The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite are a premium entry in the brand's expansive Arctis gaming audio product line. SteelSeries improves on the previous king of the hill, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, by incorporating more premium materials, removing protruding pain points, and expanding the number of supported connections on the GameHub dock. The Elite also feature a retractable boom mic and an active noise cancellation (ANC) system, which is relatively uncommon for gaming headsets. That said, it's the changes under the hood that will largely determine whether the Elite are worth nearly double the price of the Pro Wireless at the time of their release.
Our Verdict
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite aren't meant for sports use. While they're comfortable, isolate you from other gym-goers, and work wirelessly, they're quite bulky and aren't stable. If you run, jump, or shake your head even a bit, these heavy headphones might slide off your head. Considering the hefty price tag, it's probably best to avoid potential damage and relegate these headphones to sports you can play with a Joy-Con.
Amazing noise isolation.
Unstable and bulky design.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite are great for travel. While the headphones are a bit bulky, they're comfortable and have great noise isolation, so you can enjoy peace and quiet whether you're on a bus touring Europe or a busy transcontinental flight visiting Asia for the first time. While their continuous battery life of 18.5 hours is a little on the shorter side for over-ears, we tested it under rigorous conditions (with simultaneous 2.4GHz and Bluetooth device connections). If you aren't connected to multiple devices, the battery should last longer. The headphones also come with an extra hot-swappable battery, which should be plenty to tackle most people's itineraries. And even in the worst-case scenario, they can also be used passively with an analog connection.
Amazing noise isolation.
Works passively with the boom mic.
Unstable and bulky design.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite are great for office work. They have a retractable boom mic that sounds excellent and reproduces your voice naturally on calls. And their connectivity options allow you to pair up to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously, while maintaining their 2.4GHz wireless connection. You can bounce between several devices, listen in on presentations, take calls, and sneak in some rest and relaxation, all without the hassle of disconnecting and reconnecting repeatedly. The headphones also have amazing noise isolation, so you can do all of that without any unwanted external distractions.
Expansive and flexible wireless connectivity options.
Excellent microphone performance.
Amazing noise isolation.
Unstable and bulky design.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite are very good for wireless gaming. They have a GameHub wireless transmitter that supports USB or Line connections to four devices (three audio streams simultaneously). Via this 2.4GHz connection, the headphones support up to 96kHz, have 24-bit audio, have low audio latency, and offer oodles of customization options that persist even when you're gaming on consoles. You can also control some limited settings on the GameHub's control wheel, allowing you to switch to a different EQ without leaving the action. The headphones' boom mic is excellent for communicating with teammates, or egging on opponents on voice chat, too. And the hot-swappable battery system lets you stay wireless indefinitely. The cherry on top? The ANC keeps you isolated from your surroundings, letting you focus on creating chaos on the battlefield and not on chaos in your living room.
Expansive and flexible wireless connectivity options.
Excellent microphone performance.
Unstable and bulky design.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite are very good for wired gaming. They have near zero latency when wired, though you'll miss out on many of the headphones' active features when connected via analog. Since the headphones power off when wired, you won't have access to any EQs, microphone customizations (and noise reduction), or ANC. That said, the headphones' boom mic still reproduces your voice naturally and intelligibly over a wired connection. On the upside, the wired passive route could be the flexibility you're looking for in a gaming headset if you're on the road and can't spare the luggage space for the dock and extra cables.
Excellent microphone performance.
Works passively with the boom mic.
Unstable and bulky design.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite have good audio reproduction accuracy. The headphones' frequency response doesn't deviate much from their warm sound signature, though a deep and wide dip in the 5.5kHz region can render sibilants in vocal and instrument reproduction somewhat dull. The headphones' group delay, stereo matching, and harmonic distortion performance highlight no significant issues, so you'll enjoy cinematic cutscenes with accurately placed sound objects in the stereo image and no timbral degradation due to distortion at loud volumes. While these over-ears excite your pinna, their PRTF doesn't resemble an angled speaker setup.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite have excellent noise isolation performance. They come equipped with an active noise cancellation system, which is quite rare for gaming headphones. The ANC implementation isn't just for show, either, as the headphones handily shut out noise from bustling family gatherings or construction across the street. That said, they perform a little weaker in mid-range attenuation, so you may notice some voices slipping through. The SteelSeries also don't leak much audio, so people close by likely won't notice you're gaming on your phone even in a quiet library.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite have excellent microphone performance. Our scoring was done with the retractable boom microphone, which renders your voice naturally, and keeps you intelligible even amidst loud, sustained background noise. You can separate your voice from noise even more effectively by toggling on noise reduction in the app or directly on the GameHub transmitter.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite have alright frequency response consistency. If you wear glasses, you can expect your listening experience to differ slightly from our measurements with reduced bass delivery. With an uninterrupted seal, the headphones reliably deliver audio between wears and different wearers.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Mar 18, 2026:
Based on user feedback, we've updated our test results in the Bluetooth box to indicate that these headphones don't support the AAC codec.
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Updated Jan 05, 2026:
We updated the Battery section after retesting the battery performance with ANC off.
- Updated Nov 18, 2025: Review published.
- Updated Nov 10, 2025: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite comes in 'Obsidian' or 'Sage & Gold' color variants. We tested the 'Obsidian' variant. You can view our unit's headphone label and GameHub label. Unlike other gaming headsets, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite don't have console-specific variants, and they work with PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.
If you encounter other variants, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update the review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite are one of the most expensive gaming headphones available on the market, cementing themselves among the likes of the Master & Dynamic MG20, the Astro A50 X, the Audeze Maxwell, and the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro. While each entry supports varying degrees of multi-device support, the SteelSeries stand out with their ability to mix simultaneous audio from up to three devices from their wireless transmitter in addition to one Bluetooth device connected directly to the headphones. That said, the Astro's dock can also serve as a multi-device HDMI hub and pass through video to a display.
Compared to the rest of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova line, the Nova Elite easily outperform ANC-enabled entries like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds in noise isolation, and the entire product line in microphone recording quality and noise handling. They also have more expansive Bluetooth codec support, bringing LC3 and LC3+ to the table.
If the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite are within your budget and you're looking for a competitive edge, consider picking up a dedicated audiophile headphone from our best audiophile headphones article and pairing it with a third-party standalone microphone. Otherwise, check out our entries for best gaming headset and the best wireless gaming headset for more cost-efficient picks.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is an updated, more premium version of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. The Elite headset retains most of the design and functionality of the Pro, albeit with aluminum yokes and hinges and a more matte finish. The Elite also feature an improved ANC system that significantly outperforms the Pro's. While the older Pro support simultaneous audio from one audio source on the dock and a separate Bluetooth device, the newer Elite allow you to mix up to three dock devices and one separate Bluetooth device together, making it the better option for gamers with multiple consoles and/or a PC. That said, these improvements come at almost double the cost, so it's worth considering whether you need all the extra connectivity and ANC to begin with.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite and the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro are both gaming headphones. Both entries feature ANC systems, but the SteelSeries outperform across most of the range, faltering slightly in mid-range attenuation, where background voices may be slightly more audible. Both have solid microphones that reproduce your voice naturally, but the Razer don't have an integrated mic to fall back on when the boom mic is detached. The SteelSeries are also more flexible in connectivity options, allowing simultaneous audio mixing from multiple devices and parametric EQ adjustments compared to the Razer's graphic EQ. That said, the SteelSeries are around double the price of the Razer, making them less attractive from a value-for-money perspective.
The Astro A50 X and the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite are similar headphones with plenty of dock connectivity options. The Astro support both USB and HDMI connections from consoles, allowing them to serve as an HDMI passthrough hub to a display. That said, the Astro support fewer devices in total (up to 3x USB-C inputs or 2x HDMI 2.1 inputs) compared to the SteelSeries GameHub dock (up to 3x USB-C inputs + Line). While both have natural-sounding microphones, the SteelSeries's boom mic is more effective at keeping your voice audible despite background noise. And although the Astro A50 X support Bluetooth, the headphones are tethered to the dock, while you can use the SteelSeries while out and about via Bluetooth. Overall, your decision between the products will come down to whether you want a device that can double as a casual-use headphone and whether you value HDMI hub functionality.
The Audeze Maxwell 2 are better value gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite. First, they're much more affordable. Second, their microphone does a noticeably better job separating your voice from the noise around you. And third, their 77-hour battery life far surpasses the SteelSeries' 18.5 hours. That said, the SteelSeries sound the same regardless of your anatomy or any accessories you wear. And they also offer amazing noise isolation through their built-in ANC system. If you game in noisy areas or want headphones that can double up as casual use cans in a pinch, the SteelSeries might be worth it. But for most people, the Audeze cans offer better value.
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