SteelSeries Arctis 1 Review: A Great Budget Headset At Last
Our Verdict
Gamers with but $50 to spend on a gaming headset should invest in the SteelSeries Arctis 1 without hesitation. Yet, if y'all can spend $80 instead, the SteelSeries Arctis three is a ameliorate buy.
For
- Good sound
- Comfy to wear
- Removable mic
Against
- Imperfect fit
- Subpar mic quality
Tom's Guide Verdict
Gamers with only $50 to spend on a gaming headset should invest in the SteelSeries Arctis 1 without hesitation. However, if yous can spend $lxxx instead, the SteelSeries Arctis 3 is a better buy.
Pros
- +
Good audio
- +
Comfortable to wear
- +
Removable mic
Cons
- -
Imperfect fit
- -
Subpar mic quality
In the past, I've lamented that information technology's very, very difficult to make a great gaming headset that sells for less than $60. You get a few in the $fourscore range, and enough at $100+, just true budget models always seem to have some disquisitional flaw.
Ugly pattern, uncomfortable fits and poor music performance are the common culprits. That's why I was impressed that the SteelSeries Arctis 1 ($50) doesn't fall into any of these traps.
Impressed, merely not surprised. The Arctis has generally been the all-time line of gaming headsets on the market place since its introduction back in 2016, and I didn't actually wait SteelSeries to cutting corners on its beginning budget peripheral.
While the Arctis 1 doesn't offering every bit precise a fit equally the more than expensive Arctis headsets, it still sounds neat, looks sleek and works with only virtually every platform out there. I'd nonetheless recommend the Arctis 3 if you lot can lay out another $30 upward front, but the Arctis 1 is king of the best cheap gaming headsets.
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SteelSeries Arctis 1 review: Blueprint
The Arctis ane is unproblematic and attractive, although not quite as simple and attractive every bit its more expensive counterparts. The headset features a black plastic chassis with foam earcups. That's all fine, although "plain" describes information technology better than "elegant."
What I'k less crazy about is the steel headband with rigid notches. There's plenty of padding, so information technology's comfortable to wear, just it's very tough to get a precise fit. I'll bear upon more on that in the next section, but it's a big step back from the "ski goggles" design in the Arctis 3, five, vii and Pro, which automatically adjusts to your head each fourth dimension you put it on.
The left earcup is where you lot'll find all of the headset'south special features, including a book dial, a mic mute push button and a removable mic. Removable mics in $l headsets are hard to come up by, and I was impressed that the flexible mic is both unobtrusive and easy to disassemble. This way, y'all can utilize the Arctis i as an everyday pair of headphones, or simply ditch the mic when you're immersed in a unmarried-player adventure.
While the headset connects via a unmarried 3.5 mm sound jack, the device also comes with an sound/mic splitter for gaming PCs. The cable is almost comically long, so you'll have to figure out a fashion to shorten it, depending on how close you sit to your PC, only better likewise long than too short. Otherwise, it can connect to only well-nigh annihilation, from mobile phones to game consoles.
SteelSeries Arctis 1 review: Condolement
By far, the Arctis i's biggest drawback is that it uses rigid notches to find a fit rather than an elastic headband. This means that you'll have to do a lot of fine-tuning to get the headset to sit correct, and if someone else picks information technology up and puts it on, all your difficult work will be reset.
On top of that, the headset seems very big. Fifty-fifty though my head has a fairly large circumference, I had to wear the Arctis 1 in its tightest conformation. Otherwise, it felt similar it was going to skid off.
By far, the Arctis 1's biggest drawback is that it uses rigid notches to observe a fit rather than an elastic headband.
Even though I couldn't go a precise fit, though, the peripheral wasn't uncomfortable to article of clothing. The foam earcups didn't press down difficult, even though I clothing glasses, and the padded headband didn't feel heavy on top of my head. I wore the Arctis one for hours at a time without feeling the need to take it off.
I handed the Arctis one off to a co-worker, who said it was extremely comfortable and soft. He had no trouble wearing it for long periods, and even asked to hang onto information technology for a niggling while longer after my review was done.
SteelSeries Arctis 1 review: Gaming performance
The Arctis 1 performed admirably for everyday gaming. I could hear directional audio while gunning down foes as Reaper in Overwatch, and distant battle cries to redirect my attention in Historic period of Empires: Definitive Edition. The dialogue and orchestral fare in Baldur'south Gate: Siege of Dragonspear sounded crisp and clear, while World of Warcraft sounded, well, similar Globe of Warcraft.
In that location's no denying that the headset is a footling calorie-free on bass, so don't expect gunplay or explosions to take a tremendous amount of oomph. And while the sound is counterbalanced, no particular element of the games I tested shone through. The Arctis i is competent and pleasant — just don't expect whatever aural epiphanies in this price range.
SteelSeries Arctis 1 review: Features
As the Arctis 1 is a 3.5 mm headset, i of its biggest advantages is that you tin use it with just about any organisation you ain. I was especially pleased with how good it sounded when I played Final Fantasy Vii on a Nintendo Switch. The cord is just long enough, and the soundscape does a expert chore of emphasizing both music and sound effects.
On the other manus, there's the microphone, which is functional but certainly not as good every bit what you'd go in a higher-terminate device. My voice came through clearly, albeit with a assuming, husky quality to it.
As the Arctis i is a 3.v mm headset, one of its biggest advantages is that you can apply it with just about any organisation you ain.
However, the mic wasn't very selective nearly what sound it picked up, and I heard a ton of typing from adjacent desks and conversations from nearby co-workers. You could employ this mic for online games, provided that your home isn't too noisy, and y'all're willing to mute the mic when it'south not in utilise.
SteelSeries Arctis 1 review: Music performance
What ordinarily sinks inexpensive gaming headsets is that they're near useless for listening to music. That's thankfully not the case with the Arctis one. While it'southward non going to give you a concert-hall experience, this headset lets you hear every part of the music yous're listening to, from bass parts to rhythmic instrumentals to clear vocals.
I tested the Arctis 1 with music from Old Crow Medicine Show, Flogging Molly, The Rolling Stones and G.F. Handel, and while I wasn't impressed with whatsoever of the sound, I was pleased with all of it. The headset presented a fairly practiced remainder among lead voices, harmonies and instruments, specially in treble, vocal-heavy songs.
As in games, the bass here is not nearly as satisfying as it could be, but it as well doesn't have that hollow, faraway sound that'south common to gaming headsets in this price range.
SteelSeries Arctis 1 review: Verdict
In spite of a few reservations nearly its design and its mic, the Arctis ane is probably the best gaming headset you tin can get for $50. It handles both music and games with aplomb, and it's comfy to vesture, fifty-fifty though the fit isn't perfect. The Arctis ane establishes what the baseline for budget headsets should be; now permit's meet how other companies choose to innovate.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/steelseries-arctis-1
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