Gaming: Breaking Steelseries Arctis Nova Elite Review
The Arctis Nova Elite has some undoubtedly impressive drivers, and that's a very fine achievement. But its prohibitive price tag, in combination with a firm fit and a "see what sticks" approach to its feature set, fails to butter my parsnips. If it was cheaper, I'd like it a whole lot more. But for this sort of money? I don't think it justifies its massive MSRP.
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How much would you pay for a "luxury" gaming headset, with all the bells and whistles you could think of? Something that sounded great, with excellent battery life, plush earpads, ANC, and maybe even a separate DAC? Whatever the theoretical headset, I'd imagine the figure you just thought of would likely be far above $200, perhaps ranging into $300/$400 territory.
SteelSeries thinks you'll pay $600. That's how much the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite costs, and I've been told it's for the "ultimate gamer". Someone with an ultra-high end rig, a chair with all the massage functions, and presumably, a gold-plated gaming keyboard. Y'know, all the little extras.
In a time where the cost of gaming hardware seems to be rising on a daily basis, that $600 figure still feels extreme. It's proper audiophile headset money, put sharply into contrast by something like the Audeze Maxwell 2, a brilliant, boutique wireless headset with space-age planar magnetic drivers from a brand with serious pedigree in the audio nerd world.
The Maxwell 2 will cost you $320. Yep, that means you could buy nearly two of the ultra high-end beasts for the same money as a single Arctis Nova Elite. SteelSeries, however, is banking on the set's extensive list of extra features and luxury touches to help justify that price point.
Type: Closed-backConnectivity: 2.4 GHz via included DAC, Bluetooth 5.3 + LC3+ LE AudioDrivers: 40 mm brass surround + carbon fiberFrequency response: 10-40,000 HzMic: ClearCast Gen 2.X retractable boom mic, on-ear beamforming micExtras: Game Hub DAC with up to 96 kHz/24-bit audio processing and four outputs (3x USB Type-C, 1x line in, 1x line out), ANC, beamforming microphones, 2x swappable batteries with charging slotBattery life: 30-hours per battery (swappable)Weight: 380 g (headset)Price: $600/£600
My review sample comes in a "Sage Gold" finish, for a start. It's a very trendy sort of colour combination, w
Source: PC Gamer
