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The dialogue and orchestral fare in Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear sounded crisp and clear, while World of Warcraft sounded, well, like World of Warcraft. I could hear directional sound while gunning down foes as Reaper in Overwatch, and distant battle cries to redirect my attention in Age of Empires: Definitive Edition. The Arctis 1 performed admirably for everyday gaming.
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SteelSeries Arctis 1 review: Gaming performance He had no trouble wearing it for long periods, and even asked to hang onto it for a little while longer after my review was done. I handed the Arctis 1 off to a co-worker, who said it was extremely comfortable and soft. I wore the Arctis 1 for hours at a time without feeling the need to take it off. The foam earcups didn't press down hard, even though I wear glasses, and the padded headband didn't feel heavy on top of my head. Otherwise, it felt like it was going to slip off.īy far, the Arctis 1's biggest drawback is that it uses rigid notches to find a fit rather than an elastic headband.Įven though I couldn't get a precise fit, though, the peripheral wasn't uncomfortable to wear. Even though my head has a fairly large circumference, I had to wear the Arctis 1 in its tightest conformation. On top of that, the headset seems very big. This means that you'll have to do a lot of fine-tuning to get the headset to sit right, and if someone else picks it up and puts it on, all your hard work will be reset. SteelSeries Arctis 1 review: Comfortīy far, the Arctis 1's biggest drawback is that it uses rigid notches to find a fit rather than an elastic headband. Otherwise, it can connect to just about anything, from mobile phones to game consoles. The cable is almost comically long, so you'll have to figure out a way to shorten it, depending on how close you sit to your PC, but better too long than too short. While the headset connects via a single 3.5 mm audio jack, the device also comes with an audio/mic splitter for gaming PCs. This way, you can use the Arctis 1 as an everyday pair of headphones, or simply ditch the mic when you're immersed in a single-player adventure. Removable mics in $50 headsets are hard to come by, and I was impressed that the flexible mic is both unobtrusive and easy to detach. The left earcup is where you'll find all of the headset's special features, including a volume dial, a mic mute button and a removable mic. I'll touch more on that in the next section, but it's a big step back from the "ski goggles" design in the Arctis 3, 5, 7 and Pro, which automatically adjusts to your head each time you put it on. There's plenty of padding, so it's comfortable to wear, but it's very tough to get a precise fit. What I'm less crazy about is the steel headband with rigid notches.
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