I In fact I liked the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, so the company didn’t need to say much to get me excited about its successor. The $399 Nova Pro Omni, revealed on May 5, has the same design as the 2022 model, but with some new and improved features — wireless hi-res audio (24-bit/96kHz audio over 2.4 GHz), better mic quality, and compatibility with all consoles in every model, to name but a few. The Nova Elite has all the $599 better build materials and bigger drivers over the Omni.
But things got interesting when, a few weeks before the Omni was announced, Turtle Beach showed off its Stealth Pro 2. To say it’s inspired by previous SteelSeries headsets is putting it mildly. It has swappable batteries, a battery-charging wireless base station, a companion app for quickly changing audio settings, and the ability to listen to 2.4GHz and Bluetooth audio simultaneously. On top of that, it also offers wireless high-resolution audio support. And Slightly cheaper $349 price tag.
Good
- Solid sound and active noise cancellation
- swappable batteries
- involves a difficult matter
- Can toggle between base station and other USB transmitters
bad
- quite heavy
- The sound is not as good as the Nova Pro Omni
- I want the base station to do more
So, I did what was necessary: I called both concurrently to test it, to see which value I liked best. I realize that SteelSeries’ $399 Arctis Nova Pro Omni and Turtle Beach’s $349 Stealth Pro 2 are both great for a number of reasons, but they’re not worth buying based on their high-resolution audio capabilities alone – a major selling point for both. I couldn’t notice a difference in hi-res compared to the default bit rate (24-bit, 48kHz) on my Windows 11 PC.
I tested lossless tunes from several albums in Cubase and played a lot of them marathonWhich is full of little location-based sounds that may indicate my impending doom. I can’t consider myself an audiophile because I have tinnitus, which prevents me from hearing some high-frequency sounds. Despite this, I’m in good company with many others who can’t reliably detect the hi-res difference. It all looked the same to me. Good, but not good enough to encourage you to buy a new headset.
Functionally, if you don’t have all your gaming devices in one centralized location, the AirPods Max-inspired Stealth Pro 2 is a better choice. I have mine scattered around my apartment, so I like that the Stealth Pro 2 has a button that toggles between transmitters (all while simultaneously maintaining a Bluetooth connection to my phone).
Both the Omni and Stealth Pro 2 let you make on-the-fly adjustments to the equalizer and mic settings via a mobile companion app over Bluetooth, so you won’t have to run to your PC to change settings. However, Turtle Beach’s headset gives you more on-device control options. You can tinker through the equalizer with a button on the Stealth Pro 2, and there are three dials for independently adjusting USB source and Bluetooth volume, and adjusting game/chat mix levels. You can also customize what some of its additional inputs do in its app. SteelSeries hands over most of the control to the GameHub Station.
The Arctic Nova Pro Omni is slightly different in execution, but is similar to the Nova Pro Wireless in function and design. Its station is the audio brain for all your gaming gadgets, assuming they’re all within 5 feet of it with access to the two included USB-C-to-USB-A cables. It can receive four wired audio sources (three USB-C, and one 3.5mm line-in audio), and mix three together, including Bluetooth. The mic also works across all platforms. The Omni’s USB audio source-swapping base station is the best option if it’s always within reach.
$400
Good
- Great sound and comfort
- Multi-source base station is still amazing
- tried and tested lightweight design
bad
- A wired base station requires you to have all your consoles nearby
- Light on physical controls and no hard cases involved
These headsets are capable of delivering rich, balanced audio that made me feel immersed in the game. Even without their nice active noise cancellation effect turned on, their ear pads suppress a good amount of outside sound. Both headsets’ software offers deep equalizer customization through their PC apps, but I preferred how the Omni sounded even with the same EQ waveforms in all headsets. It has strong mids and highs, more controlled bass and better delineation between frequencies, with warmth when the material demands it. However, the Stealth Pro 2 comes close to it.
One area where the SteelSeries leads the way is mic quality. Its retractable boom mic is superior to that offered by Turtle Beach’s detachable flip-to-mute mic. My voice sounds warmer and has more detail (and doesn’t sound as much as if I’m talking on the telephone). However, nothing sounds better than a dedicated desktop mic.
Here are mic samples of the Arctis Nova Pro Omni (above) and Stealth Pro 2 (below), recorded through the Sound Recorder app in Windows 11:
Most people have probably already figured out which headset best matches their setup. The Stealth Pro 2 has a more attractive price, which is $50 less than the Omni, while still having many of the great features I’m accustomed to seeing in SteelSeries headsets. Again, this may not be suitable for everyone’s setup or sound preferences.
The Omni is also a great headset, but if your budget is under $300, the SteelSeries Nova Pro Wireless is still a great headset to go for, typically selling for around $270. Its lack of wireless high-resolution audio isn’t a downside for me, and there’s still a lot to like about the look, feel, and performance of the last-generation model.
Photography by Cameron Faulkner/The Verge
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