Its seamless integration of Bluetooth and Xbox Wireless is a big deal, and in my own testing, it worked exactly as advertised. But, seeing as I can pair the Arctis 9X to my phone and my Xbox or PC at the same time, picking up the phone was as easy as, well, picking up the phone. Before the SteelSeries Arctis 9X came into my life, I wouldn't have been able to answer that phone call without first powering off and then re-pairing my headset to my phone. The other day, while jamming out to 'So Very Hard to Go' by Tower of Power in my off-brand Toyota Prius in Watch Dogs 2 (opens in new tab), I suddenly received a call on my real-life phone from my mom. Not only does it support the Bluetooth and Xbox Wireless connectivity standards, but you can use both at the same time. To help mitigate foreseeable pain points, SteelSeries invested heavily in its unparalleled versatility. Switching between devices is tedious as it is, on a headset that uses Bluetooth alone. Because it has Bluetooth, Xbox Wireless, and wired functionality, on paper, the Arctis 9X is a lot to manage.

You know, without the hassle of downloading and installing the SteelSeries Engine software. If SteelSeries wants to make a headset for all of my devices, I don't want it to look like a gaming headset when I'm out and about. On the rear side of the left earcup is a hardwired ChatMix dial for balancing chat and game audio in real-time. My only complaint is that it's retractable not removable. The mic itself is unspectacular, but it gets the job done.

A volume wheel at the top is joined by a mic mute button and, below it, a dedicated Bluetooth pairing button, a power button, a micro-USB charging port, and a 3.5mm jack. Along the right can is where all the action takes place.

Xbox steelseries headset