Razer Nari Ultimate vs SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless: Which Headphones Are Better?

Tested using Methodology v1.6

Updated Apr 17, 2024 11:28 PM

See Razer Nari Ultimate Wireless Review

TypeOver-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

Noise CancellingNo

MicYes

TypeOver-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

Noise CancellingNo

MicYes

Our Verdict

Razer Nari Ultimate Wireless

SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless

The SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless are better overall gaming headphones than the Razer Nari Ultimate Wireless, especially if you game exclusively on the Xbox One. The SteelSeries have better controls, they're more stable, and they leak less audio. Their boom microphone also performs better and their continuous battery life is much higher than the Razer's 5.3 hours. They support Bluetooth as well as Xbox Wireless too, which is nice if you like to chat with your friends using your mobile device while you game.

Variants

Nari Ultimate (Classic Black)

Arctis 9X (Black)

Review

See SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Review

Check Price

Classic Black

Nari Ultimate

Black

Arctis 9X

Classic Black

Nari Ultimate

Black

Arctis 9X

Classic Black

Nari Ultimate

Black

Arctis 9X

Classic Black

Nari Ultimate

Black

Arctis 9X

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Threshold

0.10

Neutral Sound

7.2

7.8

Bass Accuracy

6.5

7.6

Mid Accuracy

7.9

8.9

Full Comparison

Neutral Sound

7.2

7.8

Commute/Travel

5.4

6.5

Sports/Fitness

5.2

7.0

Office

6.4

7.1

Wireless Gaming

7.4

7.5

Wired Gaming

7.7

Phone Calls

6.8

7.5

Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

Over-ear

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Wireless

Yes

Transducer

Dynamic

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Comfort

7.5

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.9 lbs

0.82 lbs

Clamping Force

1.5 lbs

1 lbs

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Controls

5.8

7.7

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

Not OS specific

Ease Of Use

Okay

Decent

Feedback

Decent

Great

Call/Music Control

Yes

Volume Control

Yes

Microphone Control

Mute/Unmute

Adjustable Level

Channel Mixing

Yes

Noise Cancelling Control

Talk-Through

Additional Controls

Bluetooth Sync + Presets

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Breathability

5.6

6.3

Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference

7.8 °C

6.2 °C

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Portability

5.2

5.4

Portability Picture

L

8.7" (22.1 cm)

8.6" (21.8 cm)

W

7.2" (18.3 cm)

7.0" (17.8 cm)

H

4.0" (10.2 cm)

3.5" (8.9 cm)

Volume

251.00 in³ (4,113.14 cm³)

211.00 in³ (3,457.66 cm³)

Transmitter Required

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Case

0.0

Case Picture

Type

No case

L

N/A

W

N/A

H

N/A

Volume

N/A

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Build Quality

7.5

6.0

Build Quality Picture

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Stability

4.5

7.5

Stability Picture

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Headshots 1

Angled Picture

Side Picture

Headshots 2

Front Picture

Rear Picture

Top

Top Picture

In The Box

In The Box Picture

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Sound

Sound Profile

Frequency Response

Bass Amount

1.58 dB

-3.5 dB

Treble Amount

-4.06 dB

-1.51 dB

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Frequency Response Consistency

5.5

5.3

Consistency L

Consistency R

Avg. Std. Deviation

1.21 dB

1.47 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Raw FR L

Raw FR R

Bass Accuracy

6.5

7.6

Bass

Std. Err.

5.73 dB

3.2 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

10 Hz

59.07 Hz

Low-Bass

1.3 dB

-6.1 dB

Mid-Bass

6.23 dB

-0.36 dB

High-Bass

8.43 dB

2.35 dB

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Mid Accuracy

7.9

8.9

Mid

Std. Err.

2.78 dB

1.45 dB

Low-Mid

4.17 dB

0.93 dB

Mid-Mid

0.24 dB

0.13 dB

High-Mid

-0.72 dB

-1.33 dB

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Treble Accuracy

8.2

8.5

Treble

Std. Err.

2.74 dB

2.29 dB

Low-Treble

0.33 dB

-2.03 dB

Mid-Treble

-2.3 dB

1.13 dB

High-Treble

-6.46 dB

-5.88 dB

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Peaks/Dips

7.4

7.9

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

1.75 dB

1.49 dB

Dips

1.01 dB

0.64 dB

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Imaging

8.2

Group Delay

Phase Response Mismatch

Weighted Group Delay

0.35

0.45

Weighted Phase Mismatch

4.33

5.59

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

1.06

0.65

Weighted Frequency Mismatch

2.15

2.34

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Passive Soundstage

6.2

6.3

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)

2.35 dB

3.49 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.)

4.46 dB

5.73 dB

PRTF Distance

12.41 dB

21.61 dB

Openness

4.6

5.7

Acoustic Space Excitation

4.4

2.6

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Virtual Soundstage

2.0

Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

Speaker Modeling

On/Off

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

Virtual Surround

Yes

Windows Sonic Spatial Audio

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Weighted Harmonic Distortion

7.9

7.4

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

WHD @ 90

0.271

0.316

WHD @ 100

0.100

0.176

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Test Settings

Firmware

Unknown

Power

Connection

Wireless (Proprietary)

Codec

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ

Default

ANC

No ANC

Tip/Pad

Default

Microphone

Boom

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Isolation

Noise Isolation

4.8

4.2

Noise Isolation

Isolation Audio

Overall Attenuation

-13.8 dB

-10.57 dB

Noise Cancelling

Bass

-0.17 dB

0.06 dB

Mid

-10.32 dB

-9.61 dB

Treble

-31.73 dB

-23.05 dB

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Leakage

6.2

7.7

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

44.1 dB

35.49 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

In-Line

Boom

Yes

Detachable Boom

Mic

Yes

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Recording Quality

6.9

8.3

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

LFE

530.46 Hz

85.99 Hz

FR Std. Dev.

2.16 dB

3.36 dB

HFE

5,830.6 Hz

9,805.86 Hz

Weighted THD

0.104

0.46

Gain

29.11 dB

15.13 dB

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Noise Handling

8.0

SpNR

SpNR

27.84 dB

34.17 dB

Noise Gate

Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling

8.0

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample

Speech + Subway Noise Handling

8.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

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Active Features

Battery

5.2

8.1

Battery Type

Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life

5.3 hrs

28 hrs

Additional Charges

0.0

Total Battery Life

5.3 hrs

28 hrs

Charge Time

2.9 hrs

2.4 hrs

Power-Saving Feature

Audio While Charging

Yes

Passive Playback

Yes

Charging Port

micro-USB

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App Support

8.5

8.0

App Picture

App Name

Razer Synapse

SteelSeries Engine

iOS

Android

macOS

Yes

Windows

Yes

Equalizer

Graphic + Presets

ANC Control

Mic Control

Adjustable Level

Room Effects

Playback Control

Button Mapping

Surround Support

Yes

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Connectivity

Wired Connection

9.5

9.1

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

Yes

USB Audio

Detachable

Yes

Length

4.40 ft (1.34 m)

N/A

Connector

1/8" TRRS

1/8" TRS

Latency - Analog

0.2 ms

Latency - USB

0 ms

N/A

Recorded Latency

Recorded Latency Connection

Analog

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Bluetooth Connection

0.0

6.6

Bluetooth Version

No Bluetooth

4.1

Multi-Device Pairing

Bluetooth + Console/Non-BT Wireless

NFC Pairing

Quick Pair (Android)

Quick Pair (iOS)

Line Of Sight Range

N/A

139.00 ft (42.37 m)

Latency - SBC

N/A

242 ms

Latency - aptX

N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)

N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)

N/A

Latency - LDAC

N/A

Recorded Latency

Recorded Latency Codec

SBC

AAC Support

PC Latency (aptX HD)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL)

N/A

iOS Latency

N/A

Android Latency

N/A

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Wireless Connection (Dongle)

8.8

7.5

Line Of Sight Range

131.00 ft (39.93 m)

70.00 ft (21.34 m)

Latency - Dongle

26 ms

56 ms

Recorded Latency

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PC Compatibility

Analog

Audio + Microphone

Audio Only (Not included)

Wired USB

Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

PlayStation Compatibility

PS4 Analog

Audio + Microphone

Audio Only (Not included)

PS4 Wired USB

PS4 Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

PS5 Analog

Audio + Microphone

Audio Only (Not Included)

PS5 Wired USB

PS5 Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

Xbox Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Audio + Microphone

Audio Only (Not included)

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Analog

Audio + Microphone

Audio Only (Not included)

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

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Base/Dock

3.4

Type

Wireless USB Dongle

USB Input

Yes

Line In

Line Out

Optical Input

RCA Input

Dock Charging

Power Supply

USB

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Check Price

Classic Black

Nari Ultimate

Black

Arctis 9X

Classic Black

Nari Ultimate

Black

Arctis 9X

Classic Black

Nari Ultimate

Black

Arctis 9X

Classic Black

Nari Ultimate

Black

Arctis 9X