SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless review: This gaming headset has the right mix of everything
SteelSeries’ best gaming headset features at a reasonable price
Pros:
✅ 🎮 Audio presets custom-tuned specifically for over 100+ game
✅ 🎧 Large, flexible soundstage works well for music and bombastic sound effects
✅ 📐 Slim, sophisticated design works for everyday wear
✅ 📲 Nova 5 app is fast and easy to navigate
✅ 😌 Comfortable and breathable design with two points of height adjustment
✅ 🏃♂️ Long 60+ hour battery life
✅ 🗣️ Clearer microphone (with improved AI-noise-canceling for game chat on PC)
Cons
❌ 🚫 USB-C dongle can block other ports on the PS5 and some gaming handhelds
❌ 🙂↔️ Changing audio presets requires the phone to be connected over Bluetooth
❌ 💻 Nova 5 app doesn’t offer any custom EQ tunning and is on the PC app instead
🏆 Review score: 4.5 out of 5
The Shortcut review
The Arctis Nova 5 might be a mid-range gaming headset, but for $129 it gives you access to SteelSeries’ most illustrious gaming preset feature that’s been only accessible to its high-end gaming headsets thus far. Thanks to the new companion Nova 5 smartphone app, you can swap between audio presets for over 100 new and popular games from your phone. Many of the gaming EQ presets were mixed by the game developers themselves. The Arctis Nova 5 headset’s lower price and inviting phone app make it the best and most affordable way to enjoy gaming audio as it was meant to be heard.
In a police lineup with SteelSeries’ past headsets, the Nova 5 is clearly a paired-down version of SteelSeries’ higher-end headsets with a plastic frame and only Wireless or Bluetooth quick switching instead of simultaneous dual connections. However, this new headset stands out from its pack with a longer 60-hour battery life and an improved microphone for clearer game chat audio.
Full Review
💅 Killer looks for less $$$. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless has a handsome design and it looks like the skinnier version of the SteelSeries premium headsets, the Arctis Pro Wireless and Arctis Nova 7. The stepped shape of the earcups really cuts down on the bulky look of most gaming headsets. Without any striking lighting or gaudy color accents, the Arctis Nova 5 could pass as a pair of wireless headphones for everyday wear.
😌 Comfort for days. This headset doesn’t just look good, it feels good to wear too. It features two levels of adjustment between a pair of arms that extend about an inch and the stretchy headband can be adjusted to three positions. So whether you have a large head or a lot of hair, or just want a snug fit you’ll be able to dial in the Arctis Nova 5’ fit to your liking. The ear cups are super squishy and the cushions are wrapped in breathable fabric. I can easily wear this headset for hours to days without my ears getting sweaty.
🛜 Quick switch wireless. The Arctis Nova 5 works wirelessly with a 2.4GHz USB-C dongle and over Bluetooth 5.3 – though not at the same time. Instead, you can only hear audio from one source at a time so I can’t listen to podcasts while I complete daily challenges in Fallout 76. But at least you can quickly switch this headset between its wireless connections by hitting a button on the right earcup. Quick switching works well even if you have to trigger it manually. I can easily go from playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on the PS5 to streaming music from Spotify on my phone with a quick button press. The headset will also give you an audio cue to switch to Bluetooth if you get a phone call while playing.
🎧 All-range sound. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 sounds fantastic for everyday music/podcasts or gaming. The Nova 5 has a broad sound stage that really shows off its range during Helldivers 2 extractions when the bombastic soundtrack mixes with the ever-increasing chaos of explosions and Terminid/Automaton screams. The headset is also deft for producing the bassy synth-wave music in the latest Forza Horizon 5 Retrowave season.
🎮 📱 Universal dongle (with the 5X). Like most SteelSeries headsets, the Nova 5 comes in multiple variants with the Nova 5, Nova 5P, and Nova 5X. The Nova 5 and Nova 5P are compatible with Sony’s consoles, PCs, the PlayStation Portal, and anything with a USB-C port outside of an Xbox. You’ll want the Nova 5X for maximum compatibility as its wireless adapter works with the Xbox Series X/S and everything above. The specs and price are the same across all three variants, so buying the most compatible version is a no-brainer. I just wish SteelSeries would have gone with an L-shaped or a straight USB-C dongle as the T-shaped receiver blocks the second USB-C port on the PS5 Silm and the volume buttons on the Lenovo Legion Go.
📲 Nova 5 companion app. The Arctis Nova 5 also comes with a companion Nova 5 app on iOS and Android that’s integral to its experience. The app gives you access to 100+ presets tailored to popular games like Baulder’s Gate 3, MW3, Helldivers 2, Street Fighter 6, Starfield, and mobile games like PUBG: Mobile and iRacing. Game developers mixed many of the presets and each one is designed to let you hear games as they were intended to be heard. You can assign two different presets for your wireless and Bluetooth connection and change them on the fly on your phone.
🧺 100+ presets. The presets might sound like a gimmick, but they make a big impact and you won’t find them from any other gaming headset brand. Playing Helldivers 2 with its specific preset makes you feel the thud of landing players and strategems with a more punchy low-end hit. The Forza Horizon 5 preset elevates the high-speed whirl of a supercharger as you’re speeding along winding roads in Mexico. The Modern Warfare 3 preset helped bring footsteps to the forefront so I could tell where enemies were running towards my location.
🫥 Limited starting app functionality. While the new Nova 5 app has finally brought SteelSeries’ presets outside of its GG app on the PC it’s not as full-featured as I would like. One very apparent omission is you can’t manually tweak the equalizer yourself or share your game presets on the app. You’ll still need to do all of that on the PC and there’s no easy way of sharing those custom EQs to the mobile app either. Aside from presets, the mobile app only allows you to adjust the mic’s pick-up and sidetone monitoring volumes, toggle an audio limiter, and switch the headset to an extended wireless range mode. I’ll chalk up the app’s limitations to this being SteelSeries’ first smartphone app and hope more functionality is added over time.
🙏 Bluetooth Multipoint, please. The only thing I felt the Arctis Nova 5 was missing was Bluetooth Multipoint, which allows the headset to connect to two (or more) Bluetooth devices simultaneously. I spent 50% of my time using the Nova 5 with the Steam Deck OLED and Asus ROG Ally connected over Bluetooth since both handhelds have only one USB-C port I use primarily for charging. Whenever I needed to change presets, I would first have to re-pair the headset to my phone, choose it on the app, and then re-pair my headset to my handheld. That’s a drawn-out process that could be alleviated with multipoint, as I would always have the phone connected to change between presets. SteelSeries explained to The Shortcut that Multipoint wasn’t added to avoid overcomplicating the user interface.
💫 Silver linings. Thankfully, the headset saves whichever presets you’ve set for your wireless and Bluetooth connections even if you switch devices. You could always plug the USB-C dongle into most handhelds to get through a 3-6 hour play session until more long-lasting PC gaming handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally X and MSI Claw 8 AI+ come out (and eventually the Sony PSP 2).
🗣️ ClearCast 2.X mic. The Arctis Nova 5 also sports a new microphone with double the bandwidth of SteelSeries’ previous microphones for clearer 32KHz/16Bit audio. That 2x increase in bandwidth translates to a much better sounding mic according to fellow Vault Dwellers in Fallout 76 and divers in Hell Divers 2. Also thanks to AI-powered noise-cancelling, the microphone could cut out keyboard clicks and even drinking noises while I had it positioned right in front of my mouth.
🔋 60+ hours of wireless gaming. SteelSeries has rated its Nova 5 headset with 60 hours of battery life and I got a little more than that with closer to 63 hours of usage. I split my time with the headset with the 2.4GHz connected to my PS5 and Bluetooth connected to the Asus ROG Ally and got about 5-7 hours of gameplay throughout the weekdays and roughly 10 hours on the weekend. The long battery life also makes this headset great for long marathon sessions and it’s so easy to forget you’re wearing them thanks to their comfy and breathable design. This is definitely a long-lasting headset that will get you through a week of gaming.
🤼 Rising competition. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 was ahead of the competition when it was first announced as the only gaming headset to give you Wireless Bluetooth connectivity for $129. Its only competition then was the $149 EPOS Gaming H3Pro or $179+ gaming headsets that gave you simultaneous Wireless and Bluetooth. However, as of the writing of this review, the Turtle Beach Stealth 500 gives you the same switchable connection options for $79. The Arctis Nova 5 still comes out on top with a shaper design, 20 hours more battery life, and its signature gaming presets. But if you’re just looking for a headset that can connect with more of your devices, there are cheaper options now or wait for a sale.
Should you buy the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless?
Yes, if…
✅ 🎮 🎵You want a headset that works just as well for music and gaming
✅ 🎚️ You want to hear gaming audio as the game developers intended
✅ 🗣️ You want to be heard clearly on game chat with additional AI-noise cancelling on PC
✅ You need a gaming headset with a week-long battery life
No, if…
❌ 🔇 You want a gaming headset with noise-canceling. Get the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless instead.
❌ 🔀 You just want a headset with wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. There are cheaper options or wait for a sale.
❌ 📵 You want a headset that can pair to your phone and gaming devices simultaneously
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director and has been reviewing tech for more than a decade, including going in-depth on TVs and soundbars.