SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4 Wireless review: top-tier cable-free audio with an average mic

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4 Wireless: Two-minute review

If there’s one thing SteelSeries has delivered on when it comes to the Arctis Nova 4, it’s the sound. This thing absolutely slaps when it comes to driving that audio. Bass is well-rounded, with a broad depth to it, without compromising on any of the mids or the high-end treble whatsoever. The mids themselves are surprisingly clean, and the treble doesn’t feel muted like you’d find on other headsets at this price point. What that means is you get an incredibly crisp listening experience, with an EQ that’s entirely reminiscent of a slightly tweaked flat profile that you’d typically expect to see in more pricier HiFi-esque units. 

Is it going to blow a $300 audiophile grade headset out of the water? No, it’s not, but it’s a good 85% of the way there, and for such a reasonable outlay it makes it remarkably tantalizing for any gamer who’s just as much into their music as they are fragging scrubs on a Friday.

Overall headset design is great too. From the geometry, to the materials and the branding, and of course the now iconic ski-goggle headband. SteelSeries has leaned into that as well, including a set of stickers in the packaging, along with a few touches here and there to denote its gamer heritage. That’s no bad thing. There’s far too many headsets out there that are “perfect for the office or your gaming den”, so having an option that’s specifically built around that age old pastime that drew us into this hobby of ours to begin with is incredibly refreshing.

So, downsides? The microphone is underwhelming. It’s a retractable bi-directional noise canceling affair, sure. And it captures audio fine. But it just lacks the clarity that you can find on other competing solutions at this price point, which is a little disappointing. It’s very much akin to something from a decade ago, and although you’ll be clearly heard, given the caliber of mics available out there, it just doesn’t quite hit the mark. Additionally, connectivity is just okay. You get a USB-C multi-platform dongle, channeling 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity as standard, along with a couple of cables (mostly intended for charging), but there’s no Bluetooth connectivity here, which feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.

Is this one of the best gaming headsets around though? That’s going to entirely depend on your preferences. For audio, it’s absolutely next-level, and that alone really does elevate the headset to new heights. Still, if you absolutely want top-tier clarity for your raid leading or eSport comps you might want to look elsewhere. 

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4 Wireless: Price and availability

• $119.99 / £119
• UK has the 4X version
• Deal pricing makes it exceptional value 

As of today, you can pick up the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4 Wireless without too much hassle in the US. Amazon is your best bet, and it’s often on sale, hitting prices as low as $80 during some of the holiday periods. That makes it an absolute steal if you’re after a wireless gaming headset with stellar battery life.

Things are a little more complicated in the UK however, with the Arctis 4 being surprisingly hard to come by. The far more readily available 4X is around for a similar price though, as an added bonus that X does denote that it officially has Xbox support unlike the standard model.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4 Wireless: Specs

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4 Wireless: Design and features

• Gamer design is attractive 
• Exceptionally comfortable 
• Lack of connectivity  

There’s something quite nice about picking up a gaming headset that looks like it was built with gamers in mind. I’m not talking about those cheap plastic things that we often deride as being a bit too gaudy, but something that treats the hobby with a bit of decorum. The shapes, materials and design choices behind the Arctis Nova 4 very much lean into that aesthetic in a way that’s genuinely pleasing to the eye. 

This isn’t going to fit in at your office, or on your commute, and honestly that’s no bad thing. We’ve had enough of those ‘professional’ designs at this point; having something that stands-out from the crowd is a nice change of pace. SteelSeries has even gone the whole hog on that front and included a set of stickers in the box too.

The Nova 4 otherwise follows that age-old Arctis styling, with a sleek ski-goggle headband design that allows it to rest and adjust perfectly to your cranium. These do tend to have a habit of weakening over time admittedly (not something I’ve witnessed testing the Nova 4), but you can replace it, and SteelSeries do sell a number of custom ear-pads and bands, giving the headset some serious longevity if you plan on sticking with it for the next few years and beyond. 

Overall headset comfort is top-tier, although admittedly it is better suited to those with smaller ears. Still, you can adjust the length and position of the earcups easily enough, and they rotate plenty too, assuring you’ll be more than set regardless of the shape of your skull. Earcup materials are soft and plush, not memory-foam, but still comfortable enough, and although the cloth padding does look a little abrasive at first-glance, they’re far more comfortable than they first appear.

The microphone is a retractable bidirectional noise-canceling affair. Its tab hides on the left-side of the headset, and, with the headset on, can be difficult to identify by touch. Now, if you’re trying to extract that during an intense online firefight, you’re going to have a bad time. Although more on that in a moment.

Button layout is pretty standard too. You get power-on and mic-mute buttons as well as a volume scroll wheel (with volume thankfully separate to Windows as well, so it can get seriously loud).

As for connectivity, 2.4 GHz wireless is the name of the game, with a rather oblong USB-C dongle included. It’s clearly been designed for consoles first, with its compact form-factor better suited to sitting relatively flush to the Nintendo Switch, PS5 or any other console-esque device. It is however a bit of a pain to stick it in the back of a motherboard’s Rear I/O (I may have accidentally shoved it in a USB Type-A port, and shorted my entire PC at one point). SteelSeries do include a USB extension cable as standard though, so you can eliminate that problem.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4 Wireless: Performance

• Exceptional audio quality 
• Phenomenal when discounted 
• Microphone is average at best 

So, what’s the Arctis Nova 4 like to listen to? Exceptional. Outstanding. Beyond impressive given the price. The bass is deep and well-rounded, it doesn’t cause distortion at any other wave-length, and still has that gaming gravitas that we all love for our epic explosion moments. Mids, likewise, are beautifully balanced, without being too desaturated by the other two ends of the spectrum, and the treble is crisp and clear. Not quite as muffled or muted as some of the other wireless headsets available around this price point. It’s not absolutely perfect, for myself in particular I would’ve loved to have just a touch more crystallization at the very top-end, but that may just be my aging ears.

SteelSeries’ Engine software is exceptionally in-depth, and does give you the opportunity to fine tune the audio profile to exactly what you like, along with the usual armada of EQ presets available too, if you’re not a fan of dialing it in just for you (or don’t know where to start).

Otherwise though, what you get with the Nova 4 is an incredibly well-balanced audio profile, with a touch more bass, and a little less treble than you’d find on far more expensive hi-fi options.

Then we get to the microphone, and oh boy. Right now, at this price, even for wireless headsets, there are a number of options out there with outstanding microphones. Some that even come close to sounding like fully dedicated XLR setups. The one in the Arctis Nova 4 Wireless though, despite being “AI Powered” and offering noise-canceling just sounds really mediocre by comparison. If you put this side-by-side with a headset from a decade ago, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference. It works, it’ll pick up your voice, and deliver that in a clear manner, but it lacks the clarity, and the breadth that you’d expect from a headset at this price point, which is really quite disappointing.

Otherwise battery life is about where SteelSeries itself rates it, and I managed a full week of working from the home office without needing to charge.

Ultimately, the Arctis Nova 4 Wireless, for the price, is a solid pick. If audio is the only thing you’re interested in, it’s top-tier, and you can forgive the lackluster microphone as, after all, you’ll still be well-understood. What is worth noting, though, is how low in price the headset tends to go when it’s on offer. I’ve seen it as low as $80 during peak sales periods throughout the year. When it hits that kind of pricing it really does elevate it into some serious top-tier territory.

Should I buy the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4 Wireless?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider…

Here are two alternatives if you’d like to weigh up some other options before deciding on the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4 Wireless.

How I tested the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4 Wireless

• Tested across multiple consoles 
• Games, music and media listened to 
• Software fully explored and configured 

I spent over three weeks testing the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4 Wireless. I switched from my current daily driver combo of the Corsair Virtuoso Pro XT and the Audio-technica ATH-M50xBT and exclusively used the Nova 4 in all of my gaming pursuits. 

I’ve got fairly sensitive ears when it comes to audio testing, and prefer a deeper bass note, and higher treble, typically achieved through crystallization effects and similar.

I tested the battery life by charging the Nova 4 to full, then using it exclusively without charging throughout my working week. As for music testing, that was a combination of YouTube Music and Spotify Premium, across all manner of genres to best gauge just how well the drivers performed.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed August 2024.