HARDWARE REVIEW

SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC Headset Review

by Luke Walsh, March 13th, 2018

The SteelSeries Arctis line has had a decent range of headsets in the past, all which have had good sound and were one of the most comfortable to wear. The best of the three in the range being the Arctis 5 that found a good balance between performance and price. Now SteelSeries has announced the Pro range of the Arctis headsets, they closely resemble the love child of the Artics and the Siberia 800.

What is the SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC wired headset?

Both the Artics Pro models come in both a wired and wireless version being reviewed here including the GameDAC which costs £249.99. The GameDAC module is the Artics Pro’s amp for the wired version of the headset and delivers more high-fidelity sound while allowing direct access to various settings. The wireless version which costs £299.99 does not have the GameDAC but does come with its own hub like the Siberia 840. Unlike the wired version it connects via Bluetooth to give lag-free and lossless audio. There’s also one more version of the Pro that is the wired version without the GameDAC that is the cheapest of them all.

I already liked the Arctis line as it has great audio which is well built and has such a comfortable design with the suspension headband. It’s no surprise that the next in line for the Artics range will be based on the same good things that made its older siblings great. The Pro series comes with the same ski-style headband and large padded over the ear cups. It also still follows the same minimal design moving away from older gaming headsets only having some subtle RGB lighting around the edges of the earcups.

The overall design comes in a dark grey/black matte design that is both sleek and fits with the darker black for the headband and ski-band. The headband and hinges that connect the ear cups are metal instead of plastic which makes it a lot more durable than the previous headsets in the range. Even with the additional metal for the extra strength, it is still light weighing only 340g.

The design still lends to the comfort of the user with the ski style suspension headband balancing the weight of the headset across the top of your head. Velcro straps that are adjustable on top of the band allow more customisation which should fit most head sizes. The same Airweave fabric which makes it breathable and soft is still great sitting on my head after playing Overwatch for 5 hours straight without getting warm. Each of the earcups can be swivelled around that allow you to have one on and off your ears to hear the outside world. If you’d like you can also swivel them on your neck giving a little more comfort but even then the Arctis Pro was a little too tight around my neck.

You’ll find the standard set of buttons on the left ear cup which allows you to control the volume and mute the microphone. When the mic is muted you’ll be greeted by a red band of light on the end of the mic and also a tactile response with the button being a little more depressed. Underneath this is the USB port for the GameDAC as well as a 3.5mm audio jack which can be used to share the audio with another device if you want to. You can also use the 3.5mm jack to connect up the Pro with your mobile device or anything with the audio jack.

To be honest, though, you never want to use the 3.5mm jack on this headset or it might as well be a paperweight. The reason the audio is great is due to the GameDAC amp which has a sound chip inside. This allows for the audio to be processed on your PC and passed back through to the headset from the DAC. It will work out the box with a PS4 or Mac with high-resolution audio that you can adjust using the OLED display on the DAC itself.

From this little device, you can set up equalizer settings choosing three preset options or setting up your own. When setting up the device for the first time, your also greeted with a fun tutorial to get you used to the menus and buttons. In the menus, you can select virtual surround sound, change the Pro’s lighting and other options such as mic volume and input/output settings.

It’s pretty intuitive to navigate through each menu and quite nice to have everything at your fingertips. I was worried at first it wouldn’t be necessary to have, and be more of a gimmick but delivering the audio aside it’s a useful little device.

In terms of performance, the Arctis Pro delivers exceptional high fidelity audio thanks to the DAC which has a Sabre converter with 24-bit audio up to a 96kHz sample rate. The Pro has a response range of 10Hz to 40,000Hz which is more than the Arctis 5 or 7 that has 20Hz to 20,000Hz. This practically means the Artics Pro can reproduce over double the high tones and low from its siblings.

Delving into the sound, it does a great job at being able to replicate a wide range of noises with exceptional clarity. From Overwatch, footsteps were clear and different voices better than I’ve heard on other headsets. In Battlefield 1 explosions were loud and bassy but nothing I’ve not heard before from the previous range. I could day it sounded a little deeper but not something that I could scientifically prove otherwise. Bass-ier or not, the low tones are still decent and bring an element of “oomph” into those games.

Where it does stand out is the combination of sound, high and low tones mixed together were clear without any degradation or distortion. When in a game that had a mixture of audio sounds going on such as gunfire, explosions or talking everything is crystal, audio like this I’ve not heard like this in a while. Comparing this to lower-priced headsets, usually, explosions sound deep but they take away most of the high frequencies making everything else sound muffled.

Audio coming in aside, the microphone is quite balanced sounding with voices soft but clear and natural. Speech seemed fluid and teammates in Monster Hunter on PS4 or in Fornite on PC never complained about the quality of my voice. They even mentioned the opposite how clear it was compared to when we last spoke. Being able to balance the voice chat vs the in-game chat is also handy something the GameDAC makes easier being at your fingertips.

Even though it’s a gaming headset, the Arctis Pro is also great to listen to for music which works because of the great range of high and low frequencies. Using Spotify, I listened to a range of music from Prince to The Rolling Stones and Johnny Cash. Each different genre of music sounded great, even in the heavier music with guitars and drums were easy to tell apart on lower or loud volume.

How much does the Arctis Pro and GameDac Cost?

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro headset and GameDAC at the time of writing costs £249.99 brand new online via the SteelSeries website. The wireless version costs £299.99 which allows you to go cable-free via the Bluetooth and the cheapest of the three is the wired Artics Pro without the GameDAC for £179.99.

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro headset is not cheap, something a lot of gamers will question whether or not it is worth it. For the price, you are getting a headset but also a high-quality sound card alongside it. Both have some of the best build and quality of anything on the market that money can buy. The wired version we tested is probably the best of balance between features and price with the wireless version being for those who wish to be completely free.

If you have the money, the Arctis Pro is a decent investment which you’ll probably be holding onto for a while. If you can’t afford it, the Arctis 5 or 7 delivers nearly as exceptional performance for nearly half the price.