steelseries arctis pro high fidelity gaming headset

The Arctis Pro connects to the USB port on the left side of the GameDAC.

Around the back, there's an optical connection for the PS4, a USB port to plug into your computer, a line-out connection to power nearby speakers, and an auxiliary jack for your phone. The GameDAC features a simple monochrome OLED screen, a large volume and control dial, and a button up front for enabling and disabling DTS Headphone:X 2 virtual surround sound. Niche sites like HDTracks have also been trying to push high-res music for years, but the cost and complexity of hearing those files makes it hard to compete against streaming services. It's perfectly geared towards things like Tidal's Hi-Fi and Masters features, which lets you stream lossless and high-resolution 24-bit music files for $20 a month. (CDs, in comparison, deliver 44.1kHz/16-bit quality.) Basically, it means the GameDAC can produce higher quality sound than what you'd find on most PCs. That's powered by an ESS Sabre 9018 chip, a DAC you'd typically find in music enthusiast gear, with support for 96kHz/24-bit audio. The star of the show is the wired Arctis Pro PC and PlayStation 4 headset ($250), which plugs into the 'GameDAC' breakout box.

Just like before, they also have retractable microphones with noise-cancellation on the left can. The headsets also feature new driver designs capable of producing sound up to 40kHz (a questionable upgrade, since human hearing typically tops out at 20kHz). They share the same basic design: clean lines, comfortable fabric-covered cups, and a sturdy steel headband that's joined together with a soft strap that adjusts the fit to your head. If you've seen SteelSeries' previous Arctis gaming lineup, the new headphones will look pretty familiar.

Steelseries arctis pro high fidelity gaming headset