For me, comfort is king when it comes to headsets. Some of my favourite headsets have not been the most expensive or feature-rich, but the ones that felt good to wear for a long stretch of time. Having always heard nothing but the best from friends and colleagues about SteelSeries, I wanted to take a look at the Arctis Nova 3P to see how it stacks up.
First and foremost, I start with the unboxing. I was able to get the Arctis Nova 3P in their Lavender colourway, mostly to match my current office/gaming chair, but also because I wanted something different from the boring old black or white. Incidentally, the Arctis Nova 3P also comes in a 4th colour option called Aqua, so that’s a fun option if you’re keen for a burst of colour in your setup.
In the box, you get the Arctis Nova 3P headset itself, the detachable microphone arm, a charging cable, the USB-C dongle, and some miscellaneous papers for setup, etc. Upon removal of the headset from the box, my first impression was how good the Lavender colour actually looks. It’s very bold, while remaining reserved, and that’s thanks to its matte finish, so it doesn’t reflect light nearly as much as some of its competitors.
The headset is extremely light to pick up and wear, coming in at just under 260 grams, which is 25 grams less than my current daily driver. Size adjustment offers a few options, the most noteworthy being the head strap, as it allows you to pop it out of the sizing holes and move it to make the head strap larger or smaller. The Arctis Nova 3P also offers you the ability to slide the ear cushions down to make the headset bigger as well. Overall, I was able to resize the headset using only the sliding option and it fit pretty perfectly—the ear cushions in particular offer an excellent wearing experience.
“…the Arctis Nova 3P offers roughly 40 hours of battery life and I managed to squeeze every minute out of it before needing to charge it.”
While on the topic of the ear cushions, they are quite simply made from an Air Weave Memory Foam that fits snugly to your ears and doesn’t pinch or squeeze, allowing for those multi-hour sessions to be as comfortable as possible. When I first put the headset on, I was thoroughly impressed with the fit and comfort afforded by the ear cushions. Not once during the many multi-hour gaming marathons I used it for, did I experience any sweating or moisture buildup, which is a huge positive for me, as I have had a few bad experiences with moisture buildup in previous headsets.
The sound quality in the Arctis Nova 3P is surprisingly solid. SteelSeries has included its Nova Acoustic System to boost bass and enhance overall clarity. The 360-degree spatial audio helps you pinpoint the direction of in-game sounds—like the location of a grenade blast or a car sneaking up in your blind spot. It saved my race more than once, letting me dodge an incoming crash before I could even see it.
The Arctis Nova 3P also supports SteelSeries’ Sonar Audio Software, which takes the listening experience even further. It offers EQ customization and a range of presets to fine-tune the audio. I personally prefer less bass in my game sound, and it didn’t take long to find a preset that worked. Even those unfamiliar with audio tools should have no trouble finding a setting they like.
I want to talk a bit about the microphone that is available on the Arctis Nova 3P for a minute, because it is where things go a little sideways. The detachable microphone looks great and is easy to position comfortably for speaking, but that’s where the positives end. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the microphone when I used it. Actually, that’s a bit of a misleading comment. My party chat companions did not enjoy the mic.
It’s not just a clever anecdote that they noticed I had a new headset before I even spoke a single word, simply because they could hear so much around me, which is a big step away from my current headset. Someone even mentioned that they could hear my thoughts, which gave me a good laugh but made me wonder why the mic quality was so subpar.
“The Arctis Nova 3P also has the option of using the SteelSeries Sonar Audio Software to really take your sound experience to the next level, offering EQ customization or the option to choose from multiple different presets…”
On paper, the microphone should be brilliant. SteelSeries opted to include their ClearCast Gen 2.X microphone, which gives bidirectional AI noise cancelling, but it was hard to tell if it was actually working, given that all of the sounds around me could be heard. My voice could still be heard loud and clear, but it was that everything else could be heard where the problem arose. If you live alone or only game in a room by yourself, then it’s a moot point, but if you spend the majority of your time using the headset in a room with other people, then those people are going to be heard by the people you’re chatting with.
I want to go back to something positive now, and that is the battery life and connectivity. Starting with the battery life, the Arctis Nova 3P offers roughly 40 hours of battery lif,e and I managed to squeeze every minute out of it before needing to charge it. Several multi-hour endurance races and baseball marathons later, I finally managed to run the battery flat; thankfully, a quick 15-minute charge affords roughly 9 more hours of battery life!
As far as connectivity goes, the Arctis Nova 3P has it in spades. I opted for the configuration that supported PS5 compatibility, and there is an Xbox version as well. Both of which support PC connectivity via the USB-C dongle, and Bluetooth connection as well. The USB-C dongle holds the pairing button and is built in such a way that it doesn’t intrude into your setup too egregiously.
Overall, the Arctis Nova 3P from SteelSeries is a fine headset and is available for around $109.99 USD. This is really a case where the price and features available are perfectly aligned, and I got more than what I expected for a headset in this price category. If you can get past the mic, then the Arctis Nova 3P can be an incredible gaming companion.
- PRESETS FOR CoD, FORTNITE, AND MORE – Control your audio using the mobile app to hear footsteps better in game. Unlock total audio control with 200+ game presets in the Arctis Companion.
- OPTIMIZED FAST CHARGE — Get back into action in a flash with fast charging: 15 minutes equals up to 9 hours playback. A full charge lasts up to 40 hours
