Product: SteelSeries Arctis 5
Input: USB (PC), 3.5 mm Headphone Jack (Console)
Output: 7.1 DTS (PC), Stereo (Console)
MSRP: from 70-100 USD ( Depends on colour, price according to amazon
Arctis Series has several products in its line which are :
Arctis 3, Arctis 5 and Arctis 7 wireless
To be fair differences between them are minor since all of them are using same S1 Speaker Drivers. Arctis 5 and 7 are also using a DTS:Headphone X system as well as Arctis 5 also has RGB lightening.
That would be it, if we would tell differences between them.
DESIGN
Arctis 5 come to us in a colorful carton, which from the very beginning is supposed to remind us of their futuristic and minimalistic design. Instead of bright colors and aggressive shapes and cheap plastic, we now have matt black, minimalistic construction and rubbery material on the shells.
Due to current trends, the producer has added an RGB backlight which is subtle and emphasizes the contour but on the other hand, why is it there? For whom?
While we have them on the head we dont really care if there is an RGB lightening, do we?
In general, the whole RGB and stuffing it with force everywhere and everything is a bit stupid.
For example i also have few others things from Steelseries and they all has RGB, in a keyboard it is usefull but on a mouse not exactly.
Thankfully, Steelseries have finally created a headset that is comfortable and doesnt make your ears sweat when using it for an extended period of time. Cups are big and material is soft and breathable.
Instead classic expandable design of other headphones, we can only adjust it using flexible band across the top, just like in ski goggles.
The left cup hides the equipment for controlling the headphones.
On the bottom edge you will find a minijack for consoles, while the second is a dedicated manufacturer's connector. Seems like it is MicroUSB but it isnt, it is smaller. There is also a volume knob and a button for activating and deactivating the microphone. I got deactivated since i got Rode NT-USB microphone as well and it is my main microphone.
Mic itself can be pulled from the cup, which I think is a big plus, and its length is about 6 cm. However, that's not all, because there are 2 microphones inside. One is responsible for our voice and the other for reducing the ambient sound.
Cabels
Along with the headphones, we get an adapter from MicroUSB to Minijack and a Chatmix Dial knob thanks to which we can either silence game enitrly in order to pump up the sound of apps like Discord or TeamSpeak.
SOUND
I'm no audiophile, but comparing them to my old headphones these are a gold ones while old are merely low quality steel. Not to mention that i no more experience any white noise at the highest volume and the sound is pure and blunt with everything being balanced quite well without being flat at default settings.
Bass is acceptable, not too much and not too small. DTS Headphone : X system works well also, while i was playing World Of Tanks sound of my gun firing was excelent and at least i could hear this reverberation.
You can listen to both music as well as playing AAA games like #pubg
SOFTWARE
For DTS Headphone : X system we got 3 main presets : Game, Movie, Music
There is also an Equalizer for more demanding users
SUMMARY
Standard Price ranges from 70 up to 100$ and thanks to many promotions you can easily get it for around 80$ which is by my opinion a really good investment if you are a gamer like me and you want to have best sound without spending a lot of cash.
Their subdued design and minimal finish perfectly blend in with my equipment and headphones are not so far away from the rest.
They are not only for games but also for listening to music and I listen to it a lot (mainly Spotify and Tindal). The DTS Headphone technology and Chatmix Knob also perform great, especially as you are enthusiastic players.
I would give them a strong 9/10 if someone would ask me :)
I've been looking to pickup a pair of Steelseries (buddy of mine recently recommended them), so now I have a place to start :)
I few years back I made the mistake of listening to all the Turtle Beach hype. I ended up getting the px21 since it's compatible with PC, and I'm not a fan.
Time to make the switch, 9/10 is a pretty strong recommendation!
Yeah, a year ago i thought about buying Turtle Beach myself but model Turtle Beach 800 or even Razer Man'o'War , right now i am glad i didnt.