Gaming Headsets · owner-verdict comparison

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro vs Arctis Nova 5: what real owners say

Real owners lean toward the Arctis Nova 5: 63% of 71 owners recommend it, vs 42% of 106 for the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro.

Verdicts aggregated from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube owner comments — affiliate reviews excluded. Sample sizes differ; judge accordingly. How we score

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro

42%of 106 owners recommend
42% recommend · 22% neutral · 36% don't
Owners praise
  • Comfortable for long all-day wear, even for glasses-wearers and big heads
  • Microphone quality praised, often better after firmware updates
  • Effective noise cancellation against background and fan noise
Owners complain about
  • Fragile plastic hinges and yokes that snap, with ear cups breaking off within months
  • Sound quality described as poor, muddy, or sub-par out of the box, needing EQ tuning
  • Volume/mixer wheel free-spins instead of stepping, and can't be disabled
Full owner report →

Arctis Nova 5

63%of 71 owners recommend
63% recommend · 19% neutral · 18% don't
Full owner report →

What Razer BlackShark V3 Pro owners say

“Love these things”
— @isaiahf6442 on YouTube
“watching this using my V2 pros, incredible headset”
— @KetamineWomble on YouTube
“v2 mic absolutely mogs new one. unreal.”
— @_justinsane on YouTube

What Arctis Nova 5 owners say

“I doubt there is anything better for the price. I mean, they don’t sound like my $300 Audeze Maxwell’s but wouldn’t expect that for the cost difference. I like them enough”
— genxdud3 on Reddit
“been using this for awhile, sound are pretty details.”
— Kiryoxe on Reddit
“Yup, same issue Made a post about it yesterday and there’s been plenty of complaints on this sub. Wish SteelSeries would address it as there’s clearly an issue with the Nova 5.”
— WorthyJoker on Reddit