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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless vs Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X
Tested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Jan 06, 2025 01:22 PM
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Updated Jan 18, 2025 12:03 AM
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TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Variants
- Arctis Pro Wireless (Black)
- Arctis Pro Wireless (White)
- + Sennheiser PC38X (Black)
- + EPOS PC38X (Black)
- + Sennheiser PC38X (Black/Yellow)
- + EPOS PC38X (Black/Yellow)
Our Verdict
SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X
The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless are better overall gaming headphones than the Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X. The SteelSeries have a virtual soundstage feature, though we don't currently test its performance, and their mic has a better noise-handling performance. They can also be used wirelessly, support Bluetooth for more casual use, and are compatible with SteelSeries Engine software, which offers a graphic EQ and presets to help adjust their sound to your liking. However, the Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS are more comfortable and have more consistent audio delivery.
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Black
Arctis Pro Wireless
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+ Sennheiser PC38X
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Arctis Pro Wireless
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+ EPOS PC38X
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+ Sennheiser PC38X
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+ EPOS PC38X
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Finding storeMain Differences for
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.3
8.0
Peaks/Dips
6.7
8.6
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.5
9.5
Frequency Response Consistency
5.5
7.6
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Open-Back
Wireless
Yes
No
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
8.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.8 lbs
0.55 lbs
Clamping Force
1.2 lbs
1.4 lbs
Controls
7.8
5.6
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Good
Feedback
Great
Decent
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
Breathability
5.3
6.4
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
8.5 °C
6 °C
Portability
5.5
5.5
Portability Picture
L
7.5" (19.1 cm)
7.4" (18.9 cm)
W
6.9" (17.5 cm)
6.7" (17.1 cm)
H
3.5" (8.9 cm)
3.6" (9.2 cm)
Volume
181.00 in³ (2,966.05 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
7.5
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
500 Hz
400 Hz
Bass Amount
4.0 dB
-4.2 dB
Treble Amount
0.5 dB
-2.8 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
5.5
7.6
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
1.18 dB
0.48 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
7.7
7.4
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
5.0 dB
5.5 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
29.76 Hz
Low Bass
0.82 dB
-7.59 dB
Mid Bass
6.48 dB
-2.91 dB
High Bass
6.31 dB
-0.47 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.5
9.5
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.52 dB
0.74 dB
Low Mid
1.4 dB
-0.64 dB
Mid-Mid
1.55 dB
-0.9 dB
High Mid
0.48 dB
0.34 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
6.4
6.6
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
3.79 dB
3.63 dB
Low Treble
-0.71 dB
-1.13 dB
Mid Treble
2.14 dB
-4.92 dB
High Treble
-3.02 dB
-8.32 dB
Peaks/Dips
6.7
8.6
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.88 dB
0.82 dB
Dips
2.56 dB
1.28 dB
Imaging
8.8
8.8
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.37
0.17
Weighted Phase Mismatch
2.15
2.83
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.42
0.93
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.52
1.43
Passive Soundstage
6.3
7.1
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
3.43 dB
2.84 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
7.72 dB
2.22 dB
PRTF Distance
22.05 dB
8.7 dB
Openness
5.6
9.4
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.4
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
Yes
No App
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.8
7.6
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.316
0.359
WHD @ 100
0.106
0.134
Test Settings
Firmware
MCU 1.7.0.0
No Firmware
Power
On
Passive
Connection
Wireless (Proprietary)
Wired
Codec
PCM, 16-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Off
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Boom
Boom
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
4.3
1.5
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Overall Attenuation
-10.15 dB
-3.45 dB
Bass
6.94 dB
0.21 dB
Mid
-11.44 dB
1.00 dB
Treble
-29.42 dB
-12.79 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
3.5
1.5
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-7.06 dB
-2.44 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-6.85 dB
-2.67 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-8.32 dB
-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
N/A
Leakage
7.0
3.1
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
39.37 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
8.4
8.7
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
20 Hz
20 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.56 dB
1.6 dB
HFE
6,639.82 Hz
8,010.97 Hz
Weighted THD
0.305
0.176
Gain
30.11 dB
27.08 dB
Noise Handling
8.3
7.5
SpNR
48.8 dB
35.95 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
8.5
7.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
8.0
7.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
8.8
0.0
Battery Type
Rechargable
No Battery
Continuous Battery Life
15.3 hrs
N/A
Additional Charges
1.0
N/A
Total Battery Life
30.6 hrs
N/A
Charge Time
1.3 hrs
N/A
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
No
Audio While Charging
Yes
No
Passive Playback
Yes
Passive Headphone
Charging Port
micro-USB
None
App Support
7.5
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
Mute/Unmute
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
Yes
No
Connectivity
Wired Connection
7.0
9.9
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
4.10 ft (1.25 m)
4.23 ft (1.29 m)
Connector
Mini B 8-Pin
1/16" TRRS
Latency - Analog
26.5 ms
0.3 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
6.8
0.0
Bluetooth Version
4.1
No Bluetooth
Multi-Device Pairing
Bluetooth + Console/Non-BT Wireless
No
Quick Pair (Android)
No
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
187.00 ft (57.00 m)
N/A
Latency - SBC
256 ms
N/A
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
No Bluetooth Audio
AAC Support
No
No
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
8.9
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
175.00 ft (53.34 m)
N/A
Latency - Dongle
22 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
Audio + Microphone
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
Audio + Microphone
No
PS5 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
Audio + Microphone
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
Audio Only
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
9.6
0.0
Type
Wireless 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
Yes
No
Power Supply
USB
No Base/Dock
Check Price
Black
Arctis Pro Wireless
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+ Sennheiser PC38X
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Arctis Pro Wireless
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+ EPOS PC38X
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+ Sennheiser PC38X
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+ EPOS PC38X
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SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X
Comments
SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless vs Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X: Main Discussion
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