Products
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro
Corsair VIRTUOSO PRO
Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Dec 22, 2025 05:39 PM
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Amazon.com
Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Jan 08, 2026 08:50 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass Amount
Emphasized (4 dB)
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Balanced (0 dB)
MicYes
Sound Signature
Warm
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureOpen-Back
Bass Amount
Slightly Emphasized (1 dB)
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Balanced (-1 dB)
MicYes
Sound Signature
≈ Warm
Our Verdict
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro
Corsair VIRTUOSO PRO
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro are better overall wired gaming headphones than the Corsair VIRTUOSO PRO. Thanks to their GameDAC, you can plug them in and access a host of sound customization options, including channel mixing and graphic EQ. They also have better controls. That said, the open-back nature of the Corsair may be preferable to some for pinpointing the location of audio cues like footsteps. It's also much easier to achieve a consistent sound across multiple gaming sessions, as a perfect seal isn't required to ensure accurate bass delivery.
Variants
- Arctis Nova Pro (Black)
- Arctis Nova Pro for Xbox (Black)
- VIRTUOSO PRO (Carbon)
- VIRTUOSO PRO (White)
Check Price
Black
Arctis Nova Pro
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Carbon
VIRTUOSO PRO
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Arctis Nova Pro for Xbox
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
VIRTUOSO PRO
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Main Differences for
Sports And Fitness
Sports And Fitness
Threshold
Sports And Fitness
5.8
5.6
Stability
6.5
6.0
Full Comparison
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
600 Hz
1,000 Hz
Bass Amount
Emphasized (4 dB)
Slightly Emphasized (1 dB)
Treble Amount
Balanced (0 dB)
Balanced (-1 dB)
Sound Signature
Warm
≈ Warm
Frequency Response Consistency
4.7
8.1
Consistency L
Consistency R
Std. Deviation
2.02 dB
0.82 dB
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
7.8
8.0
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
4.7 dB
4.1 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
37.23 Hz
Low Bass
4.26 dB
-2.54 dB
Mid Bass
4.1 dB
3.94 dB
High Bass
4.59 dB
4.98 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.9
8.7
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.51 dB
1.79 dB
Low Mid
-1.44 dB
1.18 dB
Mid-Mid
0.79 dB
0.54 dB
High Mid
1.57 dB
-2.53 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
6.5
9.5
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
4.7 dB
2.05 dB
Low Treble
-2.65 dB
-1.91 dB
Mid Treble
3.08 dB
-0.43 dB
High Treble
-3.76 dB
-3.76 dB
Peaks/Dips
6.8
7.8
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.78 dB
1.24 dB
Dips
2.55 dB
1.54 dB
Stereo Mismatch
8.5
7.9
Frequency Response Mismatch
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.06 dB
0.29 dB
Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch
1.10 dB
1.00 dB
Weighted Phase Mismatch
2.1°
2.0°
Cumulative Spectral Decay
CSD
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
PRTF
7.2
8.0
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)
3.04 dB
3.09 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
7.12 dB
5.84 dB
PRTF Distance
13.26 dB
15.92 dB
Harmonic Distortion
8.7
9.5
Harmonics Levels
THD Ratio
WHD @ 94 dB SPL
0.11%
0.04%
WHD @ 104 dB SPL
0.28%
0.10%
Electrical Aspects
Impedance
Sensitivity @1kHz-1V
117.6 dB SPL
113.4 dB SPL
Bluetooth Max SPL
N/A
N/A
Virtual Soundstage
2.0
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
No
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
Windows Sonic Spatial Audio
No App
Test Settings
Firmware
2.4.0
No Firmware
Power
USB
Passive
Connection
USB
Wired
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Default
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Boom
Boom
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
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Compare High-Res
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Open-Back
Wireless
No
No
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
7.5
Comfort Picture
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Compare High-Res
Weight
0.66 lbs
0.76 lbs
Clamping Force
1 lbs
1.3 lbs
Controls
6.2
3.9
Controls Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Good
Feedback
Good
Mediocre
Call/Music Control
No
No
Volume Control
Yes
No
Microphone Control
Mute/Unmute
Mute/Unmute
Channel Mixing
Yes
No
Noise Cancelling Control
No
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
Multi function
No
Portability
6.0
5.8
Portability Picture
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Compare High-Res
L
7.5" (19.0 cm)
8.2" (20.7 cm)
W
6.7" (17.0 cm)
8.7" (22.0 cm)
H
2.0" (5.1 cm)
1.8" (4.7 cm)
Volume
100.51 in³ (1,647.00 cm³)
130.62 in³ (2,140.40 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
5.0
7.5
Case Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Type
Pouch
Hard case
L
N/A
9.1" (23.2 cm)
W
N/A
9.7" (24.6 cm)
H
N/A
2.5" (6.3 cm)
Volume
N/A
219.41 in³ (3,595.54 cm³)
Build Quality
7.5
8.0
Build Quality Picture
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Stability
6.5
6.0
Stability Picture
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Compare High-Res
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
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Compare High-Res
Side Picture
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Compare High-Res
Headshots 2
Front Picture
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Compare High-Res
Rear Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Top
Top Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
5.1
2.4
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Overall Attenuation
-12.39 dB
-5.52 dB
Bass
4.08 dB
0.83 dB
Mid
-12.57 dB
-1.80 dB
Treble
-32.16 dB
-17.31 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
4.1
2.6
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-8.64 dB
-4.79 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-9.21 dB
-5.05 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-10.27 dB
-4.86 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
ANC Wind Handling
ANC Wind Handling Graph
ANC Wind Noise
N/A
N/A
Leakage
7.8
3.4
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
34.87 dB
56.56 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
No
In-Line
No
No
Boom
Yes
Yes
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
8.5
8.2
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
20 Hz
103.75 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.03 dB
4.23 dB
HFE
9,255.5 Hz
12,002.9 Hz
Weighted THD
0.097
0.374
Gain
21.47 dB
26.05 dB
Noise Handling
7.2
7.5
SpNR
SpNR
17.52 dB
26.17 dB
Noise Gate
On/Off Toggle
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.0
7.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
7.5
7.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
0.0
0.0
Battery Type
No Battery
No Battery
Continuous Battery Life
N/A
N/A
Additional Charges
N/A
N/A
Total Battery Life
N/A
N/A
Charge Time
N/A
N/A
Power-Saving Feature
No
No
Audio While Charging
No
No
Passive Playback
Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone
Charging Port
None
None
App Support
8.5
0.0
App Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
App Name
Steelseries GG
No App
iOS
No
No
Android
No
No
macOS
Yes
No
Windows
Yes
No
Equalizer
Parametric + Presets
No
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
Adjustable Level
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
Yes
No
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.4
9.9
Cable Picture
Compare High-Res
Compare High-Res
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
USB Type A
No
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
5.05 ft (1.54 m)
6.33 ft (1.93 m)
Connector
1/8" TRRRS
1/8" TRRS
Latency - Analog
0.2 ms
0.2 ms
Latency - USB
17.4 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
USB
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
0.0
0.0
Bluetooth Version
No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
Quick Pair (Android)
No
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - SBC
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency Codec
No Bluetooth Audio
No Bluetooth Audio
AAC Support
No
No
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
7.0
0.0
Type
Wired USB dock
No Base/Dock
USB Input
Yes
No
Line In
Yes
No
Line Out
Yes
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
USB-C
No Base/Dock
Check Price
Black
Arctis Nova Pro
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Carbon
VIRTUOSO PRO
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Arctis Nova Pro for Xbox
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
VIRTUOSO PRO
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
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SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro
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Comments
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro vs Corsair VIRTUOSO PRO: Main Discussion
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