Yes, the $599.99 SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite headset really is that good | Review

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite headset is sadly just as outstanding as its eye-watering $599.99 / £599.99 price tag alludes it to be.

I say sadly, as I know that a large number of players won't be able to fork out that much for one of the best gaming headsets alone, especially as it costs more to grab SteelSeries new premium cups than it does to pick up a brand new PS5. Yet, if you want the best of the best, the Nova Elite is just that. It's the first fully certified Hi-Res wireless headset out there, meaning that audiophiles can experience that juicy lossless format without being at the mercy of a wire. This means it is best suited for PC players, as Sony and Microsoft's consoles lack Hi-Res support, but if you have a unified gaming setup, the Elite remains a premium multi-platform dream.

It takes all the best parts of its SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless sibling, including its hot-swappable batteries and Game Hub (formerly the Base Station), but now allows you to connect to four platforms at once, and you can mix the audio sources for all four at the same time. From its new Carbon Fiber audio drivers to the stunning green and gold details, you aren't going to find a more luxurious and high-quality pair of cups on the market today.

Design

I promise you that I'll be trying my hardest not to compare the Arctis Elite too much with its Pro Wireless predecessor, but it can be a challenge when they're both the brand's most premium headsets available, and when they're so awfully familiar.

The Elite carries that same over-ear form factor, with an elastic headband and the soft, rounded edges that the wider Arctis Nova line is known for. It does change things up a tad to merit its more premium price at least. The plastic yokes have been replaced with metal, as have the SteelSeries logos on each cup.

I was provided with the Sage Green version of the headset to review, and the gold-plated shine of both, especially when paired with its new gold metal volume dial and microphone grill, looks particularly pleasing to the eye. I'm more of a silver girl myself, but throughout the over two weeks I had it by my side even I found it hard to look away from its stunning, golden shimmery aura. The light, creamy sage green colorway is doing some of the heavy lifting as far as looks go, but I'm definitely a fan of these subtle differences.

Otherwise, the design of the Elite is almost identical to the Pro. The left cup is still host to the power button, mic mute button, volume dial, retractable microphone, and the 3.5mm port for wired connectivity. While the volume dial is gold now, it also features a textured surface to make it even easier to find when it's on your head.

The left cup also sports the same quick switch button and houses the hot-swappable battery compartment. Just like the Pro Wireless, you get two batteries in total that you can charge via the accompanying Game Hub (previously known as the Base Station), and the side of the cups easily slide on and off magnetically, so you can change them. On that note, the Elite is also compatible with the huge range of Booster Packs, should you want to change up the look a little bit.

Features

The main alluring feature of the Arctis Nova Elite is that it's the world's first certified Hi-Res audio headset, allowing audiophiles to get their hands on some of the best sound quality out there without being limited by a wire. Until now, a lot of audiophile cups aimed towards gamers didn't have any of the accompanying features you'd expect of a gaming headset, like being compatible with PC and gaming platforms beyond popping a cable into a 3.5mm headphone slot.

The Nova Elite instead features support for the audio format and its larger sampling rate and bit-depth than standard CD quality (96kHz/24-bit) to allow for some of the best sound possible on a headset. Not all gaming platforms support Hi-Res audio, however. For example, the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles both max out at 48k/16bit, but so long as you have a desktop PC at hand, you can toggle on the Hi-Res audio feature via the accompanying Game Hub (and your Windows) settings to experience clearer and more in-depth audio.

To help support that high-end audio output, the Nova Elite features newly updated 40mm carbon fiber audio drivers. These are held in place via a brass ring, which helps produce a frequency range of 10-40,000 Hz, a range that its Pro Wireless predecessor can only manage when wired. The Elite is also equipped with improved active noise canceling. It's 4-Mic Hybrid active noise cancellation and densely packed foam cups help isolate unwanted sound, and avoid any audio spillage for those around you - something both my cat and my partner are very thankful for, as I like things loud.

The Game Hub is the epicentre of the Nova Elite. It's integrated with the brand's 'Omni-Play', which basically means you can connect up to four sources at once. What makes the formerly known Base Station extra special this time around is that you can mix audio from up to four sources at once, with no distortion or degradation from the audio itself.

You can also use the Game Hub to customize your EQ settings, Volume, Chat mix, and charge one of the hot swappable battery packs. One fully juiced-up battery will provide up to 30 hours of playback, but so long as you remember to keep one in the Hub at all times, you won't have to worry about charging ever again.

The rectractable ClearCast Gen 2.X Boom mic on the left cup offers a 100-14,000 Hz frequency response as well as built-in AI Noise Rejection to prevent catching unnecessary sounds.

The Nova Elite also comes with a matching carrying case, which features the same Sage Green color as the rest of the headset. The case has a small zip pocket on the inside, an open main area for storage (I kept the spare USB cables in there during testing), and a magnetic snap strip to keep it all closed. I'm not sure why, given its $600 price range, SteelSeries couldn't have supplied a more substantial case. Especially when high-end headsets like the Corsair Virtuoso Max Wireless that I reviewed last year cost $279.99 less came with a hardshell alternative.

Performance

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is the best-sounding headset I've tested in all my years of writing about tech, simple as that. Each evening that I hung up the cups at my desk, only to move to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless to play my Nintendo Switch 2 in bed, there was a huge difference in quality. But that's exactly what I had hoped for with a headset that costs this much.

The Nova Elite predominantly spent its time set up with my gaming PC, but it kinda had to. Consoles like the PS5 don't support Hi-Res gaming audio, so seeing how it managed as one of the best PC headsets for gaming first made the most logical sense. Like with any PC headset, after I had hooked up the Game Hub and ensured that Hi-Res audio was toggled on via it and the Windows 11 audio settings, I popped out Counter-Strike 2 to see how elite the Elite really was.

After a lot messing around in the tutorial (I don't dare subject my lack of CS2 skills to the wider public), I actually had to pop the headset down every once in a while to give my ears a break. The pop of bullets sounded so loud and clear that my eardrums were reverberating almost as much as the audio drivers. Out of all the headsets I've put through CS2, this was definitely the one that sounded the most real, and the Elite's spatial audio support via Sonar made approaching footsteps, and the explosions of nearby gas canisters, sound like they were in my office with me.

CS2 isn't the most music-heavy of games, and so I pulled up Marvel Rivals to see how it balanced the loud cries of many a Marvel character performing their Ultimates, in amongst the swelling score that gets amped up with each match. My testing just so happened to coincide with the release of Deadpool into the Rivals roster, and the clarity of which his high-pitched arcade jingle sound effects sounded made me almost tempted to switch to a PC main, when it's the PS5 where I've been racking up all my progress.

What I really noticed with the Elite, as compared to the Pro Wireless, which is my day-to-day PC headset of choice, is that every part of the soundstage felt well supported. The 10-40,000 Hz frequency means that all the low, mid, or high areas of the sound have equal amounts of warmth, depth, and clarity. In all my years spent testing headsets, my games have never sounded this good.

Begrudingly, the PC is the only gaming platform I have at my disposal that supports Hi-Res audio, but that didn't mean I wasn't sure to test these alongside other platforms to see if the Elite was as elite as its name suggests. Marvel Rivals on the PS5 still sounded its absolute best, even without the Hi-Res support. I've used the Pro Wireless with my Sony console for the better half of a year now, so I wasn't surprised that the Elite could bring the same level of luxury.

Marvel's team-based shooter can get very busy and loud, especially when a few minutes pass, and the cacophony of characters' Ultimates begins. Yet, the Elite never faltered. To ensure I was giving single-player experiences just as much attention, I also cracked open Doom Eternal and Death Stranding Director's Cut. The moment Mick Gordon's ferocious Doom score blasted through the brass-ring-held drivers, I had visions of myself leaning back in a chair with the sound about to physically blow me away, just like in that iconic vintage Maxell Cassette commercial.

With the expansive 10-40,000 Hz frequency rate, every part of every game's soundstage felt as if it was given justice, including the deeper bass ranges that so many headsets can't seem to get right. It helps that the cups felt even better at isolating outside noise, with or without ANC, than the Pro Wireless. I was able to get completely lost while demolishing every demon that befell my path as the Doom Slayer, or if I was just trudging up some torturous mountains in Death Stranding.

One of the selling points of the Nova Elite is that you can not only connect to multiple sources, but also mix the audio of these sources at the same time. My desktop PC and consoles are in separate rooms, so this wasn't too relevant to my setup. That being said, I did have the headset hooked up to my work laptop and PC at the same time, which made chatting in meetings a breeze, as I didn't have to have two headsets spread out across my desk.

It also meant I could have the audio of my laptop, say the voices of my fellow GamesRadar+ team members, coming through the cups, at the same time that I was listening to music via my desktop. Of course, I didn't do that as that'd be rude. Instead, I popped on music via YouTube on the laptop, and music via Spotify via my desktop, and used the dial of the Game Hub to toggle between the two audio sources, to test the mixing out for size. In the end, I had no personal use case for the mixing feature, but I'm glad it's there and straightforward to use for those who do.

What I always have use for is that retractable microphone.

If you've read any of my headset reviews, you'll know that I'm an advocate for grabbing a high-quality condenser microphone if you want a mic for your gaming setup to set the best of its ability. There has yet to be a headset mic that matches the quality that I'd feel comfortable using for podcasting and audio recording (or subjecting my friends to for hours on end), but the Nova Elite gets pretty close.

As you can hear from the sample above (if you can excuse my dry tone, as I'm dealing with a bit of a cold), my voice sounds very clear out of the box. To add a bit more warmth, the accompanying SteelSeries GG software has a range of EQ settings to toggle on, as well as the option to equip different levels of noise control to pretend un-wanted sounds. To put the mic to the test, I've been using it for weeks upon weeks to play the indie game Repo via Steam with my friends, as its reliance on its built-in proximity chat made it ideal.

During the game, the Elite was able to pick up my every word, much to my friends' dismay. There were several instances where my hushed giggling got the entire team blasted into bits, but I honestly didn't believe the headset could project even the quietest of sounds. The only hindrance was that I was pretty loud by default, so if you're using this headset via Steam, I recommend ensuring you can quickly turn yourself down via the GG Software or the menus on the Game Hub.

There's a subset of audiophiles who will be curious to see if this can replace not just their current headset, but their Hi-Res grade headphones for everyday music listening. While I wouldn't be eager to take this out and about for casual listening, running some of the FLAC tracks I had in my Bandcamp collection was a treat.

I popped on local Scottish band Slime City's first album, "Death Club" as I have the entire thing available as lossless FLAC files, and I only imagine what I heard is as close as possible to the original mastered tracks in the studio. The only time I've heard the track "Dial Up Internet's the Purest Interest" any better was when I saw it performed live, as everything from the cruncky twang of the guitar, to Michael M's joyous Scottish accent was crystal clear.

To make sure this wasn't just because it's a great track and album, I quickly popped on Spotify for a comparison during testing. There was definitely a noticeable difference, though, like with games, maybe one that most people won't hugely notice. I definitely did, and the subtle fuzz in the background of the track (the one that's not there on purpose) disappeared once I was listening to the FLAC version. Annoyingly, most of my music collection remains on vinyl or streaming surfaces that don't have support for Hi-Res outputs, and I imagine a lot of people are in the same boat, so I wouldn't grab these purely as you want music to sound better. But it's definitely encouraged me to start using Bandcamp and ensure I have uncompressed versions of my favorite albums from now on.

Beyond how everything sounds, I want to emphasise that this is the best noise-cancelling I've experienced on a headset to date. No matter if I had the jazzy stylings of the OG Sims score radiating around the ear cups, or the choir of gigging friends while playing Repo on the PC, I couldn't hear a peep from the outside world. Not even my cat Kylo's persistent and loud songs of his people could penetrate the Elite's mighty cups.

It's not just me who discovered this. While testing, I shoved on Charlie xcx's Von Dutch at full blast and popped the Elite on my mom's ears, and she was amazed at not just how great it sounded, but how she couldn't hear a single thing I said. I was equally as amazed at how there was zero audio spillage despite just how loud it was. I could only tell that she had gotten to the drop in the song by her cheesy dance moves.

Should you buy the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite?

The fact that the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is $599.99 / £599.99 is the most expensive headset I've ever tested in my time as a tech writer, nevermind the priciest headset the GamesRadar+ team has ever looked at, makes recommending it difficult. Not because it isn't the best headset I've used to date, but because I know that not everyone is going to be able to throw down that amount of cash on a singular peripheral.

In a world where the cost of living crisis is very much still real, I'm not going to sit and pretend it's incredible value for money. $599.99 / £599.99 is a lot to spend on a gaming accessory and, for most, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless will be a better choice. That's especially true for console players, as the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S doesn't even support Hi-Res audio, the main selling point of behind the creation of the Elite.

There's also the big factor that I don't suspect many general listeners will be able to notice the difference in audio quality, or at least, not enough that it merits the $220 difference between it and the $379.99 MSRP of the Pro Wireless before it. Audiophiles with high-res libraries most certainly will, and I can't fathom any time, despite maybe being in a studio setting during my music degree, where audio sounded any better.

If you want the best possible sound on the market today, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is it. If you want support for Hi-Res audio without being at the mercy of wires, and a wireless headset that's actually tailored to gaming with its 2.4GHz wireless audio and audio presets, the Nova Elite is 100% it. You just have to be ready to fork out the almost $600 / £600 required to grab that kind of excellence.

How I tested the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite

As the most premium gaming headset available on the market today, I tested the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite a bit longer than the typical two-weeks. At the start of December, I swapped out my last tested headset and added the Elite as my main and only pair. During that time, the Elite was hooked up to my gaming PC and work laptop, so I can use multiple sources at once. When it came to gaming, for over a month, I played everything from Counter Strike 2, Marvel Rivals, Dispatch, Repo and The Sims on PC, and Marvel Rivals and Death Stranding Director's Cut on the PS5. On the Nintendo Switch 2, I used the headset while playing the brand new Animal Crossing New Horizons Version 3.0 content, and while playing classic N64 games via the Nintendo Switch Online game library.

Additionally, I used the Elite to listen to Hi-Res audio, including FLAC versions of the tracks from the album 'Death Club' by Slime City. I also used the cups to listen to various genres on Spotify, from the pop-rock stylings of Djo, to the fabulous guitar prowess of Masayoshi Takanaka. The Elite also saw me through a re-watch of New Girl via Disney+, and watching the latest episodes of Fallout Season Two via Amazon Prime.

For more information on how we test gaming headsets, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

If the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is a little out of your price range, we've also rounded up the best PC headsets for gaming, the best Nintendo Switch headsets, and the best PS5 headsets for all budgets big and small.