SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC review

SteelSeries has been a gaming peripheral mainstay for years, and a big part of its appeal comes from its headsets. The SteelSeries Arctis Pro offers more features than you can shake a stick at, and it’s the first gaming headset to be certified for Hi-Res audio.

The landscape for premium gaming headsets that work on multiple platforms is a crowded one. How does the Arctis Pro hold up?

Editor’s note: this SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC review was updated on June 7, 2022, to address the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro, add in-line FAQs, and update the Alternatives section.

What is the SteelSeries Arctis Pro like to use?

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro is a sturdy, comfortable headset. It has an aluminum frame and suspension band that’s elastic-like a pair of ski goggles. Unlike the many suspension bands that require no adjustment, you can set the tightness of the Arctis Pro using a velcro patch. I adjusted the band tightness once, and never had to think about it again. It sat just tight enough to fit snugly on my head, without any uncomfortable pressure.

The headphones sit on slightly offset hinges and feature pads made of something called airweave fabric. Think of it somewhere between leather and velour, it’s a little more flexible than leather but stiffer than velour. All the same, it’s very comfortable and I never had any issues wearing them for long stretches of time. The airweave pads don’t get as hot as leather, and they’re large enough to comfortably fit around my ears. However, they may not work as well as velour with glasses, and so might be worth replacing.

The left headphone houses a retractable mic, which extends about four inches on a flexible wire and sits almost flush when not in use. It also features a mute button, volume dial, a port for the cord going to the Game DAC, and a 3.5mm jack.

You can customize the look of the SteelSeries Arctis Pro to a degree, but it is undeniably a gaming headset in its aesthetic. When connected, LED lights ring both headphones, and a bright light shines from the mic when it’s muted. Black matte panels sit on the sides of the headphones, held in place magnetically, and you can take them off or replace them. SteelSeries sells panels and straps of different colors and designs, if you want to change the headset’s look even more.

Thankfully, there’s no necessary software component to using the SteelSeries Arctis Pro to its utmost. Many gaming headsets offer a bevy of options, only to lock them in clunky, badly optimized software that sometimes doesn’t even work. Instead, the Arctis comes with a GameDAC, a small external console for controlling different settings and minutia.

How do you use the GameDAC?

While we don’t typically recommend DAC units for most people, the one that comes with the SteelSeries Arctis Pro is very useful. Not only does it offer a bunch of cool ancillary features, but it takes the processing away from your computer or console and does the heavy lifting away from the remote possibility of interference. While nobody really needs Hi-Res audio to enjoy music or games, its inclusion here means you won’t find any audio your headset can’t handle.

The GameDAC unit is a handy little thing, letting you change the mix between game and call audio, as well as volume, on the fly. A small button next to the main dial toggles surround sound, which is great when switching back and forth between audio sources.

Pressing and holding the main dial opens up the settings menus for the headset on the unit’s LED screen. In the audio settings, you can change mic output volume, whether surround sound is on, change equalization presets, and set the gain and side tone.

You can also change input and output settings, the unit’s display brightness, and the color of the LEDs on the headphones and the mic, with options like Frost Blue, Purple, Rainbow, Heat Orange, and more. You can also just turn them off entirely if you like.

The DAC offers quite a few options, but it’s simple enough to use and intuitively laid out—it kind of needs to be, with only two buttons.

How is gaming with the SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC?

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro offers surround sound using DTS Headphone:X 2.0 tech, which creates a realistic 3D audio environment in game. This offered noticeably clearer surround sound than most of the headsets I’ve used. I never had much trouble picking out footsteps from gunfire and roughly gauging their direction and distance in Overwatch and Fortnite. The quick toggle button on the Game DAC made it pretty easy to tell just how much more information you get using the surround sound compared to stereo mode. Though I didn’t necessarily get better at any game, the surround sound definitely offered plenty of useful and usable information.

How do you connect the SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC?

These headphones are wired only, but there are still a decent amount of connection options. You can connect the Game DAC unit to a PC via USB, or to a Playstation 4 using the optical cord (in addition to the USB cord), or even to a phone or other device’s headphone jack with the included 3.5mm dongle.

Does the SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC block out noise?

The Arctis Pro manages average isolation among gaming headsets. It doesn’t compare very well to a pair of rubber-tipped earbuds or headphones with ANC, but it’ll keep the distractions of home at bay. You shouldn’t run into any issues with noisy roommates or TV blaring in another room. If you’ve ever worn an Arctis headset with the same sort of earpads, you know what you’re getting into.

These headphones won’t isolate you very well from noise outside the home, but it’s not terribly portable anyway. You’d have to leave the DAC unit behind if you go out, and at that point, you’re missing out on a big part of the Arctis Pro’s appeal.

How does the SteelSeries Arctis Pro sound?

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro has little trouble reproducing most sounds accurately. Its bass output is a little lower than we’re accustomed to seeing out of a gaming headset, but mid-range sounds are nicely emphasized. I never ran into issues with picking subtler sounds out from the booming bass of explosions in games—a common issue with gaming headsets, which are often very bassy.

Lows, mids, and highs

Listening to music, I found it sometimes difficult to hear some string parts with songs featuring particularly prominent bass lines. For instance, in Bonerama’s instrumental cover of Led Zeppelin’s The Ocean, the trombone completely drowns out the rhythm guitar at the beginning of the song.

How is the microphone on the SteelSeries Arctis Pro?

The Steelseries Arctis Pro’s microphone offers decent enough audio output. While generally clear, it de-emphasizes bass significantly, so deeper voices can come across as a little tinny, as shown in the chart. If you’ve got a higher voice, you shouldn’t run into much trouble.

Additionally, the mic is a little quicker to peak than some, so turning down its volume in the Game DAC may be warranted. For reference, here’s how it sounds when I, a man of culture and taste, speak into it at an output volume of five out of 10.

Arctis Pro microphone demo (Non-standardized):

Should you buy the SteelSeries Arctis Pro?

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro is a very good gaming headset. It’s extremely comfortable and it sounds great. It definitely seems like a product built to deliver as many options and features as possible in as convenient a package as possible. There are ample connection options and customizable features, all delivered in a streamlined and approachable package that doesn’t require installing any obnoxious software.

With that said, the headset’s not particularly affordable, and it doesn’t necessarily sound better than headsets of the same or lower price. Ultimately, it depends on whether you really want that GameDAC and the features it brings. Without a doubt, it’s a useful device that works really well, and it’s definitely good to invest in great headphones. If you’re a PC gamer, you’ll have trouble finding a better wired option, but you can get close for a lot less money.

How does the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro compare to the Arctis Pro + GameDAC?

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro is a long-awaited update to the Arctis Pro + GameDAC, and this time around, the headset has a revamped headband mechanism. Rather than the signature ski-goggle band, you get a suspension-style headband that’s held in place with frame pins. You need to manually adjust the band along the pins for a good fit but it’s pretty comfortable. Another odd change: you no longer get the airweave fabric ear pads, but instead you get leatherette ear pads, which improves isolation but makes for a sweatier listening experience.

The GameDAC Gen 2 looks more modern than the original GameDAC, and the newer model comes pre-loaded with EQ presets and the ability to create a custom sound via the 10-band EQ. Unlike the Arctis Pro, the Arctis Nova is compatible with SteelSeries GG desktop software, but this can override whatever EQ settings you’ve selected directly from the DAC. While this quirk is frustrating, you get firmware updates for the GameDAC with it which is a nice touch.

Sound quality and isolation are much better with the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro than with the Arctis Pro. You get a louder bass response out of the Nova Pro that more closely follows our consumer target curve. The microphone quality remains quite good here too.

If you want to future-proof your purchase, the SteelSeries Artcis Nova Pro makes more sense, though we wish that SteelSeries had kept the old ear pads and headband design.

What you should get instead of the SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC

However, there are potentially better options on both sides of the price spectrum. A headset like the HyperX Cloud Alpha will get the job done well without the bells and whistles for about $100 USD, and the Audeze Mobius offers more, and often more meaningful features if you want something really premium.

You can also split the difference, and still save a ton of money without losing out on features—as long as you don’t mind software. Wired gaming headsets like the Logitech G Pro X, Razer BlackShark V2, and Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 are all comfortable gaming headsets with tons of features, but you need to use a companion app to get them, all of which work a little differently.

Frequently asked questions about the SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC