SteelSeries GameBuds X wireless gaming earbuds review

Over-ear gaming headphones have been all the rage for at least the last decade. And even as someone who prefers them, there’s no denying the perks of wireless earbuds: compact and portable, superior passive noise cancelling, and the potential for more straightforward multiplatform play. The challenge has been latency, and more specifically, Bluetooth isn’t yet up to snuff for the low-latency needs of anyone who wants to play more than just casual games.

Cue the entry of wireless gaming earbuds like the affordable and impressive Soundcore VR P10, the pricier Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed and the even steeper but performative Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed upgrade. That last entry has been my go-to wireless earbuds for the last year, but now that SteelSeries has entered the space with its GameBuds, I was very curious to hear how they compared.

The SteelSeries GameBuds (including the X model) are some of the priciest wireless gaming earbuds around, with a $369 asking price. That’s $40 more than the PlayStation Pulse Explore, around $80 pricier than the Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed and close to $200 pricier than the very affordable Soundcore VR P10 wireless earbuds.

That said, SteelSeries' first crack at wireless earbuds is almost identically priced to the Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed, so it’s not like the RRP feels artificially inflated. And, as is the trend, if you buy the Xbox version of this latest SteelSeries headphones product, you also get cross-platform compatibility: Xbox, PlayStation, PC, Nintendo Switch, mobile devices, Meta Quest VR headsets and, well, anything with Bluetooth and/or a USB-C port. Note that while the PlayStation version of the GameBuds is available today, the Xbox version that I had for review were set to be available 29 November 2024.

In the dozens of hours I’ve spent with the SteelSeries GameBuds X, I’ve had a couple of minor quibbles with sound quality. The first was a couple of millisecond dropouts after around six hours of continuous Bluetooth testing. And the other is an ever-so-slight and sporadic crackle in the left earbud during transparency mode. Admittedly, the latter was only noticeable without any audio playback.

Using the Music: Punchy preset, I couldn’t fault the GameBuds while testing the tracks in our playlist. There were sections where I preferred the deeper bass of the Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed, but I found the overall sound balance better on the GameBuds. It’s not like the bass isn’t there, plus if you want more boom, the Music: Deep Bass setting is a few taps away in the SteelSeries Arctis Companion app. You can also customise your own preferred presets, but that can’t be done via the app and requires SteelSeries GG desktop software, which isn’t ideal.

In terms of the specific highlights, Radiohead’s The National Anthem deserves a callout for the overall better balance of the mid-track aural cacophony with back-to-back tests against the Hammerhead Pros. The deliberate track static in Portishead’s Humming was subtler with the GameBuds than the Hammerhead Pros, too, which again underlines the better overall audio balance. Getting to top things off with the synth depth of The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights was a particular delight, especially after initially wondering how the GameBuds could top the impressive sound of the Hammerhead Pros. The answer: with better balance.

In a rare win for my oddly shaped earholes, the default wingtips proved to be the best fit for my ears. The earbud design is reportedly based on scans of thousands of ears, which likely helps to make this the comfiest headbanging-friendly earbuds I’ve used. As for the mic, it’s solid by wireless earbud standards. While you shouldn’t expect booming vocal recreation, the GameBuds do provide clear and crisp comms.

The battery life of the SteelSeries GameBuds X is the best I’ve ever experienced from wireless earbuds. As you may or may not know, 2.4GHz is the best current solution for low-latency wireless but it’s also more of a battery hog than Bluetooth. Note that the SteelSeries Arctis Companion app flags you need to be in Bluetooth mode to change settings and check battery status, but that wasn’t the case during my 2.4GHz tests (which is a positive).

My initial longevity tests were across hours-long mixed 2.4GHz and Bluetooth usage, keeping the earbuds out of their case between each session. That’s not a very practical use case, mind you, because you really should store wireless earbuds in their case, which will charge them if there’s any spare juice. Speaking of the case, it can be recharged via included USB-C cable or Qi charging, the latter of which I did on a dusty unused wireless charger on top of my desktop case, which now finally has a purpose.

By default, the GameBuds are set to power down after 30 minutes of activity. As I learnt after the first day, you hold down the physical button—yes, physical, none of those inconsistent ‘did my inputs register?’ touch controls—on each earbud for a few seconds and you’re back in business. I shifted between one minute and five minutes for the automated power down. There is a bug where the earbuds seemingly don’t power down when they should in 2.4GHz mode, even if the 2.4GHz dongle is disconnected from a device.

Even with all of those preamble disclaimers, the GameBuds battery life blew away my expectations. They’re rated for 10 hours with an extra 30 hours in the case, with 15 minutes of charge time equating to three hours of playtime. Apparently that 10-hour rating comes from a 2.4GHz test with active noise cancellation (ANC) off, so I eventually did a continuous 2.4GHz test with ANC maxed out and volume set to 50%. That should be a much more noticeable drain than with ANC off, but I still recorded just shy of nine hours. Expect even better results if you’re just using Bluetooth.

The main con is it was just shy of nine hours when the left earbud died, but the right earbud was still reporting 20% juice. That final 10% on the left earbud also disappeared in under 10 minutes. As for recharging, that claim of three hours per 15 minutes is conservative. The disclaimer from SteelSeries is that three hours is via USB-C fast charging. I tested with a disconnected but fully charged case and got 53% in the first 15 minutes, 82% in the first half hour, and it was fully recharged when I checked at 45 minutes. The remaining case battery is in line with the three extra charges, too.

If you’re using the SteelSeries GameBuds on PC, you can tweak via SteelSeries GG. But I found it a lot more convenient to get to the all-important options via the SteelSeries Arctis Companion app, which has thankfully been improved since its initial version for the Arctis Nova 5X. Like the Arctis Nova 5X, the GameBuds also have a chip that lets you switch different presets for Bluetooth and 2.4GHz on the fly.

That’s a great convenience given I was frequently shifting between music playback via Bluetooth on my Google Pixel 7 Pro and gaming on my PC with 2.4GHz. Admittedly, there wasn’t a Silent Hill 2 (remake) preset available at the time of review, and that’s what I spent most of my time playing with the GameBuds. But I found the Resident Evil 2 Remake preset was a solid substitute. That’s one of more than 100 presets and, if I’m being picky, the only thing I’d like to see added is the option to share presets from the app (this feature is available via SteelSeries GG, though).

If my panicked aiming and involuntary cries are any indication, the GameBuds did an excellent job of enhancing Silent Hill 2’s creepy soundscape in a game that absolutely deserves to be played with some in-ear or over-ear option and not speakers. More impressively, the 2.4GHz dongle is a great way to play games on pretty much anything with a USB-C port.

I had great plug-and-play audio for dozens of game tests across the Steam Deck, Steam Deck OLED and Asus ROG Ally X. The 2.4GHz dongle was a great fit for my smartphone and Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. That tablet is where I did my battery testing, and I was legitimately concerned that the GameBuds would outlast the fully charged S7 Plus battery. Best bit: that 2.4GHz dongle has a spot in a case that’s not much bigger than the Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed, which doesn’t house its 2.4GHz dongle. Still, the GameBuds follow the L-shaped-dongle trend, which means 2.4GHz is sometimes a compromise that may block vents, ports or buttons, depending on the platform.

If you’re in the market for a new pair of wireless earbuds and want the versatility to just as seamlessly listen to music via Bluetooth as you can play games via 2.4GHz, the SteelSeries GameBuds are well worth considering. Like most premium SteelSeries audio products, the somewhat comparatively higher initial RRP is an investment in great sound and premium features. I’ve jumped between wireless earbuds in the last couple of years, but I don’t see a situation where I go back to them after experiencing the SteelSeries GameBuds X.