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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 Pro GameDAC vs SteelSeries Arctis Prime

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC
SteelSeries Arctis Prime

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 17, 2024 03:14 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jun 10, 2024 08:09 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Picture

Variants

  • Arctis Pro GameDAC (Black)
  • Arctis Prime (Apex Legends)
  • Arctis Prime (Black)

Our Verdict

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC

SteelSeries Arctis Prime

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC are better gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis Prime. While both headphones are comfortable, the Arctis Pro GameDAC have more robust controls, and are compatible with SteelSeries Engine software, allowing you to customize their sound with a graphic EQ or presets. Their mic also does a better job of separating your voice from ambient noise around you. However, the Arctis Prime are better-built, and their boom mic delivers a better recording quality.

0

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.6
7.4

Treble Accuracy 
 

6.4
7.3

Imaging 
 

8.7
7.4

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Design Picture 2
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.5

Comfort Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Comfort Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.9 lbs
0.76 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.2 lbs
1.2 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

6.2
5.7

Controls Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Controls Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime 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
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

Presets
No

Show text

Breathability 
 

5.4
6.1

Breathability After Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Breathability After Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

8.3 °C
6.8 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

5.7
5.7

Portability Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Portability Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Portability Picture

 

7.4" (18.8 cm)
8.3" (21.2 cm)

 

6.8" (17.3 cm)
8.3" (21.2 cm)

 

3.0" (7.6 cm)
2.0" (5.1 cm)

Volume  

150.00 in³ (2,458.05 cm³)
139.87 in³ (2,292.00 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

0.0
N/A

Case Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC 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

Show text

Build Quality 
 

6.0
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Build Quality Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

7.0
7.0

Stability Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Stability Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Angled Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Angled Picture

Side Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Side Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Front Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Front Picture

Rear Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Rear Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Top Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC 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 
 

0.4 dB
-0.88 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-2.59 dB
-0.98 dB

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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 
 

1.33 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 
 

8.6
8.3

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.01 dB
2.36 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

10 Hz
20.59 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-1.81 dB
-3.19 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

-2.69 dB
-2.31 dB

High-Bass 
 

-0.7 dB
0.75 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.4
8.1

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.19 dB
2.56 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0 dB
0.54 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-1.07 dB
-0.57 dB

High-Mid 
 

-3.28 dB
-3.7 dB

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Treble Accuracy 
 

6.4
7.3

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

5.25 dB
4.06 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-5.42 dB
-3.11 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-1.93 dB
2.77 dB

High-Treble 
 

-9.05 dB
-7 dB

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Peaks/Dips 
 

7.6
7.0

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.44 dB
1.97 dB

Dips 
 

1.56 dB
1.42 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

8.7
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 
 

0.16
0.52

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

3.53
7.09

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.71
1.52

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

2
3.11

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Passive Soundstage 
 

6.1
5.5

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

5.02 dB
2.98 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

6.68 dB
6.5 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

18.19 dB
10.62 dB

Openness 
 

4.9
4.9

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

3.9
3.1

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Virtual Soundstage 
 

2.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC 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 
 

7.7
8.0

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.362
0.285

WHD @ 100 
 

0.122
0.093

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown
No Firmware

Power 
 

USB
On

Connection 
 

Wired
Wired

Codec 
 

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

EQ 
 

Default
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Boom
Boom

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

4.5
5.1

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-13.24 dB
-15.67 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

0.28 dB
-0.14 dB

Mid 
 

-8.65 dB
-10.98 dB

Treble 
 

-32 dB
-36.71 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

6.6
7.2

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

42.08 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

Show text

Recording Quality 
 

7.6
8.6

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

85.99 Hz
20 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

4.57 dB
2.94 dB

HFE 
 

10,240 Hz
9,805.86 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

5.105
0.101

Gain 
 

34.68 dB
26.25 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

7.7
7.2

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

33.22 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 
 

8.0
7.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text

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

Show text

App Support 
 

8.0
0.0

App Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC 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 
 

Yes
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

Yes
No

Show text

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

Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Wired 
 

10
9.5

Cable Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC Cable Picture
SteelSeries Arctis Prime Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

USB Type A
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

5.00 ft (1.52 m)
4.17 ft (1.27 m)

Connection 
 

Mini B 8-Pin
Mini B 8-Pin

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

1 ms
0 ms

Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

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

Show text

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

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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

Show text

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC

SteelSeries Arctis Prime

Comments

  1. Comparison

SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC vs SteelSeries Arctis Prime: Main Discussion

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