SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless Review Philippines: A few headsets in the market have the right mix of affordability, features, comfort, and battery life that the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless can deliver. If you’re looking to up your audio experience when gaming, it’s hard to beat the value that these pair of cans give you.

Pros

• Lightweight
• Very comfortable
• Excellent sound quality
• Long battery life
• Mic can be hidden when not in use

Cons

• No ANC

There are few headsets today that can do what the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 can. This relatively inexpensive gaming can doesn’t only deliver excellent sound quality when you’re gaming on the PC, it’s also a fantastic performer when it comes to music and console gaming. Its excellent fit and long battery life is just icing on a damn good cake.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless Review Philippines: Design

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 uses a ski-style headband that’s fully adjustable depending on the shape and size of your head. While I’ve typically only used traditional headband styles for most of the gaming headsets I’ve used, I haven’t had issues with the Arctis Nova 5 during my time with it.

While SteelSeries uses mesh and foam upholstery in the Arctis Nova 5 and not leather that other brands typically utilize, I’ve found that the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 is much more comfortable to wear around my head for extended periods.

The earcups slide in and out of the headband and stay put for the most part once you’ve settled on your preferred length. The clamping pressure from the headband feels ok and not at all excessive, which is perfect for extended gaming sessions.

There are a few buttons on the earcups–the right earcup holds the power button, the button to switch from 2.4GHz mode to Bluetooth mode, and the USB Type-C port for charging. The left earcup holds the volume wheel, as well as the button to mute and unmute the included boom mic. Speaking of the boom mic, you can retract it into the earcup when you’re not using it, which is a nifty feature, especially when compared to other gaming headsets that either can’t remove their boom mic or have boom mics that detach completely. I found that the latter setup is a recipe for disaster for forgetful people like me who tend to lose track of where I put small accessories of my audio products.

The biggest annoyance I have with the Arctis Nova 5 is the 2.4GHz wireless dongle. For some reason, SteelSeries decided to design it into a T shape, which essentially blocks whatever USB port is adjacent to it when it’s plugged into a PC or a console. It’s a poor design and I’m flabbergasted why the dongle is shaped that way considering how well the cans are designed.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless Review: Software and battery life

One thing that I like about the Arctis Nova 5 is the accompanying mobile app that you can download on your phone. The mobile app makes it easy to swap EQ presets depending on the game you’re playing, as well as control microphone volume and sidetone. It also allows you to keep an eye on your current battery levels.

If you plan to use the Arctis Nova 5 with your PC, you get expanded audio controls via the SteelSeries GG app. This app has more control over what presets, positional audio, and other audio-related things you can do with the Arctis Nova 5, including AI-powered noise removal for the included mic for crystal-clear audio.

Speaking of battery, the battery of this thing is unbelievable. SteelSeries pegs the battery life of the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless at 60 hours on a single charge, and that’s pretty accurate. It took literal weeks of using the thing in 5-hour chunks to drain the battery down to just 50% – if you’re the sort of person who hates charging headphones, this pair is for you.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless Review Philippines: Audio quality

One of the most surprising things about the Arctis Nova 5 is its sound quality. Out of the box, the headphones’ sound is very good – the bass is strong without being muddy, the mids are well-rounded and the highs are perfectly balanced. Combined with the different EQ modes in the app, the Arctis Nova 5 can transmit positional audio in several games where this matters – mostly in FPS games like Counter-Strike 2, COD, Squad, and others.

For games that aren’t strictly competitive per se, the sound quality is equally as good. Gaming with the Arctis Nova 5 in Helldivers 2 gave me a sense of immersion that’s on par with my more expensive Razer Barracuda Pro. If there’s one thing I’m going to hit the Arctis Nova 5 for, is that it doesn’t have ANC. If you’re a sweaty SEA player like me who always has a fan beside him, that fan noise is going to cut into the audio.

The microphone is also quite good, thanks to the 32KHz/16Bit audio that it provides. You get crystal clear comms that approach the one on SteelSeries’ own Alias Pro. I’ve attached the audio sample here so you can hear what the comms sound like in a room without any noise cancellation software.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless Review Philippines: Wrap-up and Verdict

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless is a fantastic, bang-for-the-buck wireless headset that gives you fantastic audio for gaming, music, and entertainment. It has phenomenal battery life, comfortable fit, excellent software that you can tweak on the go as well as sound quality that rivals more expensive models. You’d be a fool not to get this if you had the budget for it.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless Philippines: Price

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless is priced at Php 7,765.