SteelSeries Arctis 7 - Lossless Wireless Gaming Headset with DTS Headphone: X v2.0 Surround - for PC and PlayStation 4 - Black

Sound: Lets get this out of the way first: These arent audiophile headphones. However, what you are getting is a good depth and smoothness of sound with just enough bass that you can feel the rattle when things get crazy. What you get here is a headset thats great for music, but damn near life-changing for games - especially if youre coming from the budget class. I highly recommend setting the equalizer software to Immersive and loading your favorite shooter. Its worth noting that bass levels have been improved in this 2019 version over the legacy model. Comfort: As compared to the 2018 model, the 2019 release enjoys a greater standard of comfort with deep, comfortable earcups and a light profile. Its actually pretty easy to forget that youre wearing these, even for someone with an exceptionally large head (sorry mom) like mine. Software, driver support and functionality: In terms of the wireless capabilities, build quality and so on, these feel just as premium as the price would suggest. The driver suite (which is rather mandatory, so go get it) is lightweight and adds some decent equalizer functionality - Nothing exceptional, but its still a solid value add. Additionally, 7.1 surround support has been improved over last year - Setting the surround profile to Large Room produces a good depth of sound that doesnt feel flat, making for an enjoyable music-listening experience in addition to the obvious gaming benefits. Conclusion: Youll probably note that most of the middling reviews for this headset are for the Legacy model. As those complaints have been addressed to varying degrees, I now feel safe in calling this one of the most well-rounded wireless headsets available today - with the caveat that Bass junkies might want to look elsewhere. The bass here is just good enough to rattle your brains just a little bit, but you can tell that its intentionally subdued to bring it more in-line with the rest of the soundscape as compared to many other gaming headsets.

I’ve been using this headset exclusively for gaming on both my PC and PS4 for a month and a half now. Overall, I’d say it’s a very good headset and a nice upgrade from my Logitech G930 headset. Sound - (5/5) quality sound on both the PC and PS4. Take note that you don’t get true 7.1 surround sound on the console - that’s only capable on the PC. Mic - (4/5) my friends say that I cut out sometimes when I talk. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s too far from my mouth but I haven’t had any other complaints. The mic is also retractable, which is pretty convenient. Aesthetics - (4/5) pretty solid looking headset. They didn’t cheap out on the materials used. However, I’m not a big fan of the strap to adjust the fit on your head. It’ll be a hit or miss for some people. Comfort - (2.5/5) The biggest letdown with this headset. After gaming for at least 3 hours the top of my ears start to hurt. I have a rather average sized head and ears so I was so disappointed to find out that they bothered my ears after prolonged gaming. This could be a make or break for many but I’d advise seeing if other reviewers are having the same issue. Button placement - (3/5) for some reason they placed all the buttons right where your hands would grab when you’re pulling them off your head, so it’s easy to accidentally change up some settings. The mute button is also on the back left side of the headset, so it isn’t easily accessible and will have you clumsily feeling around before you press it. Tip: if you’re using this headset for the first time and cannot hear your fellow gamers in voice chat, you need to roll the wheel on the bottom right side of the headset. There’s a setting that allows you to drown out voice chat and turn up the game’s audio instead. Hope this helped!

WARNING: Not Plug and Play. Do NOT buy this headset if your system is not administered by you. tl;dr: arrived with a non-functioning mic, otherwise as described. after trying the usual techsupport options (off then on again, settings, hardware reset, change port, change pc, etc) the fix was (seemingly) installation of the companys bloatware. If you dont have install privileges and/or dont want to install bloatware you should look for a different product. This product is decent, with a nice design and good fit. The strap that sits on your head is comfortable and provides a better wear experience than others Ive used. They feel lighter than they are, more like a AKG M220 and (thankfully imo) less like a ASTRO A50. Noise isolation is decent like any closed back headphone, enough that you will want to push one cup behind your ear to have conversations with someone. The mics audio quality is above average for a headset mounted mic, though below average for a stand alone one. The retractable mic seems like a plus, assuming it doesnt become a point of failure. The mute and volume/mixing controls are fine, the audio jack is a nice inclusion but the USB audio jack and cord are fragile. Id be wary of using it daily or for anything important. Look and feel are good, better than a Turtle Beach and on pad with Astros. The hinges and controls feel decent. The only thing that comes of as cheap to me are the USB ports and USB audio cable. Honestly a single USB C solution (or a robust USB B failing that) would be better than going with frail mini/micro options. Packaging and documentation was spartan but fine. The box protected the headphones and was easy to open. Included documentation was spartan but fine. The major failure here was nothing written about the mic needing the companys bloatware to work. Manufacturer support is minimal, web based CS portal and links to their bloatware. No standalone drivers, no forum or faq. The final verdict is that this headset is decent enough once the mic is fixed (see above). If you can get it on sale and handle the mic issue the 7 is an option to consider.

I got the Arctis 7 to replace my Arctis Pro Wireless and the white noise/hiss issue it has. I loved the Pro Wireless and I was hoping it would be similar enough headset wise to use but thats not the case. I give this headset a 3.5 / 5. Be warned that you cannot return this headset through Amazon. PROS: -Build quality is decent but its not aluminum like the Arctis Pro Wireless -Headset is lighter in weight than Arctis Pro -Fit is great and I love the ski goggle design, although my ears hurt after a long days working (9+ hours) -Steelseries headsets look very slick and not flashy or huge like the GSP670 -Retractable mic is a nice feature -Mic quality is good but sounds nasally -Connection distance is great and doesnt disconnect or distort when walking around -Battery life is great with 20+ hours of use NEUTRAL: -Sound quality is not good but not terrible either. You will definitely need to mess with the EQ to get it to sound right unless you like everything flat. Even setting the EQ to get things to my liking, the soundstage felt lacking. The sound signature is not the same as the Pro Wireless, which was to be expected. The bass is weak, which can strangely be remedied on the Pro Wireless with DTS 2.0, but not here. DTS 2.0 on the 7 muddies everything up. The headset doesnt handle higher frequencies well if you turn them up. They sound too harsh and clip. In games, things seemed quiet so I always had to crank the headset volume up. Then when I go listen to music or something else its blaring loud. The Pro Wireless wins in sound quality but has that white noise issue. CONS: -Headset does have a white noise/hiss issue but its nowhere close to the Arctis Pro Wireless. This only happens when the headset volume is set to the absolute minimum or maximum, regardless of the system volume setting. Setting the volume wheel 1/4 to 3/4 of the way wont trigger it. Even then, its not that loud. -Poor EQ settings. While you get 6 bars of EQ control vs. 5 on the Pro Wireless, they are not the same frequencies or normal EQ frequencies that you can control. For some reason, the Arctis 9 gets 10 bars. If you want full EQ control, you need a third party tool. -Like the Arctis Pro Wireless, there is a static sound when I stop/pause/mute audio regardless of media source, type, or volume. For some reason this only happens on Steelseries headsets. I cant recommend this headset if you are serious about your sounds in gaming. I can only recommend it if you are on a budget or dont care about sounds and just want a wireless headset. For me, I ended up going with the Audio-Technica ATH-G1WL which sounds better than both the Arctis 7 and Pro Wireless.

First of all, I had to send my unit back because 1) the stock cord never charged the headset (I had to charge with another a micro usb cord). 2) The battery indicator in the application never worked. With that said, I did like the Arctis 7. Sometimes I wish I still had it and it just worked. I play a game that takes forever to get into an online session or I have a long wait if I host an activity. Walking to the bathroom or kitchen and hearing what is going on in the game was very useful as I could head back when the music or atmosphere changes and Im in a lobby. That is about as much usefulness as I lost. It took about 2 weeks for me to really get the hang of the headphones. It was heavier than what it replaced and so my neck and head got fatigued after a few hour-long sessions. The DTS:X v2 I didnt find that much of a difference between the Windows Sonic for headphones. It sounded fine, but I wasnt wowed, especially compared to a pair of $13 gaming 7.1 usb headphones (TT-EP006). So here are the details. Comfort: Heavier because of wireless battery, but eventually you will get used to it. Fit: The clamping force wasnt enough, I move my head up too fast or look left or right, they dislodge a bit. Sound: To paraphrase Zeos: If a your headphones are made by the same company that made your keyboard, the sound is crap Gaming: It has nice features for chat/sound mix, never noticed any lag. Features: Wireless range was nice and auto-shutoff worked well. Battery: Battery life kind of sucked and battery indicator and low battery warning system is terrible.

The best of the best

Literally the best headset Ive ever used, and Ive tried quite a few. My brother owns a pair of high-end Astros and I actually like these better because I find that they dont hurt my head or ears at all and theyre very lightweight. The included tiny bluetooth connector makes the whole user experience very plug and play and gives it great sound quality and solid connection which I love. The sound quality for both music and gaming is pretty incredible by the way. I would consider myself an audiophile and while these arent necessarily studio quality, the sound profile was impressive to me. Very balanced/loud, and while I wish there was slightly stronger bass response, for wireless headphones I cant complain at all. For gaming, the sound profile works extremely well which is the point of this product anyway. A lot of people in the reviews complained about the build quality and them breaking easily or losing elasticity in the headband, but I havent experienced any of those issues and its been a few months now. As long as you take good care of them theyll be fine. The only bad thing about this headset is that the microphone is slightly annoying to pull out or push back in and the mute button can also be kind of annoying to find with your finger and push every time you need it. However, I kind of like that the microphone hides inside the headset because it protects it really well, especially in transit, so its a double-edged sword. But those are tiny cons anyway. This is definitely in my list of top 10 amazon purchases of all time. UPDATE: The Arctis 7 is still an amazing headset. My one gripe after a year is the quality of the MicroUSB charging port. After about 8 months, it somehow got damaged even though I took great care of it and I could no longer wear the headset and charge it at the same time without taping or clipping the cable in a certain position. It makes me a little sad considering everything else about this headset was such a great experience. I tried to get a replacement and Steelseries was willing to do so, but they were making me jump through hoops and asked me to purposefully break my old headset and send pictures so I couldn’t fix or resell it instead of just sending it back??? The whole thing kinda rubbed me the wrong way and I just gave up and bought the Arctis Pro since I was getting tired of charging anyway. But yeah I really wish they just used a USB-C port instead. MicroUSB is so fragile.

Going into these after using the Astro A50s for years, I was expecting a lower quality headset. I was a little surprised at just how well these performed compared to top of the line headsets. The noise cancellation in both the mic and headset are great. The mic doesnt pic up much stray noise (the fan in the other corner of my room never gets picked up) and when you have the headset you hear NOTHING. Sometimes this is a little worrying honestly, as with the A50s i could at least hear loud noises but with these i could even hear my door to my room open and close. With the surround sound, you can tell a slight difference in the sound coming from the two earphones. The right one is more sensitive and footsteps will be louder. This was a non issue for me as i could still hear movement from the left ear cup just fine. Unless youre really into audio and care about specifics in surround sound headsets, it will be a nonissue and people tend to over exaggerate the issue. I will note that if you are using this for the PS4, the dial that lets you choose the balance between game and chat audio will not work. You will have to manually do this in the party settings on the PS4 itself, or in the games menu when you first play a game. Again, this is a small workaround that will probably take 30 seconds to fix whenever you launch a game for the first time. The mic also was a little quiet for me. The mic volume output is a setting thats also in the Party Settings on the PS4. You will have to mess with this for any headset though, so no complaints there. Overall, this headset is really great for the price. If you want perfection then youre going to have to spend the big bucks, but this headset is really close. Id shop from steeleseries again for future headsets

This headset is a neck killer! If you have an elevated monitor (where you look up at an angle all day) then you likely wont have the same discomfort that I did with this headset. If your desk setup has you looking down or at a decline, you will likely have more neck aches. I am only giving so many stars because the features are very good and the design seems more durable than what Ive had before. The chat mix feature (the volume knob on the right) is very helpful since Im in a voice chat almost every day. I also like being able to use an audio jack to pump audio from my phone or other device into the headset wirelessly through the dongle plugged into my computer. I have my Nintendo Switch hooked up to my desk, and when I use an aux cord, I can have audio from both my computer and my Switch going into this headset. I am giving this headset one star for noise cancelling because it does not have active noise cancelling. It will reduce noise passively, but not to a level that I would call this a noise cancelling pair of headphones.

I spend multiple hours researching wireless over-the-ear headsets and finally came down to the Arctis 5 and the 7. I however did not put the 9 or Pro series in the mix due to my use-case and cost. From a gaming perspective, the audio switching from game to discord voice chat is amazing, given that I select the correct audio option (there is a Game and Chat option for audio to make this work correctly). Its so convenient to fade out the game audio to hear voice chat a little better rather than digging through game options mid game and wasting time, especially when seconds matter. Same with when my friends are talking too loud and I need to focus on the game. From a music/audio perspective, this headset offers a very good audio mixer to adjust playback to the exact way I like to listen to music. The 7.1 surround makes movies sound exactly as they were intended to be watched. Battery life is amazing, Im able to use the headset all day and then some on just a single charge, which was a huge deal for me. I had a pair of wired Razer Megalodons before this and was worried that battery life was going to be an issue, but so far Ive been blown away by the 7s performance. Ive used the mic one time during a voice chat session and was immediately told it sounded terrible when compared to my Blue Snowball. So if you do not have an external mic, do not expect perfection from this headset. But, this is common among headset mics.