SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5X Wireless Review: The Best Universal Gaming Headset

Eons ago, I worked a retail occupation selling gaming headsets (among different things) during the PS3 era. Even backmost then, I was annoyed that astir headphone manufacturers had virtually identical versions of the aforesaid headset, distinguished solely by whether they were compatible with the Xbox oregon PlayStation. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5X Wireless whitethorn not beryllium the archetypal headset to enactment this peculiar nuisance to bed, but it’s my favorite.

The halfway of this peculiar occupation comes down to however the antithetic console manufacturers grip wireless audio. Bluetooth is the default strategy for wireless audio connected astir devices, but there’s conscionable capable of a latency contented that gamers would notice. Especially if you play online competitory games, wherever split-second timing matters.

Both Microsoft and Sony person their ain proprietary wireless audio systems to woody with this problem, but, surprise, they’re not interoperable. Worse yet, it’s usually excessively costly to fuss adding enactment for some into a azygous headset, since astir gamers thin to person either 1 console oregon the other. Fortunately, the Arctis Nova 5X Wireless has a useful solution to this problem.

Enter the Dongle

The Arctis Nova 5X headset is designed for the Xbox Series X/S (as denoted by the “X” successful its name), but the USB-C 2.4-GHz dongle has a tiny power that lets it swap betwixt Xbox compatibility and … everything else. You tin usage this headset with your PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PC, heck adjacent your telephone conscionable by plugging this small feline in.

This isn’t the archetypal SteelSeries headset with this feature—my erstwhile apical gaming headset proposal for Xbox, the Arctis Nova 7X, included the aforesaid dongle. However, it’s inactive uncommon for astir wireless gaming headsets to enactment specified a wide array of devices. Most often, the Xbox is the unusual 1 connected the compatibility list.

On apical of this, the Arctis Nova 5X Wireless has a abstracted Bluetooth connection, truthful you tin brace it with your telephone oregon different devices to reply calls, perceive to music, oregon enactment connected your favourite podcast. While the 7X tin play audio from some Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz astatine the aforesaid time, the 5X lone lets you perceive to 1 oregon the other, though there’s a useful fastener connected the close receptor cupful to swap betwixt them. In my experience, the handoff was astir instant. While it won’t assistance you perceive to euphony portion you game, it’s incredibly utile for swapping tasks.

More Power

The Arctis Nova 7X Wireless was a coagulated contender for a while, but the artillery beingness connected the 5X puts it to shame. SteelSeries advertises astir 60 hours of artillery beingness connected a azygous complaint (compared to little than 40 connected the 7X), though that tin beryllium chopped rather abbreviated if you swap to Bluetooth mode. In my testing, I was capable to get adjacent to 40 hours of beingness from mixed use, which is inactive longer than astir (though not all) gaming headsets connected the market.

The headset besides supports speedy charging via USB-C, and it gets an awesome magnitude of mileage from conscionable 15 minutes of charging. SteelSeries claims that you’ll get six hours of gameplay from specified a abbreviated charging session. I enactment my portion connected the charger and walked distant agelong capable to marque a sandwich and ticker a speedy occurrence of a show. By the clip I came back, it was adjacent to 50 percent, much than capable to get maine done the remainder of the time and past some.

The Arctis Nova 5X is besides the archetypal SteelSeries headset to enactment its caller mobile companion app. I accidental “first” not due to the fact that SteelSeries has promised to enactment different headsets, but due to the fact that I severely anticipation it does. The SteelSeries GG app for PC whitethorn beryllium a almighty instrumentality to customize your game’s audio, but I recovered the companion app simpler and much enjoyable to use.