The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is SteelSeries’ new ultra-premium, “audiophile gamer” headset – a world-first Hi-Res Wireless certified gaming headset offering 24-bit / 96 kHz wireless audio, carbon fiber drivers, and a feature-packed GameHub base station designed to handle your entire gaming setup. SteelSeries was kind enough to send me a sample unit to try out and share my impressions with you. I'm exclusively a PC gamer so I won't be able to speak much to the ability to connect to multiple sources, but I'll cover those features in the sections below. I primarily use my headsets to participate in company meetings, listen to music, watch movies/TV, and play WoW & Overwatch.
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Unboxing the Arctis Nova Elite
Box & First Look
The box was pretty unique in my experience. The earcups of the headset can be turned 90 degrees so you can lay it flat, as a result the box is narrower than the usual, but wider. It had a premium look and feel, even a cloth carrying handle; though I can't imagine why anyone would be carrying this box around like a briefcase.
What’s in the Box
Here’s what you can expect when you crack it open:
Arctis Nova Elite headset
GameHub wireless base station / DAC
Two hot-swappable batteries for the Infinite Power system (one is already in the headset)
3x USB-C cables for connecting to PC/console and power
3.5mm cable for line-in / line-out
Quick-start guide and documentation
Premium carrying bag
Design, Comfort & Build Quality
SteelSeries is very clearly going for a “lifestyle” + “luxury gaming” look here rather than something purely “gamer-y.” The Nova Elite uses:
An all-metal frame and metal control wheel
Plush memory foam earcups
A minimalist, Scandinavian-inspired design co-created with designer Jakob Wagner
The Nova Elite both looks and feels premium. The earcup encases my entire ear (my preferred option) and they do a decent job on their own keeping ambient sound at bay. I've historically been a "keep it all black" sort of user of these products (and let's add RGB on top of it please!), but the Sage & Gold color scheme has really been attractive to me and several friends and family I've shared it with. That said, they do offer it in black if you're completely opposed to a new look.
I've now worn the Nova Elite for a couple weeks, as long as 12 hours at a time, and I can honestly say they're impressively comfortable. Though, on occasion, I have felt a bit overly warm wearing them. Taking them off for a few minutes seems to remedy that. I figure that's just a trade off for having great noise cancelling abilities and long-term comfort. The build quality is exceptional: the frame is entirely metal, it uses metal screws, has magnetic ear plates for swapping batteries or accessing the USB-C port. The microphone slides in and out of the left ear cup very smoothly, not sure what they made this part from but it's endlessly customizable to get the mic where you want it.
Feature Highlights
This section I'm mostly going to share what SteelSeries is saying about the various features, but I'll chime in with my own experience when I have something to elaborate on.
Hi-Res Wireless & Carbon Fiber Drivers
The big headline feature: this is the world’s first Hi-Res Wireless certified gaming headset. Over 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth, the Nova Elite can deliver 24-bit / 96 kHz wireless audio, promising up to 3× more detail and dynamic range than typical gaming headsets. Inside each earcup you get custom carbon fiber drivers with a brass surround. SteelSeries describes these as “pistonic” drivers – moving on a fixed plane like a car piston to minimize distortion and keep the sound as clean and accurate as possible, from 10 Hz up to 40 kHz.
OmniPlay & GameHub: One Headset for Everything
The GameHub is the brains of the operation. It’s a compact base station with:
Three USB-C inputs for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox simultaneously
Line-in and line-out ports
Support for up to 4 sources at once (2× USB-C + Bluetooth + line-in) with OmniPlay mixing
An OLED screen and control wheel for on-the-fly adjustments, including EQ and device mixing
The idea is: chat on Discord on PC, play on console, and scroll on your phone – all at the same time, balancing each source without swapping headsets or cables.
ANC & Microphones
Nova Elite pushes hard on isolation and mic quality:
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) with a 4-mic hybrid system that adapts in real time and, in SteelSeries’ testing, reduces up to 42% more ambient noise than key rivals.
AI-powered noise rejection that can cut up to 97% of background noise for your mic, keeping keyboard clacks and room noise out of comms.
A retractable boom mic with 32 kHz / 16-bit capture plus a discreet on-ear beamforming mic that takes over when you stow the boom for “street” use.
I've really enjoyed the Noise Cancellation feature. You can turn it up, down, off or even go into transparency mode where it kind of amplifies the sound around you. I dunno, maybe you want to listen in on a conversation without looking like you're doing it, or, more likely... use the feature to allow you to hear people talking to you without having to remove the headset.
Infinite Power: Dual-Battery System
The Infinite Power System uses two swappable batteries:
One battery in the headset, one charging in the GameHub
Up to ~60 hours of playtime in total
Fast charge: roughly 4 hours of use from a 15-minute top-up (per SteelSeries).
The goal is “no downtime” – you swap the battery in a couple of seconds and keep playing. You don't even have to turn the thing back on if you do it fast enough, about 6-8 seconds. This is one of the best features in my opinion, I love that I never have to plug this thing in. The single battery has lasted at least two days in most of my testing, and I'm using it at least eight hours a day.
Arctis App, Sonar & Game Presets
On the software side, Nova Elite naturally gravitates to the SteelSeries’ ecosystem:
Arctis mobile app for real-time EQ changes, game profiles, ANC controls, and mic tweaks while you’re in-game
Access to 200+ game-specific audio presets tuned with audio engineers and pros (Fortnite, CoD, Apex, Minecraft, EA Sports titles, etc.)
SteelSeries Sonar on PC for deeper parametric EQ, virtual mixing, and per-game profiles
Personally I couldn't test out the Arctis mobile app, it claimed to not be available on Android. Still, I don't imagine I'd ever use such a thing. All the controls are readily available to me on my PC or the GameHub. That said, I'm sure there are at least some people out there who would solely use this headset on consoles, in which case the app would definitely be handy. Now, using SteelSeries Sonar unlocked a lot of potential options to customize the sound to what your ear holes prefer.
They also have some built in options for numerous games like OW2. My experience has been pretty neutral here. The preset worked okay, but I still made my own adjustments. Sadly, SteelSeries hasn't solved what seems like a universal problem with getting your headphone and mic sources to default correctly across numerous programs and devices. It's not all on them, there's a lot to consider... but sadly I didn't find it any easier fine tuning every little thing to get these working right everywhere. The options are there though, just expect some set up time if you're using multiple programs, devices and/or want different sound settings when listening to different sources: music, games, voice chat, or movies/TV.
Price, Value & Who This Is For
At $599.99, the Arctis Nova Elite is firmly in “console price” territory. As I mentioned earlier, SteelSeries is emphasizing the luxury look, feel and functionality of this headset.
...for players who care deeply about sound.
...for players who are attracted to the idea of a single headset for everything: PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch, mobile, and whatever else you need. It even has Bluetooth.
...for players who are fashion sensitive or just want to have a "status symbol" on their head.
...and, ultimately, for players with an abundance of disposable income. For those that don't, I'll highlight some more budget friendly SteelSeries options below, several of which I've had over the years.
Purchase the Arctis Nova Elite
Budget-Friendly SteelSeries Alternatives
If the Nova Elite is out of budget, and no one would be surprised if that were the case, SteelSeries’ Arctis Nova lineup includes more attainable options that keep a lot of the same design language and feature set:
Arctis Nova Pro Wireless – High-end, premium wireless with dual-battery and multi-platform support, but a step down from Elite’s full hi-res and carbon fiber driver package.
Arctis Nova 7 Series – “Best overall” mid-range wireless option for most players; strong feature set without going into luxury pricing.
Arctis Nova 5 Series – Positioned as “affordable luxury” and a great PS5/Xbox headset, if you want a taste of the Nova ecosystem.
Arctis Nova 3 Wireless / Nova 3 (wired) – More budget-conscious, with the wired version especially noted as a strong “best budget/mid-range” pick.
Arctis Nova 1 Series – Entry-level wired headsets for players who just want solid sound and comfort without any wireless or base station extras.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Truly excellent wireless audio with Hi-Res certification, the headset sounds glorious!
Carbon fiber drivers and wide soundstage for detailed in-game audio, and the soundstage is a fun feature to play with.
Infinite Power dual-battery system with effectively no downtime
Comfortable, premium design that doesn’t scream “only for gaming”
I feel like I didn't mention the carrying bag enough: I love this thing. It feels like Prada, or what I imagine Prada feels like.
Cons
Very expensive – more than many full consoles or GPUs
GameHub adds to desk clutter and cable routing, but really not much more than a wired headset would.
Feature set may be overkill if you only play on a single platform
You need to buy into SteelSeries’ software ecosystem to get the most out of it
Final Thoughts
I'm in love with this headset. I never could have afforded it though, and even if I could have I wouldn't have been able to justify it. Perhaps on a payment plan like Klarna or Affirm, and Steelseries does offer Klarna. I don't much care about social clout but I have had numerous people approach me at the coffee shop to ask what it is and where I got it. It's true when I say it doesn't scream "only for gaming". The sound is exceptional. It's AI noise cancellation performs well above my standards and I'm told the mic is crisp & clear, even with the coffee shop's background sound (which most don't even notice).
Have I mentioned the infinite power supply via battery swapping? It's AWESOME. Not only do the batteries seem to last days, once it gets low you just pop it out and pop the fully charged one in: go another couple days. Rinse & repeat. The carrying bag is supple and bespoke, it has a magnetic closure and a zipper pocket inside to store the cables. Though it's admittedly tight to fit anything else; I wish I could get my mouse in there with the headset. So SteelSeries, maybe consider a little extra room for the next generation.
In short: if you can afford it, I highly recommend it. If it's outside your means, I'd recommend the Nova Pro Wireless as a really close second for nearly half the price. It doesn't have a fancy bag or Hi-Res sound, but it does have the infinite battery swap and multi-platform support. If that's still too costly and you're in need of a headset, check out the other alternatives I listed above. If you have any questions, throw them in the comments, I'll do my best to answer any genuine questions you've got about the Nova Elite! Happy gaming (or watching, or listening, or meeting, or recording, or mixing, or...)!
Purchase the Arctis Nova Elite
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