The Package

Whoever designed the box for the SteelSeries Arctis 5 took exceptional care to make it look as pretty as possible. It's very modern-looking and bound to draw your attention in the store. It's also quite sturdy, which is always nice to see.


The front of the box shows us the headset's design and lists all of its key features. Among other things, there's a bold statement that particularly caught my attention, claiming "Best Mic in Gaming". We'll see about that!


On the rear, you'll find an in-depth breakdown of all of the features of the Arctis 5. You'll most likely be confused with listing #2, which says "USB ChatMix Dial - Balance your game and chat audio". It's a very unusual feature, one I grew to absolutely adore after only a day or two of testing the Arctis 5. I'll explain it in greater detail on the next page of this review.


Here are the contents of the box. You get the headset itself as well as the aforementioned ChatMix Dial, a detachable USB cable (with a fairly rare 8-pin Mini-USB plug), and a 4-pole TRRS adapter that will let you plug the headset into a standard 3.5-mm audio port. Two additional things I'd like to see are the Y-splitter that would make it possible to connect the headset to a sound card that uses separate 3.5-mm audio in and out (SteelSeries sells it as an $8 accessory) and a simple audio cable with 3.5-mm male jacks on both ends.


If I'm honest, neither is absolutely necessary. On devices that use separate audio in and out - namely, your PC - you can (and should) use the USB connection. And since the USB-to-3.5-mm adapter is supplied, you won't need a separate 3.5-mm audio cable. The only reason I suggest you get one is so that you can use it when you take the Arctis 5 on the go. Having a separate audio cable for that will allow you to leave your "primary", supplied USB cable at home, plugged into the ChatMix Dial. The cable you see in the photo above is one from my personal collection - you won't be getting it in the box.

Overall, the box and the unboxing experience are great. You dished out some serious cash and SteelSeries did its best to make you feel that way.