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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC vs SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Jan 17, 2024 03:14 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Jan 21, 2025 08:21 PM
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TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Variants
- Arctis Pro GameDAC (Black)
- Arctis Nova Pro (Black)
- Arctis Nova Pro for Xbox (Black)
Our Verdict
SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro and the SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC are similarly performing wired gaming headphones, meaning you may prefer either one. While both headphones are comfortable and have similar sound profiles, Arctis Nova Pro's boom mic offers a better recording quality. They also have more customizability via their companion app, and they use a 1/8" TRRRS cable instead of a mini B 8-pin, which makes it easier to replace if it gets damaged.
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Black
Arctis Pro GameDAC
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova Pro
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Finding storeBlack
Arctis Nova Pro for Xbox
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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
7.1
Bass Accuracy
8.6
7.8
Treble Accuracy
6.4
5.4
Peaks/Dips
7.6
6.8
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
0.9 lbs
0.66 lbs
Clamping Force
1.2 lbs
1 lbs
Controls
6.2
6.2
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Decent
Good
Feedback
Great
Good
Call/Music Control
No
No
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
Mute/Unmute
Mute/Unmute
Channel Mixing
Yes
Yes
Noise Cancelling Control
No
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
Presets
Multi function
Breathability
5.4
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
8.3 °C
Portability
5.7
6.0
Portability Picture
L
7.4" (18.8 cm)
7.5" (19.0 cm)
W
6.8" (17.3 cm)
6.7" (17.0 cm)
H
3.0" (7.6 cm)
2.0" (5.1 cm)
Volume
150.00 in³ (2,458.05 cm³)
100.51 in³ (1,647.00 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
0.0
5.0
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
600 Hz
Bass Amount
0.4 dB
4.3 dB
Treble Amount
-2.59 dB
-0.2 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
5.4
5.3
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
1.33 dB
1.55 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
8.6
7.8
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.01 dB
4.7 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
-1.81 dB
4.26 dB
Mid Bass
-2.69 dB
4.1 dB
High Bass
-0.7 dB
4.59 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.4
8.5
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.19 dB
1.51 dB
Low Mid
0 dB
-1.44 dB
Mid-Mid
-1.07 dB
0.79 dB
High Mid
-3.28 dB
1.57 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
6.4
5.4
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
5.25 dB
4.7 dB
Low Treble
-5.42 dB
-2.65 dB
Mid Treble
-1.93 dB
3.08 dB
High Treble
-9.05 dB
-3.76 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.6
6.8
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.44 dB
1.78 dB
Dips
1.56 dB
2.55 dB
Imaging
8.7
9.0
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.16
0.28
Weighted Phase Mismatch
3.53
3.37
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.71
0.29
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2
1.39
Passive Soundstage
6.1
5.5
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
5.02 dB
3.04 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
6.68 dB
7.12 dB
PRTF Distance
18.19 dB
13.26 dB
Openness
4.9
4.9
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.9
2.5
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
DTS 7.1
Windows Sonic Spatial Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.7
7.7
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.362
0.351
WHD @ 100
0.122
0.114
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
2.4.0
Power
USB
USB
Connection
Wired
USB
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Default
Default
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Boom
Boom
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
4.5
5.1
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Overall Attenuation
-13.24 dB
-12.39 dB
Isolation Audio
Bass
0.28 dB
4.08 dB
Mid
-8.65 dB
-12.57 dB
Treble
-32 dB
-32.16 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
4.1
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-8.64 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-9.21 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-10.27 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
7.8
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
42.08 dB
34.87 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
8.5
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
85.99 Hz
20 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
4.57 dB
3.03 dB
HFE
10,240 Hz
9,255.5 Hz
Weighted THD
5.105
0.097
Gain
34.68 dB
21.47 dB
Noise Handling
7.7
7.2
SpNR
33.22 dB
17.52 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
On/Off Toggle
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.5
7.0
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
8.5
App Picture
App Name
SteelSeries Engine
Steelseries GG
iOS
No
No
Android
No
No
macOS
Yes
Yes
Windows
Yes
Yes
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
Parametric + Presets
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
Adjustable Level
Adjustable Level
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
Yes
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
10
9.5
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
USB Type A
USB Type A
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
5.00 ft (1.52 m)
5.05 ft (1.54 m)
Connector
Mini B 8-Pin
1/8" TRRRS
Latency - Analog
0.2 ms
Latency - USB
1 ms
17.4 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
USB
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
Audio + Microphone
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
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
7.0
Type
Wired USB dock
Wired USB dock
USB Input
Yes
Yes
Line In
Yes
Yes
Line Out
Yes
Yes
Optical Input
Yes
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
USB
USB-C
Check Price
Black
Arctis Pro GameDAC
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova Pro
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Arctis Nova Pro for Xbox
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Finding store
SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro
Comments
SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC vs SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro: Main Discussion
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