SteelSeries gave a bit of a shock to the realm of gaming headsets when it put out the $600 Arctis Nova Elite, which earned a rare 10/10 for doing several things that other headsets just don’t do even at the high-end. But one of SteelSeries’ biggest strengths is having viable budget-tier options across the board (look at the Rival 3 Gen 2 mouse I reviewed last year, for example). The latest version of the wired Arctis Nova 1 has been out for a little while now, but it still fills that gap for headsets admirably by sporting many of the design principles of the more expensive options while providing solid sound quality worthy of its reasonable price tag. You can hear the advantages in more sophisticated headsets, for sure, but the Arctis Nova 1 is no slouch when it comes to clarity and comfort for the value, making it tough to beat in its price range.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 – Design and Comfort
You may recognize the physical makeup of the Arctis Nova 1…because it looks like every other headset in the lineup. And that’s a good thing since it’s a sleek, no-nonsense design. A few fancy bits have been trimmed off to fit its role as a budget option. The frame and headband is mostly a sturdy plastic that’s durable enough to handle with confidence and doesn’t feel flimsy when putting on or taking off. This also helps keep its weight down, coming in at just 260g, which is a major contrast to the hulking 560g Audeze Maxwell 2 I reviewed not too long ago.
The earpads provide enough comfort to wear for extended periods and rock a sports mesh material that limits the muggy feeling you get around your ears from a leatherette after several hours. The Arctis Nova 1 does have a pretty strong clamp force, which didn’t exactly bother me, but I’d prefer if it’d loosen up over time. Thankfully, the padding prevented it from irritating me during long sessions. The strap that lines the headband creates a sort of buffer between the top of your head and the frame itself, and you can hook the strap onto different notches to adjust its tension. This has been a consistent design choice in SteelSeries headsets, but I didn’t worry about the lack of padding here considering the clamp force of the earcups firmly secured the headset in place rather than having it rest on my head.
I would describe the Arctis Nova 1’s design as ‘efficient’ in that it nails the essentials, and nothing more or less. Things like tension-based telescoping arms, the full inward swivel to let it rest around your neck easily, or the retractable snake-like microphone that tucks seamlessly into the earcup – these are great design decisions that make it easy to use.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 – Features and Software
Since the Arctis Nova 1 is an analog wired-only headset, it’s not going to have many customizable features. You have a microphone mute button, the 3.5mm audio jack for connectivity, and a volume wheel next to the retractable mic. Features like fancy EQ presets, active noise cancelation, or game-chat mix aren’t part of the equation here. And for the money, I’m not really worried about those kinds of things. Otherwise, what you get in the package is a three-foot 3.5mm cable and a five-foot extension cord that also allows you to split the audio and microphone feeds. These aren’t going to benefit greatly from system-level EQ or driving them through a DAC or amp either since these aren’t equipped with the kind of audio drivers that would benefit from them.
This also means you’re not going to get the benefits of SeelSeries’ software, which has been one of the better apps from big manufacturers. Those tend to be bloated with options you’re never going to use and take up too much memory and storage for what they do, but the EQ presets and relatively slim profile of its app has been great on its other headsets (see the Arctis Nova Elite and Arctis GameBuds). With the Arctis Nova 1, what you hear is kind of what you get.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 – Sound Quality
Even as a budget-level headset, I’m really happy with the overall audio quality here. The Arctis Nova 1 sports similar 40mm audio drivers as others in SteelSeries lineup so you’re not getting a significantly pared-down version of what you get in, say, the Arctis Nova 5 or 7. While the sound experience isn’t quite as punchy or detailed as more sophisticated headsets, its sound profile remains clean and balanced – bass comes through nicely while mids and treble thankfully weren’t abrasive (although I could hear them struggle a bit at higher-than-normal volumes).
I played through most of Resident Evil Requiem using the Arctis Nova 1 and the scares came through loud and clear – screeching zombies and the dreaded footsteps of monsters that give chase, for example. The one aspect I noticed the headset lacking was positional audio, which can be a huge boon for a game like this where sound cues are often your most reliable tool for judging the direction and distance of zombies in the scarier sections. That’s not to say it’s going to put you at a severe disadvantage, but its limitations in sound separation were certainly noticeable when switching to the more expensive Asus ROG Kithara that I’m currently testing.
As per usual, Counter-Strike 2 being my go-to competitive shooter for testing, the Arctis Nova 1 was good enough to keep tabs on enemy activity. However, compared to higher-end headsets, I noticed that the direction and distance of those sound cues weren’t quite as distinct. There’s a little more compression between sound effects – they don’t sound bad at all, it’s just the audio fidelity I’ve been spoiled with from $300+ headsets put this kind of sound experience into perspective.
The Arctis Nova 1 is a sub-$60 gaming headset after all, and that’s not to give it an excuse, but to illustrate the contrast between different kinds of audio gear. Music still sounded decent between varying genres with formidable bass to back them up, and I was pretty happy with the solid clarity in Final Fantasy XIV’s busy soundscape with so many effects and music popping off simultaneously. And if you don’t want to sound like an Xbox 360-era Call of Duty lobby full of muffled expletives, the microphone on this one gets the job done.
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