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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 SteelSeries Arctis Prime

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless
SteelSeries Arctis Prime

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Feb 01, 2024 08:11 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jun 10, 2024 08:09 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Picture

Variants

  • Arctis 9 (Black)
  • Arctis Prime (Apex Legends)
  • Arctis Prime (Black)

Our Verdict

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless

SteelSeries Arctis Prime

The SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless and the SteelSeries Arctis Prime have different strengths. While both headphones are comfortable, the Arctis 9 are better built; you can also use them wirelessly, which some users may prefer. They're also compatible with SteelSeries Engine software, which allows you to adjust their sound to your liking using the graphic EQ or presets. However, the Prime are wired-only headphones, and this connection ensures a virtually latency-free gaming experience. Their L/R drivers are also better matched, and their sound profile is more neutral, which some users may prefer. 

0

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

6.8
7.4

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.2
8.3

Treble Accuracy 
 

5.7
7.3

Imaging 
 

6.0
7.4

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Design Picture 2
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
No

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.5

Comfort Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Comfort Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.83 lbs
0.76 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.1 lbs
1.2 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

7.8
5.7

Controls Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Controls Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Good

Feedback  

Great
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
No

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
6.1

Breathability After Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Breathability After Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

7.4 °C
6.8 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

5.5
5.7

Portability Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Portability Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Portability Picture

 

7.7" (19.6 cm)
8.3" (21.2 cm)

 

6.9" (17.5 cm)
8.3" (21.2 cm)

 

3.3" (8.4 cm)
2.0" (5.1 cm)

Volume  

176.90 in³ (2,898.86 cm³)
139.87 in³ (2,292.00 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

0.0
N/A

Case Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Case Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime 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 
 

8.0
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Build Quality Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

7.5
7.0

Stability Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Stability Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Angled Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Angled Picture

Side Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Side Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Front Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Front Picture

Rear Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Rear Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Top Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless In The Box Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime 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
-0.88 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-2.99 dB
-0.98 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

5.4
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 
 

1.27 dB
1.5 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
8.3

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

4.02 dB
2.36 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

57.39 Hz
20.59 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-6.1 dB
-3.19 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

1.65 dB
-2.31 dB

High-Bass 
 

4.3 dB
0.75 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.1
8.1

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.59 dB
2.56 dB

Low-Mid 
 

1.44 dB
0.54 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

0.07 dB
-0.57 dB

High-Mid 
 

-0.8 dB
-3.7 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

5.7
7.3

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

6.11 dB
4.06 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-4.76 dB
-3.11 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-1.58 dB
2.77 dB

High-Treble 
 

-4.59 dB
-7 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.4
7.0

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.64 dB
1.97 dB

Dips 
 

1.34 dB
1.42 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

6.0
7.4

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
0.52

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

12.19
7.09

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

2.01
1.52

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

7.13
3.11

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

6.1
5.5

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

3.12 dB
2.98 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

7.6 dB
6.5 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

17.9 dB
10.62 dB

Openness 
 

5.6
4.9

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

3.0
3.1

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

2.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Virtual Soundstage
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

On/Off
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

DTS 7.1
No App

Show text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.1
8.0

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.303
0.285

WHD @ 100 
 

0.416
0.093

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

2.4.00
No Firmware

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Wireless (Proprietary)
Wired

Codec 
 

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

EQ 
 

No EQ
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Boom
Boom

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

3.7
5.1

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-10.8 dB
-15.67 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

0.73 dB
-0.14 dB

Mid 
 

-5.64 dB
-10.98 dB

Treble 
 

-27.86 dB
-36.71 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

7.4
7.2

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

37.13 dB
38.16 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 
 

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
2.94 dB

HFE 
 

6,544.63 Hz
9,805.86 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.112
0.101

Gain 
 

19.93 dB
26.25 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

7.5
7.2

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

32.44 dB
37.14 dB

Noise Gate 
 

Always On
Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

7.5
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 
 

8.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
No Battery

Continuous Battery Life 
 

20.3 hrs
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

20.3 hrs
N/A

Charge Time 
 

5.6 hrs
N/A

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Auto-Off Timer
No

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
No

Passive Playback 
 

No
Passive Headphone

Charging Port  

micro-USB
None

Show text

App Support 
 

8.0
0.0

App Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless App Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime 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 
 

8.5
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.1
No Bluetooth

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

Bluetooth + Console/Non-BT Wireless
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

303.00 ft (92.35 m)
N/A

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

194 ms
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 
 

55 ms
N/A

Android Latency 
 

130 ms
N/A

Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

8.8
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

153.00 ft (46.63 m)
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

28 ms
N/A

Show text

Wired 
 

9.0
9.5

Cable Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Cable Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

No
Yes

Length  

N/A
4.17 ft (1.27 m)

Connection 
 

No Wired Option
Mini B 8-Pin

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
0 ms

Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not included)
Audio + Microphone

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

Show text

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not included)
Audio + Microphone

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not Included)
Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

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
0.0

Type 
 

Wireless USB Dongle
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

Yes
No

Line In 
 

Yes
No

Line Out 
 

Yes
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

USB
No Base/Dock

Show text

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless

SteelSeries Arctis Prime

Comments

  1. Comparison

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless vs SteelSeries Arctis Prime: Main Discussion

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