If you really need a good headset mic, I’d look into the Corsair HS80. It worked, but it sounds like that added some compression.Īnd the Arctis 7+ was connected wirelessly to the dongle which seemed to add the most compression. I had to plug it into a wired PS4 controller first. I bought the console version of the Arctis 3, so to record audio on my PC I couldn’t just use a spare splitter. The Arctis 1 sound has much weaker power in the low frequencies, and because it was connected with a splitter, the feedback static from my PC was very apparent. It’s still not a great mic, but it works. It had the overall fullest and clearest sound and the noise reduction filter eliminated my PC fan noise when turned on. The Arctis 5 is the only device I connected through USB directly. That’s a strange order for sure, but there are some easy ways to explain this. Connectivity and Controls Arctis 1īased on my tests, the best mic is the Arctis 5, followed by the 1, 3, then 7+ being the worst. The padding is similar to the 1, 3, and 5, but this one has a headband made of steel instead of plastic.

It can connect by 3.5mm cable, but also wirelessly to PC, Playstation 4 and 5, and even Android using the USB Type-C dongle. The Arctis 7+ is basically the Arctis 5 with everything upgraded except the sound - which is the same. Unlike the Arctis 1 and 3 that only connect by 3.5mm cable, the 5 can do that and USB Type-A via the game/chat mixer. It has a slightly more full sound than the Arctis 3, and its build is nearly identical.

The Arctis 5 is an RGB lighting enabled headset targeted to PC users. There’s a wired version of the Arctis 3, but also one with Bluetooth. The Arctis 3 is a significant step up from the 1 in sound, and has a bit better build with thicker plastic, but no metal. There’s a wired and wireless version of this. The build is plastic with a bit of metal reinforcement on the frame. The sound is a bit muffled, but passable.

Steelseries series 3