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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-30 · 8 min read · Independent comparison
• AIYIMA DAC-A2 — biggest strength: It's a plug-and-play desktop DAC/amp that converts USB, optical and coaxial digital audio into RCA or 3.5mm analog, with real bass and treble knobs and enough power (160mW RMS at 32 Ohms) to drive headphones from 16 to 200 Ohms.
• AIYIMA DAC-A2 — biggest trade-off: It's a box on your desk, not a headset. No microphone, no ear cups, no cable to your head — you supply the headphones.
• SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1P — biggest strength: A complete wired gaming headset: over-ear design, 360° spatial sound, a noise-cancelling mic and a 3.5mm jack that works across PC and consoles.
• SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1P — biggest trade-off: It's a headset, not a DAC. It won't upgrade the analog output of your speakers, and its tuning options live in software rather than on physical knobs.
• Pick the AIYIMA DAC-A2 if you already own good headphones or speakers and want a cleaner desktop signal chain with hands-on tone control.
• Pick the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1P if you want one cable, one device, and everything you need for PC gaming audio in a single box.
The DAC-A2 is best understood as the middle of your audio chain. It takes digital audio in — USB from a PC, Mac or Linux machine, or optical/coaxial from a TV or console — and turns it into analog out through RCA or 3.5mm. No drivers, no software downloads. You plug it in, and the conversion happens. For a desktop setup, that means your PC's noisy internal audio path stops being the bottleneck, and your headphones or active speakers get a cleaner signal to work with.
The part I find genuinely useful is the front-panel control. Bass and treble knobs let you shape the sound by hand — no app, no profile, no menu. For PC gaming that's a practical thing: a little extra low-end for explosions, or a touch of treble lift so footsteps and subtle cues come through, all without leaving the game. The rotary volume control is tactile, which matters if you're the kind of person who reaches for a knob instead of a keyboard shortcut.
On the power side, the DAC-A2 outputs 160mW RMS at 32 Ohms and is rated for headphones between 16 and 200 Ohms, so it covers most wired gaming headsets and a broad range of desktop headphones. It supports high-resolution audio up to 24-bit/192kHz over optical or coaxial. The full-metal chassis acts as a shield against electromagnetic interference, and there's a built-in output protection circuit for your gear. In the box you get the unit, a PC-USB cable, an optical cable and a manual.
Who should buy it? PC gamers who already own a headset or headphones they like and want a cleaner, more controllable desktop signal — plus anyone wiring a TV or console into a stereo or powered speakers. Who should skip it? Anyone who needs a microphone, or who wants to unbox one product and be done. The DAC-A2 amplifies and converts; it doesn't talk back.
The Arctis Nova 1P is the opposite kind of product: everything you need is already attached to your head. It's an over-ear wired headset with a 3.5mm jack, so it connects to a PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch or a mobile device with the same cable. That single-jack design is the quiet reason it's so easy to live with — no adapter dance, no platform lock-in, no separate mic to mount.
For PC gaming specifically, the interesting parts are the acoustic system and the spatial audio. The Nova drivers are paired with 360° Space Sound, which is designed to place game audio around you so directional cues — footsteps, reloads, callouts — are easier to pick out. It's also compatible with Tempest 3D Audio on PS5 and Microsoft Spatial Sound on PC, and SteelSeries pairs the hardware with a built-in parametric equalizer so you can tune the response rather than accept a single preset. That's a different philosophy from the DAC-A2's knobs: software flexibility instead of physical immediacy.
Comfort is clearly a design priority here. The ComfortMAX system gives you rotatable, height-adjustable ear cups, an expandable band and AirWeave memory foam pads, and the headset weighs 269.5 g. Four adjustment points is more than most headsets bother with, and it's the kind of detail that decides whether a long session ends with a headache or not. The mic is a ClearCast Gen 2 noise-cancelling design rated to cut background noise by up to 25dB, and it retracts into the ear cup when you're not using it. Volume and mute controls sit on the headset itself.
Who should buy it? PC gamers who want one wired headset that handles game audio and voice chat, and who value a fit they can dial in. Who should skip it? Anyone whose real goal is upgrading a speaker setup or squeezing more from headphones they already own — this headset can't do that job. And if you're committed to an open-back or audiophile headphone you already love, the Nova 1P replaces it rather than feeds it.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for PC gaming voice chat → SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1P. It has a built-in noise-cancelling mic; the DAC-A2 has no mic input at all.
• Best for driving existing headphones → AIYIMA DAC-A2. Rated for 16–200 Ohms at 160mW RMS at 32 Ohms, it's built to power headphones you already own.
• Best for hands-on tone control → AIYIMA DAC-A2. Physical bass and treble knobs beat digging through software mid-match.
• Best for a multi-source desktop → AIYIMA DAC-A2. USB, optical and coaxial in; RCA and 3.5mm out. It sits between your PC, TV or console and your speakers.
• Best for long-session comfort → SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1P. Rotatable, height-adjustable cups, expandable band, memory foam pads and a 269.5 g build.
• Best for plug-in-and-go simplicity → SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1P. One 3.5mm cable, controls on the headset, no separate box on the desk.
• Best for upgrading a stereo or powered speaker setup → AIYIMA DAC-A2. The Nova 1P has no line output; the DAC-A2 exists to feed one.
If your goal is PC gaming audio in the fullest sense — hearing the game, talking to your team, staying comfortable for hours — I'd buy the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1P. It's a complete solution: spatial sound, a rated noise-cancelling mic, a fit you can actually adjust and a single 3.5mm cable that follows you across platforms. In my opinion, the DAC-A2 is the smarter buy only in a specific situation: you already own headphones or speakers you like, and what you want is a cleaner desktop signal with real knobs and multiple digital inputs. Buy the box if you have the headphones. Buy the headset if you don't.
how to connect gaming headphones to pc
With a wired 3.5mm headset like the Arctis Nova 1P, you plug the jack into your PC's headphone or combo audio port and you're connected — volume and mute controls are on the headset. If you want the audio to run through a dedicated converter instead, a DAC like the AIYIMA DAC-A2 accepts USB, optical or coaxial from the PC and outputs analog through RCA or 3.5mm, so your headphones plug into the DAC rather than the motherboard.
how to use gaming headphones on pc
For the Arctis Nova 1P, connect via the 3.5mm jack, then use the built-in parametric equalizer and your platform's spatial audio (Microsoft Spatial Sound on PC) to shape the sound, with 360° Space Sound handling positional cues. The AIYIMA DAC-A2 works differently: it's not a headset, so you connect it to the PC by USB (or optical/coaxial), plug your own headphones into its output, and adjust bass, treble and volume on the front panel.
what is the best gaming headphones for pc
There's no single answer, because "best" depends on what you already own. If you need a complete wired headset with a mic, spatial audio and adjustable comfort, the Arctis Nova 1P is built for exactly that. If you already have headphones you love and want a cleaner desktop signal chain with tone control and multiple inputs, the AIYIMA DAC-A2 is the more useful purchase.
what is the best pc gaming headphones
I'd frame it as a question of role, not ranking. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1P is the all-in-one pick: over-ear, 3.5mm, noise-cancelling mic, 360° Space Sound, 269.5 g with a four-point adjustable fit. The AIYIMA DAC-A2 isn't a headset at all — it's a DAC and headphone amp for 16–200 Ohm headphones, best when your priority is upgrading the signal feeding gear you already own. Check the current price on Amazon before deciding, since that often settles it.
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