Turtle Seashore made a excellent SteelSeries headset clone that’s $50 much less

I actually preferred the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi, so the corporate didn’t have to mention a lot to get me serious about its successor. The $399 Nova Professional Omni that got here out on Might fifth has a identical design to the 2022 type, however with some new and progressed options — reinforce for wi-fi hi-res audio (24-bit / 96kHz audio over 2.4GHz), higher mic high quality, and compatibility with all consoles in each type, to call the large ones. All of the $599 Nova Elite has at the Omni is best construct fabrics and larger drivers.

However issues were given attention-grabbing when, only a few weeks earlier than the Omni used to be introduced, Turtle Seashore confirmed off its Stealth Professional 2. To mention that it’s encouraged by means of earlier SteelSeries headsets is placing it flippantly. It has swappable batteries, a battery-charging wi-fi base station, a better half app for temporarily converting audio settings, and the power to concentrate to two.4GHz and Bluetooth audio concurrently. To best it off, it provides wi-fi hi-res audio reinforce, too, and a somewhat inexpensive $349 ticket.

So, I did what used to be vital: I referred to as in each to check them similtaneously to peer which I assumed used to be the most efficient price. What I noticed used to be that SteelSeries’ $399 Arctis Nova Professional Omni and Turtle Seashore’s $349 Stealth Professional 2 are each nice for a number of causes, however they aren’t value purchasing in response to their hi-res audio features by myself — a big promoting level for each. I couldn’t understand the hi-res distinction in comparison to the default bit charge (24-bit, 48kHz) on my Home windows 11 PC.

I examined out a number of albums’ value of lossless tunes in Qobuz, and performed a large number of Marathon, which is stuffed with little location-based sounds that may trace at my drawing close doom. I will’t believe myself an audiophile as a result of I’ve tinnitus, which prevents me from listening to some high-frequency sounds. Regardless, I’m in excellent corporate with many different individuals who can’t reliably spot the hi-res distinction. All of it sounded the similar to me. Excellent, however now not excellent sufficient to inspire you to spring for a brand new headset.

Functionally, the AirPods Max-inspired Stealth Professional 2 is the easier choice when you don’t have your whole gaming gadgets in a centralized location. Mine are sprinkled round my rental, so I love that the Stealth Professional 2 has a button that toggles between transmitters (all whilst keeping up a simultaneous Bluetooth connection to my telephone).

Each the Omni and the Stealth Professional 2 will let you make on-the-fly changes to equalizer and mic settings via a cell better half app over Bluetooth, so that you received’t must race for your PC to tweak settings. Then again, Turtle Seashore’s headset provides you with extra on-device keep an eye on choices. You’ll shuffle via equalizers with a button at the Stealth Professional 2, and there are 3 dials to regulate USB supply and Bluetooth quantity independently and modify recreation / chat combine ranges. You’ll additionally customise what a few of its further inputs do in its app. SteelSeries delegates lots of the controls to the GameHub station.

The Arctis Nova Professional Omni is a little bit other in execution, however identical in serve as and design to the Nova Professional Wi-fi. Its station is the audio mind for your whole gaming units, assuming they all are inside 5 toes for its two integrated USB-C-to-USB-A cables to succeed in. It will probably obtain 4 stressed audio assets (3 USB-C, and one 3.5mm line-in audio), and blend up 3 directly, together with Bluetooth. The mic works throughout platforms, too. The Omni is the most suitable choice if its USB audio source-swapping base station is all the time inside achieve.

Those headsets are in a position to wealthy, balanced audio that made me really feel immersed in video games. Even with out their excellent energetic noise cancellation results became on, their ear pads muffle a excellent quantity of out of doors sound. Each headsets’ instrument provides in-depth equalizer customization via their PC apps, however I most well-liked how the Omni sounds even with similar EQ waveforms throughout headsets. It has more potent mids and highs with heat when content material requires it, extra managed bass, and higher delineation between frequencies. The Stealth Professional 2 is shut, regardless that.

One space the place SteelSeries pulls forward is with mic high quality. Its retractable growth mic is awesome to what’s presented by means of Turtle Seashore’s removable flip-to-mute mic. My voice sounds hotter and has extra element (and doesn’t sound as similar to I’m speaking at the phone). Despite the fact that, neither sounds higher than a devoted desktop mic.

Most of the people have most likely already discovered which headset gels very best with their setup. The Stealth Professional 2 has a extra interesting value that’s $50 not up to the Omni, plus a number of nice options that I’m extra used to seeing presented in a SteelSeries headset. However, it is probably not the precise are compatible for everybody’s setup or sound personal tastes.

The Omni is an incredible headset, too, but when your finances is locked to beneath $300, the SteelSeries Nova Professional Wi-fi remains to be a heck of a headset that’s repeatedly bought for round $270. Its loss of wi-fi hi-res audio isn’t a drawback to me, and there’s nonetheless lots to like in regards to the glance, really feel, and function of the last-gen type.

Pictures by means of Cameron Faulkner / The Verge