SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds review: earbuds for your PlayStation or Xbox

SteelSeries’ Arctis GameBuds are the archetypal gaming earbuds I really privation to buy. Sony, Razer, and Logitech each connection akin gaming-focused earbuds, but SteelSeries is the lone institution offering low-latency earbuds with Bluetooth connectivity and console compatibility, a mobile app with almighty per-game EQ settings, progressive sound cancellation, and a wireless charging case, each for $159.99.

It’s a unsocial operation astatine this price, and I’ve travel to admit it successful caller weeks, adjacent swapping my trusted Arctis Nova Pro headset for these earbuds for PC gaming. Unlike Bluetooth-only earbuds, the GameBuds besides enactment connected PlayStation oregon Xbox, truthful I’ve been utilizing them to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, among different games.

The Arctis GameBuds look precise akin to Jabra’s discontinued Elite enactment of earbuds, housed successful a pill-shaped wireless charging lawsuit that tin present up to 40 hours of artillery beingness successful total. The lawsuit besides includes the 2.4GHz USB-C dongle that tin beryllium attached to a crippled console, PC, oregon phone. There’s a cablegram wrong the packaging that turns this into a USB-A dongle, for those without a USB-C port.

Each earbud has a azygous button. Pressing the left-hand-side fastener cycles done transparency and sound cancellation, portion the right-hand fastener is play / pause. You tin besides pat and clasp the close earbud to summation the measurement oregon pat and clasp the near earbud to alteration it. 

Switching betwixt Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless is conscionable 3 taps distant with the broadside buttons and is instant. Unfortunately, you can’t usage Bluetooth astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic the 2.4GHz mode, truthful you can’t perceive to euphony from your telephone alongside crippled audio from your PlayStation oregon Xbox. It’s a shame due to the fact that galore of SteelSeries’ different headsets, similar my Nova Pro, are susceptible of this.

The GameBuds travel with a assortment of silicone tips to assistance you find the champion seal for your ears, truthful you tin get the champion usage retired of the progressive sound canceling mode. They usage 4 microphones to tune retired distractions, and they bash a bully occupation of filtering retired sounds astir you if you’re playing euphony oregon a large game, but they’re obscurity adjacent arsenic bully arsenic Apple’s AirPods Pro oregon the Bose earbuds. You’ll inactive perceive immoderate ambient sounds if you person the measurement debased oregon your crippled doesn’t person a ton of audio.

The audio prime is bully for $159.99, and the equalizer presets fto you take options with much bass if you’re listening to euphony oregon a level EQ if you’re listening to podcasts. There’s besides a transparency mode, and you tin power the levels of some the ANC and transparency modes successful the Arctis mobile app. This app is easy the champion portion of the Arctis GameBuds due to the fact that it besides includes the gaming equalizer presets that person go truthful fashionable and utile connected SteelSeries’ enactment of headphones. There are presets for much than 100 games, and you truly announcement the differences erstwhile you toggle betwixt them. The Valorant preset is tuned successful a mode that makes it a batch easier to perceive footsteps successful that game, and it tin honestly beryllium the quality betwixt winning and losing a combat due to the fact that you perceive the different subordinate earlier you spot them.

The aforesaid presets are disposable connected the SteelSeries GG desktop app, truthful if you usage these connected a gaming PC, you’ll beryllium capable to instrumentality vantage of Sonar — SteelSeries’ fantabulous audio strategy for Windows. I utilized to hatred that SteelSeries forced you to usage Sonar, but it’s really a acold superior strategy for managing audio successful Windows than what Microsoft offers retired of the box. It adjacent has spatial audio and AI-powered sound cancellation for microphones to filter retired things similar your canine barking successful the mediate of a crippled oregon video call.

I’ve been utilizing the GameBuds chiefly connected a PC, but it’s casual to plug the USB-C dongle into an Xbox oregon PlayStation arsenic agelong arsenic you’ve bought the close version. All models of the GameBuds enactment with PlayStation, PCs, and different consoles similar the Switch. But Xbox users volition request to get the Xbox version, which is the aforesaid terms but includes an further spot to adhere to Microsoft’s information policies positive a slider fastener connected the USB-C dongle to power to Xbox compatibility. It’s disappointing that the Xbox mentation lone comes successful black; the achromatic mentation looks nice.

I utilized the GameBuds with my Xbox, and the setup is seamless. You simply plug the dongle successful and the Xbox recognizes there’s a headset attached and assigns it to your illustration conscionable similar immoderate different headset. You tin past power the EQ settings, ANC, and much from the Arctis mobile app.

The mobile and desktop apps besides database artillery life, which I’ve recovered comes adjacent to matching the 10 hours SteelSeries advertises. Using ANC and the microphone regularly, I averaged astir 9 hours, but if you person those disabled, it’s person to 10 hours. It doesn’t look to marque a quality whether you’re connected Bluetooth oregon 2.4GHz mode.

The lawsuit has capable other artillery beingness to complaint the GameBuds astir 4 times earlier you request to plug them into a USB-C charger. You tin besides complaint the lawsuit connected a Qi wireless charger, truthful I’ve been capable to usage the aforesaid charger I usage for my AirPods Pro.

The lone issues I ran into portion investigating the GameBuds were related to video calls connected my PC. Sometimes the audio would distort to the constituent wherever the buds felt similar they were vibrating connected calls erstwhile the different person’s microphone peaked excessively high. I managed to get this nether power by reducing the chat measurement successful the Sonar app. I besides recovered that the 2.4GHz awesome inactive breaks up successful the aforesaid spots of my location that the Nova Pro Wireless headphones do. It’s lone erstwhile I spell excessively acold distant from the dongle, though.

I bash privation the GameBuds had a mode that fto you power microphone inputs connected the fly. I usage a dedicated XLR microphone connected my PC, but erstwhile I locomotion distant from my table with the GameBuds in, I’d emotion to beryllium capable to pat the broadside buttons and power to the microphone input connected the buds instead. I’d besides emotion to beryllium capable to usage Bluetooth and 2.4GHz modes astatine the aforesaid time, truthful I’m hoping SteelSeries volition continually amended these GameBuds similar it has the remainder of its headphones. But that doesn’t mean you should bargain them hoping they’ll get amended successful the future.

If you’re looking for thing little gaming-focused with amended dependable quality, and you’re consenting to walk a small more, determination are plentifulness of other earbud options. But for $159.99, these are a large enactment for your PlayStation, Xbox, oregon PC. The GameBuds are comfortable, dependable good, and connection large crippled presets that you won’t find connected different earbuds.

Photography by Tom Warren / The Verge