I look down on the SteelSeries’ $160 Arctis GameBuds case, and I really feel my face screwing into a decent ball of puzzlement. I’m not confused by the GameBuds, a easy and—largely—efficient design for taking good-quality gaming audio on the go. I’m perplexed why extra firms don’t do one thing as apparent as what SteelSeries has carried out. As in, they put the rattling dongle contained in the buds case. When you’re in search of one of the simplest ways to get private, wi-fi audio on your Steam Deck or handheld, these are simply the best choice.
Bluetooth earbuds are common and near-ubiquitous, however—inexplicably—the low-profile buds design hasn’t develop into widespread amongst avid gamers. Extra particularly, gaming gear manufacturers haven’t jumped into the area with as a lot gusto as they’ve with headphones. This previous 12 months’s most up-to-date, notable try was Sony’s PlayStation Pulse Earbuds, a companion to the Pulse Elite headset. Whereas they supported PlayStation 5’s 3D audio options, they have been contained in a protracted strip for a case, not one thing I might name transportable.
SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds
The Arctis GameBuds have a protracted battery life and stable sound, plus they make gaming on-the-go pretty much as good as it may be.
Professionals
- Dongle design suits contained in the case and would not cowl up different buttons
- Stable sound with a wealth of EQ choices
- Snug match
Cons
- Buds could sometimes flip off if it twists in your ear
- Not all video games sound any totally different with their EQ profile
Different wi-fi bud choices like Razer’s Hammerhead Hyperspeed and Turtle Seashore’s low-cost Scout Air lack 2.4 GHz connectivity. What I really need from these gaming earbuds is the two.4 Ghz connectivity and Bluetooth in a package deal I can take in all places. SteelSeries put each the buds and dongle in the identical case. The one different related design comes from Sony with the $200 InZone buds and the marginally extra pronounced dongle.
The GameBuds are the follow-up from the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Headset. These over-ear headphones have been alright for his or her worth, however the low-profile dongle was poorly designed, and it could cowl up your console’s or PC’s different USB-C slots. The GameBuds’ USB-C dongle is offset, which means you’ll be able to plug two right into a PlayStation 5 Slim’s entrance ports. It additionally means it received’t stick out the aspect of your Steam Deck like an antennae, prepared to interrupt or bend if knocked the incorrect means.
Contemplating all that, you’re nonetheless getting good audio with stable ANC, a powerful battery life, and a match and really feel that make me eager on swapping out my traditional buds for listening to music on my commute. My solely actual problem was their tendency to disconnect if the buds ever jostle inside your ear.
SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds Assessment: Construct High quality and Consolation
I’ve routine points with earbud consolation. I typically need to attempt on a number of sizes of silicon in-ear buds, and even then, they have a tendency to slide out of my ear. The design on the GameBuds is the candy spot for me, no less than on most events. I would want to regulate one or the opposite if I’m strolling about, however they’re significantly cosy and—for essentially the most half—comfy.
You received’t overlook they’re in your ears, however there’s no sense of tightness both. The plastic is supposed to take a seat flush in opposition to your ear, so the automated shutoff will work if you happen to take away your buds. I had occasional points when transferring the place they’d jangle in my ears and trigger them to change off after I didn’t need them to, although just for a second. You may flip off this setting within the app, however that’s a ache if you happen to’re used to related options on your AirPods or different high-end earbuds. The difficulty is barely once you’re transferring round, so it shouldn’t be an issue if you happen to’re taking part in a recreation sedentary.
The GamBuds additionally use bodily buttons for his or her controls relatively than the capacitive ones on different costly buds just like the Pixel Buds Professional 2. The fitting aspect controls your music or recreation, whereas the left lets you choose from transparency or ANC modes. When you triple-tap the buds, you’ll be able to swap between 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth on the fly. If you’d like extra management over your buds, you’ll want to make use of the Arctis app. As soon as related, you fiddle with the low by excessive ANC settings or modify the microphone’s sidetones. You may’t use the app on the identical time your buds are related by Bluetooth to a different system, although you’ll be able to if you happen to’re set to 2.4 GHz mode.
SteelSeries says you need to get a 40-hour battery life with the GameBuds’ case or a bit of greater than 10 hours for every bud. In my expertise, utilizing them for gaming and music for a full week is correct on level. I didn’t cost them for a full week and a half, utilizing them day by day, and nonetheless had sufficient energy to make use of when scripting this evaluate.
The opposite main characteristic of the app is the massive choice of EQ presets. SteelSeries claims all 179 are constructed for particular video games. I couldn’t discover a main, latest title that wasn’t there, however even with the common Flat EQ preset, I wasn’t uncomfortable in any recreation. Relying on the sport, it may be exhausting to identify the distinction, although, for sure titles, the EQ distinction may be important.
SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds Assessment: Sound High quality
You don’t get an obscenely loud pair of earbuds with the Arctis Gamebuds, however they do the job of immersive audio when taking part in throughout each console and PC. I’ve used them throughout PC, Steam Deck, and PC and didn’t discover a scenario the place the GameBuds weren’t welcome, even when they received’t be as intense as an over-ear headset.
I used to be happy with the bass ranges on the gamebuds, particularly for one thing priced at $160. The treble was additionally truthful, however the sound high quality may rely upon the sport. I used to be very pleased with the sound in a recreation like Cyberpunk, however I discovered it was simply truthful when taking part in Mortal Kombat 1, with or with out every recreation’s separate EQ profiles. Then, when taking part in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor with 3D audio on PS5, the EQ profiles would imply the distinction between okay audio and glorious directional audio, the place the kick of a lightsaber felt prefer it was buzzing proper subsequent to my ear.
On Steam Deck, I’ve used the GameBuds to play Metaphor: Refantazio on the sofa whereas my roommate completed Persona 5. There’s at present no EQ profile for that recreation, although I loved it for the sake of listening to the sport’s soundtrack anyway. The ANC does a very good job suppressing all by the best or lowest tones. I’ve taken the buds out as my day-to-day pair of earbuds, and the ANC is nice sufficient to dam out all sounds save for a passing subway prepare. It was adequate to drown out a bongo busker on a prepare in movement, which is stable sufficient in my e-book.
SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds Assessment: Verdict
For the sake of simplicity, I believe these buds are the right companion to a gaming handheld like a Steam Deck. I’ve had points connecting my Bluetooth earbuds to my Steam Deck and related points with Home windows 11 handhelds just like the Asus ROG Ally X and the Lenovo Legion Go.
These are the sorts of buds you’ll be able to take with you anyplace and nonetheless get good audio even when it is advisable plug it into your PC, PS5, or Swap. There’s a separate pair for Xbox that’s additionally appropriate with PC, however except you’re an Xbox mainstay I might recommend choosing the extra open audio system. There’s loads of different high quality buds on the market, some for barely cheaper than the GameBuds. However for pure portability, SteelSeries is my present decide for gaming on the go.
