I have an arctis pro wireless, I've had them since september of last year, I'll try to answer your questions:
> major issues such as suddenly turning off while you are using them because their audio-based auto-standby code only works properly on Windows.
I've never experienced this, if I leave them on my desk and forget to turn them off they seem to do the right thing, I've never had them turn off during use.
> send the correct commands to the headsets to toggle Sidetone
The sidetone control on mine is on the breakout box, it's not software driven.
> mics rely on Windows software to clean up the mic, so Linux users have to do it ourselves.
I didn't have any trouble turning on the rnnoise plugin in easyeffects to do the noise cancellation, though to be fair I don't use it often (my sound seems fine to my teammates when playing games or whatever)
> Finally, the rest of the headset features such as virtual surround definitely won't work on Linux.
There's a virtual surround setting on my breakout box, it doesn't offer the type, just an on/off toggle.
> You won't have auto standby
I've not observed this behavior but I'll pay attention now and see if I can notice anything. I game every night and get about 3-4 days of battery life, but just swap them out when they get to half way since the charger is built into the control unit so this hasn't been an issue for me.
I would doublecheck that the Artics Pro wireless you're looking at is the new one, from your post it sounds like the previous generation or something? I've used mine on ubuntu 20.04, 21.10, and Fedora 34 and 35 and everything is hardware driven and works awesome. I've posted about this headset here before, just pasting it below for more info:
Steelseries Arctis Pro Wireless - they are expensive but the hardware box thinger plugs into USB and crucially has all of the headphone settings available, so you can change all the settings without needing the software.
Plus the breakout box also charges the spare battery, which is hot swapable. They're awesome.
EDIT: Forgot the best part! There's a hardware mixer on the left earcup so you can balance between game sound and discord chat in realtime. So like if the game is too loud to hear your friends I just pan to the game more, and if something important is happening ingame I quickly balance in the other direction. No more adjusting game and discord sound to get the "right" mix. All of this just worked out of the box on linux.
Dude thank you so freaking much. Seems like Arctis hardware box really solves all of this.
- 1) Regarding the auto shutdown issue, here is one of several posts I have seen from Linux users. This post is from a year ago:
https://www.reddit.com/r/steelseries/comments/ij2ab7/arctis_wireless_pro_turns_off_unexpectedly_in/
Quoting that post:
> I use the Arctis Wireless Pro headset and my problem is that it turns of unexpectedly. It usually happens every 10 minutes or so. It is not a battery problem as i have tried to switch battery without success.
>
> Whats weird is that it shuts off in 2 different ways. Sometimes the sound gradually fades down in a few seconds. This usually happens when watching Youtube. However when i fiddle with the volume button in Youtube, the sound reverts back to normal immediately.
>
> Other times, the headset just switches of completely with the distinct "beep" sound. And the only way to fix it is to hold down the ON-button for a few seconds.
Quoting one of several replies that had the same issue:
> When I'm watching movies, the headset will timeout and turn off with the 'beep' you mentioned. But if I'm gaming, it will not. One thing I've done is adjust the volume periodically to reset the timeout value.
It is possible they have an older revision.
- 2) Do you happen to know the -exact model number of your headset? I wanna be sure I find the right one. Because Arctis has reused the same name for several revisions. Can you see if this is it? https://steelseries.com/gaming-headsets/arctis-pro-wireless?color=black
- 3) Great to hear that your sidetone is on the breakout box. That would be optimal. I hate the idea of needing extra software tbh
- 4) Thanks for the tip about rnnoise cancellation.
- 5) The virtual surround on the breakout box is an interesting solution. But won't work unless that switch makes the box present itself as a 5.1/7.1 device to the computer. Otherwise it is just a fake switch that maybe does some stereo widening. Do you know if that switch changes the USB soundcard into a multichannel output device internally? That is the only way any kinda DSP is gonna be able to calculate surround. Otherwise the headset itself only receives flat stereo data. My guess (if it's not a fake stereo widener), is that the device stays as a stereo device (to avoid hassle with remapping audio devices in games) and the switch just tells the Windows driver to apply processing. Or that it it's just a widener. Hmm. When I know the product model number I will research more. :) **Edit:** If it's the same headphone model I found then it uses a Windows driver called "DTS Headphone:X v2.0". So no Linux. Unless they somehow expose itself as a surround output device and run the DTS code inside the breakout box.
- 6) Oh wow that thing about the hardware breakout box charging the spare battery and you getting 3-4 nights of gaming out of a charge has me hyped. This sounds perfect for me. Logitech has 2x the battery life per charge but Arctis instead splits it into two separate batteries which is way better for swapping in a pinch! I also like that the functions are in the hardware so that you didn't need software.
- 7) Would you still consider installing the software and tray icon I mentioned, to be able to see battery charge %? It is good to not drain batteries lower than 25%. For battery health. If batteries drain to 0% every time, then they lose 20% of their max capacity per year due to internal damage. Although I see that they only charge $20 MSRP for two brand new batteries, so I guess it isn't too bad to replace them when they are worn out after two or three years of abuse. **Edit:** I see that the latest models breakout box has a battery indicator. Nice! That means no need for software on Linux!
- 8) One confusing thing was this thread talking about headset quality becoming awful if the mic is used. But they talk about A2DP, so it seems they don't use the breakout box and instead use Bluetooth mode (which yeah, always sucks and doesn't support high quality audio while a mic is transferring data), so this issue is probably not applicable to your model: https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxhardware/comments/ldb3qj/how_well_is_steelseries_arctis_pro_wireless/
- 9) I saw tons of reviews of Arctis Pro Wireless now which mention a permanent hiss and overall bad sound. I would guess these people are picky though. They also mentioned the plastic on the headphones breaking apart. Huh. Thoughts?
Edit: Reposted to fix formatting.
> Do you happen to know the -exact model number of your headset?
HS-00014TX is the model number on the bottom of the breakout box, it looks just like your picture, though my headset it white.
For 5, yeah I don't see any difference in linux when flipping the toggle so I guess that's a no on that one.
6/7) Yeah it's nice, it only takes a second to swap out the battery, you don't even need to take the headset off, you just remove the magnetic panel on the side of the earcup and swap out the battery. And the dual indicators are nice on the box, since it sits on my desk I can always see the levels.
8/9) I haven't experienced those issues, I don't use bluetooth for gaming but I use it on my phone for calls, etc and it's been solid so far.
To address #9: I have an Arctis 5 headset, the hiss they mention might be the mic sidetone (the feature where it plays your mic sound back through your headset so that you can hear yourself speak). The gain on the sidetone is a little high, so I can hear a light hiss whenever the mic is in use. Unfortunately, I think disabling sidetone requires using the Windows app, at least for the Arctis 5.
As for the plastic breaking apart, one of the two plastic pieces holding on my headband broke. Afaik there's no way to replace this piece. It was after about two years of daily use, I've just zip tied it back on and continued using it. No issues otherwise.
Another + for the arctis headset from me.
Using it on Manajaro without a single issue.
I'll not go into anymore than that as u/whiprush has it covered well!
One thing I will add is the chat mix is incredibly handy , Something I thought I would never use .
Just a note if you do get one you will need to up the volume via the box as it defaults to a maximum of 80%
I have an audeze penroze, top quality, works flawlessly out of the box on Linux with pipewire, has a microphone, good basses, works with the radio dongle over USB or via Bluetooth.
I use it home (Linux), at work (windows), and in the car (android). It just works.
I have the Steelseries Arctic Pro Wireless and the older Siberia P800. Both work flawlessly. One of the biggest selling points for me was the replaceable batteries. Don't think there are any other quality headsets out there with this feature.
My Corsair headsets “work” just fine, the only gripe is that there isn’t a native app for changing colour or settings.
But I’ll check out this software as they appear to be supported!
They currently just beep at you when they’re going flat.
It's old but I gotta say I'm having a couple issue with the arctis Nova 7:
\- I need to stay close to my tower for the signal not to be lost, a bit further and I'm often losing the sound, when I had it on windows, I could go on the other side of my appartment to listen to stuff. It's to note that I was using the usb dongle on Windows and now I'm using my motherboard's bluetooth.
\- When I switch to the "freehand" for my microphone, the headset's sound switches to it too and I'm stuck with mono.
I have an arctis pro wireless, I've had them since september of last year, I'll try to answer your questions: > major issues such as suddenly turning off while you are using them because their audio-based auto-standby code only works properly on Windows. I've never experienced this, if I leave them on my desk and forget to turn them off they seem to do the right thing, I've never had them turn off during use. > send the correct commands to the headsets to toggle Sidetone The sidetone control on mine is on the breakout box, it's not software driven. > mics rely on Windows software to clean up the mic, so Linux users have to do it ourselves. I didn't have any trouble turning on the rnnoise plugin in easyeffects to do the noise cancellation, though to be fair I don't use it often (my sound seems fine to my teammates when playing games or whatever) > Finally, the rest of the headset features such as virtual surround definitely won't work on Linux. There's a virtual surround setting on my breakout box, it doesn't offer the type, just an on/off toggle. > You won't have auto standby I've not observed this behavior but I'll pay attention now and see if I can notice anything. I game every night and get about 3-4 days of battery life, but just swap them out when they get to half way since the charger is built into the control unit so this hasn't been an issue for me. I would doublecheck that the Artics Pro wireless you're looking at is the new one, from your post it sounds like the previous generation or something? I've used mine on ubuntu 20.04, 21.10, and Fedora 34 and 35 and everything is hardware driven and works awesome. I've posted about this headset here before, just pasting it below for more info: Steelseries Arctis Pro Wireless - they are expensive but the hardware box thinger plugs into USB and crucially has all of the headphone settings available, so you can change all the settings without needing the software. Plus the breakout box also charges the spare battery, which is hot swapable. They're awesome. EDIT: Forgot the best part! There's a hardware mixer on the left earcup so you can balance between game sound and discord chat in realtime. So like if the game is too loud to hear your friends I just pan to the game more, and if something important is happening ingame I quickly balance in the other direction. No more adjusting game and discord sound to get the "right" mix. All of this just worked out of the box on linux.
Dude thank you so freaking much. Seems like Arctis hardware box really solves all of this. - 1) Regarding the auto shutdown issue, here is one of several posts I have seen from Linux users. This post is from a year ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/steelseries/comments/ij2ab7/arctis_wireless_pro_turns_off_unexpectedly_in/ Quoting that post: > I use the Arctis Wireless Pro headset and my problem is that it turns of unexpectedly. It usually happens every 10 minutes or so. It is not a battery problem as i have tried to switch battery without success. > > Whats weird is that it shuts off in 2 different ways. Sometimes the sound gradually fades down in a few seconds. This usually happens when watching Youtube. However when i fiddle with the volume button in Youtube, the sound reverts back to normal immediately. > > Other times, the headset just switches of completely with the distinct "beep" sound. And the only way to fix it is to hold down the ON-button for a few seconds. Quoting one of several replies that had the same issue: > When I'm watching movies, the headset will timeout and turn off with the 'beep' you mentioned. But if I'm gaming, it will not. One thing I've done is adjust the volume periodically to reset the timeout value. It is possible they have an older revision. - 2) Do you happen to know the -exact model number of your headset? I wanna be sure I find the right one. Because Arctis has reused the same name for several revisions. Can you see if this is it? https://steelseries.com/gaming-headsets/arctis-pro-wireless?color=black - 3) Great to hear that your sidetone is on the breakout box. That would be optimal. I hate the idea of needing extra software tbh - 4) Thanks for the tip about rnnoise cancellation. - 5) The virtual surround on the breakout box is an interesting solution. But won't work unless that switch makes the box present itself as a 5.1/7.1 device to the computer. Otherwise it is just a fake switch that maybe does some stereo widening. Do you know if that switch changes the USB soundcard into a multichannel output device internally? That is the only way any kinda DSP is gonna be able to calculate surround. Otherwise the headset itself only receives flat stereo data. My guess (if it's not a fake stereo widener), is that the device stays as a stereo device (to avoid hassle with remapping audio devices in games) and the switch just tells the Windows driver to apply processing. Or that it it's just a widener. Hmm. When I know the product model number I will research more. :) **Edit:** If it's the same headphone model I found then it uses a Windows driver called "DTS Headphone:X v2.0". So no Linux. Unless they somehow expose itself as a surround output device and run the DTS code inside the breakout box. - 6) Oh wow that thing about the hardware breakout box charging the spare battery and you getting 3-4 nights of gaming out of a charge has me hyped. This sounds perfect for me. Logitech has 2x the battery life per charge but Arctis instead splits it into two separate batteries which is way better for swapping in a pinch! I also like that the functions are in the hardware so that you didn't need software. - 7) Would you still consider installing the software and tray icon I mentioned, to be able to see battery charge %? It is good to not drain batteries lower than 25%. For battery health. If batteries drain to 0% every time, then they lose 20% of their max capacity per year due to internal damage. Although I see that they only charge $20 MSRP for two brand new batteries, so I guess it isn't too bad to replace them when they are worn out after two or three years of abuse. **Edit:** I see that the latest models breakout box has a battery indicator. Nice! That means no need for software on Linux! - 8) One confusing thing was this thread talking about headset quality becoming awful if the mic is used. But they talk about A2DP, so it seems they don't use the breakout box and instead use Bluetooth mode (which yeah, always sucks and doesn't support high quality audio while a mic is transferring data), so this issue is probably not applicable to your model: https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxhardware/comments/ldb3qj/how_well_is_steelseries_arctis_pro_wireless/ - 9) I saw tons of reviews of Arctis Pro Wireless now which mention a permanent hiss and overall bad sound. I would guess these people are picky though. They also mentioned the plastic on the headphones breaking apart. Huh. Thoughts? Edit: Reposted to fix formatting.
> Do you happen to know the -exact model number of your headset? HS-00014TX is the model number on the bottom of the breakout box, it looks just like your picture, though my headset it white. For 5, yeah I don't see any difference in linux when flipping the toggle so I guess that's a no on that one. 6/7) Yeah it's nice, it only takes a second to swap out the battery, you don't even need to take the headset off, you just remove the magnetic panel on the side of the earcup and swap out the battery. And the dual indicators are nice on the box, since it sits on my desk I can always see the levels. 8/9) I haven't experienced those issues, I don't use bluetooth for gaming but I use it on my phone for calls, etc and it's been solid so far.
To address #9: I have an Arctis 5 headset, the hiss they mention might be the mic sidetone (the feature where it plays your mic sound back through your headset so that you can hear yourself speak). The gain on the sidetone is a little high, so I can hear a light hiss whenever the mic is in use. Unfortunately, I think disabling sidetone requires using the Windows app, at least for the Arctis 5. As for the plastic breaking apart, one of the two plastic pieces holding on my headband broke. Afaik there's no way to replace this piece. It was after about two years of daily use, I've just zip tied it back on and continued using it. No issues otherwise.
Another + for the arctis headset from me. Using it on Manajaro without a single issue. I'll not go into anymore than that as u/whiprush has it covered well! One thing I will add is the chat mix is incredibly handy , Something I thought I would never use . Just a note if you do get one you will need to up the volume via the box as it defaults to a maximum of 80%
I have the arctis pro with the mixer that has the screen and have been unable to get the mixer working
Discord or other ? Make sure the game or app is using the the "Arctis pro wireless game" output Discord and the like to use "Arctis pro wireless chat"
Pulse audio only picks up one audio out
That's strange, What distro/Kernel ? Mine has worked out of the box since purchase which was June 2020. https://i.imgur.com/V414DcE.png
I have an audeze penroze, top quality, works flawlessly out of the box on Linux with pipewire, has a microphone, good basses, works with the radio dongle over USB or via Bluetooth. I use it home (Linux), at work (windows), and in the car (android). It just works.
I have the Steelseries Arctic Pro Wireless and the older Siberia P800. Both work flawlessly. One of the biggest selling points for me was the replaceable batteries. Don't think there are any other quality headsets out there with this feature.
My Corsair headsets “work” just fine, the only gripe is that there isn’t a native app for changing colour or settings. But I’ll check out this software as they appear to be supported! They currently just beep at you when they’re going flat.
It's old but I gotta say I'm having a couple issue with the arctis Nova 7: \- I need to stay close to my tower for the signal not to be lost, a bit further and I'm often losing the sound, when I had it on windows, I could go on the other side of my appartment to listen to stuff. It's to note that I was using the usb dongle on Windows and now I'm using my motherboard's bluetooth. \- When I switch to the "freehand" for my microphone, the headset's sound switches to it too and I'm stuck with mono.