The Arctis Nova series from SteelSeries is a great set of cans for gaming. I am lucky to have been sent the Nova 5 to test. Given the features, it’s relatively more affordable than other headphones in the sub P10k category. As an Arctis believer (yes I do have my biases), the Nova 5 distills the essentials of wireless gaming: its main selling point is the ability to switch from 2.4GHz to Bluetooth connectivity with a push of a button.
There’s also a stigma on wireless headset battery life. The Nova 5 claims 50 hours battery life when using 2.4GHz and 60 hours on Bluetooth.In real world usage, I’m happy to report similar results as I primarily use these cans with PC gaming. A 2-3 hour gaming session barely drains the battery from 100%. I’m currently one week into using the Nova 5 with daily gaming and my battery life is still at 75%.
Inside the box, you will find the cans, the USB-C receiver, a USB-C charger, and an extension cable for the wireless receiver as it does have some horizontal bulk and may eat up a device slot. It also comes with the usual paperwork and a sticker pack! The right ear can sports the power button (I love how the Nova 5 has a pleasant power on / off music compared to a ‘beep’ from my previous model) and the wireless connectivity switcher. The left can has the volume dial and the mic mute button.
The deal with Sonar
If you’re an Arctis owner, you’ll know that the hardware paints only half the picture of the true capabilities of the headset. SteelSeries GG is the accompanying software for all SteelSeries products. For the Arctis series, you can choose to enable SteelSeries Sonar, a software acceleration tool that really enhances the audio experience by allowing you to customize game presets and even download + share other audio presets from the SteelSeries community.
For instance, playing Black Ops 6, I was able to find a preset that fine tunes footsteps, making them just slightly more audible. Think of it as a mild cheat code by tweaking some audio. The app comes with more than 100+ presets with the ability to download and share other presents.
Key Features:
- 100+ game audio presets for optimal sound in top games with the Arctis Companion App
- 60-hour battery life to play all week long, with USB-C Fast Charge
- Quick-Switch Wireless to toggle between 2.4GHz and Bluetooth with the press of one button
- Neodymium Magnetic Drivers produce crystal clear highs, pinpoint mids, and deep bass
- ClearCast 2.X microphone with a new high-bandwidth chipset, powered by Sonar Software AI Noise Cancellation
- Cross-Platform Gaming with a handy USB-C dongle for PC, PlayStation, Switch, Mac, VR, handhelds, and mobile devices
As a current Arctis owner
For the record, this is my second pair of Arctis cans. I bought an Arctis 7 before the pandemic because it was a great choice for someone balancing Discord team chat and multimedia audio (it had two volume controls to balance chat and multimedia volume). As time passed it was a feature I used less and less but I did appreciate the convenience. Perhaps the biggest quirk was the 7 was the last batch of devices using micro-USB connectors. With all my other gadgets running on USB-C, it was a mild inconvenience.
The Arctis Nova 5 solves most of my pet peeves with the previous model. Battery life is now significantly longer, I can take advantage of my motherboard’s USB C slot for the receiver (more laptops support USB C instead of the standard A), and it’s significantly lighter with ABS plastic instead of metal.
Arctis Nova 5 Verdict and Philippines Price
You really can’t go wrong with the Arctis Nova 5. If you still aren’t convinced that wireless audio for gaming is the way to go, the 2.4GHz connectivity technology presents no lag at all even with fast-paced games like Call of Duty. As an Arctis convert, I can attest to the durability as my old model is still working, entering its 5th year.
The Arctis Nova 5 sells for P8,265 but is currently on sale at Datablitz for P7,435.
