SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1
vs
Xbox Wireless Headset

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 is a relatively new headset. In terms of sound quality, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 is one of the best sounding headsets with very clear and crisp sound. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 is great for watching TV and is very convenient while enabling immersive sound experience. For gaming, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 has excellent support and feature set that enables superb gaming experience. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 suffers in terms of outside noise isolation and is not convenient for travel and commution in loud environments. In terms of noise cancelling, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 has underwhelming sound performance and below average noise handling. For the sports and fitness enthusiasts,the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 is not recommended as it lacks in comfort and stability while doing sports. Sound leakage is worse that other competitors.

Xbox Wireless Headset

The wireless support in Xbox Wireless Headset is very convenient. The Xbox Wireless Headset is a relatively new headset. The sound quality of the Xbox Wireless Headset is below average, especially for critical listening. Sound leakage is worse that other competitors. The Xbox Wireless Headset is not suitable for those who want the best convenience and sound experience while watching tv. For the sports and fitness enthusiasts,the Xbox Wireless Headset is not recommended as it lacks in comfort and stability while doing sports. In terms of noise cancelling, the Xbox Wireless Headset has underwhelming sound performance and below average noise handling. For gaming, the Xbox Wireless Headset is not up to par with other similar headsets. The Xbox Wireless Headset suffers in terms of outside noise isolation and is not convenient for travel and commution in loud environments.

Active Features

	Arctis Nova 1	Wireless Headset
ANC Control	No	No
Additional Charges	N/A	0.0
Android	No	No
App Name	No App	Xbox Accessories
Audio While Charging	No	Yes
Battery Type	No Battery	Rechargable
Button Mapping	No	No
Charge Time	N/A	3.2 hrs
Charging Port	None	USB-C
Equalizer	No	Graphic + Presets
Mic Control	No	Adjustable Level
Passive Playback	Passive Headphone	No
Playback Control	No	No
Power-Saving Feature	No	Auto-Off Timer
Room Effects	No	No
Surround Support	No	No
Total Battery Life	N/A	19.1 hrs
Windows	No	Yes
iOS	No	No
macOS	No	No

Battery

	Arctis Nova 1	Wireless Headset
Battery Life	N/A	19.1 hrs

Comfort

	Arctis Nova 1	Wireless Headset
Weight	0.52 lbs	0.69 lbs

Connectivity

	Arctis Nova 1	Wireless Headset
Analog	Audio + Microphone	No
Analog Audio	Yes	No
Analog/USB Audio Latency	0 ms	56 ms
Android Latency	N/A	-2 ms
Bluetooth Version	No Bluetooth	4.2
Connection	1/8" TRRS	USB-C
Detachable	Yes	Yes
Dock Charging	No	No
Length	4.13 ft (1.26 m)	1.50 ft (0.46 m)
Line In	No	No
Line Of Sight Range	N/A	117.00 ft (35.66 m)
Line Out	No	No
Multi-Device Pairing	No	Bluetooth + Console/Non-BT Wireless
NFC Pairing	No	No
Non-BT Latency	N/A	132 ms
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range	N/A	189.00 ft (57.61 m)
Non-BT Wireless	No	No
Optical Input	No	No
PC Latency (SBC)	N/A	256 ms
PC Latency (aptX HD)	N/A	N/A
PC Latency (aptX)	N/A	N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)	N/A	N/A
PS4 Analog	Audio + Microphone	No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless	No	No
PS4 Wired USB	No	No
PS5 Analog	Audio + Microphone	No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless	No	No
PS5 Wired USB	No	No
Power Supply	No Base/Dock	No Base/Dock
RCA Input	No	No
Type	No Base/Dock	Wireless Built-In
USB Audio	No	USB Type A
USB Input	No	No
Wired USB	No	Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Analog	Audio + Microphone	No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless	No	Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Wired USB	No	Audio + Microphone
Xbox Series X|S Analog	Audio + Microphone	No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless	No	Audio + Microphone
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB	No	Audio + Microphone
iOS Latency	N/A	-11 ms

Controls

	Arctis Nova 1	Wireless Headset
Ease of use	Good	Excellent

Design

	Arctis Nova 1	Wireless Headset
Additional Controls	No	No
Call/Music Control	No	No
Channel Mixing	No	Yes
Clamping Force	0.8 lbs	0.8 lbs
Enclosure	Closed-Back	Closed-Back
Feedback	Good	Great
H	1.7" (4.2 cm)	3.3" (8.4 cm)
L	9.3" (23.5 cm)	7.4" (18.8 cm)
Microphone Control	Mute/Unmute	Mute/Unmute
Noise Cancelling Control	No	No
OS Compatibility	Not OS specific	Not OS specific
Talk-Through	No	No
Transducer	Dynamic	Dynamic
Transmitter Required	No	No
Type	Over-ear	Over-ear
Volume	122.87 in³ (2,013.50 cm³)	164.70 in³ (2,698.94 cm³)
Volume Control	Yes	Yes
W	8.0" (20.4 cm)	6.8" (17.3 cm)
Wireless	No	Yes

Isolation

	Arctis Nova 1	Wireless Headset
Bass	0.74 dB	1.74 dB
Mid	-5.8 dB	-8.45 dB
Noise Cancelling	No	No
Overall Attenuation	-11.47 dB	-10.87 dB
Overall Leakage @ 1ft	37.01 dB	39.59 dB
Treble	-29.73 dB	-26.77 dB

Microphone

	Arctis Nova 1	Wireless Headset
Boom	Yes	Yes
Detachable Boom	No	No
FR Std. Dev.	1.99 dB	1.58 dB
HFE	8,487.33 Hz	6,639.82 Hz
In-Line	No	No
Integrated	No	No
LFE	20 Hz	257.68 Hz
Mic	Yes	Yes
Noise Gate	Always On	Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling	7.0	8.0
Speech + Subway Noise Handling	7.5	6.0
Weighted THD	0.086	0.028

Noise Handling

	Arctis Nova 1	Wireless Headset
SpNR	34.12 dB	13.45 dB

Recording Quality

	Arctis Nova 1	Wireless Headset
Gain	22.86 dB	12.71 dB

Sound

	Arctis Nova 1	Wireless Headset
ANC	No ANC	Off
Acoustic Space Excitation	3.0	3.4
Avg. Std. Deviation	1.25 dB	1.27 dB
Bass Amount	0.5 dB	6.59 dB
Codec	PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz	PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
Connection	Wired	Wireless (Proprietary)
Dips	2.58 dB	2.1 dB
EQ	No EQ	Game
Firmware	No Firmware	0.0.9.0
Head Modeling	No	No
Head Tracking	No	No
High-Bass	3.52 dB	14.85 dB
High-Mid	-0.12 dB	-0.34 dB
High-Treble	-11.15 dB	-2.13 dB
Low-Bass	-1.27 dB	9.81 dB
Low-Frequency Extension	22.13 Hz	11.72 Hz
Low-Mid	-0.12 dB	5.56 dB
Low-Treble	-6.65 dB	-1.67 dB
Microphone	Boom	Boom
Mid-Bass	0.37 dB	14.45 dB
Mid-Mid	-1.53 dB	0.59 dB
Mid-Treble	-0.71 dB	4.01 dB
Openness	6.2	5.7
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)	5.05 dB	6.03 dB
PRTF Distance	9.48 dB	7.15 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)	5.09 dB	2.53 dB
Peaks	2.41 dB	2.54 dB
Power	Passive	On
Room Ambience	No	No
Speaker Modeling	On/Off	On/Off
Std. Err.	2.16 dB	12.2 dB
Tip/Pad	Default	Default
Treble Amount	-3.34 dB	-3.46 dB
Virtual Surround	Windows Sonic Spatial Audio	Windows Sonic Spatial Audio
WHD @ 100	0.159	0.193
WHD @ 90	0.405	0.451
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch	1.57	0.6
Weighted Frequency Mismatch	2.07	2.15
Weighted Group Delay	0.2	0.43
Weighted Phase Mismatch	5.47	7.09