- The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless doesn’t compromise audio quality
- Affordable price for stellar battery life and comfort
- Your mileage may vary on the elastic band
My derpy cats in Neko Atsume 2 have been dominating my life recently, but while the strays do nothing but stuff themselves in cardboard boxes and chow down on the sushi I leave out for them, each adorable meow they make adds to my enjoyment and inner peace.
The same is true for my insatiable desire to open virtual foil packs in Pokemon TCG Pocket – that satisfying crinkling each time I open a pack elevates the experience, so despite not going on hardcore PvP battles on mobile as of late, I still get a lovely kick out of the music and sounds from all my portable endeavours.
Enter the elusive perfect pair of headphones – one that not only delivers high-quality sound but also doesn’t make me feel like a vice grip is squeezing my temples after a couple of hours of gaming. Will the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 be up to the task?
Table of contents:
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless Design
Right out of the box, the matte finish of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless instantly gives it a more premium vibe, definitely more so than the Epos H3PRO Hybrid headset. There’s a plastic feel to it that doesn’t cheapen the whole thing, in my opinion, and the earcups are, honestly, one of the softest I’ve ever squished in the headsets I’ve tried so far.
One thing that made my eyebrow shoot up upon opening the package was the elastic headband. While most over-ear options go for foam cushions, this one features an adjustable headband with three notches to choose from.
Leaving the elastic sitting on top of my scalp gave me a headache just minutes into using it, so I had to switch to the farthest adjustment to make sure the elastic wasn’t stretching out over the top of my head. It’s not as soft as the aforementioned cushions like, say, for the RIG 600 Pro Acid Camo headset, but having it on for hours on end didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.
Your mileage may vary, of course, if you value squishy cushions over breathability. Plus, because it doesn’t feel like it’s clamping over my head with too much pressure, it also isn’t the most stable when you’re particularly fidgety – if you move around too much, the band might just slide off your head and leave the cups holding on to your ears for dear life.
Speaking of the earcups, these can also be adjusted to different heights, and after a bit of tinkering around, I finally found the right setting. After that, it was all a matter of sliding the earcups nice and snug onto my ear – did I mention how soft the ear cushions are? Because they’re soft – goodness, they’re soft – and the whole headset is also light enough not to put a strain on my head all throughout my testing.
By the way, I also love how the leather bits are concealed inside the earcups instead of outside because when they chip off after some wear and tear as they inevitably will, it’s not going to be an unsightly mess.
Gaming Experience And Performance
With the headset on, it’s the first time I haven’t struggled with the buttons simply because the controls are so easy to differentiate from one another. 
I didn’t feel the need to fumble around for which button switched between Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz, nor did I have to feel for the volume slider like I was excavating through buried treasure. It’s always a chore for me to figure out which did what, so I can’t tell you how grateful I am that SteelSeries decided to simplify matters with this one. Even tapping on the Mute button was easily noticeable, given the red light on the mic that I can clearly see in my periphery.
Speaking of the mic, it’s a cute little retractable one that you can twist and turn to your liking, but although it did the job for calls and voice chats, it’s not the most ideal audio input to use when you’re recording, say, a Pocket Gamer podcast. It captures all the hisses and breaths, plus the little pops and jiggles the headset makes when I’m adjusting it on my head or tapping on the buttons.
There’s a nice option to adjust the Sidetone from the app though, which means I can control how much of the white noise comes in or whether or not I want to monitor my own voice when speaking into the mic.
That said, connectivity is a breeze whether on Bluetooth or via the included USB-C dongle, and I didn’t feel like the sound dropped off the whole time I was playing on my phone. The battery life is commendable too, as it claims to have a whopping 60+ hours of charge – with that kind of power, it’s easy to forget even charging at all.
What’s The Verdict?
Much like the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds, there’s the handy Arctis mobile app that you can connect the headset to. You can choose from more than a hundred audio presets that feature both console AND mobile games, which meant I could spam combos in Zenless Zone Zero to my heart’s content and hear every single epic win. I can’t claim to have improved my terrible Wild Rift skills because of the enhanced audio, but having the right sounds in my ear did make every battle more satisfying.
One minor gripe I have though is that the dongle is unnecessarily wide, which can easily block other neighboring ports if you’re using it on your computer. My laptop, in particular, has two USB-C ports – one where it can hold the dongle solo, and one where the dongle takes up too much space and ends up blocking the other USB ports beside it.
It’s not going to be an issue if you’re using the dongle on your phone for whatever reason, but for your console or PC, just be sure you’ve got enough physical space.
Overall, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless is an affordable no-frills over-ear option for mobile gamers looking for both comfort and quality. And given how SteelSeries is the “most winning brand in esports”, you really can’t go wrong here.