I’ve been a huge fan of SteelSeries headsets for many years now recommending the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless to anyone that will listen, but as a glasses wearer, I much prefer wearing buds and thankfully SteelSeries has just released its first pair of gaming buds in the Arctis GameBuds, and they’re pretty damn great.
There’s been a heap of gaming buds released over the past year or so with the Razer Hammerhead, Sony Pulse Explore and Sony INZONE Buds all releasing, but the Arctis GameBuds have some key differences and improvements.
Just like other headsets in the Arctis line the Xbox version (n0t yet tested) will work with both the Xbox Series X and the PS5 whilst the PS5 version will work with the PS5, and a range of portable device such as the Steam Deck, but not the Xbox.
There’s also Bluetooth connectivity for the earbuds but not simultaneous meaning, which is a pretty big deal for me, but it’s super easy to go back and forth between your console and Bluetooth connection with three taps of the right bud, and the app (more on that later) can also stay connected whilst connected to your console through the dongle as well.
The little charging case is fantastic because it houses not only both of the buds, but also the much smaller (and hugely improved) dongle and it also features wireless charging on the actual case which is something I haven’t seen on any other gaming buds. The actual buds themselves last 10 hours which is pretty great, and you also get an extra 30 hours out of the case as well, so 40 hours total with 3 hours of charge after 15 minutes of wired charging too, so you’ll likely never run out.
As far as comfort on the actual buds go, it’s a big improvement from both the Sony InZONE and Pulse Explore buds, which you’d expect given the Jabra pedigree is within the walls of SteelSeries. They fit my ears perfectly with minimal wiggle, and they’re not huge like other gaming buds which means you’d happily wear them out and about too.
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There’s also physical buttons on each of the buds themselves, which make controlling them a lot easier than other buds that I’ve used. You can program up to three taps and tapping and holding to control things such as volume, or ANC on/off or switching between dongle/Bluetooth modes with ease.
As far as sound quality goes, SteelSeries says that these have been built from the ground up with a brand new chipset and it shows. The clarity and bass that come through the GameBuds are absolutely fantastic. My previous gold standard was the Pulse Explore buds and I couldn’t tell much of a difference between them which is a great compliment for the GameBuds. It’s been an issue with most other buds when paired with PS5 but I did notice it was a little on the quieter side, with this not at all being an issue when connected to my phone, so I’d say it’s some kind of PS5 limiting codec.
The fantastic app that launched alongside the Arctis Nova 5 has been rebranded and now supports the GameBuds, and it goes a long way to controlling the buds as well, with the app automatically connecting when the buds are in use and letting you control volume, turn ANC on/off and also change EQ settings.
This is one of the major selling points of the Arctis GameBuds in my opinions. Being able to change between 100+ EQ settings on the fly based on what game you’re playing and it making a tangible difference is almost unheard of in the console space.
The Arctis GameBuds have active noise cancellation, and it does a decent job of removing the bass from noises around you, but if you’re comparing these to AirPods Pros or Sony XM5 buds, it’s not even close in the ANC department. Transparency mode is fantastic and lets through a good amount of noise if you’re wanting to chat to someone whilst wearing them, and the seal of the buds does a decent enough job of blocking out noise at it is.
Another area where Sony continues to lock out the competition is in the PS5 integration space. It’s probably the only reason I’d recommend still considering the Pulse Explores, as it’s just hard to top the integration into the PS5 console in terms of letting you see battery life, control volume and EQ settings directly on your PS5, but that’s at no fault of SteelSeries.
Overall the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds provide a really fantastic alternative to other gaming buds on the market, and I suspect they’ll be the go-to option for Xbox/PC gamers.
