When I finally call it a day and kick back to play the latest games on my PC or PS5, nothing quite beats drowning out the world and getting fully immersed with one of the best gaming headsets.
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Well, mainly to keep the racket down so my neighbors can actually get a wink of sleep. Gaming can be one loud hobby, especially when I'm firing off rounds in Doom: The Dark Ages, pulling off Hadokens in Street Fighter 6 or simply grooving to the battle tunes of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (if you've played, you know).
A quality gaming headset channels that noise straight to your ears through clear, distinct audio — or at least the best of them do, and my ears (and neighbors) are thankful for that. But after years of trying different headsets, one thing has bugged me.
Different games rely on different mixes of sound. Some are more fine-tuned for a pumping, heavy bass, others require more focus on softer sounds in stealth-based titles, and then there are games that simply need that loud, bombastic volume.
I've been burned by gaming headsets in the past that simply deliver the same level of sound mixing no matter what title I played on PS5 and PC, and there are no adjustable equalizer settings to fix the problem.
Well, I found the remedy to my woes. I recently got a hold of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless, a seriously impressive pair of cans in a funky lavender colorway (there are other colors, too) that boast extreme comfort, 40mm Neodymium drivers for immersive audio and handy multi-platform compatibility.
It's a superb headset, but its true knockout feature is a simple one: the Arctis Companion app. With a simple tap, I can get a game-tailored EQ preset for over 200 specific games and even genres, matching what a title should sound like instead of the usual flat audio you can get in many gaming headsets.
No, it's not exclusive to the Arctis Nova 3 Wireless, as it also works on the excellent SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 and Arctis Gamebuds, but for the price of $109, it's a premium feature that offers huge value for all types of gamers.
Simple audio tuning
I'm the type of gamer who listens to OSTs of some of my favorite (and even not-so-favorite) titles frequently, from the haunting tunes of Bloodborne to the triumphant sounds of Halo. But I also get chills when a game perfectly executes the resounding rattle of a pump-action shotgun shell falling to the floor or a creepy shriek from a monster hiding in plain sight.
So, audio is an important aspect of many games I play. There are many gaming headsets that can capture all this, but not quite so specifically and easily as the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless.
Using the Arctis Companion app on an iPhone or Android, you can easily choose from a plethora of game-tailored EQ presets when connected to your preferred platform (with the Nova 3P I have being best for PC and PS5). It covers many of the biggest and latest titles, from Counter-Strike to Cyberpunk 2077 to Kingdom Come: Deliverance II to Alan Wake 2. Heck, there's even Doki Doki Literature Club! and No Rest for the Wicked — and that's still in early access!
In many of these presets, especially when compared to the base Flat preset, there's a clear difference in what I could hear. This became apparent when playing Black Myth: Wukong, hearing each satisfying "thwack" of the Destined One's staff connecting to all the creatures he encounters while listening to the headless singer's surprisingly upbeat tunes as he strums on his Chinese lute.
Everything sounds far more pronounced, and it makes delving into the game even more eventful. Hearing specific cues to dodge blows helped me save myself from getting a pummeling, too, and that worked in another very timing-sensitive game as well: Expedition 33.
Of course, it also makes the soundtracks of games like Doom: The Dark Ages far more headbanging worthy, which I will always appreciate. But I also found it had the right balance of the bullet-hell mayhem and tunes while slaying demons in each level.
It's a fantastic app for precise, handpicked sound for plenty of titles, and equalizer presets can all be customized and mixed yourself by using the SteelSeries GG app for Windows and macOS (unfortunately, it's not available to use on the smartphone app itself).
Sometimes a gimmick
Alright, having over 200 EQ presets for games is a tad overkill, and I found quite a few overlap with many titles that barely change the bass, mids and highs. In fact, as my colleague Nikita rightfully touched on, some simply make the games that much louder.
I tested this out myself by comparing the Flat preset with the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 custom EQ preset, and sure enough, the game sounded similar to how it usually would — only with slightly sharper gunshot sounds. That said, with this and an almost cheat-sheet worthy "FPS Footsteps" preset, hearing enemy footsteps approaching did sound far clearer.
Even if not all the EQ presets offer the specific audio I'd hope for, many of the PS5 and PC titles I tried had the audio I've always been after. It's detailed, crisp audio that's been made for each of the games I play, even if it may be a subtle difference.
Now, when I'm kicking back to play the best PS5 games or best PC games, I'm getting fine-tuned audio for the frantic FPS titles, horror-filled third-person shooters, epic single-player narratives and more — tailored to those specific genres and games. That means no more jack-of-all-trades audio.
That's not to say many other gaming headsets don't offer customizable EQ settings, as the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro also provides a wealth of audio customization. But for its price, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless has a nifty audio trick up its sleeve.
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