I have a new favourite gaming headset – and it's a straight replacement for the old one

After pretty much three years during which I grabbed any opportunity to recommend the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless to everyone who'd listen, repeatedly naming it the best gaming headset on the market, I've finally been given the opportunity to swap to a new option.

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that it's the direct follow-up to that headset, though: the Arctis Nova Pro Omni. It's a bit of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it update, one that changes only a few things under the hood, but when you have a formula as undefeated as this one, it's a smart move not to meddle too much.

The Nova Pro Omni puts its main advancement right there in the title. This headset, rather than dividing into two versions, with one reserved for people who want to be able to game on Xbox (which has its own wireless standard that needs a separate license), is just a single model.

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The Omni will work with every major console on the market right now, all of them able to connect through its transmitter, with a dedicated port for Xbox users to plug into. That gives it total flexibility, and while it's important to remember that other headsets have managed this, too, it's still a great step forward for customer simplicity.

Beyond that, the headset looks and feels almost identical to its predecessors, which is a good thing. It's got super-plush earcup cushioning and a headband design that suspends the weight off your head a little, a system that I've always found hugely comfortable even given the headset isn't the lightest out there.

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Crucially, of course, the headset sounds superb. It has detail in spades, a really wide soundstage that can make positional audio sound brilliant and precise, and more than enough power to get really loud if you want it. One of the best retractable microphones in the business will have you sounding really clear for your teammates, too.

Its swappable battery system also returns, having been copied by a bunch of other brands in the meantime, and you now get around 30 hours on each charge, which feels like a decent step up.

This all adds up to a package that can't be denied, and it'll be my new default recommendation for a high-end gaming headset – with one asterisk. That is to say that the Nova Pro Wireless remains on sale and is around £100 cheaper at the time of writing, representing a better deal given how close it is in sound quality.

It misses out on some connectivity and app features, but if you're a one-console gamer then it's the better choice given the price.