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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC vs Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Jan 17, 2024 03:14 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Jan 18, 2025 12:03 AM
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Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Variants
- Arctis Pro GameDAC (Black)
- + Sennheiser PC38X (Black)
- + EPOS PC38X (Black)
- + Sennheiser PC38X (Black/Yellow)
- + EPOS PC38X (Black/Yellow)
Our Verdict
SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X
SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC and the Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X have different strengths, and you may prefer one over the other. The SteelSeries are more customizable gaming headphones thanks to their GameDAC. They're compatible with SteelSeries Engine software, which offers a graphic EQ and presets so you can adjust them to your liking. They have better controls and have a closed-back design, which allows them to block out a bit more background noise. However, the Drop are more comfortable and, thanks to their open-back design, have a more spacious passive soundstage. Their boom mic also offers a better recording quality.
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Black
Arctis Pro GameDAC
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Amazon.comBlack
+ Sennheiser PC38X
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Arctis Pro GameDAC
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Amazon.comBlack
+ EPOS PC38X
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Finding storeBlack/Yellow
+ Sennheiser PC38X
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+ EPOS PC38X
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Finding storeNotice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.
Main Differences for
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.6
8.0
Bass Accuracy
8.6
7.4
Mid Accuracy
8.4
9.5
Peaks/Dips
7.6
8.6
Passive Soundstage
6.1
7.1
Frequency Response Consistency
5.4
7.6
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Open-Back
Wireless
No
No
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
8.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.9 lbs
0.55 lbs
Clamping Force
1.2 lbs
1.4 lbs
Controls
6.2
5.6
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Decent
Good
Feedback
Great
Decent
Call/Music Control
No
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
Presets
No
Breathability
5.4
6.4
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
8.3 °C
6 °C
Portability
5.7
5.5
Portability Picture
L
7.4" (18.8 cm)
7.4" (18.9 cm)
W
6.8" (17.3 cm)
6.7" (17.1 cm)
H
3.0" (7.6 cm)
3.6" (9.2 cm)
Volume
150.00 in³ (2,458.05 cm³)
181.42 in³ (2,973.00 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
0.0
5.5
Case Picture
Type
No case
Pouch
L
N/A
N/A
W
N/A
N/A
H
N/A
N/A
Volume
N/A
N/A
Build Quality
6.0
7.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.0
6.5
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
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
400 Hz
Bass Amount
0.4 dB
-4.2 dB
Treble Amount
-2.59 dB
-2.8 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
5.4
7.6
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
1.33 dB
0.48 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
8.6
7.4
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.01 dB
5.5 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
29.76 Hz
Low Bass
-1.81 dB
-7.59 dB
Mid Bass
-2.69 dB
-2.91 dB
High Bass
-0.7 dB
-0.47 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.4
9.5
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.19 dB
0.74 dB
Low Mid
0 dB
-0.64 dB
Mid-Mid
-1.07 dB
-0.9 dB
High Mid
-3.28 dB
0.34 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
6.4
6.6
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
5.25 dB
3.63 dB
Low Treble
-5.42 dB
-1.13 dB
Mid Treble
-1.93 dB
-4.92 dB
High Treble
-9.05 dB
-8.32 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.6
8.6
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.44 dB
0.82 dB
Dips
1.56 dB
1.28 dB
Imaging
8.7
8.8
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.16
0.17
Weighted Phase Mismatch
3.53
2.83
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.71
0.93
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2
1.43
Passive Soundstage
6.1
7.1
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
5.02 dB
2.84 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
6.68 dB
2.22 dB
PRTF Distance
18.19 dB
8.7 dB
Openness
4.9
9.4
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.9
7.8
Virtual Soundstage
2.0
0.0
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
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.7
7.6
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.362
0.359
WHD @ 100
0.122
0.134
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
No Firmware
Power
USB
Passive
Connection
Wired
Wired
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Default
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Boom
Boom
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
4.5
1.5
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Overall Attenuation
-13.24 dB
-3.45 dB
Isolation Audio
Bass
0.28 dB
0.21 dB
Mid
-8.65 dB
1.00 dB
Treble
-32 dB
-12.79 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
1.5
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-2.44 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-2.67 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-3.04 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
ANC Wind Handling
ANC Wind Handling Graph
ANC Wind Noise
N/A
Leakage
6.6
3.1
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
42.08 dB
57.66 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
No
In-Line
No
No
Boom
Yes
Yes
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
7.6
8.7
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
85.99 Hz
20 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
4.57 dB
1.6 dB
HFE
10,240 Hz
8,010.97 Hz
Weighted THD
5.105
0.176
Gain
34.68 dB
27.08 dB
Noise Handling
7.7
7.5
SpNR
33.22 dB
35.95 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.5
7.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
8.0
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
8.0
0.0
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
Yes
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
Yes
No
Connectivity
Wired Connection
10
9.9
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
USB Type A
No
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
5.00 ft (1.52 m)
4.23 ft (1.29 m)
Connector
Mini B 8-Pin
1/16" TRRS
Latency - Analog
0.3 ms
Latency - USB
1 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
0.0
0.0
Bluetooth Version
No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
No
Quick Pair (Android)
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - SBC
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
Recorded Latency Codec
No Bluetooth Audio
AAC Support
No
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
N/A
Android Latency
N/A
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
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
Audio Only
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
7.8
0.0
Type
Wired USB dock
No Base/Dock
USB Input
Yes
No
Line In
Yes
No
Line Out
Yes
No
Optical Input
Yes
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
USB
No Base/Dock
Check Price
Black
Arctis Pro GameDAC
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlack
+ Sennheiser PC38X
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Arctis Pro GameDAC
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlack
+ EPOS PC38X
Searching
Finding storeBlack/Yellow
+ Sennheiser PC38X
Searching
Finding storeBlack/Yellow
+ EPOS PC38X
Searching
Finding store
SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X
Comments
SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC vs Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X: Main Discussion
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