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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 9 Wireless vs Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Feb 01, 2024 08:11 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Mar 01, 2024 09:56 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Picture

Variants

  • Arctis 9 (Black)
  • VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT (Slate)

Our Verdict

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless

Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT

The Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT are more versatile gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless. You can use the Corsair wired or wirelessly. They have better battery and Bluetooth connectivity performances, and their boom mic delivers a better recording quality. However, the SteelSeries are more comfortable, and their boom mic does a better job of noise handling.

0 

Check Price

Black
Arctis 9
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Slate
VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Slate
VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Slate
VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
Arctis 9
B&H
Slate
VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT
B&H

Main Differences for
Neutral Sound

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

6.8
6.6

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.2
6.5

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.1
7.5

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Design Picture 2
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show Text 

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.0

Comfort Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Comfort Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.83 lbs
0.85 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.1 lbs
1 lbs
Show Text 

Controls 
 

7.8
7.0

Controls Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Controls Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Good

Feedback  

Great
Decent

Call/Music Control  

Yes
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  

Bluetooth Sync
No
Show Text 

Breathability 
 

5.8
6.6

Breathability After Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Breathability After Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

7.4 °C
5.5 °C
Show Text 

Portability 
 

5.5
5.9

Portability Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Portability Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Portability Picture

 

7.7" (19.6 cm)
8.0" (20.3 cm)

 

6.9" (17.5 cm)
7.8" (19.7 cm)

 

3.3" (8.4 cm)
1.9" (4.8 cm)

Volume  

176.90 in³ (2,898.86 cm³)
117.17 in³ (1,920.00 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show Text 

Case 
 

0.0
5.5

Case Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Case Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Case Picture

Type  

No case
Pouch

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

8.0
8.0

Build Quality Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Build Quality Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Build Quality Picture
Show Text 

Stability 
 

7.5
6.5

Stability Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Stability Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Stability Picture
Show Text 

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Angled Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Angled Picture

Side Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Side Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Front Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Front Picture

Rear Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Rear Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Top Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless In The Box Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT 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
-3.71 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-2.99 dB
-3.03 dB
Show Text 

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

5.4
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 
 

1.27 dB
1.35 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 
 

7.2
6.5

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

4.02 dB
4.89 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

57.39 Hz
93.77 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-6.1 dB
-9.35 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

1.65 dB
-3.28 dB

High-Bass 
 

4.3 dB
1.26 dB
Show Text 

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.1
7.5

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.59 dB
3.36 dB

Low-Mid 
 

1.44 dB
-3.34 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

0.07 dB
-3.28 dB

High-Mid 
 

-0.8 dB
-0.01 dB
Show Text 

Treble Accuracy 
 

5.7
6.3

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

6.11 dB
5.37 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-4.76 dB
-2.45 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-1.58 dB
-7.1 dB

High-Treble 
 

-4.59 dB
-14.08 dB
Show Text 

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.4
6.8

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.64 dB
2.15 dB

Dips 
 

1.34 dB
1.69 dB
Show Text 

Imaging 
 

6.0
7.0

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 
 

0.28
0.24

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

12.19
8.02

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

2.01
3

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

7.13
2.64
Show Text 

Passive Soundstage 
 

6.1
5.6

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

3.12 dB
3.48 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

7.6 dB
3.74 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

17.9 dB
12.9 dB

Openness 
 

5.6
6.3

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

3.0
2.7
Show Text 

Virtual Soundstage 
 

2.0
2.0

Virtual Soundstage  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Virtual Soundstage
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT 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
Dolby Atmos
Show Text 

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.1
7.0

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.303
0.577

WHD @ 100 
 

0.416
0.232
Show Text 

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

2.4.00
5.11.88

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Wireless (Proprietary)
Wireless (Proprietary)

Codec 
 

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

EQ 
 

No EQ
Pure Direct

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Boom
Boom
Show Text 
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

3.7
3.7

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-10.8 dB
-11.45 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

0.73 dB
0.86 dB

Mid 
 

-5.64 dB
-5.44 dB

Treble 
 

-27.86 dB
-30.09 dB
Show Text 

Leakage 
 

7.4
7.6

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

37.13 dB
35.79 dB
Show Text 
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

Yes
Yes

Detachable Boom 
 

No
Yes

Mic  

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Recording Quality 
 

8.1
8.6

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

88.51 Hz
20 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

3.44 dB
1.01 dB

HFE 
 

6,544.63 Hz
6,177.3 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.112
0.391

Gain 
 

19.93 dB
24.27 dB
Show Text 

Noise Handling 
 

7.5
7.8

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

32.44 dB
26.39 dB

Noise Gate 
 

Always On
Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

7.5
8.0

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

7.5
7.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

8.0
8.5

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

20.3 hrs
18.3 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

20.3 hrs
18.3 hrs

Charge Time 
 

5.6 hrs
2.6 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Auto-Off Timer
Standby mode

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Passive Playback 
 

No
Yes

Charging Port  

micro-USB
USB-C
Show Text 

App Support 
 

8.0
7.0

App Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless App Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT App Picture

App Name  

SteelSeries Engine
Corsair iCUE

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

Yes
Yes

Windows  

Yes
Yes

Equalizer 
 

Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

Adjustable Level
Adjustable Level

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

8.5
8.3

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.1
5.0

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

Bluetooth + Console/Non-BT Wireless
Bluetooth + Console/Non-BT Wireless

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

303.00 ft (92.35 m)
311.68 ft (95.00 m)

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

194 ms
228 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
233 ms

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
221 ms

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

55 ms
70 ms

Android Latency 
 

130 ms
68 ms
Show Text 

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

8.8
7.8

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

153.00 ft (46.63 m)
52.49 ft (16.00 m)

Non-BT Latency 
 

28 ms
49 ms
Show Text 

Wired 
 

9.0
6.4

Cable Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Cable Picture
Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
USB Type A

Detachable  

No
Yes

Length  

N/A
5.05 ft (1.54 m)

Connection 
 

No Wired Option
1/8" TRRRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
175 ms
Show Text 

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not included)
Audio + Microphone

Wired USB 
 

No
Audio + Microphone

Non-BT Wireless 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Show Text 

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not included)
Audio + Microphone

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not Included)
Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Show Text 

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not included)
Audio + Microphone

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not included)
Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Base/Dock 
 

7.0
3.4

Type 
 

Wireless USB Dongle
Wireless USB Dongle

USB Input 
 

Yes
Yes

Line In 
 

Yes
No

Line Out 
 

Yes
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

USB
USB
Show Text 

Check Price

Black
Arctis 9
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Slate
VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Slate
VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Slate
VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
Arctis 9
B&H
Slate
VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT
B&H

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless

Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT

Comments

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SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless vs Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT: Main Discussion

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