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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Astro A10 Gen 2 vs SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Astro A10 Gen 2
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Feb 14, 2024 06:58 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Oct 01, 2024 06:12 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Astro A10 Gen 2 Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Picture
  1. Recommended in 1 article:
  2. SteelSeries

Variants

  • A10 Gen 2 (Black)
  • A10 Gen 2 (Grey)
  • A10 Gen 2 (Lilac)
  • A10 Gen 2 (Mint)
  • A10 Gen 2 (White)
  • Arctis Nova 1 (Black)
  • Arctis Nova 1X (Black)
  • Arctis Nova 1P (Black)
  • Arctis Nova 1 (White)
  • Arctis Nova 1P (White)

Our Verdict

Astro A10 Gen 2

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1

The Astro A10 Gen 2 and the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 are budget-friendly wired gaming headphones with slight differences in performance. While both headphones are comfortable and well-built, the Astro headphones have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer, and their passive soundstage feels larger and more immersive. However, the SteelSeries headphones' mic has a better overall performance.

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Arctis Nova 1X
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Arctis Nova 1
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Arctis Nova 1P
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Main Differences for
Neutral Sound

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.4
7.3

Treble Accuracy 
 

6.7
4.6

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.5
8.5

Passive Soundstage 
 

6.5
5.5

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Design Picture 2
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show Text 

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.5

Comfort Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Comfort Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.54 lbs
0.52 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.6 lbs
0.8 lbs
Show Text 

Controls 
 

5.7
5.7

Controls Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Controls Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Good

Feedback  

Good
Good

Call/Music Control  

No
No

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

Mute/Unmute
Mute/Unmute

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

No
No
Show Text 

Breathability 
 

Breathability After Picture  

Avg.Temp.Difference  

Portability 
 

5.5
5.9

Portability Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Portability Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Portability Picture

 

8.4" (21.3 cm)
9.3" (23.5 cm)

 

7.0" (17.7 cm)
8.0" (20.4 cm)

 

3.1" (7.8 cm)
1.7" (4.2 cm)

Volume  

179.45 in³ (2,940.70 cm³)
122.87 in³ (2,013.50 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show Text 

Case 
 

0.0
0.0

Case Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Case Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Case Picture

Type  

No case
No case

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A

Build Quality 
 

7.5
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Build Quality Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Build Quality Picture
Show Text 

Stability 
 

6.5
7.0

Stability Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Stability Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Stability Picture
Show Text 

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Angled Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Side Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Front Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Rear Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Top Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 In The Box Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 In The Box Picture
Show Text 
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

-1.84 dB
0.5 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-3.84 dB
-3.34 dB
Show Text 

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

5.5
5.4

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

1.22 dB
1.25 dB
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.5
8.5

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.36 dB
2.16 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

55.76 Hz
22.13 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-5.88 dB
-1.27 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

-1.24 dB
0.37 dB

High-Bass 
 

2.66 dB
3.52 dB
Show Text 

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.5
8.7

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.03 dB
1.74 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.03 dB
-0.12 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-2.68 dB
-1.53 dB

High-Mid 
 

-0.97 dB
-0.12 dB
Show Text 

Treble Accuracy 
 

6.7
4.6

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

4.9 dB
7.56 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-3.05 dB
-6.65 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-5.67 dB
-0.71 dB

High-Treble 
 

-13.34 dB
-11.15 dB
Show Text 

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.8
6.2

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.47 dB
2.41 dB

Dips 
 

0.84 dB
2.58 dB
Show Text 

Imaging 
 

8.0
8.1

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.2
0.2

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

5.42
5.47

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

1.5
1.57

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

2.42
2.07
Show Text 

Passive Soundstage 
 

6.5
5.5

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

3.6 dB
5.05 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

10.81 dB
5.09 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

24.29 dB
9.48 dB

Openness 
 

6.5
6.2

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

4.4
3.0
Show Text 

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
2.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Virtual Soundstage
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
On/Off

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
Windows Sonic Spatial Audio
Show Text 

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.7
7.4

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.355
0.405

WHD @ 100 
 

0.112
0.159
Show Text 

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware
No Firmware

Power 
 

Passive
Passive

Connection 
 

Wired
Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 44.1kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

Default
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Boom
Boom
Show Text 
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

3.6
3.8

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-10.48 dB
-11.47 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

0.16 dB
0.74 dB

Mid 
 

-5.57 dB
-5.8 dB

Treble 
 

-26.35 dB
-29.73 dB
Show Text 

Leakage 
 

6.2
7.4

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

43.73 dB
37.01 dB
Show Text 
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

Yes
Yes

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Recording Quality 
 

7.3
8.7

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

493.51 Hz
20 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

1.54 dB
1.99 dB

HFE 
 

7,896.12 Hz
8,487.33 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.074
0.086

Gain 
 

21.42 dB
22.86 dB
Show Text 

Noise Handling 
 

7.2
7.2

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

22.96 dB
34.12 dB

Noise Gate 
 

Always On
Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

7.0
7.0

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

7.5
7.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone

Charging Port  

None
None

App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 App Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 App Picture

App Name  

No App
No App

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Android Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

9.5
9.5

Cable Picture  

Astro A10 Gen 2 Cable Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

7.12 ft (2.17 m)
4.13 ft (1.26 m)

Connection 
 

1/8" TRRS
1/8" TRRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
0 ms
Show Text 

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

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Arctis Nova 1
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Arctis Nova 1X
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Black
Arctis Nova 1P
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Arctis Nova 1
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Arctis Nova 1P
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Astro A10 Gen 2

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1

Comments

  1. Comparison

Astro A10 Gen 2 vs SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1: Main Discussion

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