Games sound excellent on the Nova 3, with effective spatial audio on PC through Sonar. Distant gunfire and nearby footsteps in Apex Legends came through clearly, with the former getting plenty of bass force. I enjoyed a reasonable sense of directionality and could generally track where shots were coming from within an arc of roughly 60 degrees, which was helpful while playing shooters. The audio performance is comparable to that of the Nova 5 and quite satisfying, considering the lower price.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)
For music, the Arctis Nova 3 Wireless offers a full and detailed sound that’s distinctly weighted toward the low-mids and mids. In testing the headset with Yes’ “Roundabout,” the opening acoustic guitar plucks received good string texture and plenty of lower-frequency resonance. But the higher frequencies? That was a different story. They tapered off, preventing the notes from sounding as crisp as they should.
When the track fully kicked in, every element was present and easily distinguishable. That said, the lighter guitar strums had a weaker audio presence than the bass, drums, and vocals. Switching to the Music: Bright EQ preset brought the treble forward a bit, but it still sat behind the other sounds.
The Arctis Nova 3 Wireless produced a good rumble on our bass test track, The Knife’s “Silent Shout.” During testing, the kick drum hits and bass synth notes delivered plenty of thump that didn’t distort at maximum volume. The headset didn’t produce a subwoofer-like, low-end sound, but it came close enough to satisfy.
Overall, the Arctis Nova 3’s audio performance is comparable with the Arctis Nova 5 and Barracuda X. Of the three wireless gaming headsets, the Arctis Nova 5 has the best dynamic range and the crispest highs.
