SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite (Xbox, PC) headset review — At the apex of headset luxury

$599.99. That's how much the latest effort from SteelSeries will set you back. And it's a price tag that's impossible to overlook.

This is the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite. It joins other products that share the "Elite" branding, such as the Xbox Elite Controller, targeting users on the high end. Gamers span all sorts of purchasing power capabilities these days, and companies know it. For those with cash to burn, building products that can seemingly do everything while also sporting the most premium materials is a segment manufacturers are increasingly targeting. The Arctis Nova Elite unashamedly joins that market as the best Xbox headset for pure, decadent luxury.

As a humble games blogger, I'm not sure there's a universe where I would (or even could) ever pay $599.99 for a headset, practically under any circumstances — but if I could afford it, it would absolutely be for this headset. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is undeniably the most luxurious gaming headset I have ever used, whose features and quality inarguably justify that sky-high price tag. But you're going to be a very specific type of gamer to want to buy in here.

Why you should trust me

Why you should trust me

Jez Corden

For over a decade, I've been reviewing headsets of all shapes and sizes. I've tried earbuds, budget gaming headsets, and premium cans for enthusiasts. I keep all of the headsets I review for active comparisons, and could probably open my own headset store if this tech blogging lark ever folds. One thing that won't fold is my enthusiasm for recommending YOU the best Xbox and PC headsets for your use cases. As for this headset, I've also been using the previous Arctis Nova as my daily driver. How does this one compare? Read on.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite: Price & Specs

You know the price already. It's a beefy boy, but what about the specs to match it? Let's take a look.

This is premium from every angle you look. This is a hi-res certified headset, which means it's verified by independent organizations as being able to deliver sound beyond a typical CD. This is 24-bit/96 kHz signals specifically, and to do that, requires a higher grade of engineering and materials.

As far as I could tell, this is the first wireless gaming headset to achieve this standard — a level typically reserved for audiophile products and studio-grade gear.

It's not all about hi-res certification here, though. While premium materials definitely had a role to play here, this headset also boasts some of the most impressive versatility we've ever seen in a gaming headset.

The Arctis Nova Elite's powerful digital audio controller looks unassuming on your desk, but it boasts monstrous capabilities. It's your platform for hot-swapping and keeping batteries charged up (with each of the 2 included cells offering up to 30 hours of playback). It also lets you mix audio signals from four different sources: two USB-C, one 3.5mm line-in, and one Bluetooth 5.3. This is the first headset that has offered the ability to mix Xbox, PS5, and PC audio simultaneously since SPDIF fell out of fashion as a result — something game streamers using consoles and capture cards might appreciate.

Even the packaging is premium here, as SteelSeries guns for the audiophile and enthusiast gamer segment. It's as expensive as some Xbox Series X and PS5 models at $599.99, and it seems to have good stock levels across the board as of writing.

Does the Arctis Nova Elite stick the landing? Absolutely yes, in (almost) every regard. And luckily, the parts that could be improved are software in nature and can be updated. Here are more details on the experience.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite: Comfort & Design

When I opened up the package to this headset, I immediately knew I was about to experience something special. This is by far and away the most expensive headset I have ever reviewed, and its premium presentation will immediately command your attention.

The packaging is accented in gold and comes in a sort of monolithic box as if it had descended from another planet. The Arctis Nova Elite sports a familiar design if you've seen the predecessor Arctis Nova Pro (my previous primary driver here), complete with a retractable mic, detachable magnetic side-plates housing USB-C connectivity and the battery bay, as well as a floating headband. What sets it apart is that every aspect of it is dialled up to 11.

The dials, buttons, and materials all sport a very luxurious feel. Various parts of the headset that were plastic in other models are now metal, including the textured volume dial and adjustable hinges on either side. The leatherette earcups feel incredibly comfortable, and dare I say, dreamy on the skin, easily defeating fabric-clad rivals. The floating headband is also an easy win for long, long periods of use, and retains SteelSeries' tradition for cranial comfort.

One weird downside of the floating headband is that it's easy to rock the headset off your head if you get a little too immersed in the music (and immersed you will, the sound delivery on this headset is immense). It's designed for long gaming sessions at the end of the day, but it's worth being aware of.

Returning is the retractable boom microphone, which now cleverly has per-configuration settings. When you retract it, you can still use it for calls, and it'll beamform your voice similar to earbuds. When you extend it, it functions as a high-quality mic for comms and potentially even light content creation. I'm not sure I'd record a full YouTube video on this mic over my Elgato XLR, but it's up there with the best gaming headset mics I've used.

Indeed, the ability to retract the mic and fall back to Bluetooth 5.3 gives you lifestyle usability here that many other "gaming" headsets don't really offer. The subtle design on the black model means it won't look out of place when used during commutes or on a plane, and there's even an alternative colorway that fits a more Apple-style grey fashion aesthetic, too.

The only criticism I'd offer here from a "lifestyle" perspective is that, perhaps, the logos are a bit "loud" for this type of use case. There are after-market sideplates you can buy that look a little more subtle, though, or even louder ones if you prefer. The World of Warcraft Horde ones are out of stock, though (dang.) Also, the soft-touch plastics SteelSeries opted for here tend to be fingerprint magnets too, which isn't a big deal, but on the black model, it can be pretty noticeable.

When you're knee deep in corpses in a Battlefield 6 map or rocking to Nirvana while writing a gaming headset review on the internet (meta), you're likely not thinking about the side plates or fingerprints, though. How's the audio? It's fan-expletive-tastic.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite: Audio & Features

Let's not beat around the bush here. The Arctis Nova Elite is the most immaculate audio experience I've had in over a decade of gaming headset reviews. I put them directly head-to-head with a family member's studio-grade Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO and was quite stunned to find the experience pleasantly comparable.

This is a gaming headset, but I've found myself using it primarily for music over the past few weeks. Rediscovering new details in soundscapes I know very well has been incredibly fun with this product, as someone who generally uses earbuds or other random gaming headsets for music typically.

There's no distortion, no glitching, no artifacting, no muddiness, no range is overbearing or under-represented — it's simply hard to go back to anything else after using these. ANC helps eliminate background noise on planes, trains, and buses, and easy on-ear controls and a solid mobile app make them a winner for commuters.

Indeed, you have multiple ways to connect to this headset, too. As noted, the digital audio controller will sit at your desk and politely allow you to connect up not one, but actually three sound sources, on top of a fourth Bluetooth signal directly into the headset. And yes, you can mix them all simultaneously.

No other headset I've used allows for this absurd level of versatility and freedom. The vast majority of users won't need this, but as a game streamer that uses a laptop and an Xbox with a capture card, I've found it incredibly welcome to not need to Bluetooth to my TV to get game audio (but you can still do that if you want?!).

The headset is heavily configurable, too. The Steelseries GG software on PC and mobile devices allows you to load up from a huge array of presets for various games, more so than any other headset I've tried. Even obscure games are represented here, which is impressive. The only downside is that you can't really delete any of the presets, nor favorite the ones you prefer. It can be a pain going back and forward between a gaming preset and a music preset, for example — but it's easily fixable.

The software on PC in general could use a variety of improvements, as it sometimes hangs and features app downloads and things most people are doubtlessly unlikely to use (why would I need to download Discord from SteelSeries?). But, this is quite honestly my only gripe with the feature set, and thankfully, software is a comparably easy fix over a hardware flaw.

This headset has no hardware flaws. The first iteration of the Arctis Nova Pro had a protrusion in the left ear that could get uncomfortable across long sessions, for example, but there's no such issue here. Maximum comfort, with maximum longevity, and superb, immaculate audio.

For gaming, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite continues to excel. Games like Battlefield 6 and Overwatch absolutely sing on this device, giving away enemy positions with powerful tactical awareness, all without detracting from the more immersive sound design of the various virtual warzones we inhabit.

The amount of tweaking you can do is impressive, too. Pushed to its extremes, the bass can get obnoxiously punchy if you want it to, or leave it thick and creamy, all while retaining maximum clarity and separation. Instruments sound like real instruments on this headset, which might sound like an odd thing to say — but you really feel the physicality of a kick drum or the slide of a bass string in this soundscape.

Imagine how that translates to games with high-quality audio design, with explosions and gunfire zipping all around you. It's difficult to compare this to other gaming headsets as a result. The Arctis Nova Elite is just sublime.

The microphone experience is good, too. As you can hear in the clip above, you're looking at crystal clear comms with the microphone extended, and very good call quality when it's retracted. You can set per-config sidetone too. The sidetone quality isn't the best, but it's more than adequate for game comms.

All up, it's hard to find things to gripe about here. I wish the apps were a little less bloated and more focused, but it doesn't impact the sound experience. The number of settings you can alter and control is intuitive to set up and access, even if the software itself can be a bit slow at times. And hey, it can (and will) be updated.

This headset is an absolute winner, but ... it's hard to look past that price point.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite: Competition

There's pretty much no other headset that competes with the Arctis Nova Elite. On pure audio alone, the Arctis Nova Elite stands out in its own class and is more closely comparable to other hi-res headsets that typically don't fall into the gaming category.

The only other headset with this kind of wireless versatility is the Astro A50 (2025), and the Arctis Nova Elite has it utterly beaten on raw audio, comfort, and lifestyle versatility. The Astro A50 is a pure gaming headset, though, and shaves $300 off the asking price to boot.

I think, unless you were planning to use this headset everywhere and anywhere as a lifestyle option, you might get more bang for your buck with the similarly versatile Astro A50 ... but you wouldn't get the sound quality, multi-USB source mixing, or hot-swappable batteries. There's simply no real comparison here. The Arctis Nova Elite is well and truly in a category of its own.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite: Final Thoughts

The Arctis Nova Elite is the ultimate gaming headset. It's the ultimate everything headset, frankly, able to easily accommodate high-end gaming, multi-device mixing for content creation, and day-to-day lifestyle use with ANC and Bluetooth.

Its hi-res certification isn't just a sticker; it's immediately recognizable the second you commit a current to this headset. The sound reproduction puts the Arctis Nova Elite thoroughly in a category of its own, with few, if any, comparable peers.

But boy howdy, it ain't cheap. You're going to either need to be a true all-day audio enthusiast, particularly fiscally affluent, or (like me) a poor financial planner to justify buying this.

✅You should buy this if ...

• You play a ton across multiple platforms.
• You want a headset that can double up for both gaming and lifestyle use.
• You have cash to burn.

❌You should not buy this if ...

• You typically only play on one platform.
• You typically play from a sofa in the living room, given that the DAC will be generally out of reach anyway.
• You are fiscally responsible.

In my headset reviews, I tend to put a big emphasis on value for "most" people. Most of us are unlikely to look at a $599.99 headset and ever consider it an option — myself included. But with this, hearing is believing. It's one of the best headsets around.

I've used my Arctis Nova Pro as my "daily" headset for several years at this point, and aside from some cushion wear, it's as good as it was the day I got it (and the cushions are easily replaced, too). If you were planning to use this headset for years and years, I think even the more budget-conscious could consider this headset, particularly if you wanted something you could use everywhere and anywhere. At the same time, would you feel comfy taking a $599.99 headset on the subway in that situation? I'm not sure I would.

This headset is targeting a very specific type of customer unashamedly, and given what it offers, it's hard to penalize it for its price tag alone. The price makes sense given what's on offer. Whether or not it makes sense for your budget entirely depends on you and your needs. One thing I do know is you absolutely will not be disappointed.

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