Eons in the past, I labored a retail job promoting gaming headsets (amongst different issues) throughout the PS3 period. Even again then, I used to be aggravated that the majority headphone producers had nearly similar variations of the identical headset, distinguished solely by whether or not they had been suitable with the Xbox or PlayStation. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5X Wi-fi might not be the primary headset to place this explicit nuisance to mattress, however it’s my favourite.
The core of this explicit downside comes right down to how the totally different console producers deal with wi-fi audio. Bluetooth is the default system for wi-fi audio on most units, however there’s simply sufficient of a latency situation that avid gamers would discover. Particularly in case you play on-line aggressive video games, the place split-second timing issues.
Each Microsoft and Sony have their very own proprietary wi-fi audio methods to cope with this downside, however, shock, they’re not interoperable. Worse but, it’s normally too costly to hassle including help for each right into a single headset, since most avid gamers are likely to have both one console or the opposite. Happily, the Arctis Nova 5X Wi-fi has a helpful resolution to this downside.
Enter the Dongle
The Arctis Nova 5X headset is designed for the Xbox Sequence X/S (as denoted by the “X” in its title), however the USB-C 2.4-GHz dongle has a small change that lets it swap between Xbox compatibility and … every part else. You need to use this headset along with your PlayStation 5, Nintendo Swap, PC, heck even your telephone simply by plugging this little man in.
{Photograph}: Eric Ravenscraft
This isn’t the primary SteelSeries headset with this function—my earlier prime gaming headset advice for Xbox, the Arctis Nova 7X, included the identical dongle. Nevertheless, it’s nonetheless unusual for many wi-fi gaming headsets to help such a big selection of units. Most frequently, the Xbox is the odd one on the compatibility checklist.
On prime of this, the Arctis Nova 5X Wi-fi has a separate Bluetooth connection, so you may pair it along with your telephone or different units to reply calls, take heed to music, or put in your favourite podcast. Whereas the 7X can play audio from each Bluetooth and a pair of.4 GHz on the similar time, the 5X solely helps you to hear to at least one or the opposite, although there’s a helpful button on the fitting ear cup to swap between them. In my expertise, the handoff was practically instantaneous. Whereas it gained’t allow you to take heed to music when you sport, it’s extremely helpful for swapping duties.
Extra Energy
The Arctis Nova 7X Wi-fi was a strong contender for some time, however the battery life on the 5X places it to disgrace. SteelSeries advertises about 60 hours of battery life on a single cost (in comparison with lower than 40 on the 7X), although that may be minimize fairly brief in case you swap to Bluetooth mode. In my testing, I used to be capable of get near 40 hours of life from blended use, which continues to be longer than most (although not all) gaming headsets in the marketplace.
The headset additionally helps fast charging through USB-C, and it will get a formidable quantity of mileage from simply quarter-hour of charging. SteelSeries claims that you just’ll get six hours of gameplay from such a brief charging session. I put my unit on the charger and walked away lengthy sufficient to make a sandwich and watch a fast episode of a present. By the point I got here again, it was near 50 p.c, greater than sufficient to get me by the remainder of the day after which some.
The Arctis Nova 5X can also be the primary SteelSeries headset to help its new cellular companion app. I say “first” not as a result of SteelSeries has promised to help different headsets, however as a result of I badly hope it does. The SteelSeries GG app for PC could also be a robust instrument to customise your sport’s audio, however I discovered the companion app less complicated and extra satisfying to make use of.
