The Art of Gaming Headsets: A Review of the SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 7.1 Gaming Headset
In this review, we'll take a closer look at the SteelSeries Arctis 7 wireless 7.1 gaming headset, one of the latest additions to the gaming headset market. As an avid gamer and tech enthusiast, I'm excited to share my thoughts on this new headset.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7 is a wireless gaming headset that boasts impressive features at an affordable price point of $150. The first thing that catches your eye is its sleek design, which is reminiscent of the Arctis 5 model. However, as I mentioned earlier, there's no RGB lighting on this particular model, which was a disappointment for me.
One of the standout features of the Arctis 7 is its wireless receiver, which is a little puck with a decent length USB cable. The receiver offers line in and out passthrough to mix in external audio, although placement of that is probably inconvenient for most users. Additionally, the SteelSeries Engine 3 software allows you to control Equalizer presets, Dynamic Range Compression to normalize audio levels, and enabling the DTX Heapdhone:X 7.1 virtual surround.
However, my excitement about this headset was somewhat tempered when I realized that the virtual surround feature can be a bit of a curse. When enabled, it turns your headphones into a soup of audio swishing all over the place, making directional audio in stereo mode impossible to enjoy. The software also lets you adjust mic volume and what they call "Mic Sidetone," which is sometimes referred to as "Mic Loopback" and is just how much you can hear yourself in the cans from the mic.
The microphone on the Arctis 7 is also a topic of discussion among enthusiasts, with some claiming it's one of the best gaming headset microphones available. In my opinion, it's good but not exceptional compared to other options like the ModMic. The mic picks up all handling noise and can be quite annoying for gamers who want to keep their levels low.
In terms of sound quality, I was somewhat underwhelmed by the Arctis 7. While the soundstage is close-up and closed-back, it's not as wide or immersive as some other gaming headsets on the market. The directional/positional audio was great for me, however, and I had no problem identifying enemies in games like Overwatch and vocals were clear and crisp in Diablo.
One of the biggest surprises for me was how much I enjoyed listening to games with this headset. While the soundstage may not be as wide or immersive as some other headsets, it's still good enough to enjoy gaming. The wireless nature also makes it easier to sleep or relax with while gaming, which is a definite plus.
However, there are some downsides to owning an Arctis 7. For one, the metal band in the headset actually makes it a little heavier than the H Wireless, although the suspension band keeps it from feeling that way. Additionally, the mixer box can be easily broken if you're not careful, which is a bit of a concern for some users.
Despite these minor drawbacks, I think the SteelSeries Arctis 7 wireless 7.1 gaming headset is well worth its $150 price tag. The combination of features, sound quality, and wireless convenience make it an excellent choice for gamers who want a reliable and enjoyable headset without breaking the bank. As always, product links will be in the description below, so be sure to check those out if you're interested in picking up this headset for yourself.
Product Links:
* SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 7.1 Gaming Headset
* SteelSeries Engine 3 Software
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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHonestly, I’m a little tired of reviewinggaming headsets.I’ve reviewed a lot, and tried even more.I really feel like the gaming peripheral markethas turned into annual recycle-fest, withvery little innovation anymore.So it’s almost ironic that the first headsetI’ve been genuinely excited for to reviewin a long time is such because of a wish Ihad following my SteelSeries H Wireless reviewthree years ago.Does the Arctis 7 hold any ground to whatI still consider to be the best gaming headsetI’ve ever reviewed?Let’s take a look.TunnelBear is the fast and easy VPN servicethat keeps your data safe and secure, behinda bear.Sign up for your 7-day free trial and learnmore via the link in the video description.I’m EposVox, here to make tech easier andmore fun.SteelSeries advertises their new Arctis 7as “the best overall gaming headset 2017.”Is this true?The Arctis 7 is a wireless gaming headsetwith a suspension style headband.This is the most comfortable style of bandfor my head - and back when I reviewed theH Wireless in 2014, I personally requestedsomething like that but in the form factorof the Siberia headsets. 3 years later, they’vedelivered, and for half the price!Only 150 dollars for a good wireless headsetis a pretty rockin value, in my opinion.The headphones feature a metal band framewith rubber pad, but a suspension headbandthat wraps around.These come in a few different styles, thoughthe default black and grey is my favorite.The suspension-style band keeps the weightoff of the top of your head - a big sourceof headaches for me with headphones - butcan result in more clamping pressure.I don’t feel like there’s much pressure,it’s a fairly loose fit, though not looseenough to fall off my head.That does mean it might be too loose for thosewith smaller heads than my giant noggin.The ear pads are nice and soft, and provideenough padding to keep the drivers off ofmy ears without being too stiff.“AirWeave” material is what SteelSeriescalls it - designed to keep things dry andcool.Works well enough for me, my head stays surprisinglynot hot and sweaty in these.Kudos.They fold out for this “let them sit onyour neck” thing that supposedly someonedoes, but these - as with most other headphones- hold my neck way too tight for me to everdo that.Feels like I’m choking, no thank you.The outside of the can is a rubber-y materialwhich can grip dust, but the overall matteaesthetic is nice and much more favorablethan a glossy shine - though the microphoneend is glossy, so that’s an annoying inconsistency.The cans feature a variety of plugs, buttonsand dials, and this gets a little messy.On the left, you have the slide-out microphone,a mute button, volume dial, and then…err, this gets weird.There’s a microUSB plug for charging, a3.5mm jack for audio sharing - you can hookup another pair of headphones to these andhear out of those, too.This is a neat feature that I might’ve usedas a young kid, but not these days.In this recessed bit, you have a weird sort-ofmini USB plug like would come on older cameras- not the normal mini USB.This is used for the 4-pole smartphone adapterin case you wanted to use these with yourphone - again, someone does this I guess.The mute button is fairly annoying.It sticks out when enabled, so you can findit easily to unmute, though it might takea couple times to push it all the way in.But when it’s not muted, I always wind upflicking the volume dial trying to find it,and then about push the cans off my head topress it in.Quite annoying.On the right, you have another volume dialand the power button.This volume dial is for the game-chat mixer.YES!I’ve talked about headsets like this inmy OBS tutorials and people thought I wascrazy.The USB wireless transmitter installs twoaudio devices to your computer - one for “game”and one for “chat” - though you can usethem for whatever you like.The volume dial on the right ear is your mixercontrol.All the way up is 100% game 0% chat, middleis 50-50, all the way down is 100% chat.This is a fantastic feature for gamers andespecially game streamers - and I wish moreheadsets had this capability.Sound-wise, I actually enjoy the Arctis 7.It struggles a bit with the typical “oomph”you get from gaming headsets.The quality sounds fine, highs mids and lowsare actually pretty well-balanced.But the sound just feels a bit…weak, I guess?I don’t know, it doesn’t feel as “powerful”or “strong” as the H Wireless, which isquite disappointing.It’s still good and fine, and most peopleprobably won’t even notice - but even witha EQ preset applied, I just don’t feel likethe drivers are strong enough to provide aboomy gaming experience.Kinda strange to experience in the age ofbass-heavy cans.To be honest, a side effect of this meansthat I don’t get anywhere near as much “earfatigue” from listening with them, but Ido find myself “craving more.”I dunno.It has a close-up, closed-back soundstage,but more than good enough to enjoy gaming.Directional/positional audio was great forme, and I had no problem identifying enemiesin games like Overwatch, and vocals were clearand crisp in Diablo.This headset isn’t great for ASMR for me.I was hoping it would be, since the wirelessnature makes it easier to sleep or relax with,but the soundstage isn’t wide enough toreally get the tingles going for binauralaudio, for me at least.I did have an issue where if the mixer dialwas half-way or close to the chat side, left-sideaudio was stronger or louder than the rightside for a few weeks.This is no longer the case, but I never reallynarrowed down the cause.Was very strange.There is no RGB lighting on this headset,though.I was disappointed to see this after watchingthe Hardware Canucks’ review of the Arctis5.I thought I had just missed the option inthe SteelSeries Engine software, but nope,RGB is only on the wired Arctis 5 model.Oh well.The metal band in the Arctis 7 actually makesit a little heavier than the H Wireless, butthe suspension band keeps it from feelingthat way.The wireless receiver is a little puck witha decent length USB cable.It features line in and out passthrough tomix in external audio, though placement ofthat is probably inconvenient for most.The SteelSeries Engine 3 software is alright.There’s always a bunch of updating to dowhen you first plug in a device.It gives you control over Equalizer presets,Dynamic Range Compression to normalize audiolevels, and enabling the DTX Heapdhone:X 7.1virtual surround.As always, it’s your choice if you wantto use it, but I cannot stand it.Dimitry said it best and now I can’t getthe phrase out of my head for this subject- virtual surround turns your headphones intoa soup of audio swishing all over the place.Directional audio is just fine in stereo modewith these cans, virtual surround ruins that.Vocals get echoey and actual positioning isinaccurate af.If you wanna really test it for yourself,pull up a good ASMR video with proper binauralaudio.Listen in stereo and hear as they move aroundthe left and right sides.Then turn on virtual surround and hear hownothing is right.It will ruin you forever on virtual surround.The software also lets you adjust mic volumeand what they call “Mic Sidetone.”This is sometimes also referred to as “MicLoopback” and is just how much you can hearyourself in the cans from the mic.This helps keep your from yelling at chatsince you can’t hear your own levels.Speaking of the microphone, SteelSeries alsoclaims this to be the best gaming headsetmicrophone.You’ve been hearing it for the past minuteor so.You can decide for yourself.In my opinion, it’s good, but probably notthe best.Especially compared to something like theModMic, it just doesn’t cut it.The mic also picks up ALL handling noise andcan annoy the crap out of your gaming buddies.So that’s it!The SteelSeries Arctis 7 wireless 7.1 gamingheadset.It’s pretty nice, but I’m not sure ifit holds up to the SteelSeries H Wirelessand it’s big, but easily-breakable mixerbox.But for a mere $150 - which is cheap for agreat headset - I’d say it’s probablyworth it.As always, product links will be in the descriptionbelow.Like the video if you liked it, and subscribefor more awesome tech content.EposVox is a Patreon-supported production.Our videos would simply not be possible withoutthe support and generosity of our patrons- whom you can see on-screen now.If you'd like to join the inner-circle andget early access to videos, among other things,go to Patreon.com/EposVox to learn more.\n"
