Arctis Nova 5 is my new favorite headset. It’s a truly all-day headset that works with all of my devices, is easy to manage and adapts to what I watch, listen to, and play, and is the most comfortable and versatile way to keep your tinnitus under control that I’ve ever come across.
