Steelseries Arctis Prime

A worthy addition to Steelseries’ pro range

THE ARCTIS HEADSET line certainly features many variants, and on the whole, the range has been well received. Steelseries even states on the box that ‘Arctis headsets win more awards than any other brand', which is an impressive claim. The line spans a wide price range from $50 to above the $200 mark, and with the models all looking fairly similar, you can generally expect better quality and features the higher up the range you go. The Arctis Prime is a budget headset costing just under $100. It's part of the Steelseries prime series of peripherals produced in conjunction with top esports players, so it should be pretty decent for gaming. Is this is the headset you should be picking out of the Arctis lineup?

The Arctis Prime headset looks similar to the rest of the lineup but features the ‘ski goggle headband’ that isn’t seen on the other budget headsets in the series. The elasticated band rests on your head suspending the headset— we love this style of headband, it's one of the most comfortable out there. In fact, the Arctis Prime is just as nice to wear as the more expensive Arctis 9 we tested, which also features the same headband. The Prime has ‘leather-like ear cushions’ that feel more premium than the fabric cushion on the Arctis 9. In addition to the lightweight construction, this makes for a comfortable peripheral.

The design is similar to the rest of the headsets in the Arctis range, and this can only be another positive for the Prime headset. The cans aren’t too large and they sit nice and flush with the headset. The color scheme is an allblack matte finish and everything feels well put together with plenty of stable adjustment. So with plenty of boxes already being ticked, we're off to an exciting start, particularly for a budget headset. However, it's the sound quality that really matters, of course.

In short, they don’t sound bad at all. With a deep, full soundstage, they create a great atmospheric experience. Gaming with these on is enjoyable and what you would hope for from a ‘highfidelity esports headset’. They are clear when you need them to be in competitive gameplay, but also rich with a heavy bass when immersed in story-type gameplay, which is the best of both worlds. Though they aren’t the greatest we have heard, at this price, they are pretty impressive.

The low-end is the best part of the Arctis Prime's sound, with plenty of deep thumping bass and solid thwacks. Though that comes a little at the expense of the high-end, particularly the amount of detail, they are under 100 bucks and, at this price, we can't really complain about the overall sound quality.

REDEEMING FEATURES

Perhaps the one thing that lets the Arctis Prime down is a lack of features. Wireless connectivity is missing and there aren’t many controls either. The headset comes with two cables, including a detachable 3.5mm cable compatible with PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch. There is also a dual 3.5mm extension cable for desktop PCs, which is a nice touch.

On the left cup, you'll find the retractable microphone, mute button, volume wheel, 3.5mm jack, and the main cable port. The microphone is particularly good for gaming, with the audio pickup as reasonable as you could hope for at this price, making communicating with teammates a breeze.

In terms of features, this headset is pretty bare. It lacks playback/volume control on the cable, which is a shame, and while they don’t feature active noise cancellation, there is a fair amount of noise isolation from the headset itself, which aids the gaming experience.

For under $100, this is a great headset that does exactly what you'd expect from Steelseries. It is a little too bass-heavy for listening to music, but having been designed with the help of esports gamers, and from the quality and directional audio alone, it's clear that isn't the intended use. While it lacks wireless connectivity, there are other wireless headphones in Steelseries’s arsenal to choose from. This budget gaming headset has a lot to offer, a decent soundstage, and great system compatibility.