SteelSeries Arctis Prime Headphones Review

The SteelSeries Arctis Prime look very similar to other SteelSeries headphones as they have the same unique ski-band headband design. Both ear cups have SteelSeries' logo, and overall, the headphones look very plain and minimalistic. They only come in black.

The SteelSeries Arctis Prime are comfortable headphones. They have good clamping force, but some users may find their ear cups a bit shallow. The ski-band headband design also may not be for everyone.

These headphones have sub-par controls. There are only two physical buttons: a volume wheel that stops at min and max and a microphone mute button. The buttons are also clicky. However, they lack controls like channel mixing.

The SteelSeries Arctis Prime have mediocre breathability. They're not designed for use during physical activities and can trap heat, which may make you sweat over time. That said, you shouldn't feel a noticeable difference if you're sitting in front of your console gaming.

The SteelSeries Arctis Prime have sub-par portability. They have a bulky design, and while the ear cups can swivel to lay flat, they can't fold into a more compact form. You can see another image of the headphones' default position here. They also don't come with a case to help protect them when you're traveling.

The SteelSeries Arctis Prime have a good build quality. They're mostly plastic, with a metal headband and elastic ski-band headband. The faux leather padding feels good against the skin. However, the hinges and yokes seem to be the weakest point of the build. Although we don't currently test for it, they also lack an IP rating for water resistance. That said, they should be able to withstand most bumps or drops without taking too much damage.

The SteelSeries Arctis Prime have decent stability. They're not designed for use during sports and can go flying off your head during moderate head movements. However, they should remain stable while you're gaming at your desk or on your couch.

• SteelSeries Arctis Prime Headset
• Mini-B 8-pin to 1/8" TRRS audio cable
• Y-splitter extension cable
• Boom microphone windscreen
• Manuals

These headphones have a fairly neutral sound profile. It's balanced enough for most audio content, although vocals and lead instruments are a bit veiled. Unfortunately, they lack companion software support, so you can't customize their sound to your liking.

Note: There's a noticeable mismatch between our unit's left and right drivers. However, the difference is more apparent during our test sweeps. With real-life content, there's a small difference in level between the drivers. However, this issue may be limited to our unit. If you experience similar issues, please let us know in the discussion section below.

Like most SteelSeries headphones, the SteelSeries Arctis Prime have disappointing frequency response consistency. They're prone to inconsistencies in bass and treble delivery, and you may especially notice a drop in bass if you have thick hair or wear glasses. You may have to adjust their fit on your head each time you wear them to get a more consistent sound.

The bass accuracy is great. It's fairly flat, although a bit underemphasized in the low to mid-bass. Mixes lack a bit of boom and punch. However, the high-bass is more neutral, resulting in adequate boom. However, note that their bass delivery varies significantly across users and is sensitive to the quality of fit, seal, and whether you wear glasses or have thick hair. The response here represents the average bass response, and your experience may vary.

The SteelSeries Arctis Prime have great mid accuracy. The low and mid-mid are very well-balanced and neutral, so vocals and lead instruments are present and clear. However, a dip in the high-mid weakens these same instruments.

The treble accuracy of these headphones is decent. It's underemphasized in the low-treble, so vocals and lead instruments are veiled. However, the mid-treble is overemphasized, making sibilants like cymbals piercing. Note that their treble delivery varies depending on the headphones' fit and seal. The response here represents the average treble response, and your experience may vary.

The peaks and dips performance of the SteelSeries Arctis Prime is decent. There's significant mismatch between the left and right driver, so while the left driver is overemphasized across the bass range, which adds boom, punch, and thump, the right driver is underemphasized, lacking rumble and warmth. The left driver is overemphasized in the mid-range, so vocals and lead instruments are muddy and a bit forward. Both drivers dip in the high-mid to low-treble, making the upper harmonic of these sounds weak and veiled. Silibants like cymbals are very sharp and piercing.

The SteelSeries Arctis Prime have decent imaging. There are some peaks in the group delay response, which suggests a loose bass. Treble reproduction is transparent, though. There are also some peaks in the phase response's bass range, and although the mismatch falls within good levels, the bass seems stronger from the left ear cup. Although the L/R drivers are somewhat well-matched in amplitude, there's some frequency mismatch present as well. This mismatch can indicate holes in the stereo imaging and inaccuracies in the placement and localization of objects (voices, instruments, video game effects) in the stereo field. However, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

The passive soundstage of the SteelSeries Arctis Prime is sub-par. The soundstage is perceived as natural and large. However, sound seems like it's coming from inside your head, rather than coming from speakers placed in the room around you. Since these headphones also have a closed-back design, their soundstage won't seem as spacious or open as open-back headphones.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance of the SteelSeries Arctis Prime is very good. There's a peak in the low-bass range, but it may be hard to hear with real-life content. That said, most of the frequencies fall within good limits, resulting in fairly clean and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test the SteelSeries Arctis Prime Headset. Our results are only valid when using these settings.

The noise isolation performance of the SteelSeries Arctis Prime is disappointing. They can't block out any of the low rumbles from bus or plane engines. While they do a slightly better job of cutting down office chatter, it may not be enough for moderately noisy environments. They can significantly block out the high-pitched hums of an AC unit, though.

The SteelSeries Arctis Prime have a decent leakage performance. Most of the leakage falls below the noise floor of an average office, so you can listen to audio at high volumes without disturbing others around you.

The mic's recording quality is excellent. Your voice sounds clear, full-bodied, and natural.

The mic's noise handling performance is decent. It can separate your voice from moderate ambient noise around you, so whoever's on the other end of the line can still hear you.

These headphones come with a mini-B 8-pin to 1/8" TRRS audio cable. They also have a Y-splitter extension cable that you can use to connect them to your PC.

The SteelSeries Arctis Prime have full audio and mic compatibility when you use their mini-B 8-pin to 1/8" TRRS cable on PCs.

These headphones have full audio and mic compatibility with PlayStation consoles via their analog cable.

These headphones are fully compatible with Xbox consoles when you plug their analog cable into your controller.