SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni review: Endgame gaming headset, potentially

The retail box for the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni includes the headset itself, the hub, two USB cables, a second battery, a pop filter, and documentation. There is also a carry bag/pouch that the headset comes in, but no 3.5mm cable or additional set of ear cushions.

Like its predecessors, the Nova Pro Omni comes with a metal and elastic headband combo. The elastic band offers two levels of tension and flex adjustment (technically four levels since the holes in the headband don’t need to sit around both pegs) while the metal band allows step-less adjustment of the overall height. Personally, I prefer defined steps, but this design gives a greater level of adjustability. The earcups swivel 90 degrees as well so they can lay flat around your neck when not being used actively.

As for comfort, the leatherette cushions are soft yet deep enough for the ear to not come in contact with the drivers. But they are not large enough to go around the ear completely. Thanks to the elastic band adjustment, the Nova Pro Omni remains comfortable over long durations despite the 339-gram weight. Even with glasses on, the clamping pressure doesn’t impede comfort.

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni essentially brings upgraded features of the Nova Elite to a more approachable price point. You get Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification, 96kHz/24-bit processing, multi-device/multi-platform connectivity (up to four sources simultaneously including Bluetooth), and more.

The headset is powered by 40 mm Neodymium Magnetic drivers with a frequency response range of 10 Hz to 40,000 Hz. With the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, this range was only possible in wired mode. The Nova Elite, however, features a combination of brass and carbon fiber for the drivers, so the sound may be a bit more refined than the Nova Pro Omni. For communicating with your team, the microphone has received an upgrade as well to the ClearCast Pro and is now omnidirectional. It also has AI noise rejection built in.

SteelSeries boasts up to 60 hours of battery life with the two hot-swappable batteries when ANC is off. You can get four hours of playtime with a quick 15-minute charge. Both these numbers are upgrades over the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. Of course, there is no backup battery like the Glorious Model D3 Wireless, so you will lose connection while swapping batteries.

Thanks to the highly customizable software – Sonar – and some user-defined presets, we saw significant improvements over the default ‘Flat’ EQ in both gaming and music listening. Sonar also has presets for most games, and those are actually pretty well tuned. That’s arguably the strongest and also a weak point for the Nova Pro Omni headset. The freedom of personalization will be much appreciated by audiophiles, but it can be overwhelming for casual users. Then again, casual users would probably not spend $400 on a gaming headset. Sonar also needs to be running to be able to take full advantage of the mixer, and it creates multiple additional output devices.

Multi-device/multi-platform connectivity works as advertised. We had the GameHub connected to a Windows PC via USB 1 and a PS5 connected via USB 2. All the while, a Pixel 9 Pro XL was connected via Bluetooth, with seamless audio coming from all three sources. One thing to note is that to make full use of the 2.4 GHz multi-device connectivity, your devices need to be in the same room, and that’s not always possible.

While the battery life claims fall a bit short of actual runtime, the swappable batteries make it a non-issue. After a couple of attempts, you can swap the batteries without taking the headset off, and it turns back on automatically. The hide-away mic works great as well, and team members over Discord found my voice to be clear, non-nasally, and without any background noise.