Okay, I’ve spent a good amount of time with the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X Wireless, and I’m ready to share my thoughts on how it stacks up in the crowded world of gaming headsets.

From the moment I unboxed it, the Arctis Nova 3X Wireless felt familiar in a good way, carrying that signature SteelSeries design language that prioritizes function and a certain understated style over flashy gamer aesthetics. It’s incredibly light, tipping the scales at just around 260 grams. This, combined with a super well-designed headband, made for a remarkably comfortable experience, even during marathon gaming sessions that stretched for hours. The elastic band does a fantastic job of distributing what little weight there is, making the headset feel almost like it’s floating on my head. The fabric ear cushions were a welcome touch, breathable and soft, which I personally prefer over pleather that can get a bit warm and sticky after a while. I found the clamping force to be pretty secure without being overly tight, though I did notice that the headset seems to fit smaller to medium-sized heads best; I had to extend the earcups nearly all the way for a comfortable fit, so those with larger heads might want to try it on first if possible.

Setting it up was a breeze. The USB-C dongle is slim and L-shaped, which is a thoughtful design choice as it didn’t block any adjacent ports on my Xbox or PC. This “X” version is specifically geared for Xbox wireless connectivity, but it also seamlessly connected to my PC, Nintendo Switch and phone (via Bluetooth 5.3). The “Quick-Switch” feature, allowing me to tap the power button to flip between the 2.4GHz gaming connection and Bluetooth, was genuinely useful for taking a quick call on my phone without yanking the headset off. However, it’s important to note that you can’t listen to both audio sources simultaneously; it’s one or the other.

Now, let’s talk audio. The Arctis Nova 3X generally delivered a crisp and clear sound profile. SteelSeries tends to favor a flat EQ response, which I appreciate for competitive gaming as it makes subtle cues like enemy footsteps or distant reloads easier to pick out. In games like Hitman 3, I felt I had a good sense of positional audio, with dialogue and environmental sounds coming through with clarity. The mobile app offers a ton of game-specific presets, which can be handy for quickly tuning the audio for titles like Call of Duty or Fortnite to emphasize those crucial sounds. While some might find the sheer number of presets a bit overwhelming or perhaps more marketing than practical, I did find a few that genuinely enhanced my experience. However, my audio experience wasn’t entirely flawless. While most sounds were clear, I did encounter some instances, particularly at higher volumes, where the audio seemed to exhibit a bit of distortion. That may have something to do with the amount of bass this headset is capable of. It’s a hearty bass that can muddle things at times. However this point needs be tempered with the fact that you can customize the EQ on the headset (or use a premade EQ setting) which will balance things out. The EQ on the Arctis Nova 3x Wireless is incredible. It provides what they call a “parametric EQ”. This means that instead of raising or lowering the gain on specific frequencies, it is adjusted by means of parabolic arcs. This allows for a much more forgiving sound curve and, by way of those parabolas, blends frequency changes together in a much more natural manner. If you use the SteelSeries Sonar app on your PC, you can get an even greater customization by creating those parametric EQ profiles yourself!

The passive noise isolation is about what you’d expect from over-ear cups without active noise cancellation – it did a decent job of muffling high-frequency sounds like keyboard clicks, but lower rumbles and distinct voices still came through. The ClearCast Gen 2.X detachable microphone performed adequately for in-game chat. My teammates reported that my voice came through clearly, and the AI noise-cancelling, especially when using the Sonar software suite on PC, did a respectable job of filtering out some background noise. The mic seems to prioritize that clarity over a rich, full-bodied vocal tone, which is fine for gaming comms but might not be the first choice for someone looking to do serious streaming or voiceover work without some tweaking in the software.

Battery life is a definite strong suit here. SteelSeries claims up to 40 hours, and in my testing, it lived up to that, especially when using Bluetooth. Even on the 2.4GHz connection, I was getting well over 30 hours, which is more than enough for several long gaming sessions. The rapid charging is also a lifesaver; a quick 15-minute charge really can give you around 9 hours of playtime, which saved me on more than one occasion when I forgot to plug it in. This battery implementation is commendable and increases the positive user experience while wearing this headset.

The on-ear controls are mostly located on the left earcup and include a mic mute button, a volume wheel, and the power button. They are generally well-placed and easy to use, though I occasionally found myself fumbling a bit when trying to adjust the volume wheel with one hand, as it’s quite close to the power button. A minor quibble, but worth noting. I also found the plastic around the microphone port didn’t align perfectly with the connector, a small aesthetic detail that didn’t impact performance but caught my eye.

Overall, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X Wireless is a versatile and comfortable headset packed with features that cater well to the multi-platform gamer. The insanely-long battery life, quick charging, and lightweight design are major wins. The audio is generally clear and good for gaming, and the dual wireless connectivity is a huge convenience. However, the need to select correct EQ presets would give me pause if I was looking for a “grab and go” headset solution. Despite this, the headset is a solid contender in its price range (retailing at $109.99), especially if you own an Xbox and other devices.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5