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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

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition vs SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 17, 2024 03:39 PM

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Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 23, 2024 08:03 PM

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SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Picture

Variants

  • Arctis 5 2019 Edition (Black)
  • Arctis 5 2019 Edition (White)
  • Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition

Our Verdict

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition

SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless

The SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition are better gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition since they are compatible with the SteelSeries Engine software, which offers plenty of customization options and controls. The Arctis 3 are more versatile since they are Bluetooth-compatible, making them more outdoor-friendly. The Arctis 5 also have channel mixing, but they don’t have the excellent microphone of the Arctis 3.

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Check Price

Black
Arctis 5 2019 Edition
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Standard
Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
Arctis 5 2019 Edition
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Standard
Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
 
Standard
Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
 
Standard
Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition
B&H

Main Differences for
Neutral Sound

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.5
7.4

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.6
7.1

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Design Picture 2
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

No
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show Text 

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.5

Comfort Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Comfort Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.69 lbs
0.65 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.1 lbs
1 lbs
Show Text 

Controls 
 

6.2
7.1

Controls Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Controls Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Good

Feedback  

Good
Good

Call/Music Control  

No
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

Mute/Unmute
Mute/Unmute

Channel Mixing 
 

Yes
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

No
No
Show Text 

Breathability 
 

5.0
6.3

Breathability After Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Breathability After Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

9 °C
6.2 °C
Show Text 

Portability 
 

5.6
5.2

Portability Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Portability Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Portability Picture

 

9.0" (22.9 cm)
7.6" (19.3 cm)

 

8.5" (21.6 cm)
7.8" (19.8 cm)

 

2.0" (5.1 cm)
4.0" (10.2 cm)

Volume  

153.00 in³ (2,507.21 cm³)
237.00 in³ (3,883.72 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show Text 

Case 
 

0.0
0.0

Case Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Case Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Case Picture

Type  

No case
No case

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.0
7.0

Build Quality Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Build Quality Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Build Quality Picture
Show Text 

Stability 
 

7.0
7.0

Stability Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Stability Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Stability Picture
Show Text 

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Angled Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Side Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Front Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Rear Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Top Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition In The Box Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless In The Box Picture
Show Text 
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

0.97 dB
-3.49 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-2.62 dB
-0.9 dB

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

5.3
5.3

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 
 

1.44 dB
1.88 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 
 

7.6
7.1

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.51 dB
3.96 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

10 Hz
63.5 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-1.06 dB
-6.72 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

3.13 dB
-2.15 dB

High-Bass 
 

5.55 dB
3.13 dB
Show Text 

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.2
8.1

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.39 dB
2.58 dB

Low-Mid 
 

2.96 dB
3.41 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

0.04 dB
0.32 dB

High-Mid 
 

-1.77 dB
-1.71 dB
Show Text 

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.1
8.6

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.85 dB
2.19 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-1.46 dB
-0.47 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-0.79 dB
3.59 dB

High-Treble 
 

-5.01 dB
-4.25 dB
Show Text 

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.7
7.6

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.5 dB
1.66 dB

Dips 
 

1.13 dB
1.04 dB

Imaging 
 

7.8
8.2

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 
 

0.22
0.27

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

7.29
6.04

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

1.62
1.07

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

2.67
2.25
Show Text 

Passive Soundstage 
 

5.9
6.0

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

3.18 dB
3.97 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

11.46 dB
8.18 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

22.49 dB
19.94 dB

Openness 
 

5.9
4.8

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

2.6
3.4
Show Text 

Virtual Soundstage 
 

2.0
2.0

Virtual Soundstage  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Virtual Soundstage
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

DTS 7.1
Windows Sonic Spatial Audio

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.8
7.6

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.309
0.195

WHD @ 100 
 

0.106
0.167

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown
Unknown

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

USB
Wired

Codec 
 

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

EQ 
 

Default
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Boom
Boom
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

4.0
4.5

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-12.67 dB
-13.31 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

0.71 dB
0.57 dB

Mid 
 

-5.9 dB
-8.97 dB

Treble 
 

-33.15 dB
-32.26 dB
Show Text 

Leakage 
 

7.7
7.0

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

35.25 dB
39.67 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 
 

7.5
8.6

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

132.62 Hz
20 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.99 dB
2.88 dB

HFE 
 

10,540.06 Hz
9,948.49 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

37.97
0.17

Gain 
 

29.38 dB
26.79 dB
Show Text 

Noise Handling 
 

8.0
7.7

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

35.71 dB
38.74 dB

Noise Gate 
 

Always On
Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

8.0
7.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

8.0
8.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
7.6

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
42.3 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
42.3 hrs

Charge Time 
 

N/A
3.8 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
Yes

Charging Port  

None
micro-USB
Show Text 

App Support 
 

8.0
0.0

App Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition App Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless App Picture

App Name  

SteelSeries Engine
No App

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

Yes
No

Windows  

Yes
No

Equalizer 
 

Graphic + Presets
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

Adjustable Level
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
6.9

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
4.1

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
186.00 ft (56.69 m)

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

N/A
130 ms

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
99 ms

Android Latency 
 

N/A
99 ms
Show Text 

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 
 

7.3
9.5

Cable Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition Cable Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

USB Type A
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

5.00 ft (1.52 m)
4.10 ft (1.25 m)

Connection 
 

Mini B 8-Pin
Mini B 8-Pin

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

111 ms
0 ms
Show Text 

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

PS4 Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

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

Base/Dock 
 

3.4
0.0

Type 
 

Wired USB Dongle
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

Yes
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

USB
No Base/Dock
Show Text 

Check Price

Black
Arctis 5 2019 Edition
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Standard
Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
Arctis 5 2019 Edition
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Standard
Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
 
Standard
Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
 
Standard
Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition
B&H

SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition

SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless

Comments

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