SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 - Review

It feels like it has been years and years since I first started using SteelSeries products, but it has only been a few and in that time they have quickly rocketed up to the top in relation to the headsets they make. With the new Arctis Nova 5 and its app switching power, would this be their best headset yet, or did the switching on offer make me swap to another?

Taking the headset out of the box, I was impressed to see almost no plastic used in the packaging, the only exception was the protective bag around the headset itself. Contained within the box, apart from the headset, was a USB-C dongle and two cables, one being a USB-C to USB-C for charging and the other a USB-A to USB-C for connecting purposes. Beyond that there is nothing else to worry about and once I had the headset charged up, it was time to get to testing. The setup on the PC was fairly simple, I popped the dongle into my USB-C port and then set the headset to be the audio out and I was good to go. While that works for a basic connection, the headsets big reason for getting it is the app, which lets you swap between 100 different presets of equaliser settings. So if you select say Battlefield 2042, it will make things sound different in the game, compared to selecting the Witcher 3 option. In order for you to make use of that, the headset must be connected to your mobile device via Bluetooth as well, which is a fairly simple setup.

All of this comes secondary of course to the ability to wear the headset and as I expected, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 feels amazing on the noggin. My headset that is always at my desk is the Arctis Nova Pro, also from SteelSeries and it is one I love to wear, but it is a corded headset and the Nova 5 being wireless basically crushed the Nova Pro in terms of accessibility. In terms of functions on the headset, the right ear cup gives you two, the power and mode buttons, whereas the left is your volume wheel and mute mic button. The left ear cup is also where the headsets mic lives when not in use and the right where you plug it in for charge. One of the headsets biggest abilities is swapping between the 2.4Ghz mode and the Bluetooth mode, so if you get a call in the middle of gaming, you just need to press the mode button. While it is part of the same space as the power button, its placement at the top means it shouldn’t be too hard to remember where to press.

So the headset is comfy and easy to use once it is on your head, so what about the app, that should just be as simple right. Well sort of, the ability to swap between any of the presets in the list is so simple you legit just need to find the game you want and tap it, that is it. That sadly is where the magic begins and ends, as there is no way to select any favourites, or sort the list. That means if you are playing Battlefield or a Call of Duty, and now want to play Starfield or The Witcher, you have to scroll through the entire list. It does save your selected preset when you close out of the app, which is nice and you can have one for the 2.4GHz mode and one for the Bluetooth option, which is nice. But perhaps the most egregious option, no custom settings, in fact there is very little that you can change and most of what you can is around tones and mic gain. While connected to my computer, the SteelSeries Sonar application did let me tweak settings, but the phone has none of those options, which means anyone on a console is out of luck.

Ok, so the app is pretty decent, just not quite there, but how does it sound I hear you ask. To be simple about it, the sound is incredible, again as expected. Packed with in each ear cup is a 40mm Neodymium Driver, which delivers incredible bass and mids that will let you hear each footstep, even amongst the explosions. When you connect the headset to a PlayStation 5, you can actually take full advantage of the Spatial Audio the console offers and on PC if you have the software installed. I tested the headset out with a number of games and music, with each performing differently depending on the setting I selected. There is a Dolby Atmos video that I love to use via PC to see how a headset handles 3D audio, as some claim to offer it and yet don’t and the Arctis Nova 5 passed with flying colours.

As far as the microphone goes, it does the job, but it is not something I would suggest people use as their default mic, if they can avoid it. SteelSeries have always been fantastic with the hearing part of their headsets, but I have never found the mic quality able to match. Something that I found in testing this one is that I often had a slight hissing noise when the AI Clear Cast noise cancellation was enabled and without it, the sibilance of my speech patterns were not that clear. This is not something I encounter with the SteelSeries Alias desktop microphone and just think it is that my default voice is too much for the small microphone that comes within the headset.

The final consideration for this headset is of course the battery life, as a wireless headset that is something you need to be aware of. Now SteelSeries state on the box up to 60 hours, but they don’t say that is only via Bluetooth, whereas if you use the 2.4GHz mode, the battery life is cutdown to 50 hours. I used the headset for the majority of my time in the 2.4GHz mode, with only a few hours in Bluetooth for music purposes. I didn’t count the hours, but after a week and change, I finally had to recharge the headset, as a nice touch the app does tell you how much juice is left in the battery. Another nice touch is that after only 15 minutes of charge, the headset will give you a good number of hours to get you back into the game, which is very cool, if you need it.

As far as the Arctis Nova 5 goes, it ranks up there as one of the best headsets that I have ever had the pleasure to put on my head. It sports that incredible SteelSeries softness that I adore and delivers some great sound while doing so. The fact that this is compatible with any Bluetooth device and also any device that can support a USB connection is insane, plus with the hot swapping between them, means you don’t have to take them off when moving between devices. The app is perhaps the letdown here, the microphone notwithstanding, as there is just not enough options present. The presets that the app includes are great, many of them come from the Sonar app on PC, but unlike the PC app, there are not manual options to be found, meaning you have to make do with what is offered. If you are looking for a new headset and you game across devices, be it PC, console or mobile, then this one should be at the top of your list.

The Score

9.5

Review unit provided by SteelSeries

The Pros

Contains the incredible SteelSeries softness, meaning you can wear it for hours and not have an issue

The ability to swap between presets as easily as you swap between games is insane…

The Cons

… however the app is missing a few key features that would make it superior

The microphone is about as standard as you can get for a headset mic