The SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless are the Xbox variant of the SteelSeries Arctis 7P Wireless. Like the 7P, they have a well-built design that's comfortable enough to wear for long gaming marathons and deliver almost 24 hours of battery time. Their boom mic does a great job of recording your voice, even in noisy environments, and thanks to their companion software, you can customize their sound profile using the graphic EQ or presets. Their USB dongle also allows you to wirelessly connect to the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S in addition to PCs as well as PS4 and PS5 consoles with low latency. Unfortunately, like many SteelSeries headphones, they're prone to inconsistent audio delivery.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X are good for neutral sound. They have a boomy and excited sound profile right out of the box. While their soundstage is large and feels out-of-your-head, it doesn't seem spacious due to their closed-back design. Luckily, their companion software offers a graphic EQ and presets so you can tweak their sound. Even though they're very prone to inconsistent audio delivery, once you take the time to adjust their fit, you should get a more consistent sound.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X are sub-par for commute and travel. They're bulky, not very portable, and don't have Bluetooth, so you either need to use them wired or with a device that supports their wireless USB-C dongle. They also don't block out almost any bus or plane engine noise, which can be annoying during your commute. On the upside, they have a comfortable fit and last just under 24 hours continuously.
The SteelSeries 7X are passable for sports and fitness, although this isn't their intended purpose. While they're comfortable and well-built, they can fall off your head with more intense movement, and they don't support Bluetooth, so they need to be used wired or with their wireless USB-C dongle. They also don't have an IP rating for water resistance, though we don't test for it, and their ear cups can trap some heat around your ears, which could make you sweat more.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X are fair for office use. They don't support Bluetooth, but if your computer has a USB-C port, you can connect the dongle for wireless use or can use them wired. They have a comfortable fit and have a battery life of just under 24 hours, which should be more than enough for long days at the office. However, they struggle to block out office chatter.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X are very good for wireless gaming. Thanks to their USB dongle, you can wirelessly connect to PCs, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch consoles with low latency. These headphones have a comfortable fit and last just under 24 hours on a single charge. Their boom mic also does a great job of recording your voice.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X are very good for wired gaming. You can use them with their 1/8" audio cable with full mic and audio support. They also have a comfortable fit and 23.7 hours of continuous playback time, which is good for long gaming marathons. Their boom mic does a great job of recording your voice, even in noisy environments.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X are decent for phone calls. They have a retractable boom mic, which does a good job of recording your voice so that you sound natural and full-bodied. You shouldn't have too much of a problem being understood by whoever's on the other end of the line if you take calls in a noisy environment like a busy street. However, the headphones do a poor job of isolating noise around you, which could make it harder to hear your call.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X are the Xbox console variant of the SteelSeries Arctis 7P Wireless. They come in one color variant: 'Black'. You can see our model's label here.
If you come across another variant, please let us know in the discussions and we'll update our review.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X are the Xbox-wireless variant of the SteelSeries Arctis 7P Wireless and have a very similar design and overall performance. They're also compatible with SteelSeries Engine software, which allows you to customize their sound profile to your liking. Unlike the 7P, however, their USB dongle has a switch that allows you to wirelessly connect to Xbox consoles or PlayStation consoles and PCs with low latency, which makes them more versatile if you own different gaming systems. They don't support Bluetooth, so if you care about this feature, consider the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless instead.
Check out our recommendations for the best Xbox One headsets, the best wireless gaming headsets, and the best gaming headsets.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless are better gaming headphones than the Xbox Wireless Headset. The SteelSeries are better-built, have a more neutral sound profile out-of-the-box, which some users may prefer, and have a better overall mic performance. They have a longer continuous battery life, lower wireless latency, and can be used wirelessly on PCs and PlayStation consoles in addition to Xbox consoles.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless are more versatile than the Razer Kaira Pro Wireless. While both headphones are comfortable and well-built, the SteelSeries have a USB dongle that allows them to be used wirelessly with PlayStation and Xbox consoles. They also have lower wireless latency too, and have a better battery performance. However, the Razer support Bluetooth, which some users may prefer, and have a slightly better performing boom mic.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless and their variants have a slight edge over the SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless. While both headphones are equally comfortable and have similar microphone performances, the Nova 7X variant have a longer continuous playback time and support Bluetooth. However, the Arctis 7X are better built, and their passive soundstage is more immersive.
The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless are better gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless. While both headphones are comfortable, The Arctis Pro support Bluetooth and come with a wireless transmitter dock that offers several different inputs, including USB and Optical. The base also charges the headphones' battery, and it has controls like volume, channel-mixing, and EQ presets. These make it easy for you to adjust your settings while you game. However, the Arctis 7X have full non-Bluetooth wireless compatibility with Xbox consoles.
The SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless and the SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless are similarly performing gaming headphones, and depending on your usage, you may prefer one over the other. Both are comfortable, but the 9X support Bluetooth. However, the 7X have a dongle that allows you to use them wirelessly on PlayStation and Xbox consoles.
The SteelSeries 7P Wireless and the SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless are almost the same, but with a few compatibility differences. While both headphones come with a USB dongle, the 7P isn't wirelessly compatible with Xbox consoles, and the 7X supports both Xbox Wireless technology and a 'USB' protocol so that it can connect to PS4 and PS5 consoles without an issue. That said, both headphones are well-built, comfortable, and have around 24 hours of continuous playback time.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7 2019 Edition Wireless and the SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless are very similar gaming headphones, and depending on your usage, you may prefer one over the other. The Arctis 7 are only wirelessly compatible with PCs, PS4s, and PS5s, whereas the Arctis 7X have a dongle that you can switch to game on either PlayStation and Xbox consoles. The Arctis 7X also have better controls.
The Astro A50 Gen 4 Wireless 2019 are slightly better wireless gaming headphones, although you can use the SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless wired and wireless. The Astro are more comfortable and have a wireless dock with many inputs that also charges the headphones. They have a better-balanced sound profile out-of-the-box, which some users may prefer, and have a better overall performing boom mic. However, the SteelSeries have a better battery performance, and you can use it on Xbox, PC, and PlayStation consoles with either their wireless USB dongle or their 1/8" TRRS cable.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless are better gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless. While both headphones are comfortable and have great overall mic performances, the Arctis 7X have a longer continuous battery life. You can also use them wired or wirelessly with Xbox consoles in addition to PC and PlayStation consoles. However, some users may prefer the Arctis 9 for their Bluetooth compatibility.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless are better gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless. The Arctis 7X are more comfortable, better-built, and have a better overall microphone performance. They also have lower wirelessly latency and can be used wirelessly on Xbox consoles in addition to PC and PlayStation consoles.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless are better gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Artcis Prime. While both headphones are comfortable, the 7X are better-built and can be used wirelessly with low latency, which some users may prefer. However, the Prime's mic has a better recording quality.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X look almost identical to the SteelSeries Arctis 7 2019 Edition Wireless. They have the same sleek black ear cups with a ski-band headband and a retractable boom mic. However, the elastic straps are black with a green motif in a similar style to Xbox consoles.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X are comfortable headphones. Just like the SteelSeries Arctis 7P Wireless, they're a bit heavy and bulky. The ear cups have a good range of motion, and the fabric headband and the padding feel soft. However, not all users may enjoy the ski-band headband design as it can feel tight on large heads, and it can't expand beyond the length of the strap.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X have good controls that are easy to use. They have a volume wheel, a mic-mute button, and a channel mix wheel. There are min/max stops on both wheels and a middle notch on the channel mixer wheel to let you know when you have equal amounts of audio. However, the channel mix function is advertised to only work on Xbox consoles. These headphones have a power button that also offers basic call and music controls. Single pressing it answers and ends a call or plays and pauses your audio. Double tapping it skips to the next track while triple pressing skips to the previous track. The power-on function has feedback. The mic mute/unmute has different tones to let you know which setting you've selected, while the mic has an LED light that turns red when you're muted.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X aren't very portable. Just like most gaming headphones, they're bulky, the ear cups can't swivel to lay flat, and they don't come with a case to protect them when you're on the go. It shouldn't be too much of a problem if you're using them at home, though.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X have a great build quality. Just like the SteelSeries Arctis 7P Wireless, the body is made from dense plastic, and they have cloth padding and an elastic ski-band headband strap. They feel sturdy and should survive being dropped on the floor without taking too much damage, although their yokes and hinges seem like weak links. They also don't have an advertised IP rating for water resistance, which is expected for gaming headphones.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X have good stability. If you're sitting down to game, they shouldn't move around too much on your head. They're not designed for sports, though, so they could fall off during moderate physical exercise. Luckily, their wireless design eliminates the risk of something snagging the audio cable and pulling them off of your head.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X have a boomy, v-shaped sound profile, which can help bring out sound effects as you game while sibilants like cymbals are sharp. However, bass and treble delivery can vary depending on fit, seal, and positioning. Once properly fitted to your head, you should get consistent audio delivery. If you don't like the way they sound, their companion software has a graphic EQ and presets so that you can tweak their sound to your liking.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X have sub-par frequency response consistency. Their bass and treble delivery can vary depending on their fit, seal, and positioning on your head. Users with thick hair and glasses may especially notice a drop in bass as these features can affect their seal.
The SteelSeries 7X have decent bass accuracy. Their low bass is underemphasized, so your mixes lack thump and rumble. That said, the mid to high-bass are overemphasized, adding warmth, punch, and boom. However, some users may find it sounds a bit muddy.
Note, their bass delivery is very sensitive to fit, seal, and positioning. This bass accuracy performance represents the average response, and your experience may vary.
The mid accuracy of the SteelSeries 7X is great. There's a bit of overemphasis coming from the high-bass into the low-mids, making mixes a bit muddy and cluttered. The mid-mid is well balanced, though, which keeps vocals and lead instruments present, although the dip in the high-mids can slightly weaken them.
These headphones have decent treble accuracy. The low-treble is underemphasized, so the upper harmonics of vocals and lead instruments sound veiled. There's also an overemphasis in the mid-treble, making sibilants like S and T sounds sharp and piercing.
Note that treble delivery is sensitive to their fit and positioning. The treble accuracy performance represents the average response, and your experience may vary.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X's peaks and dips performance is satisfactory. There's a peak in the high-mid, which adds boom to your mix. A dip in the low to mid-mids nudges instruments and vocals to the back of the mix. Another dip in the high-mid and low-treble weakens and veils these sounds further. A large peak in the mid-treble makes sibilants like cymbals piercing.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X have great imaging. Most of their weighted group delay falls entirely beneath the audibility threshold, resulting in a transparent treble but a slightly loose bass. The L/R drivers are also well-matched in phase, frequency, and amplitude response, so objects like footsteps and voices should be accurately placed in the stereo image. That said, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X have a mediocre passive soundstage. While it's large and sound is perceived as coming from out in front of you, rather than from inside your head, it doesn't feel as open or spacious as open-back headphones.
These headphones support Window Sonic Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos, although we don't currently test the performance of these features. Some users have also reported that the headphones have DTS:X compatibility, but we couldn't verify this.
Update 07/20/2021: A user has reported bass distortion when using the SteelSeries GG app's 64Hz EQ band above 0dB. We can confirm that there's slight distortion on the 64Hz EQ band above or below 0dB. However, the issue seems limited to this band when it's adjusted using the companion software. We don't currently test for this, though. As a result, the scoring of this box hasn't changed.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless have a 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 the SteelSeries 7X. Our results are only valid when using them in this configuration.
The noise isolation performance of the SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless is poor. They don't block out almost any bass-range noise like bus or plane engines. They also have a hard time reducing mid-range sounds like office chatter. That said, they do better at cutting down high-pitched sounds like the hum of an AC unit.
These headphones have a decent leakage performance. Most of their leakage is concentrated in the mid-range, which sounds fuller than most in-ear headphones. If you're listening to audio in a moderately noisy environment, people may be able to hear it.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X's mic has a great recording quality. Your voice sounds clear, full-bodied, and natural to whoever is on the other end of the line.
The microphone has an excellent noise handling performance. It can separate your voice from ambient noise around you, even in a loud environment.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X have an outstanding battery performance, just like the SteelSeries Arctis 7P Wireless. They have just under 24 hours of continuous playback time, which is quite similar to their advertised playtime, and they take roughly 3.6 hours to recharge. However, battery life can vary depending on your usage. If you don't want to worry so much about battery life, you can use these headphones while they're charging or use them passively with their 1/8" TRRS or USB cable.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X have good app support. They're compatible with the SteelSeries Engine, which offers a graphic EQ and presets, and an adjustable level for the boom mic. You can also change the length of the audio-off timer. Note, surround sound is only supported on the device you're connected to.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X come with three different cables. There's a mini B 8-pin to 1/8" analog cable, allowing you to use the mic or use the headphones passively. There's also a USB extension cable for the USB-C dongle as well as a micro-USB charging cable.
These headphones have outstanding non-Bluetooth Wireless connectivity. Their USB dongle has a switch, which allows you to wirelessly connect to either Xbox or PlayStation (called USB) consoles. We tested this dongle on our PC using the 'USB' mode, and its low latency ensures that your audio and visuals stay in sync while gaming.
The SteelSeries Arctis 7X are fully compatible with Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles using their 1/8" TRRS cable or their wireless USB dongle. Note that to use the dongle on these consoles, you need to switch its toggle from 'USB' to 'Xbox'.
These headphones come with a wireless USB dongle, which allows you to connect with PS and Xbox consoles as well as PCs and the Nintendo Switch. However, it doesn't have any inputs.