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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 vs SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Oct 01, 2024 06:12 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Oct 21, 2024 01:42 PM
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TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Variants
- Arctis Nova 1 (Black)
- Arctis Nova 1X (Black)
- Arctis Nova 1P (Black)
- Arctis Nova 1 (White)
- Arctis Nova 1P (White)
- Arctis Nova 3 (Black)
Our Verdict
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 are the next step up from the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1. While both headphones are wired and have the same build quality and comfort, the Nova 3 have customizable RGB lighting on the ear cups, which some users may prefer. They can also access features like Spatial Audio, parametric EQ and presets, and even an adjustable mic level via their companion software. They also support a wired USB connection.
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Black
Arctis Nova 1
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Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 1X
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Arctis Nova 3
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Walmart.comBlack
Arctis Nova 1P
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Arctis Nova 3
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Arctis Nova 1
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Arctis Nova 3
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Arctis Nova 1P
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Finding storeMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.3
7.4
Treble Accuracy
4.6
5.5
Bass Accuracy
8.5
8.0
Passive Soundstage
5.5
6.2
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
No
No
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
7.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.52 lbs
0.56 lbs
Clamping Force
0.8 lbs
0.9 lbs
Controls
5.7
5.7
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
LED On/Off
Breathability
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
Portability
5.9
5.9
Portability Picture
L
9.3" (23.5 cm)
7.9" (20.1 cm)
W
8.0" (20.4 cm)
8.7" (22.1 cm)
H
1.7" (4.2 cm)
1.7" (4.2 cm)
Volume
122.87 in³ (2,013.50 cm³)
113.96 in³ (1,867.40 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
0.0
0.0
Case Picture
Type
No case
No case
L
N/A
N/A
W
N/A
N/A
H
N/A
N/A
Volume
N/A
N/A
Build Quality
7.5
7.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.0
7.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
0.5 dB
0.19 dB
Treble Amount
-3.34 dB
-3.11 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
5.4
6.0
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
1.25 dB
0.95 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
8.5
8.0
Std. Err.
2.16 dB
2.84 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
22.13 Hz
15.2 Hz
Low-Bass
-1.27 dB
-0.95 dB
Mid-Bass
0.37 dB
1.67 dB
High-Bass
3.52 dB
4.41 dB
Mid Accuracy
8.7
8.6
Std. Err.
1.74 dB
1.9 dB
Low-Mid
-0.12 dB
1.83 dB
Mid-Mid
-1.53 dB
-0.58 dB
High-Mid
-0.12 dB
-0.01 dB
Treble Accuracy
4.6
5.5
Std. Err.
7.56 dB
6.36 dB
Low-Treble
-6.65 dB
-3.43 dB
Mid-Treble
-0.71 dB
-0.55 dB
High-Treble
-11.15 dB
-9.22 dB
Peaks/Dips
6.2
6.6
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
2.41 dB
2.1 dB
Dips
2.58 dB
2.24 dB
Imaging
8.1
8.1
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.2
0.18
Weighted Phase Mismatch
5.47
9.07
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.57
0.57
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.07
2.95
Passive Soundstage
5.5
6.2
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
5.05 dB
1.72 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
5.09 dB
6.33 dB
PRTF Distance
9.48 dB
11.94 dB
Openness
6.2
6.7
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.0
3.1
Virtual Soundstage
2.0
2.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
Windows Sonic Spatial Audio
Windows Sonic Spatial Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.4
7.2
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.405
0.464
WHD @ 100
0.159
0.177
Test Settings
Firmware
No Firmware
1.2.0
Power
Passive
USB
Connection
Wired
Wired
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
Default
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Boom
Boom
Isolation
Noise Isolation
3.8
3.5
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-11.47 dB
-10.67 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
0.74 dB
0.56 dB
Mid
-5.8 dB
-4.73 dB
Treble
-29.73 dB
-28.05 dB
Leakage
7.4
7.3
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
37.01 dB
37.55 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
No
In-Line
No
No
Boom
Yes
Yes
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
8.7
8.4
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
20 Hz
88.51 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
1.99 dB
3.66 dB
HFE
8,487.33 Hz
11,166.8 Hz
Weighted THD
0.086
0.141
Gain
22.86 dB
15.12 dB
Noise Handling
7.2
7.2
SpNR
34.12 dB
22.94 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
On/Off Toggle
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
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
8.5
App Picture
App Name
No App
Steelseries GG
iOS
No
No
Android
No
No
macOS
No
Yes
Windows
No
Yes
Equalizer
No
Parametric + Presets
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
No
Adjustable Level
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
No
Yes
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
9.8
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
USB Type A
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
4.13 ft (1.26 m)
9.42 ft (2.87 m)
Connection
1/8" TRRS
USB-C
Analog/USB Audio Latency
0 ms
6 ms
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Wired USB
No
Audio + Microphone
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Wired USB
No
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Wired USB
No
Audio + Microphone
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
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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Black
Arctis Nova 1
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Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 1X
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Arctis Nova 3
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Walmart.comBlack
Arctis Nova 1P
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Arctis Nova 3
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Arctis Nova 1
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Arctis Nova 3
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B&HWhite
Arctis Nova 1P
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SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3
Comments
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 vs SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3: Main Discussion
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