The SteelSeries Arctis Prime are wired gaming headphones designed for competitive esports and tournaments. They have a comfortable fit and feel well-built. Their boom mic also has excellent recording quality, and it can separate your voice from moderate ambient noise around you. However, while they have a somewhat neutral sound profile, they lack companion software to help you customize their sound. Our unit's L/R drivers are mismatched, and there's a small difference in level with real-life content. That said, this may be unique to our model.
Our Verdict
The SteelSeries Arctis Prime are satisfactory for neutral sound. While they have a fairly neutral sound profile, the high-mid to low-treble is recessed, so vocals and lead instruments sound somewhat weak and veiled. Our unit's L/R drivers are also mismatched, although this issue may be unique to our model. Unfortunately, they lack companion software to help customize their sound. They're very prone to inconsistencies in bass and treble delivery, so you may need to adjust them each time you use them to get a more consistent sound.
- Comfortable, well-built design.
- Prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery.
The SteelSeries Arctis Prime are disappointing for commute and travel. They struggle to block out background noise like the low rumble of bus or plane engines and have a bulky design, making it difficult to take them with you on the move. They also lack music-related controls like play, pause, or track skipping. On the upside, they have a comfortable fit.
- Comfortable, well-built design.
- They struggle to block out ambient noise.
- Not very portable.
The SteelSeries Arctis Prime are sub-par for sports and fitness. They're not designed for this purpose as they can easily fall off your head with moderate movement and trap in some heat, which may make you sweat. Since they're wired headphones, the cable can also snag on something, pulling them off your head. Although we don't currently test for it, they lack an IP rating for water resistance.
- Comfortable, well-built design.
- Can fall off your head with moderate movement.
- No IP rating for water resistance.
The SteelSeries Arctis Prime are fair for office use. They have a comfortable fit and feel well-built. They also don't leak a lot of audio at high volumes. However, they struggle to block out ambient chatter around you and don't support multi-device pairing.
- Comfortable, well-built design.
- They struggle to block out ambient noise.
The SteelSeries Arctis Prime are wired-only headphones and can't be used wirelessly.
The SteelSeries Arctis Prime are decent for wired gaming. They have a comfortable fit, and their wired design ensures a virtually latency-free gaming experience. Their boom mic also does an excellent job of recording your voice, even in moderately noisy environments. However, the headphones are prone to inconsistent bass and treble delivery and don't have companion software to help you adjust their sound to your liking.
- Comfortable, well-built design.
- Excellent recording quality.
- No companion software.
- Prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery.
The SteelSeries Arctis Prime are decent for phone calls. Their retractable boom mic can capture your voice clearly, even in moderately noisy environments like a busy street. That said, since they don't have active noise cancelling (ANC), they struggle to block out the noise around you, which can make it hard to hear your conversation.
- Comfortable, well-built design.
- Excellent recording quality.
- They struggle to block out ambient noise.
- Limited call-related controls.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The SteelSeries Arctis Prime Headset comes in one color variant: Black; you can see our model's label here. If you come across another variant, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The SteelSeries Arctis Prime are wired gaming headphones designed for competitive gaming. Their retractable boom mic does an excellent job of recording your voice, even in moderately noisy settings. That said, unlike most SteelSeries headphones, they aren't compatible with SteelSeries Engine software, and they don't have a graphic EQ or presets to help adjust their sound. They also lack more robust controls like channel mixing, which some users may find disappointing.
Check out our recommendations for the best gaming headsets, the best headsets for PS5, and the best headsets for Xbox Series S|X.
The SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition are slightly better gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis Prime. While both headphones are similarly comfortable, the 5 are compatible with SteelSeries Engine software, which allows you to customize their sound profile using the graphic EQ and presets. They also come with a dock that has a channel mixing knob. However, the Prime are better built, and their mic has a better recording quality.
The Logitech G Pro X Gaming Headset are somewhat better wired gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis Prime. The Logitech are more comfortable, better-built, and have a more neutral default sound profile, which some users may prefer. They also have a virtual soundstage feature, although we don't currently test its performance. They're also compatible with Logitech G HUB software, which offers a graphic EQ and presets to help you adjust their sound to your liking. However, the SteelSeries' boom mic delivers a significantly better recording quality.
The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless are better overall gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis Prime. You can use the Arctis Pro wired or wirelessly. They're compatible with companion software, so you can customize their sound to your liking using the graphic EQ and presets; their boom mic also offers better overall performance. They also support Bluetooth, so you can listen to audio from your phone while you're connected to your console.
The HyperX Cloud Alpha are somewhat better wired gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis Prime. The HyperX are more comfortable and better built. Their boom mic also offers a better noise-handling performance. However, the SteelSeries' mic has a better recording quality.
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Test Results
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