SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni Headset Review – Premium Price, Premium Headset

Among the galore gaming headset manufacturers retired there, fewer are doing it arsenic good arsenic SteelSeries; and the caller Arctis Nova Pro Omni is further proof. It's a caller introduction into the Arctis Nova line, successful summation to the Arctis Nova Pro, which has been 1 of our apical headset recommendations for years present astatine IGN. And portion the improvements connected this caller exemplary are somewhat incremental, it's inactive a fantastic headset that packs features you simply can’t find elsewhere.

I precocious praised SteelSeries' offering astatine the budget-level with the Arctis Nova 1, and it has options up the concatenation for each terms range, each the mode done the super-expensive but state-of-the-art Nova Elite. At $400, the Nova Pro Omni wedges itself a notch beneath that luxury tier – it's inactive a hefty terms tag, but betwixt the dependable quality, semipermanent comfort, and versatility that fewer others tin offer, SteelSeries has different certified victor successful its catalog.

Arctis Nova Pro Omni – Design and Comfort

If it ain't broke, don't hole it, right? The Nova Pro Omni sports a astir identical plan to the Nova Pro (and the remainder of the Arctis Nova roster, really). It's a reasonably slim carnal plan successful the realm of gaming headsets with a low-profile framework and SteelSeries' signature elastic headband that hooks onto notches for fitment and provides immoderate comfortableness atop your head. The telescoping arms descent continuously and consciousness unafraid erstwhile they're adjusted. And don't fto the comparatively bladed illustration of the headset fool you, it's some flexible and durable capable to grip with confidence.

The earcups are lined with heavy foam padding and premium-feeling leatherette – it gets a small hot, which comes with the territory for leatherette, though it creates a amended seal than velour oregon sports mesh. While the Nova Pro Omni has a somewhat tighter clamp unit than what I'm utilized to, I had the headset connected without issues for sessions up to 5 hours due to the fact that of the comfy earpads. They finely thrust the enactment betwixt steadfast and soft, and they descend astir my ears nicely.

I admit that SteelSeries keeps its onboard controls simple; speech from the Bluetooth toggle, each controls are relegated to the near earcup with the powerfulness button, microphone mute toggle, and measurement wheel. Alongside them is the 3.5mm audio jack for aux inputs and the retractable built-in microphone that conveniently tucks into the headset to beryllium flush on the earcup erstwhile you're not utilizing it.

You whitethorn beryllium wondering; where's the USB-C port? It's hidden distant down the magnetic headdress connected the extracurricular of the near earcup (which is easy removed by wedging your digit into the notch underneath the cap). It whitethorn look unusual astatine first, but different than a speedy firmware update, you ne'er person to truly plug it successful done USB-C. That's due to the fact that SteelSeries' unsocial swappable artillery strategy returns successful the Nova Pro Omni. The artillery is located wrong the close earcup, which you tin entree by removing its magnetic cap. This was a cardinal diagnostic of the archetypal Nova Pro, and adjacent successful the years since, it's inactive an innovative plan that beats simply having a longer lasting battery.

Arctis Nova Pro Omni – Features and Software

If you're not familiar, the headset comes with 2 chiseled artillery packs – 1 for the headset itself and different to insert into the basal presumption to enactment charged. This way, you ever person 1 artillery acceptable to go, creating this infinite loop of artillery life. It takes possibly 10 seconds to swap them, and if done accelerated enough, the headset volition conscionable enactment powered on. The idiosyncratic batteries themselves tin past astir 25 hours depending connected the features you person progressive (such arsenic progressive sound cancellation), and that's plentifulness of foodstuff for a fistful of sessions earlier having to really power them out.

The basal presumption is the cardinal to making the Nova Pro Omni basal out.“

The basal presumption is the cardinal to making the Nova Pro Omni basal out, not conscionable due to the fact that of the artillery system, but besides for the versatility it offers. It has line-in and line-out for wired connections – a boon for those who besides tally outer speakers successful their setup – arsenic good arsenic 3 USB-C ports to bring wireless connectivity to 3 abstracted devices. In what whitethorn beryllium a large woody to some, you'll nary longer person to prime retired the close exemplary for your Xbox console (since each Nova Pro Omni basal stations see Xbox's proprietary wireless protocol). This means you tin support a PC, PS5, Xbox, and an aux root each connected astatine the aforesaid time, and Bluetooth, and you tin swap betwixt them (or adjacent tally aggregate simultaneously) done the basal station.

This does mean you person to usage this basal presumption successful lieu of having a tiny USB dongle for 2.4GHz wireless, which could beryllium cumbersome depending connected your situation, but the advantages it brings are good worthy the trade-off. It's particularly convenient for desktop PC setups due to the fact that the basal presumption tin power a fewer of the headset's features done the ample tactile measurement dial and the interaction fastener alongside the monochrome LED screen. You conscionable request to property and clasp the dial inward for a fewer seconds to entree the wide paper of options that you tin set connected the fly. But you tin get much granular successful the SteelSeries GG bundle suite.

Off the bat, you tin tinker with basal functions and settings similar customized EQ, ANC, sound gross and sidetone connected the microphone, among different things. It's straightforward and intuitive with tooltips that explicate each feature, and it doesn't consciousness bloated similar different apps. But if you privation to get successful the weeds, enabling Sonar successful the SteelSeries app adds an other furniture of customization and the quality to delegate up to 9 customized profiles for definite types of media. Here, you tin entree overmuch finer tuning of the EQ set and adjacent dial successful however spatial audio behaves (changing however it reproduces definite dependable effects with "performance" for competitory scenarios and "immersion" for cinematic-style experiences). Although I'm mostly not a immense instrumentality of virtual situation for spatial audio due to the fact that of however artificial it tin dependable astatine times, this allows for a level of power that you seldom see. The bundle has much knobs and sliders than astir would typically person to interest about, but they're determination for those who privation to get much from a high-end headset and make a precise benignant of audio experience.

Arctis Nova Pro Omni – Sound Quality and Microphone

I wasn't precisely amazed during my investigating process to find that the Nova Pro Omni's out-of-the-box dependable prime is fantastic. Clean and elaborate are the easiest ways to picture its audio profile, with each frequencies coming retired intelligibly adjacent astatine overmuch louder volumes; coagulated bass astatine the low-end and minimal (if any) distortion astatine the higher pitch. Considering this sits arsenic a tier supra the praiseworthy Nova Pro, that's the anticipation with headsets of this caliber, and it's large to perceive SteelSeries wide that barroom erstwhile again.

You get the benignant of positional audio required to beryllium competitory astatine precocious levels, of course. I ran my accustomed rounds of ranked matches successful Counter-Strike 2 to get a consciousness of the headset's show and it checked each the boxes wonderfully. With dependable cues similar footsteps, reloading, and gunfire coming done elaborate successful some absorption and distance, it provides the benignant of vantage you'd privation sonically.

Clean and elaborate are the easiest ways to picture its audio profile.“

Playing done the caller Patch 7.5 contented successful Final Fantasy XIV, I got to bask however the Nova Pro Omni sorts done the MMO's engaged soundscape. Having the large soundtrack playing, spells firing off, force attacks hitting, and the enactment banter each astatine the aforesaid clip – it tin beryllium a batch for lesser headsets to handle. But the mode it each comes done distinctly and elegantly is different illustration of wherefore you'd shot retired for a headset of this quality.

I spared 1 of those USB ports connected the basal presumption for my PlayStation 5 Pro, and gave Saros different whirl since that crippled has fantastic dependable design. Everything conscionable had an impactful punch to it, but it's the subtle dependable cues from force attacks that were much important – paying attraction to those audio cues assistance you expect what's coming and respond accordingly successful life-and-death situations due to the fact that this crippled is simply a pugnacious trial of your reflexes.

A chunk of my in-game trial sessions were conducted utilizing the default EQ settings, but tweaking your audio profiles tin assistance you get much retired of the headset. For example, messing with spatial audio equilibrium did marque Resident Evil Requiem dependable much afloat without losing overmuch of the item I needed for survival. And the hundreds of built-in profiles for circumstantial games successful Sonar springiness a small other fine-tuning without having to fiddle with overmuch yourself, which works large for Counter-Strike 2, though your mileage whitethorn alteration arsenic I consciousness the FFXIV illustration wasn't rather arsenic drastic of a change. Although the Nova Pro Omni isn't precisely tuned to beryllium bass-heavy, the audio drivers responded good to thing arsenic tiny arsenic boosting bass a interaction to assistance circular retired immoderate of the euphony I perceive to.

Hi-res audio is simply a tricky happening to trial due to the fact that of however subtle the quality tin be, depending connected however you're sourcing your audio and however that audio itself is recorded. I went with the Spotify Premium lossless prime and acceptable the Nova Pro Omni to bash 96kHz / 24-bit audio successful my Windows 11 settings. While outputting due hi-res audio is 1 of this headset's cardinal features, it won't beryllium arsenic beardown arsenic a selling constituent unless you're a superior audiophile who wants their gaming headset to bash it all. There are nuances to prime up on, but arsenic idiosyncratic who has 1 ft successful the audiophile world, the champion I tin accidental is that the quality is minimal, though it is bully to person (if anything, for the bid of caput knowing you person the champion dependable capabilities imaginable each successful 1 device).

Lastly, I indispensable notation that the Nova Pro Omni's microphone is super-impressive – it's astir apt the biggest singular betterment from the archetypal Pro. My dependable came done incredibly clear, conscionable shy of utilizing a decent standalone mic and conscionable a notch beneath the all-timer connected the high-end wired Beyerdynamic MMX 300/330 Pro. It doesn't prime up overmuch inheritance sound adjacent with minimal sound gating, and mounting the ClearCast AI sound cancellation to medium-low does the instrumentality for isolating my voice. It does truthful without sounding compressed oregon digitized overmuch astatine all, and you tin further tweak your output successful the mic's EQ settings. And 1 last bully touch, the mic present automatically mutes erstwhile it’s retracted into the headset, overmuch arsenic however flip-to-mute works connected headsets with that benignant of mic.