A few years ago buying gaming headphones was not so confusing as nowadays. Now you’re getting so many options in the market in every segment whether it’s budget, mid-range, or high end you will get so many options that you will surely get confused. But, we bring some of the best comparisons for you between some good gaming headsets. So today we have another comparison for you here we have Audeze Mobius and SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC.
| Audeze Mobius | Arctis Pro GameDAC |
| Immersive gaming experience | Excellent audio quality |
| Comfortable fit | Feature-laden base station |
| Bluetooth option | Better sound |
| Battery life could’ve been better | Expensive |
| Pricey for a gaming headset | Doesn’t feel quite as premium |
General
| Audeze Mobius | Arctis Pro GameDAC | |
| Price | CHECK PRICE | CHECK PRICE |
| Type | Gaming Headset | Gaming Headset |
| Colors | Black | Black, White |
| Weight | 2.42 pounds | 1.15 pounds |
| Connectivity | Wireless/Wired | Wired |
SteelSeries is a fairly established brand in the gaming community and the Acrtis lineup typically delivers a great experience and well-made, well-built gaming headphones. On the other hand, Audeze is taking a bold step into the gaming scene with a headset that comes with a lot of unique features like head tracking and built-in waves NX technology. So are the Mobius worth it or are you better off with the more typical gaming experience offered by the Arctis Pro? We will compare their design, sound quality, and isolation, as well as their active features, and connection options.
Design
| Audeze Mobius | Arctis Pro GameDAC | |
| Type | Over Ear | Over Ear |
| Wireless | Yes | No |
| Noise Cancelling | No | Yes |
| Weight | 2.42 pounds | 1.15 pounds |
| Foldable Design | No | Yes |
Build quality wise the SteelSeries Arctis Pro is slightly better designed than the Audeze Mobius. The Mobius has a mostly plastic build quality but their decently durable enough to last you a while. The earcups are dense and feel well made and, the headband is fairly flexible although it does not open up as much as the Arctis, and the yokes feel sturdy and the ear cups are dense and durable even if they are mostly plastic. They have a detachable mic which does make the Mobius a bit more outdoor-friendly although their bulky design will be a bit cumbersome to wear casually outside. On the other hand, the SteelSeries have a slightly better look and feel with a metal headband that feels more durable than that of the Mobius.
The ear cups are also well made, and dense enough to withstand a couple of accidental drops and they also come with removable backplates, so you can further display the LED breathing patterns which are nice if that’s your thing. Their mic is not detachable unlike on the Mobius though but does retract into the ear cup which is great but not as outdoor-friendly. Unfortunately, the hinge and yoke design of the steel series headphones are their most susceptible weak points. They feel decently sturdy but are made of plastic and relatively thin unlike the rest of the headband, which could break relatively easily with enough force over repeated use.
As for comfort here, the Mobius is slightly better than the Arctis Pro although not by much. They’re both quite tight on the head and the Mobius is a bit heavier than the Arctis, however, their headband design accommodates better for larger head sizes. They also have decently soft pads and fairly large ear cups that fit well around most ears. You do feel the clamping sensation though which may be a bit bothersome at first but after having them on for a while you do not notice as much.
However, you may still have to take breaks during your listening session since they are not the most breathable headphones, so your ears will get quite warm after an hour’s worth of listening. On the other hand, the Arctis pro has better more breathable pads. They’re a bit heavier but you won’t notice them as much on your head if you get the right fit. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done, the unique elastic headband design of the steel series will be hit or miss with some users.
Features
| Audeze Mobius | Arctis Pro GameDAC | |
| USB | 3.5 MM | DAC |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| Music Controls | Yes | Yes |
| Quick Charge | No | No |
| Stereo speakers | – | – |
As for their control schemes here, the SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDac wins hands down over the Mobius. Since the Mobius are wireless the control scheme is only on the ear cups, unlike the Arctis which come with a DAC with more controls. On the upside, the buttons on the Mobius offer good tactile feedback and it’s a simple layout that doesn’t take too long to get used to. On the left ear cup, you have a power button that also doubles as the Bluetooth pairing switch and call management button. A double-tap enables pairing mode and at the top, you have a mute toggle that disables and enables the mic. On the side of the earcups, you have two dials for audio and mic volume.
The dials are a bit unique however when using them in Bluetooth if you press and spin the volume dal it will skip and rewind tracks and if you do the same with the mic dial it changes the EQ. Lastly, you have the 3D button which centres the head tracking and disables the surround sound effect if you hold it. Overall, it’s an efficient control scheme that works well for most use cases but doesn’t have as many options as the Arctis Pro with the GameDdac. Here the Arctis pro have the upper hand on the ear cup have a simple mute switch and volume dial however on the GameDac you have a general-purpose wheel that lets you cycle through all the options offered by the Dac like EQ, surround sound settings, inputs, channel mixing, display and even LED options. It does take a bit more time to get used to since there are so many options but overall, it’s a great control scheme the wheel offers excellent tactile feedback.
Now let’s compare their sound quality isolation, leakage, and mic with same. Both the Audeze Mobius and the SteelSeries Arctis Pro have a great sound quality and come with a variety of EQ presets, so you can’t really go wrong with either of them, but our recommendation here would be the Mobius.
In terms of isolation, both of these headphones perform like a typical closed-back over-ear headphone that doesn’t have active noise cancelling. They don’t provide any isolation in the bass range, and they barely block any mid-range noise, like the sound of people talking around you. In the treble range, they isolate well-enough to block the sound of a computer fan or an air conditioning system.
Battery
| Audeze Mobius | Arctis Pro GameDAC | |
| Battery Type | Li-polymer | – |
| Battery Life | 10 Hours | – |
| Charge Time | Approx. 3 hrs | – |
| Charging Port | USB-C | – |
As for their battery life, it’s about a tie when use wired with their USB cables. However, the Mobius does have to be on and for the 3D effect to work. When using them wirelessly they had about 10 hours of battery life and charged fully in 3.8 hours which is a bit long for a Bluetooth headset but fairly average for a gaming headphone. You can squeeze more battery life when using them with the analog cable but unfortunately, unlike the Arctis pro, they do not work completely passively.
Connectivity
| Audeze Mobius | Arctis Pro GameDAC | |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.2 | – |
| Bluetooth Range | Approx. 10 meter | – |
| NFC | No | No |
| Multi-Device Connection | No | No |
And now for their active features and connection options. For their latency, when used wired both headphones to perform about the same. The USB connection of the Arctis Pro and Mobius have a negligible amount of latency below 7ms which is not noticeable when gaming and watching movies even on high frame rate content. However, the Mobius is also Bluetooth 5.0 headphones with AAC SBC and LDAC. As for their wireless range here, the Mobius win by default since the Arctis Pro + GameDac are a wired-only headset but the Mobius support Bluetooth. With Bluetooth enabled the Mobius reached up to 41 ft when the source was obstructed in a normal office environment and up to 170ft in direct line of sight. Which makes the Mobius a great choice to use with a fixed Bluetooth source like your PC or TV. Unfortunately, they will not work with consoles via Bluetooth.
Which is better!
If you want a unique head-tracking experience of the Mobius then there’s nothing quite like it at the moment which makes them a definite buy. However, if you want a headset strictly for gaming then the Arctis Pro plus game DAC is the better option.
The Acrtis has a slightly better design overall and more premium build quality. They also have a lot more customization options via the steel series engine software or directly through the GameDac. They’re a great choice for PC and PS4 although they won’t have the best support on Xbox.
