In the midst of a war to lead the high-end gaming headsets, these Steelseries Arctis 7 represents the pinnacle of the Arctis range and possibly one of the emblems to question most inquisitively, when we consider making such an investment with the enormous amount of options that exist on the market with this budget.
It is difficult to make a decision with this type of product, since, on the one hand, we will find weak points regarding the sound quality at a musical level, and on the other hand, we will see one of the most complete headphones in terms of features, which could turn out to be the definitive product for most home users.
Just by looking at the design, it is already obvious that we are looking at some headsets designed for people interested in video games and gaming in generalThere's an unwritten rule that any closed-back headset with a built-in microphone is inherently gaming, and the Steelseries Arctis 7 is no exception.
At the same time, its uniqueness as a wireless headset could be called into question due to its reaction speed or latency, in order to offer the best experience, especially for those players more Aimed at competitive and multiplayer versions.
Design and comfort
One of the advantages that high-end gaming headsets usually bring is that the performance in terms of design and comfort is usually exceptional. It should be noted that, in most cases, this type of headset has to be Designed to catch the eye and endure long hours of use.
The Steelseries Arctis 7 is no exception and we assure you that this is a headset with a Luxurious appearance virtually unrivalled, which will be the envy of most in terms of appearance.
The External materials are spectacular, with metal finishes and very soft to the touch. All the details have been taken care of down to the last millimetre, from the retractable microphone to the connection structure that we will discuss in more detail. Without a doubt, We can give a 10 in this aspect.
How is the sound quality?
Loaded with improvements, this headset tries to compensate for a low quality driver with certain software elements and additional features such as DTS X v2.0 and its capabilities virtual surround, which will make their biggest weakness not be too noticeable. It should be noted that for the price, even much lower, we have alternatives such as the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x that completely sweep away these headphones.
As for the frequencies, we observe that it does not stand out in anything, with about very poor bass and highs, being compensated with excellent mids. We must not forget that the Arctis 7 are not specifically designed for listening to music, but for gaming, and as far as video game sounds are concerned, they are precise, adequate and will not disappoint at any time.
Retractable microphone
Unfortunately, we are not going to have the best microphone on the gaming market either, but it does its job correctly. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects is its very innovative retractable format, given that allows you to hide the microphone inside the headset, which will prevent it from being accidentally damaged and allows it to be stored in a very compact manner.
Noise isolation and cancellation?
It is not a headset explicitly designed to isolate, and obviously can't compete with other headphones that have some kind of active audio cancellation like the Bose QuietComfort 35 IIAccording to the manufacturer, it has background noise cancellation, but we depend a lot on how much the memory foam pads can isolate.
In general terms, and for being closed headphones, they are quite suitable and will give us that immersive experience at our home.
Autonomy and battery life
These headphones have a sufficiently high autonomy to not leave us stranded in the middle of a game, but perhaps insufficient, if we usually leave the house with them, there are other much more interesting and compact alternatives. According to the manufacturer, we are talking about 15 hours of autonomy, although after testing we have been able to verify that it is It is possible to stretch this limit a little., 1 or even 2 hours more, which is pretty good.
The problem comes with the charging, and is that, as we mentioned, by not having that USB-C port, We will not have fast charging, which leads us to think that it is designed to be charged immediately after each gaming session.
SteelSeries Engine 3 Software
As we introduced, this type of headphones usually compensate for their musical deficiencies through software. Since it does not incorporate a digital-analog converter chip, all equalization must be done with the brand's program, which, although not essential, will allow us to have some room for improvement.
Without having high expectations, Thanks to the program, we will be able to enjoy virtual surround sound, something that is not available on video game consoles for obvious reasons.
Who do we recommend these helmets for?
As we have suggested, we are facing some Headphones exclusively designed for gamers. Even though they are wireless, they are designed for home use, and their appearance, although excellent, is not the type of headset that we would want to take out on the street because it is somewhat bulky.
The only problem we see is that the sound does not accompany this high range, something very common in gaming equipment (with rare exceptions such as the HyperX Cloud Alpha, based on the Takstar Pro driver with a very good quality/price ratio), being of a mediocre level, especially when we talk about listening to musical pieces.