SteelSeries Arctis 7 2019 Edition Wireless  Headphones Review

The design has changed slightly from the previous generation, SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 2017. The hard outer headband is more rounded, and the ear cups have extra padding. The microphone can retract inside the left ear cup for a more casual look. If you want flashier headphones, you can buy headband straps and backplates with various designs from the SteelSeries website.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 are comfortable headphones. Their earcups have slightly thicker padding compared with their predecessor, and it feels soft on the skin as well as more porous, which helps with airflow. However, if your ears or head are big, your ears may touch the headphones' drivers, which can become tiring. The unique ski-band headband can also feel a little tight on larger heads, and it can't be expanded beyond the length of the strap. If you're looking for comfortable gaming headphones without the ski-band design, check out the Astro A50 Gen 4 Wireless 2019 wireless headset.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have mediocre controls. Very similar to the previous generation, the left cup has a channel mixing wheel and a power button, while the right cup has a volume wheel and a mic-mute button. The wheels have a slightly more raised texture compared with the ones on the SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 2017. Unlike the similarly gaming-oriented SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless, these headphones lack music/call management buttons, which some may find limits their versatility.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 are passably breathable. Their ear cups have porous padding that helps with airflow but still traps quite a bit of heat. While they aren't well-suited for wearing during workouts, they shouldn't be too much of a problem if you're casually gaming.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 headphones have sub-par portability. Like the SteelSeries Arctis Prime, they're fairly bulky. The ear cups swivel to lay flat, but the headband can't fold into a more compact shape. However, if you mostly use this gaming headset at home, portability shouldn't be much of an issue.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have an impressive build quality. The metal headband is flexible but sturdy, the ear cup padding feels dense, and the boom microphone has a bendy, retractable arm. They should survive a few drops or impacts without taking too much damage. However, the ear cups' backplates are a weaker point and feel like they could come off if they're knocked around or dropped too much. On the upside, these headphones are much better-built than the similar-looking SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless. If you're looking for an even better-built gaming headset, check out the Logitech G Pro X Gaming Headset.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have good stability. They shouldn't move around too much during light physical activity like a walk, but they're fairly bulky and may fall off during a workout or other more intense physical activities.

• SteelSeries Arctis 7 headset
• USB dongle
• Micro-USB to USB-A charging cable
• 1/8" TRRS audio cable
• Manuals

The SteelSeries Arctis 7's sound profile really depends on how they fit on your head. Their position, seal, and whether you have glasses or thick hair all affect sound delivery and can result in inconsistent bass and treble. Once properly fitted to your head, you should get consistent delivery. With a good fit, they have a somewhat neutral sound profile with some overemphasis in the mid and high-bass ranges, which adds some boominess, as well as in the mid-treble, which adds sharpness. If you don't like how they sound out-of-the-box, you can use the graphic EQ in the companion app to customize the sound profile.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have disappointing frequency response consistency. While the bass is somewhat consistent, there can be a drop in bass for some users such as those who wear glasses as the ear cups may not fit properly flush to the head. The treble range is inconsistent too. As the overall frequency response depends on the fit, seal, and positioning, once you achieve a good overall fit, you should get a more consistent frequency response each time you use them. Take a look at the Astro A20 Gen 2 Wireless if you're looking for wireless gaming headphones that deliver audio more consistently.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have decent bass accuracy, but delivery may vary depending on how they fit you. They lack some low bass, which reduces thump and rumble, which an overemphasis on mid and high-bass adds punch and body but can also make mixes sound boomy. However, bass delivery can be sensitive to fit, seal, and whether you have thick hair or glasses, so make sure you take the time to properly adjust them. This bass accuracy performance represents the average response, and your experience may vary.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have great mid accuracy. The overemphasis in the high-bass continues a bit into the low-mid range, which could make mixes sound cluttered and muddy, but otherwise, the rest of the range is quite neutral. There's some discrepancy between the left and right drivers' response in the mid to high-mid range, but it shouldn't be too noticeable.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have good treble accuracy, but delivery can vary depending on the user. A small dip in the low treble veils instruments and lead vocals, while a big peak in the mid-treble makes sibilants like cymbals and S and T sounds seem sharper and more piercing. However, this treble accuracy performance represents the average response, and your experience may vary.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7's peaks and dips performance is satisfactory. A peak in the high-bass adds boominess to the mix while a dip in the low treble veils vocals and lead instruments. Another peak in the mid-treble adds sharpness to sibilants. The left driver also is slightly overemphasized while the right driver is underemphasized, particularly in the mid-range.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7's imaging is good. While there are some peaks in the bass range that are above the group delay's audibility threshold, it may not be audible for most users. There's also some mismatch in amplitude between the left and right drivers, which can be noticeable. While there are reports online that describe the drivers performing differently and producing a slightly skewed image, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7's soundstage is mediocre. Sound seems to be coming from outside your head, but it may seem unnatural or odd compared with listening to real speakers set up a room. The soundstage is somewhat spacious, but because of the closed-back design, it may not feel as open as what you experience with open-back headphones.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have DTS virtual surround support and a simple speaker modeling feature, although we don't currently test these features.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have very good weighted harmonic distortion performance. Overall, all frequencies fall within good limits, which should result in clear and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when listening using these settings.

These headphones have poor noise isolation performance. Like most other gaming headphones like the SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless, they block virtually no low-frequency sounds like the rumble of bus and plane engines. They're also inadequate if you want to isolate yourself from office-type noise like ambient chatter. They do a decent job of blocking out higher-pitched sounds, however, so if you're running an A/C unit near your gaming setup, you won't hear its sharp hum as much.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have a decent leakage performance. Most of the leakage is in the mid-range, so it sounds fuller compared to most in-ear headphones, which tend to leak mostly high-frequency noise that sounds thin. If you're in an office setting, people may hear a small amount of your audio when you're listening at high volumes.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7's microphone has a very good recording quality. Your voice sounds clear and full-bodied but lacks a bit of brightness and airiness.

The boom microphone has impressive noise handling. It can easily separate your voice even in places with a lot of background noise, like gaming tournaments.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7's battery performance is amazing. They offer 25 hours of continuous battery life plus an adjustable auto-off timer in the companion software, so you can immerse yourself in your MMO for hours without worrying about the battery dying. You can simultaneously charge them and use them wirelessly or use them passively via their included audio cable.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have impressive app support. SteelSeries Engine is a great companion app that offers plenty of useful features. The software is easy to use, as all the controls are on a single page. It has a graphic EQ with presets, surround support, an adjustable auto-off timer, and adjustable microphone volume control. If you like different configurations in different situations, you can save your settings and switch between them. However, you need to use the transmitter if you want your EQs and settings to work. If you like special features and enjoy the look of RGB lighting, check out the Logitech G935 Wireless or the Razer Nari Ultimate Wireless, which both have superb apps.

Update 08/06/2021: These headphones have been updated to test bench 1.5. In this update, we made changes to the way we test latency. We now use a click track in our software and we measure latency three times and average the results. This new method has resulted in different latency values than what we had reported in our previous test bench. We have updated our review to reflect these changes.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have mediocre non-Bluetooth wireless connectivity. Their line of sight range is decent, allowing you to use them further away from their audio source. However, their latency is quite high, which may not be ideal for gaming, as it could result in your audio and visuals falling out of sync. If you're looking for wireless gaming headphones that offer a lower latency connection, consider the SteelSeries Arctis 7P+ Wireless or the ROCCAT Elo 7.1 Air Wireless.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 use a proprietary audio cable compatible with most consoles. They also come with a micro-USB to USB-A cable for charging the headphones as well as a wireless USB dongle. If you're looking for a wired gaming headset, the more pricey SteelSeries Arctis Pro GameDAC or the simpler, cheaper SteelSeries Arctis 5 2019 Edition are good choices.

You can use these headphones with Xbox One and Xbox Series X if you plug the 1/8" TRRS cable into the controller, which allows you to use the microphone and receive audio. However, they don't work with Xbox Wireless, so you can't use them wirelessly with Xbox. If you're looking for a wireless gaming headset that's fully compatible with the Xbox, check out the SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless or the SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7 have a small wireless USB dongle base/dock. It doesn't have dock charging but it has a line in and a line out. The dock's also only compatible with PC, PS4, and PS5 consoles.