Historically, I've not been a big fan of SteelSeries' gaming peripherals. In general, I've seen their offerings as inferior versions of the sorts of mice, keyboards, controllers, and headsets made by others. In fact, the last SteelSeries gaming headset I attempted to use years ago was so subpar in just about every regard that, had I not received it for free as part of a promotion when buying an unrelated product, I would have likely sworn off the brand on principle.
Oh my, how things have changed.
Having made my way through a range of decent to good wireless gaming headsets over the past several years, I spent a fair amount of that time longing for the day when I could buy one without any noteworthy compromises, a device with great audio, a stellar mic, excellent battery life, and all the features that make for an ideal, auditory gaming experience.
After yet another, recent round of considerable research on the subject, I found to my shock that one name kept popping up when assessing nearly every criteria for a "dream" gaming headset, the "Arctis Pro Wireless" by SteelSeries.
A bit more research ensued amid some hesitation based on my past experiences with the brand, and some troubling reports regarding the build quality of the device from some customer reviews on various sites.
Ultimately, I decided to take the plunge and give SteelSeries another chance. I'm very glad I did.
In my experience with it thus far, the "Arctis Wireless Pro" is hands-down the best gaming headset I've ever used, and by a wide margin. In short, it's an absolute ringer, with rich, dynamic, immersive sound, the best noise-cancelling mic I've ever heard attached to a headset, and truly-robust battery life.
Having said that, it's in the details and the features that go above and beyond what one would typically expect from such a product where the "Arctis Pro Wireless" really shines.
With support for both RF and Bluetooth wireless audio, it's equally-well-suited to PC gaming, console gaming, or simply listening to any sort of media on just about any device. It's worth noting that the PS4 is the officially-supported console, despite it being possible to
use the "Arctis Pro Wireless" with an Xbox One.
The headset also includes two, hot-swappable batteries, with the ability to charge one in the control unit such that the headset itself need never be plugged in at all. Let that sink in for a moment. This is a wireless gaming headset that never needs to be plugged in, ever.
Speaking of the control box, it sports an elegantly simple, yet feature complete, user interface that allows every aspect of the headset to be tuned and monitored. I especially like the equalizer, which allows for fully-customized presets, and the volume limiter, which has already saved my ears a few times from obnoxiously-loud default audio settings in games.
I could go on and on about how great the "Arctis Pro Wireless" is, from its comfortable, light fit, to its understated, but still visually appealing, design, to the overall feeling of quality it exudes. It really is that rare bird in the tech world that checks all the boxes with no obvious, significant flaws.
Yes, it's a bit pricey at $250, and yes, there does seem to be plenty of evidence out there that some bad units may have escaped the factory at some point, but in the weeks I've spent with it so far, the "Arctis Pro Wireless" has been rock solid and worth every penny.
