Products
SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless
Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Jan 06, 2025 01:22 PM
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Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Nov 24, 2025 05:58 PM
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TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass Amount
Very Emphasized (5 dB)
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Balanced (0 dB)
MicYes
Sound Signature
Warm
Our Verdict
SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless
Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless
The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless and the Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless are designed for different uses. The SteelSeries are wireless gaming headphones. They have a better overall performing boom mic, support Bluetooth, and support non-Bluetooth wireless. They also come with a transmitter which allows you to adjust more controls like channel mixing and audio sources on the fly. In contrast, the Sony are better suited for casual use. They're more comfortable, can be paired with up to two devices at a time, and have an ANC system that helps block out a lot of background noise.
Variants
- Arctis Pro Wireless (Black)
- Arctis Pro Wireless (White)
- WH-1000XM4 (Black)
- WH-1000XM4 (Midnight Blue)
- WH-1000XM4 (Silver)
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Black
Arctis Pro Wireless
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Black
WH-1000XM4
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White
Arctis Pro Wireless
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Midnight Blue
WH-1000XM4
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Silver
WH-1000XM4
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Main Differences for
Neutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.3
Full Comparison
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
500 Hz
400 Hz
Bass Amount
4.0 dB
Bass Amount
Very Emphasized (5 dB)
Treble Amount
0.5 dB
Treble Amount
Balanced (0 dB)
Sound Signature
Warm
Frequency Response Consistency
5.5
8.1
Consistency L
Consistency R
Std. Deviation
1.18 dB
0.80 dB
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
7.7
7.6
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
5.0 dB
5.2 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
0.82 dB
4.49 dB
Mid Bass
6.48 dB
5.5 dB
High Bass
6.31 dB
5.6 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.5
8.9
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.52 dB
1.58 dB
Low Mid
1.4 dB
1.24 dB
Mid-Mid
1.55 dB
-0.07 dB
High Mid
0.48 dB
-1.15 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
6.4
8.4
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
3.79 dB
3.01 dB
Low Treble
-0.71 dB
-1.71 dB
Mid Treble
2.14 dB
1.38 dB
High Treble
-3.02 dB
-2.88 dB
Peaks/Dips
6.7
7.9
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.88 dB
1.2 dB
Dips
2.56 dB
1.46 dB
Stereo Mismatch
8.7
Frequency Response Mismatch
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.42
0.03 dB
Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch
1.52
1.11 dB
Weighted Phase Mismatch
2.15
1.5°
Cumulative Spectral Decay
CSD
PRTF
6.3
3.5
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)
3.43 dB
3.11 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
7.72 dB
8.34 dB
PRTF Distance
22.05 dB
1.8 dB
Openness
5.6
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.4
Harmonic Distortion
7.7
Harmonics Levels
THD Ratio
WHD @ 94 dB SPL
0.316
0.23%
WHD @ 104 dB SPL
0.106
0.80%
Electrical Aspects
Impedance
Sensitivity @1kHz-1V
115.1 dB SPL
Bluetooth Max SPL
104.6 dB
Virtual Soundstage
2.0
4.1
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
On/Off
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
Yes
360 Reality Audio
Test Settings
Firmware
MCU 1.7.0.0
2.6.0
Power
On
On
Connection
Wireless (Proprietary)
Bluetooth
Codec
PCM, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Off
Off
ANC
No ANC
On
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Boom
Integrated
Imaging
8.8
Group Delay
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.37
Weighted Phase Mismatch
2.15
1.5°
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.42
0.03 dB
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.52
1.11 dB
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.8
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.316
0.23%
WHD @ 100
0.106
0.80%
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
8.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.8 lbs
0.6 lbs
Clamping Force
1.2 lbs
1 lbs
Controls
7.8
7.6
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Good
Feedback
Great
Decent
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
Mute/Unmute
No
Channel Mixing
Yes
No
Noise Cancelling Control
No
On/Off
Talk-Through
No
On/Off
Additional Controls
Bluetooth Sync
Voice Assistant
Breathability
5.3
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
8.5 °C
Portability
5.5
6.1
Portability Picture
L
7.5" (19.1 cm)
7.4" (18.8 cm)
W
6.9" (17.5 cm)
6.1" (15.5 cm)
H
3.5" (8.9 cm)
2.0" (5.1 cm)
Volume
181.00 in³ (2,966.05 cm³)
90.00 in³ (1,474.83 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
0.0
8.0
Case Picture
Type
No case
Hard case
L
N/A
8.3" (21.1 cm)
W
N/A
6.6" (16.8 cm)
H
N/A
2.3" (5.8 cm)
Volume
N/A
126.00 in³ (2,064.76 cm³)
Build Quality
6.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.5
7.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
4.3
9.5
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
No
Yes
Overall Attenuation
-10.15 dB
-27.13 dB
Bass
6.94 dB
-24.80 dB
Mid
-11.44 dB
-25.37 dB
Treble
-29.42 dB
-31.92 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
3.5
9.7
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-7.06 dB
-23.51 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-6.85 dB
-22.93 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-8.32 dB
-26.02 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
Leakage
7.0
7.1
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
39.37 dB
39.28 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
Yes
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
8.4
6.1
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
20 Hz
269.09 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.56 dB
2.11 dB
HFE
6,639.82 Hz
3,726.47 Hz
Weighted THD
0.305
65.861
Gain
30.11 dB
11.46 dB
Noise Handling
8.3
5.6
SpNR
SpNR
48.8 dB
11.47 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
8.5
6.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
8.0
5.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
8.8
8.7
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
15.3 hrs
37.7 hrs
Additional Charges
1.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
30.6 hrs
37.7 hrs
Charge Time
1.3 hrs
2.3 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
Auto-Off Timer
Audio While Charging
Yes
No
Passive Playback
Yes
Yes
Charging Port
micro-USB
USB-C
App Support
7.5
8.0
App Picture
App Name
SteelSeries Engine
Sony| Headphones Connect
iOS
No
Yes
Android
No
Yes
macOS
Yes
No
Windows
Yes
No
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
No
On/Off
Mic Control
Mute/Unmute
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
Yes
Button Mapping
No
Yes
Surround Support
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
7.0
9.9
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
4.10 ft (1.25 m)
4.00 ft (1.22 m)
Connector
Mini B 8-Pin
1/8" TRS
Latency - Analog
26.5 ms
0.3 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
6.8
8.6
Bluetooth Version
4.1
5.010
Multi-Device Pairing
Bluetooth + Console/Non-BT Wireless
2 Devices
Quick Pair (Android)
No
Yes
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
187.00 ft (57.00 m)
299.00 ft (91.14 m)
Latency - SBC
256 ms
245 ms
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
237 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
SBC
AAC Support
No
Yes
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
8.9
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
175.00 ft (53.34 m)
N/A
Latency - Dongle
22 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio Only
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
Audio + Microphone
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio Only
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
Audio + Microphone
No
PS5 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio Only
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
Audio + Microphone
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
Audio Only
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio Only
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
9.6
0.0
Type
Wireless Dock
No Base/Dock
USB Input
Yes
No
Line In
Yes
No
Line Out
Yes
No
Optical Input
Yes
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
Yes
No
Power Supply
USB
No Base/Dock
Check Price
Black
Arctis Pro Wireless
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
WH-1000XM4
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
White
Arctis Pro Wireless
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Midnight Blue
WH-1000XM4
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Silver
WH-1000XM4
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
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SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless
Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless
Comments
SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless vs Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless: Main Discussion
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Hi there! The sound testing for these two headphones was completed without any EQ. If you look in the review and scroll down to the ‘test settings’ section, you can see the exact settings that were used to conduct our testing. Hope this helps!
Are the sound tests before or after adjustments to the EQ?