I've been using my headset for around 3 years now, it's been a good one, no complaints but the cushions on the side were coming off and I wasn't really planning on getting learning and posting in the Needlework Monday community to get it back together. I realized that you could also just order new ones for pretty cheap but there were other problems with the headset as well, such as imbalance of volume on both sides after raising the volume to a certain point it would stop rising on one side or at random stop working on that side, etc.
After complaining about these issues, @hiddenblade offered to get me a new one as an early birthday present which I gladly accepted cause the recent move had me low on liquids. xD
Today it arrived. 😍
I didn't even know Steelseries had released a new edition and apparently it had only been a month since they had, glad she noticed that cause I wouldn't have known what else I should have gotten without having much experience with other brands but still being very satisfied with the previous editions.
It arrived in the morning as I was still sipping coffee. :3
So here's some unboxing shots!
This was the box inside of the box!
Inside that box there was this, instruction manual on the back!
😍
So there's a USB signal receiver you have connected to the PC, then a nice and long cable to charge the headset which I have connected to my keyboard so that I can charge it at the same time as I'm on the PC cause where else am I going to go during the days.
Compared to the previous model this one felt thicker, here's a better pic to see that.
The button to the left is to choose between two different settings, I set one to music and one to gaming, if you have it in the middle it works for both.
The mic is on the left side and pushed in, you can just drag it out and it conveniently bends towards your mouth. I don't think there were too many changes with the microphone, the usual noise cancelling function and discord compatibility. I was surprised to realize that the charging socket was on the right side instead of the left one in this edition. Not sure what made them change that but it's not really going to be a big inconvenience considering the cable is pretty long, for others who don't have a USD socket in their keyboard they better make sure their tower is close to them if they want to charge and use it at the same time - good thing there is that towers usually sit on the right side of the table/screen in my experience.
The new cool thing with this is the bluetooth addition. Now you can connect the headset via bluetooth to your phone and listen to music or use it like regular headphones for your phone as well such as with regular calls and streaming. Another cool thing was that connected to your phone you can for instance talk to someone there while at the same time also receiving input from the PC. For instance if someone is calling you and you're midgame, you'll still be able to just talk on your phone while still listening for enemy footsteps in the game uninterrupted. Pretty awesome!
They had also moved the volume buttom onto the right side which was different from the previous version. Other than that didn't really notice any more differences but the feel on your head and ears was really soft and fit well. The headband can be adjusted so it fits better and you can easily wear it constantly and almost forget it's on there when moving through your house here and there, that's what I really like about the wireless headsets and it's not going to be different with this one - except you may even forget you have it on when being outside now.
I really liked the previous version and am really happy to be able to upgrade to this one now that the other one got rekt. Hopefully this one won't face the same issues with indiscrepancies in the volume and balance of the sides and if the cushions get too loose again or drown in sweat I'll just order a couple new ones down the line as long as the rest works properly. Considering the previous one lasted me easily over 3 years before things started falling apart I'm sure this one will last just as long if not longer.
Here's a screenshot of some settings and options from the Steelseries software.
Sound was as good if not better than the previous one. The default settings allow for easy switching between what you want to use it for and you can add more changes to the equalizer yourself and save that preset. 7.1 surround sound is as nice as always. 😎
Anyway, if you're looking for a good gaming + music headset and now even compatible with your phone that you'll never want to use earphones again I can really recommend looking into the Steelseries Arctis 9.
Thanks baby for the awesome present, gonna use it well. 🤗