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

I absolutely loved these headphones. They worked amazing for 4 years, but unfortunately, the charging port literally fell out of them today. I feel that the port is a big enough issue where i cant give this 5 stars, but Ill give it 4 for the years of excellent sound quality. The charging port was noticeably loose and didnt connect well after one year, but I made due with adjusting the position of the cord for a while. Wish I could afford a new pair now, but will keep an eye out for a sale.

ok so. This is my 1st review on a product so dont expect pro level stuff. I bought this headset awhile back when my corsair headphones broke. (bass faded out and i was getting tired of hearing a cracking sound from the item. After receiving the headset in the mail I was surprised by simplify box decoration of it. After getting all the components out of the box it toke me about 10 mins of setting up and reading the instruction book and light installs of the software to the headphones. After all that the headphones works like a dream. Tho, The only down side i could even come close to is this. Charing the headset is a bit a of issue. i understand that its wireless and that means it will need a battery within it. But the simple Red for near dead, Yellow for half way & Green for good to go kind of (in my own opinion ) should be replaced with a number percent. telling you and showing you how much you have. All and All, good headset work your money

I was initially deterred by a couple of the negative reviews about the Arctis 7 headphones, but decided to take the risk and try them out. I have had mine now for about half a month and absolutely love them! Pros: - Very comfortable. I can wear these for 6+ hours at a time, through work and games, without issue. - Good battery life - Granular surround and equalizer configuration options using SteelSeries Engine - There is a dial on the back right earcup that allows you to change the volume balance of a voice chat (e.g. Discord) and the rest of your computers audio output. I love this feature and use it a lot in situations such as when Im playing a multiplayer game and need to hear the voice chat better or vice versa. - Great sound. I own a pair of AirPods Pro and Bose QuietComforts and find that the sound from the Arctis holds up well against those. Im no audiophile but can appreciate a good soundstage and balance. Cons: - The mic extension feels flimsy and Im worried Ill accidentally break it if I tug on it too hard. I definitely try to be extra careful handling that. - Like some other reviews mention, the volume dials are easy to accidentally move if you are putting the headphones on or taking them off. - Like most wireless headsets, the mic isnt going to be absolutely stunning, and Ive had a couple of people comment on my loss of voice quality since switching from a wired headset. This isnt a huge deal by any means, but Id suggest pairing these with a more serious condenser mic if you care about that sort of thing. Overall, I love the freedom afforded to me by wireless headphones, and the Arctis 7 more than satisfy my wants for a gaming headset.

Comfortable for long periods. 24+ hour battery life. The clearest mic Ive ever used short of prosumer/professional grade kit. All of that, and somehow the sound quality is also amazing. I could gush on end for an hour or more about these. I recommend them to anyone whos budget would afford them. I even bought a second pair because my girlfriend liked mine so much. Ive got 5 different sets of wired cans that are far more expensive than these. Audiophile-grade stuff. For most, there will be very little difference in sound quality. I actually prefer these over the others because they are comfy as well. The only set that actually rivals them is my Sennheisers, but those are on my desk at work. Before I got these and for a while after, I was using a Blue Yeti (one of the ones from before Logitech bought them) for comms with my friends and family. One day, the USB port broke off the Yeti so I started using the mic on these. Everyone said it was better. Said I was clearer than before and there was less background noise despite noise gates and filtering software used with the Yeti. I still bought a replacement, but only for table usage... for one-on-one I still prefer the Arctics mic. Did I mention theyre comfy? I have a fat head and mid-size ears. They fit and cushion perfectly. My Sennheisers feel better, but both of my Fostex sets are lacking in comparison. This is comparing to other, more expensive over-ears mind you. I make the above comparisons because if you go to a bunch of gaming enthusiasts and ask them what kind of gaming headphones you should get, they will ALWAYS tell you to get a good set of cans without a mic. Something youd listen to an album with. My observation is that before I tried these that was indeed what I would recommend. But now Im a believer. Ive use sets from Kingston (HyperX), Razer, Corsair and a few others and none of those could stand up to halfway-decent audiophile targeted cans paired with a standard desk mic. Steelseries made me a believer with the Arctic 7.

The headset is just the right weight--it doesnt fall off your head if you dont wear a hat. The batter life and the range are incredible so you arent constantly charging or losing connection as you walk around the house. I have used other brands, but im never changing now unless the quality drops at some point.

All the advertised features (besides stereo sound and microphone) have stopped working for me on Windows 10. I had my suspicions, but the issue didnt become apparent until I was watching Netflix show that had 5.1 audio, and noticed I was missing the center audio channel (I could hear background noises, but there was no dialog). I switched over to my 5.1 speaker system and confirmed the problem was only with the Arctis 7. The headphone software allows you to toggle 7.1 audio on, but offers absolutely no solutions for testing. Windows does not light up the Configure button on either of the Arctis 7 audio devices, so its also impossible to test from there. Since the problem only started after reinstalling Windows 10 after getting a new motherboard / CPU, it seems like the problem is a conflict with my onboard audio system / software. What is Steel Series solution? Uninstall all other audio software on your computer, uninstall any VPN software, then follow a series of troubleshooting steps (remove all Arctis devices from Device Manager, uninstall software, reboot, etc). I tried this the best I could, but it did not resolve the issue. The request to uninstall all other audio software / any VPN software (WTF?) is totally absurd in this day and age and is not happening. Im also not going to spend hours and hours troubleshooting a terribly designed product (I did that way too much when I was younger). --- Beyond the above deal breaker / in terms of the other headset features / quality, its so-so. The audio quality sounded good in 7.1 mode while it lasted, but was not as good as my previous Logitech set. The stereo audio sounds very muddy / tinty; its almost unbearable. Now I only use this headset when my other bluetooth headset is recharging. The build quality is surprisingly good, but the Volume Wheel and Chat Mix wheels are terribly placed; your thumbs naturally rest on them when you don / doff the headphones, frequently causing you to accidentally roll one of the wheels (more on this below). The microphone pull out system and the mic mute button are great. I wish the headset had a basic pause / play button, and maybe even skip forward / skip back buttons. The software has always been a complete nightmare, ranging from frustration, to facepalm design choices: -Why doesnt it have a popup notification via Windows 10 saying the battery is low? -Why do I need to get 3 clicks deep to just see the battery level? I have to: expand system tray list > double click the slow / clunky software > be greeted with a home screen full of advertisements I didnt consent to > click Engine > wait 10 seconds for it to load the battery level. Why cant I right click the sys tray icon (or hover) for the battery percentage? It seems like Steel Series deliberately made you click through their home screen full of ads to get to the battery percentage. -Why is the battery level displayed as a microscopic 3 bar battery icon instead of just giving me the percentage? Or why cant I hover over that little battery icon to get a full percentage? -Why cant I disable the useless (never works) Chat Mix feature? I cant tell you how many times Ive accidentally slid the Chat Mix roll wheel all the way down, effectively muting the device, and wasted a couple minutes trying to figure out the problem. Why do I need to go to insane lengths to get the feature to work in the first place? It seems like Steel Series is deliberately trying to make it extremely cumbersome to switch to another audio device (effectively forcing away the competition).

So it clearly states 24h battery, but Ive never gotten more than 14 out of mine. And while granted, 14 hours is enough for all day, Id like to have known that up front. Also the fact that SteelSeries has their own proprietary connection is still kind of annoying, especially with how much they charge for a replacement. Also, I personally hate the Game Chat dial feature. On more than one occasion I have not realized it was dialed all the way to Game and not realized I couldnt hear anyone talking. One time it even happened in a meeting, very embarrassing. There is no indication or alert or anything about it. There could be zero activity and Game and maxed volume sounds in Chat, but if the dial is set to Game, you would never know. I have no problems with clamping or the ski fabric that other users have. But there is one feature that the Arctis 7 has that I really like. The transceiver includes Line In and Line Out ports. This is really great for me if I want to use my computers audio, but also want audio from my PS4 or Switch or phone. Gone are the days of my wearing headphones over earbuds.

Arctis 7 wireless headset. First off, I am playing on a PS4 for a month now. It seems those with software issues must be on PC as there is no software anywhere in sight for my setup. Ease of use 5 stars. Plug in the dongle and turn on the headset. Boom, it works. Take a break, walk to the kitchen 40 feet away and still hear your team talking and game sound the same as being in the game room. Audio 5 stars. I have had no issues with audio quality. It has rich sound and is very directional. Microphone 3 stars. It works, but clan mates say its quiet. Had to turn up dialogue volume to max on the PS4. Mic has to stay close to my mouth. Pull on the retractable mic too much and it makes a beep. No microphone monitor, which means you cant hear yourself talk (which leads to others not being able to hear you talk and you wont know it until they tell you). Comfort 4 stars. I have a 7 5/8 hat size which is large. I adjusted the material about as big as I could make it and while its not the most comfy, I can wear it for an hours-long raid in Destiny 2 without pain. Charging - 2 stars. USB-2 charging, but its iffy at best. Plug it in and hope its charging. The mic red light comes on but after an overnight charge it still shows yellow on the power button. Turn it off again, then on again, and sometimes the light will be green. Charging port does seem to be finicky, which is suboptimal. Battery life - 5 stars. When its fully charged it lasts for multiple long afternoon/evening play time. Overall I can put up with the above issues. But next time Ill probably go with something else. Update 12-27-2021 Now using with a PS5. Plugged in the dongle and the console found it immediately. Still not the most comfy headset on the planet but it works. If you charge it overnight and turn it off before unplugging it, the charge light turns green. If you unplug it then turn it on, the charge light is yellow like the day before. Odd. Durability is good but I dont throw things... The mic is still not great for me, but again, turning up the dialogue volume on the PS5 addresses that. Probably about 70% volume so people can Hera me. Now they hear me breathing though. Balance is not easy to find in this area. Sound is still good. Im not sure the PS4 or 5 support 7.1 sound, but it is directional and in the few occasions Ive put it on backwards, I noticed right away I did something dumb lol... I still wouldnt buy it again because of the oddities it has. It works, but I think for the money you should be able to get a much better headset in terms of comfort and usability.

I work in VR and spend 5 hours a day on a voice call in Discord communicating with coworkers about bugs found and tasks needing to be done. My previous headphones were Bluetooth and worked great for me to hear, but my outgoing audio was atrocious. I got these in 2021 and havent regretted the decision since. The difference in audio is night and day, even to my hearing-impaired ears, and the mic is comparable in quality to my USB condenser mic. Its held up well over this 1+ year span, with being used for over 24 hours a week. Mic still works great, and audio is still top-notch. The only drawback Ive found is when using this with my Quest 2. Plugged in with an AUX cable, it works, but audio from the Quest is much quieter than the audio coming from my PC. Since Im hearing-impaired, I need the audio from the Quest to be as loud as or louder than the PC audio. I normally use a different pair of headphones with my Quest for that reason (Aftershokz bone conduction), but when I go to stream gameplay in my off time on Twitch or YouTube, I need a way to hear Text to Speech reading out my chat; hence needing the dual function of the Arctis 7. Which means I sacrifice being able to hear the game well in favor of being able to hear chat. My situation is not that common, I know; thats why I rated 5 stars and just put 4 stars in Sound Quality beneath that. Overall, these are 5 star headphones.

I wanted this headset mainly due to that many influencers uses it such as faze and etc. I thought it was going to be the best of the best, but was disappointed. The sound that the headset produces comes out tinny and dried out. I tried to fix the audio by downloading the software and trying out my own settings. I’ve also tried other people’s settings. This headset isn’t known for its noise cancellation feature, so don’t hold too much expectation on that. It doesn’t block out that much noise. You can still hear people within a 10-15ft radius. The build of the headset isn’t up to par, but I can deal with it. The design of the headset, the Way it can swivel makes the frame ridged. I’m not a fan of the band used the adjust the size. If you have a big head the top of the headset bar would sit on your head. It can get uncomfortable especially because it doesn’t have that much padding. Overall I would buy this headset due to the hype surrounding it. I love the matte black it looks sleek. I would not buy this headset for the price even though it’s wireless or Bluetooth. I gave the “Gaming” category a 4/5 due to the hype. I gave the “sound quality” a 3/5 because it’s not the great for the price. I gave the “noise cancellation” a 2/5 because it’s pretty much non existent. If you have the original soft mesh material it’s not going to do much. If you have the leather it’s an improvement, but annoying how you can’t chose before buying.