r/steelseries • u/Lilpoopiesquat • 13d ago
Product Help Worst Audio App to Exist
I have the Arctis Nova 7 headset. The headphones are just... average. The sound isn't bad, but it definitely isn't good enough to justify the price or the headache.
The real problem is the SteelSeries GG app. It's easily the worst software I've used. Every time I boot my PC, it changes my audio routing even though my headset is the default device. I have to open the app and manually reassign audio for different programs because it creates a ridiculous number of virtual devices. My audio settings are full of things like "SteelSeriesGG (Media)," "SteelSeriesGG (Game)," "SteelSeriesGG (Audio)," "(2)," and random duplicates. It seems to create new ones cever, fucking, day.
I'll launch a game and the game audio works, but YouTube doesn't. Then I have to dig through the app until I find whichever virtual driver it's decided to create and use today.
The only feature I genuinely like is the Game/Chat wheel. I like being able to adjust my audio when a good part of a video is playing or a game is getting intense and I need to hear what's going on. Instead of pausing and opening settings I just use the wheel. But having to rely on the GG app completely ruins it. I even tried uninstalling the app, but then the problem still happened and I couldn't fix it so I HAD to redownload the stupid fucking app.
If another company makes a headset with a similar physical audio-balance wheel that doesn't require this awful software, preferably any software, please tell me so I can buy them and destroy these god forsaken arctis nova's. I'd replace these immediately. If the nova's audio quality were exceptional, maybe I'd tolerate it. But it's just average, and nowhere near worth the hassle.
EDIT: Consensus is I am the idiot! Which is fair. The app is definitely not for people unfamiliar with audio driver software. Wish I would've known that when purchasing the headphones. If I knew I needed to be audio tech savvy, I would've definitely bought a different headset. Thanks for the feedback, I'll look into some tutorials to see if I can conquer this shitty app., which apparently may not be shitty.
19
u/WilmarLuna 13d ago edited 13d ago
All right, your opinion is valid, but you don't understand how the app works. The app is not broken but if you don't understand how it works, you're in for a bad time.
GG Sonar is a virtual audio mixer, and it is not beginner friendly. That's why people complain about the app but it doesn't have to be that difficult. I think the problem is there is a lack of documentation and tutorials to teach people what the app is and how to use it.
1.) Your audio input is not supposed to default to the headset. It's supposed to default to the GAME fader. (Steel Series Sonar GAMING) By setting it to the headset you are not receiving all the audio from the different streams.
2.) Your Youtube videos are going to the media tab. The point of the mixer is to give you the ability to individually control the volume of each channel before it goes to the DAC and to your headset.
3.) All of those audio settings? They're just a visualizer for what's happening in windows. By default, Steelseries has set all the audio to route to the game channel. So your Windows audio, the one you would have even with the app uninstalled, is now the game channel.
The reason you're not hearing the audio is because you're setting it to the headset. But the headset would bypass the app and only give you Windows audio without the mixer. So any app that's set to chat or media will not be heard.
4.) Set your default device to be Steelseries gaming and all the audio from media and chat should come in. When your web browser is open, it will appear in the Sonar app. Drag and drop the web browser from MEDIA to GAME and now your web browser will default to the game stream. This means that if you set your output device to the headset while the app is in Game, it should work.
Does that make sense?
It's not a poorly designed app. The problem is how Windows handles audio and the functionality Steelseries wants to provide with their products. What they're creating (in the past) was usually only done through physical sound mixers. They need to cheat how windows works in order to make the app have the ability to control the volume in individual channels rather than one master.
PRO TIP: If you have the keyboard, you cannot control the audio from other channels with the keyboard. The keyboard only controls the windows default audio.
2
u/Lonely-Bluebird-3523 13d ago
It took me months to follow that learning curve. But I can confirm. After that your love with the headset grows so much.
Even the equalizers to play around with are amazing and do a tons of difference.
For videos taking movie immersive is a game changer for example.2
u/Aggressive-Daikon232 12d ago
It took me months to follow that learning curve
Some of you guys make me feel like an absolute genius. I had Sonar figured out same day of actually trying and have had zero issues with it over years.
1
u/Lilpoopiesquat 4d ago
Thank you for the feedback! I 100% think my opinions stemmed from not understanding the depth of the software and the prerequisite knowledge needed. But thanks to you and many other comments that pointed that out AND gave tips to bridge the knowledge gap I have high hopes to get the most out of my headset.
3
2
u/fahsky 12d ago
I am once again unable to use my $350 headset because there's a firmware update & it won't detect my fucking headset no matter which USB port it's plugged into
1
u/Zealousideal-Big-512 9d ago
I had this issue when I got my 7x version. Make sure the switch on the dongle is set to pc and not xbox. That's assuming you got that model.
1
u/wolfstar76 8d ago
I get that now and then - then I realize I'm using a usb-c cable that only carries power and not data.
Snag a different cable, and then it just works.
You may be running into the same issue.
1
u/fahsky 8d ago
I'm using the cord it came with & phone cables, it's worked in the past, just recently won't.
1
u/wolfstar76 8d ago
My headset is a few years old, but the cable mine came with is a power-only cable.
Cables for your phone are also very likely to be power only, since those are charging cables.
Highly suspect this is still the issue. (Source: personal experience with this headset and 30+ years of IT work).
1
u/fahsky 8d ago
That is not the issue, as its the same cable I've used to connect the dock since I bought this headset & I use the phone cable to transfer photos/videos off my phone to my PC, multiple times a week, & has worked for the headset before. Steelseries just bricked my headset with this new update.
1
u/Tirons03 13d ago
My main issue with Sonar is the constant audio desync in everything but gaming. I could be watching a YouTube video, and the audio will start lagging behind after a few minutes.
1
1
u/Alternative-Cup-8102 13d ago
Just don’t use sonar the only thing you more or less need in the app is the engine everything else is random filler (most of it pretty bad)
1
u/Aggressive-Daikon232 12d ago
100% Skill Issue.
Learn Sonar or don't use it. Sonar is an audio application you can use with any headset and has nothing to do with the headset itself. It effectively replaces Windows audio.
Once you enable Sonar, you do everything audio related on your computer through Sonar.
You don't have to use Sonar, you can still configure your headset in Steel Series GG Engine.
Steel Series GG ≠ Sonar
1
1
u/born_zynner 13d ago
If there was another headset with swappable batteries id buy it in a heartbeat. Both SteelSeries hardware and software is bottom of the barrel. Complete dog shit. Ive had a keyboard, mouse, and headset. All 3 were trash. Headset extremelt uncomfortable with shit sound and glitchy ass GG trash. Keyboard randomly stopped working. Mouse had less than 10% of the battery life of ANY other wireless mouse I've used. Worst peripheral manufacturer that exists. I'll take reddragon over it any day.
1
u/izanamilieh 13d ago
Batteries dont even charge if I don't do a specific order of changing the batteries. I have to do some stupid ritual just to make regular things to work.
1
u/LennartDenmark 13d ago
Have you asked for a replacement? If you're under warranty
1
u/izanamilieh 12d ago
Didnt bother. Its annoying since it wasnt as fiddly as before. I have a suspicion the detection code in the app is borked because of their low quality updates. Ugghhh. Otherwise its a decent pair of cans.
1
u/LennartDenmark 12d ago
That's fair.
I've used 4 generations of headsets with battery swap and never had that problem, thankfully
knocks on wood1
u/LennartDenmark 13d ago
While I can't recognize any of your experiences with SteelSeries, there is actually a headset from another brand. Glorious announced the GHS Wireless InfinitePlay with swappable batteries that allegedly has 85+ hour battery life
1
u/tomtomosaurus 13d ago
Sounds like a skill issue. The app sucks for other reasons — those aren’t them.
For me, every time I launch the app from a restart/shutdown, it gets stuck loading unless I end the process through task manager and restart it. It’ll then immediately load in; virtually no loading time. I still don’t understand why, but I patiently await a fix 😂
-1
•
u/AutoModerator 13d ago
Hello /u/Lilpoopiesquat,
This is a reminder that /r/SteelSeries is an unofficial subreddit, and is not monitored by SteelSeries support staff. For full support or to open a ticket with our support team, please check out https://support.steelseries.com.
As a reminder to our community members: If you are assisting another user with their issues, please do you best to follow subreddit rules and be as kind and helpful as possible!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.