Steelseries Arctis 3 sound quality

[Matt_in_NE]

So the reviews of the wired Steelseries Arctis 3 led me to believe it was a pretty good headset for the money, but the sound quality is awful. Most things now sound like they're being played through a think layer of foam. I don't know what I'm missing -- if I just got a bad pair or I did something wrong setting them up, but I feel like I spent too much money for them to sound this awful. Even accounting for gaming headsets having poor sound quality compared to audiophile gear, I shjould still be able to hear the dialogue in a film or YouTube video with the volume wheel on the headphones turned up, the volume settings of my PC all the way up and the volume on YouTube turned up. 

 

Has anyone else had similar issues? Or should I resign myself to looking for a different pair?

[Pixelfie]

There's definitely something wrong with your pair. Mine sounds fine compared to other headphones. It's not anything special but not bad. You should see if you can get a different pair, or even better a different model. Something like a Razer Blackshark V2 would be better.

[Matt_in_NE]

I used to have a Kraken X, so I'm sure Razer would be much better. The problem I had with them was that they constantly were falling off my head to the point that the plastic head band was smashed to pieces (aluminum frame, ha!), but I like the Arctis 3's elestic headband thing. I'd rather get a pair of headphones with that band and a discreet mic than a headset without it.