With the perspective of sharing an office space with my dear Wife, it has become apparent to me I need to plug my ears shut to survive it. Not that I don’t like her talking, but her work requires a lot of it. Also, I’ve been guilty of blasting my calls from the speakers, so it was time to fix it.
On paper, this should be an easy task, as I’m usually trigger happy with relatively expensive buys. But recently I’ve been trying to spend my money more wisely and carefully consider all the pros and cons of what I’m about to get.
Unfortunately, on the top of the vast marked of unfamiliar brands I have had some very specific expectations and requirements. Here they are:
- wireless
- around ear headphones
- decent sound quality
- retractable/detachable microphone
- decent microphone quality
- USB radio
- Bluetooth
- simultaneous USB radio and Bluetooth
- relatively light weight
- decent battery life
- white
- Active Noise Cancellation
As I was putting this list together, I’ve realized it’s going to be a difficult task to find such a rare specimen, so let me explain myself.
First of all, simultaneous Bluetooth and USB radio is not a given. There are plenty of models that have both, but you have to stick to one at times. Retractable or detachable microphone was also a nice touch, because I will use that headset for work calls, but I also want to get rid of the microphone on occasion and listen to some music or play games. Active Noise Cancellation is an obvious one – the less noise gets to you, the less volume you need to pump into your ears. Sound and and microphone quality were not THAT important, but obviously I wasn’t eager to settle on something mediocre. It has to be at least good. Finally, I was looking for comfort, so lightweight around ear headphones with nice cushions would be perfect.
Oh, yes! And the color, of course. It had to be white, because I just like it like that.
The Search
Armed with my list of ridiculous demands, I’ve started exploring the vast Internet to find me a nice, comfy headphones. I have quickly learned there are brands I haven’t heard about, brands that are very confused, offering dozens of similar models and there are very little brands offering what I really wanted.
Straight away I had to turn to… GAMING headsets, as the usual suspects mostly did not offer USB connection. The final draw was between Corsair, Sony and SteelSeries as they all offered what I wanted, but eventually, after finding desired models in the stores and trying them on I’ve settled on SteelSeries. Funny thing is, it was mostly because of the durability of the headbands – SteelSeries has a simple clip-on piece that you can easily replace, the rest has been often reported with worn-out irreplaceable padding…
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless!
The headset is on the expensive side, but I’ve got it for far less than advertised $350. You can easily find it for around $100 less, so keep that in mind. However, the price is still steep, so I’ve had some expectations.
The first impression was good. The box is modest, but it has all the required accessories included. The headset comes with a base station, two batteries (later on that), some USB to USB-C cables and 3,5mm audio jack. That’s so you can use it however you want straight out of the box.
There is some BS advertising on the battery life, but I will let that slip.
They come with woven headband and leather-like cushions, which I’ve replaced with rubbery headband and cooling gel pads from Wicked Cushions. Headband just got dirty quickly and the cushions made my head a bit warm after long periods of time. There is a slight weight and Active Noise Cancellation penalty to that, but I don’t mind.
The included base station is a silent star of the set.
It not only allows you to USB connect your headset to two devices at once. It also provides you with a visual feedback on a neat LCD screen, has some controls so you can change your settings without software. But the best thing about it a charging slot on it’s side. That’s right! The unlimited battery marketing is about that. One battery goes in the headset, while the second one is charging. If you swap it swiftly (within 8 seconds, easy!), you don’t even have to turn the headset back on. It will do it automatically.
The quality of the headset seems to be overall good. The head band is made of metal with no padding (there is a detachable strap for that) and the cushions are replaceable, so it should keep the headset going for a long time.
Hey! That’s headphones, so how do they sound!?
I’m not a sound geek and my opinion is not based on any professional knowledge or special abilities. For my plebeian ear it sounds nice enough I will go around telling people it sounds good. For what it’s worth, my Wife also likes the sound quality. Enough said, I’m happy. My co-workers haven’t had any complaints about the microphone quality and I’m sure there are plenty of sample recordings on the Internet for you to check.
After hearing Bose Quiet Control I’ve had very little expectations for the Active Noise Cancellation, but it’s decent. Decent enough I cannot hear roaring PC fans at full speed and with quiet music I can’t hear what people say to me.
There are some controls on the headset itself. On the right side there is only Bluetooth button. You can use it to pair the device, skip tracks, etc. On the left side there’s power/ANC button, microphone mute/unmute button and volume wheel. That wheel can also become a chat mix control, allowing you to make a call louder and something in the background quieter. Very useful when on a boring meeting, but you still want to listen to some music (or, I don’t know… play a game?).
Quiet head, happy head…
In the end, after a month of using it, I’m satisfied with the headset.
It sounds good, it looks nice and I have not a bad thing to say about neither the software it comes with, nor it’s functions.
I’m also very happy with how it enabled me to start listening my favorite music again. For to long I’ve been forced to “suffer” my Wife’s nice, but also somewhat generic radio stations. It also cuts me off from the external chaos, allowing me to work on my internal mess and be calmer throughout the day.
I don’t think I could have chosen anything better and despite the price, I’d but it all over again.
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