Many centuries in the past I labored in retail, promoting gaming headsets (amongst different issues) through the PS3 period. Even again then, I discovered it annoying that the majority headphone makers had been releasing almost similar variations of the identical headset, differing solely in Xbox or PlayStation compatibility. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5X Wi-fi will not be the primary headset to do away with this annoyance, nevertheless it’s my favourite.
The crux of this specific situation is how totally different console producers deal with wi-fi audio. Bluetooth is the default system for wi-fi audio on most units, however there’s a sufficiently big latency situation that avid gamers will discover. Particularly when you play on-line video games the place break up seconds matter.
Each Microsoft and Sony have their very own wi-fi audio techniques to resolve this drawback, however unusually, they aren’t suitable. Worse, it often it is too costly to hassle including help for each right into a single headset, since most avid gamers are inclined to personal one console or the opposite. Fortunately, Arctis Nova 5X Wi-fi There’s a handy answer to this drawback.
Enter the important thing
The Arctis Nova 5X headset is designed for the Xbox Collection X/S (as indicated by the “X” within the title), however the USB-C 2.4GHz dongle has slightly swap that permits you to toggle between Xbox compatibility and… every part else. You should use this headset together with your PlayStation 5, Nintendo ChangePC, hell, even your telephone, simply by plugging this child in.
Picture: Eric Ravenscraft
This is not the primary SteelSeries headset to function this function. My earlier advice for the very best Xbox gaming headset, Arctis Nova 7Xincluded the identical dongle. Nevertheless, it’s nonetheless uncommon for many wi-fi gaming headsets to help such a variety of units. Most of the time, the Xbox is the odd one out on the compatibility listing.
On high of that, the Arctis Nova 5X Wi-fi has a separate Bluetooth connection, so you possibly can sync it together with your telephone or different units to reply calls, hearken to music, or play your favourite podcast. Whereas the 7X can play audio from each Bluetooth and a couple of.4GHz concurrently, the 5X solely enables you to pay attention to 1 or the opposite, although there’s a helpful button on the suitable ear cup to change between the 2. In my expertise, the swap was virtually instantaneous. Whereas this gained’t allow you to hearken to music whereas gaming, it’s extremely helpful for job switching.
Extra energy
The Arctis Nova 7X Wi-fi has been a strong contender for some time, however the 5X’s battery life eclipses it. SteelSeries claims 60 hours of battery life on a single cost (in comparison with lower than 40 hours for the 7X), although that point could be lower considerably when you swap to Bluetooth mode. In my testing, I managed to get round 40 hours of battery life with blended use, which continues to be longer than most (although Not all) gaming headsets in the marketplace.
The headset additionally helps quick charging through USB-C, and it will get a formidable runtime in simply quarter-hour of charging. SteelSeries claims you’ll get six hours of playtime from that brief cost. I put my system on the charger and walked away lengthy sufficient to make a sandwich and watch a brief episode of a present. By the point I returned, the cost was near 50 %, greater than sufficient to final the remainder of the day and past.
The Arctis Nova 5X can also be the primary SteelSeries headset to help its new cell companion appI say “first” not as a result of SteelSeries has promised to help different headsets, however as a result of I actually hope they do. SteelSeries GG App for PC generally is a highly effective instrument for customizing in-game audio, however I discovered the companion app simpler and extra pleasant to make use of.