STEELSERIES ARCTIS 7 WIRELESS GAMING HEADSET REVIEW

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 is a wireless gaming headset that sits on the the top perch of the company’s Arctis line of headsets. It has an MSRP of $149.99 and features lag-free wireless audio, virtual 7.1 surround sound, and a versatile modular design that lets you use it with PCs, Macs, gaming consoles, VR, and even mobile devices.

Right out of the box, I liked the look of the Arctis 7. I’m a gamer of a certain age and can appreciate the "mature" look of the headset. It eschews cheap attractions such angular plastic molding, aggressive logos, and a garish color scheme. SteelSeries offers the Arctis 7 in either black or white, and both designs are simple and understated. The black version I received for review features matte black surfaces with a silver SteelSeries logo printed on the outside of each earcup. The cloth, "ski-goggle" headband features a gray-and-black pattern; SteelSeries sells more colorful replacement bands for a reasonable $14.99 each if you want to customize your look.

The ski-goggle band loops around the metal headband and stretches to create a comfortable hold on your head. A Velcro fastener lets you adjust the fit somewhat, but it may not provide enough bandwidth for extra-large heads. I have a large head -- 7 3/4 inches for a fitted baseball cap, to be exact -- and had to adjust the Velcro so that it was barely holding on to create enough room. Still, the headset fit just fine and felt extra light thanks to the suspension the ski-goggle band provides.

Also, the headphones are "over ear" but were not super tight against my ears, which I loved. The relaxed fit provides comfort during extended gaming sessions, but it makes it possible to wear glasses with the headset without my glasses being pressed hard against my temples. Because of the small amount of adjustment the ski-goggle band provides, however, small and narrow heads may find the fit of Arctis 7 to be too loose. Best to try on the headset before purchase (Best Buy sells them).

The earcups themselves are exceedingly comfortable. The stock units are oval shaped and fit my ears nicely, and feature what SteelSeries calls AirWeave fabric. The fabric feels soft against your skin -- softer than microfiber cloth -- and yet breathes more than leather. The outside of the earcup has a pleasing, soft-touch coating that feels almost rubbery. If you're not into the AirWeave there are velour replacement ear cushions available as well for $14.99.

Volume controls are easily accessed on each earcup. On the left is a dial for master volume with a mute button above it. On the right earcup is an identical volume dial in the same spot for the ChatMix, that lets you balance the volume of the voices in a group/team chat with the sounds of the actual game. Also on the left earcup is a micro-USB port for charging the headset and a proprietary port that SteelSeries calls the Mobile Cable Jack that connects to a 3.5mm audio jack on a game controller, phone or tablet. The headset is rated for 15 hours of battery life, but you can use it without battery power via the audio jack. Both earcups also rotate to lay flat, making them easier to stuff in a backpack or to rest on your chest between matches.

A retractable microphone sits at the ready on the left earcup, so it can disappear into the earcup when it's not needed. The microphone arm is bendy enough to position in front of your mouth just so, and the microphone itself is bi-directional. More on its performance in the next section.

The headset works right out of the box, connecting to its USB wireless transmitter via a 2.4GHz connection rather than Bluetooth; the transmitter and headset are paired out of the box. One interesting design element is that despite being a wireless headset, it has a 3.5mm jack and there's a compatible cable included which lets you use it as a wired headset for consoles or mobile devices. This is a feature I've not seen on other headsets, and it allows you to use it for much more than gaming, which is pretty awesome.

Though you can use it right away there's also SteelSeries Engine 3 software for either a PC or a Mac available on the company's website. It is easily to navigate and lets you toggle the 7.1 surround sound, which is DTS Headphone:X; the same type found on the recently released Logitech G533 headset. With the software you can toggle surround mode, choose from among Game, Movie and Music presets or create your own profiles, and you can also set your own profiles to autolaunch with specific games or applications. You will need to return to the Engine software to change presets or turn 7.1 surround on and off because the headset lacks any buttons that could perform either function, which you can find on competing models. It's a bit of a hassle but if you set up your presets you won't have to do much on-the-fly switching.

A 40mm driver powers each speaker. With volume at 50 percent, most ambient noises can’t be heard but the because the earcups are fairly compact they do let some ambient sound through. When testing Battlefield 3 and Sleeping Dogs on PC, the sound was big and dynamic with the virtual 7.1 surround sound enabled. The soundstage seemed expansive, with sounds coming from all angles, front and back as well as left and right. Also for cross platform gamers, the 7.1 surround sound is only available on PCs; you’re stuck with stereo sound on Macs, PlayStation and Xbox, phones and tablets. I also found SteelSeries’ claim of lag-free wireless audio to be accurate; I noticed no lag throughout testing, whether using 7.1 or stereo sound.

Music playback in stereo sounded awesome with a wired connection to an iPhone. Highs sounded crisp and the bass thundered on SchoolBoy Q and Kanye’s “That Part.” The earcups may not completely silence background noise but the microphone does. I tested with my phone by talking in front of a loud TV and was told my voice was was loud and clear, with the blaring TV barely audible in the background.