CONCLUSION

   SteelSeries has once again released one of the most comfortable gaming headsets in the market with the Arctic 3 (and probably the 5 and 7 models as well – reviews soon) so if you happened to like your “older” Siberia model you will not be disappointed (same goes for its build quality). We were expecting a little bit more from the 40mm S1 drivers in terms of mids and highs (since these are used in the 5 and 7 models as well) but they do sound better when compared to many other “affordable” models in the market currently and they do offer quite a bit of bass (especially when bass boost is enabled). Now I can’t say that positioning audio via 7.1 virtual surround was great since it wasn’t but you are getting 3D audio enhancement and for some people that’s a good thing. Of course we didn’t care much about the fact that you need to undergo through several steps to enable 7.1 virtual surround sound on the Arctis 3 so we do hope SteelSeries revises that in a future update. Unfortunately when used with consoles and 3.5mm equipped devices in general the Arctis 3 is not as good since you can’t “toy” around with its Engine 3 settings. The bi-directional clearcast retractable microphone also worked quite well but its noise cancelling properties are far from great since while playing several online games background audio was audible to other people.

   Currently the SteelSeries Arctis 3 7.1 Surround Gaming Headset retails for just USD79.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 79Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag which is a bit higher than it should considering that the Arctis 5 model costs only USD20/20Euros more. That being said we think that the Arctis 3 is a good choice for people looking to get their hands on a comfortable quality headset with good audio quality and for that it comes highly recommended by us.

PROS

- Good Build Quality
- Design (Also Available In Black & White)
- Very Comfortable
- Good Audio Quality
- Bass Levels
- Engine 3 Software

CONS

- Price (Too Close To The Arctis 5)
- Lengthy Procedure To Enable 7.1 Surround Sound
- 3.5mm Connectivity Only
- Positioning Audio Accuracy