SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless [PC, PS, Xbox] vs Razer BlackShark V3 Pro: Which Headphones Are Better?

Tested using Methodology v2.0

Updated Nov 18, 2025 02:14 PM

See SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless [PC, PS, Xbox] Review

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless [PC, PS, Xbox] Picture

TypeOver-ear

Noise CancellingYes

EnclosureClosed-Back

Bass Amount Slightly Emphasized (1 dB)

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

Treble Amount Slightly Underemphasized (-2 dB)

MicYes

Sound Signature Warm

TypeOver-ear

Noise CancellingYes

EnclosureClosed-Back

Bass Amount Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

Treble Amount Emphasized (2 dB)

MicYes

Sound Signature V-Shaped

Recommended in 1 article:
SteelSeries

Recommended in 8 articles:
Gaming
Wireless Gaming
PC Gaming
5

Our Verdict

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless [PC, PS, Xbox]

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro

The Razer BlackShark V3 Pro are slightly better premium gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. Unlike most gaming headsets, both of these offer ANC, making them decent choices if you find yourself gaming in shared spaces often or live near a busy road. The Razer's more accurate stereo matching makes it easier to precisely locate objects like enemy gunfire in the stereo field, and they're a bit more comfortable over long sessions. And if you often immerse yourself in gaming marathons, the Razer's near-70 hours of battery life far surpass the SteelSeries' 25. That said, the ANC and mics are broadly comparable between the two, and the SteelSeries' sound doesn't change as much if you wear glasses, so they might be the pair to choose if that's the case.

Variants

Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for PS (Black)
Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for Xbox (Black)
Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for PS (White)
Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for Xbox (White)

BlackShark V3 Pro (2XKO Edition for Xbox)
BlackShark V3 Pro (Black for PC)
BlackShark V3 Pro (Black for PS)
BlackShark V3 Pro (Black for Xbox)
BlackShark V3 Pro (Counter-Strike 2 Edition for PC)
BlackShark V3 Pro (White for PC)
BlackShark V3 Pro (White for PS)

Review

See Razer BlackShark V3 Pro Review

Check Price

Black

Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for Xbox

2XKO Edition for Xbox

BlackShark V3 Pro

Black

Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for PS

Black for PC

BlackShark V3 Pro

White

Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for PS

Black for PS

BlackShark V3 Pro

White

Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for Xbox

Black for Xbox

BlackShark V3 Pro

Counter-Strike 2 Edition for PC

BlackShark V3 Pro

White for PC

BlackShark V3 Pro

White for PS

BlackShark V3 Pro

Main Differences for

Sports And Fitness

Threshold

0.10

Sports And Fitness

6.6

7.2

Bluetooth Connection

6.9

8.7

Stability

6.5

7.0

Comfort

7.0

7.5

Full Comparison

Sports And Fitness

6.6

7.2

Travel

7.0

7.4

Office Work

7.2

7.5

Wireless Gaming (In Development)

7.5

8.0

Wired Gaming (In Development)

7.8

8.1

Audio Reproduction Accuracy

6.8

7.7

Noise Isolation

7.1

Microphone (In Development)

7.7

7.8

Frequency Response Consistency

6.3

5.5

Sound

Sound Profile

Normalization Frequency

650 Hz

800 Hz

Bass Amount

Slightly Emphasized (1 dB)

Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)

Treble Amount

Slightly Underemphasized (-2 dB)

Emphasized (2 dB)

Sound Signature

Warm

V-Shaped

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Frequency Response Consistency

6.3

5.5

Consistency L

Consistency R

Std. Deviation

1.22 dB

1.52 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Raw FR L

Raw FR R

Bass Profile: Target Compliance

9.6

8.9

Bass Profile: Target Compliance

RMS Deviation From Target

2.1 dB

3.0 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

20 Hz

Low Bass

-0.09 dB

3.98 dB

Mid Bass

2.09 dB

2.21 dB

High Bass

2.21 dB

0.16 dB

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Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance

8.7

8.6

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance

RMS Deviation From Target

1.77 dB

1.88 dB

Low Mid

-2.33 dB

-0.63 dB

Mid-Mid

-0.3 dB

0.07 dB

High Mid

1.14 dB

-0.42 dB

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Treble Profile: Target Compliance

6.4

7.6

Treble Profile: Target Compliance

RMS Deviation From Target

4.84 dB

3.65 dB

Low Treble

-3.77 dB

1.25 dB

Mid Treble

-0.76 dB

3.86 dB

High Treble

-4.84 dB

-6.95 dB

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Peaks/Dips

7.1

7.3

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

1.55 dB

1.57 dB

Dips

2.47 dB

1.96 dB

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Stereo Mismatch

5.9

7.4

Frequency Response Mismatch

Phase Response Mismatch

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

1.37 dB

0.63 dB

Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch

1.42 dB

0.97 dB

Weighted Phase Mismatch

2.1°

1.3°

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Group Delay

7.3

7.5

Group Delay

Weighted Group Delay

1.0 ms

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Cumulative Spectral Decay

CSD

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless [PC, PS, Xbox] CSD

PRTF

3.0

7.9

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)

3.88 dB

2.86 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.)

7.18 dB

4.71 dB

PRTF Distance

1.39 dB

14.35 dB

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Harmonic Distortion

8.8

9.1

Harmonics Levels

THD Ratio

WHD @ 94 dB SPL

0.10%

0.09%

WHD @ 104 dB SPL

0.30%

0.17%

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Electrical Aspects

Impedance

Sensitivity @1kHz-1V

115.1 dB SPL

117.2 dB SPL

Bluetooth Max SPL

N/A

104.5 dB

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Virtual Soundstage

2.0

Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

Speaker Modeling

On/Off

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

Virtual Surround

Windows Sonic Spatial Audio

THX Spatial Audio

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Test Settings

Firmware

0.3.82

1.1.2.0

Power

Connection

Wireless (Proprietary)

Codec

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

Test Instrument

Audio Precision APx517B

EQ

Default

Default (Flat)

ANC

Tip/Pad

Default

Microphone

Boom

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Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

Over-ear

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Wireless

Yes

Transducer

Dynamic

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Comfort

7.0

7.5

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.75 lbs

0.8 lbs

Clamping Force

1.1 lbs

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Controls

8.5

8.4

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

Not OS specific

Ease Of Use

Decent

Great

Feedback

Good

Great

Call/Music Control

Yes

Volume Control

Yes

Microphone Control

Mute/Unmute

Channel Mixing

Yes

Noise Cancelling Control

On/Off

Talk-Through

On/Off

Additional Controls

Multi function

Noise-Canceling, ANC Modes, Talk Through

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Portability

6.0

5.4

Portability Picture

L

7.5" (19.0 cm)

7.9" (20.1 cm)

W

6.7" (17.0 cm)

6.5" (16.5 cm)

H

2.0" (5.1 cm)

3.7" (9.5 cm)

Volume

100.51 in³ (1,647.00 cm³)

192.10 in³ (3,147.93 cm³)

Transmitter Required

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Case

5.0

0.0

Case Picture

Type

Pouch

No case

L

N/A

W

N/A

H

N/A

Volume

N/A

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Build Quality

8.0

7.5

Build Quality Picture

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Stability

6.5

7.0

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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Isolation

Noise Isolation - Full Range

7.5

7.3

Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph

Noise Cancelling

Yes

Overall Attenuation

-19.30 dB

-18.73 dB

Bass

-13.09 dB

-10.15 dB

Mid

-15.85 dB

-19.41 dB

Treble

-30.67 dB

-28.40 dB

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Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios

6.3

6.9

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph

Airplane Noise Attenuation

-14.87 dB

-16.42 dB

Airplane Noise Isolation Audio

Office Noise Attenuation

-15.98 dB

-16.45 dB

Office Noise Isolation Audio

Street Noise Attenuation

-16.55 dB

-18.13 dB

Street Noise Isolation Audio

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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

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Leakage

8.3

7.2

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

31.9 dB

38.34 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

In-Line

Boom

Yes

Detachable Boom

Yes

Mic

Yes

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Recording Quality

7.7

8.1

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

LFE

20 Hz

82.34 Hz

FR Std. Dev.

3.91 dB

1.78 dB

HFE

7,136.96 Hz

6,001.45 Hz

Weighted THD

1.625

0.809

Gain

23.15 dB

18.7 dB

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Noise Handling

7.7

7.5

SpNR

SpNR

37.47 dB

32.69 dB

Noise Gate

On/Off Toggle

Speech + Pink Noise Handling

7.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample

Speech + Subway Noise Handling

8.0

7.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

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Active Features

Battery

8.7

9.4

Battery Type

Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life

25 hrs

69.7 hrs

Additional Charges

1.0

0.0

Total Battery Life

50 hrs

69.7 hrs

Charge Time

1.8 hrs

3.9 hrs

Power-Saving Feature

Auto-Off Timer

Audio While Charging

Yes

Passive Playback

Yes

Charging Port

USB-C

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App Support

8.5

App Picture

App Name

Steelseries GG

Razer Synapse 4

iOS

Yes

Android

Yes

macOS

Yes

Windows

Yes

Equalizer

Parametric + Presets

Graphic + Presets

ANC Control

Adjustable

Mic Control

Adjustable Level

Room Effects

Playback Control

Button Mapping

Surround Support

Yes

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Connectivity

Wired Connection

9.9

9.6

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

Yes

USB Audio

USB-C

Detachable

Yes

Length

4.13 ft (1.26 m)

4.95 ft (1.51 m)

Connector

1/8" TRRRS

USB-C

Latency - Analog

0.2 ms

Latency - USB

N/A

11.5 ms

Recorded Latency

Recorded Latency Connection

Analog

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Bluetooth Connection

6.9

8.7

Bluetooth Version

5.010

5.3

Multi-Device Pairing

Bluetooth + Console/Non-BT Wireless

Quick Pair (Android)

Quick Pair (iOS)

Line Of Sight Range

155.84 ft (47.50 m)

334.65 ft (102.00 m)

Latency - SBC

236 ms

132 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

Yes

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Wireless Connection (Dongle)

7.3

9.1

Line Of Sight Range

120.73 ft (36.80 m)

297.24 ft (90.60 m)

Latency - Dongle

38 ms

13 ms

Recorded Latency

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PC Compatibility

Analog

Audio + Microphone

Wired USB

Audio + Microphone

Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

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PlayStation Compatibility

PS4 Analog

Audio + Microphone

PS4 Wired USB

Audio + Microphone

PS4 Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

PS5 Analog

Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB

Audio + Microphone

PS5 Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

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Xbox Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Audio + Microphone

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Analog

Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

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Base/Dock

8.8

3.4

Type

Wireless Dock

Wireless USB Dongle

USB Input

Yes

Line In

Yes

Line Out

Yes

Optical Input

RCA Input

Dock Charging

Yes

Power Supply

USB-C

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Check Price

Black

Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for Xbox

2XKO Edition for Xbox

BlackShark V3 Pro

Black

Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for PS

Black for PC

BlackShark V3 Pro

White

Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for PS

Black for PS

BlackShark V3 Pro

White

Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for Xbox

Black for Xbox

BlackShark V3 Pro

Counter-Strike 2 Edition for PC

BlackShark V3 Pro

White for PC

BlackShark V3 Pro

White for PS

BlackShark V3 Pro