Closer Examination, Build Quality and Comfort

While generally very similar to other members of the Arctis gaming headset family and, as such, instantly familiar-looking, the Arctis 1 Wireless comes with a redesigned headband. Instead of the excellent dual-headband design we saw on the Arctis 3, 5, and 7, as well as the Arctis Pro and Pro Wireless, SteelSeries went with a more traditional implementation of a single, much narrower headband. My guess is they wanted it to look subtler for outdoor usage. They definitely succeeded: once you detach the microphone (it was retractable on the Arctis 3/5/7/Pro/Pro Wireless), the Arctis 1 Wireless looks like an ordinary pair of headphones. The headband feels sturdy, doesn't creak at all and is decently padded on its inner side, which makes it comfortable.


The ear cups and cushions didn't change from what we saw on other Arctis gaming headsets. There are no annoying and pointless RGB LEDs or effects—the plastic ear cups only have a subtle, printed SteelSeries logo. The shape of the ear cushions is elliptical (the inner dimensions are 5x6.5 centimeters), and they completely surround the ears. SteelSeries covered them with a soft and breathable fabric. Thanks to that, they're superbly comfortable and much less likely to cause your ears to sweat during prolonged gaming sessions. Seriously, these are among the nicest ear cushions in the gaming headset market.


The ear cups can be rotated by 90°, which is a welcome feature both in terms of making it easier to rest the headphones on the table and wearing them around the neck.


The height of the ear cups is adjusted by sliding the ear cups down the inner metal frame. There are no markings that would assist us in adjusting the height on both sides of the headset equally.


The SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless can be flexed in various directions without showing any signs of potential breakage. Thanks to that, I felt comfortable throwing it in my backpack and carrying it around without any special protection.


On the inner side of the headband are subtle markings of the left and right channel.


The bottom of the right ear cup is equipped with the power button. Holding it for two seconds turns the headset on, while holding it for five seconds turns it off. When the headset is connected to a smartphone, you'll use this button to answer and end phone calls, play/pause music (single press), and switch to the next (double press) or previous (triple press) track.


Every other control is on the left ear cup, starting off with a microphone mute switch. When you change its position, you'll hear a "beep" in the headphones. The "beep" sounds different depending on whether the microphone is being muted or unmuted.


Beneath the microphone mute switch is a nice volume dial. It's an analogue rather than a digital volume dial, meaning it won't mess with the volume setting in Windows.


The left ear cup also has two ports. One is a 3.5-mm audio port for wired connectivity with sound sources, especially useful when there's no juice left in the headset's battery. The other is a Micro-USB charging port. I'd love to see a USB-C port in its place, but it is what it is.


Other headsets from the Arctis lineup use a retractable microphone with the head slightly sticking out of the ear cup even when fully tucked away. The Arctis 1 Wireless uses a detachable microphone you can completely remove when you want to use the headset as a pair of mobile headphones. The hole and the plug are shaped in a way that will always have the microphone capsule facing your mouth. The microphone sits in its place snugly, and there's absolutely no chance for it to accidentally fall out. Using aftermarket microphones isn't impossible, but you'd have to find one that's fairly narrow around the plug as it would otherwise not fit into the hole. This isn't really an issue as microphone swapping isn't something users are generally interested in.


The rubberized arm of the microphone is easily bendable and tends to stay in place. The microphone capsule isn't very fussy about positioning; just pull it fairly close to your mouth and talk away.