The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless are a lineup of gaming headphones that includes three console-specific variants: the 7, which is designed for PCs, the 7P for PlayStation, and the 7X for Xbox. Each variant has a dongle to ensure low wireless latency with your consoles. They also support Bluetooth, meaning you can stay connected to your smartphone and console simultaneously. However, unlike most other Xbox-specific headphones, you can use the Xbox variant on the PlayStation 4/5 and PC without an issue.

Our Verdict

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Sports And Fitness

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless aren't the best choice for sports and fitness. They can fall off your head with moderate movement, and also lack an IP rating for water resistance, which is normal for over-ear headphones. While their wireless design means you don't have to worry about something snagging the headphones and pulling them off of your head. They also have over 33 hours of continuous playback time.

Pros

Comfortable and well-built.

Cons

Not very stable.

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Travel

The SteelSeries Nova 7 Wireless aren't optimized for commute and travel. While these comfortable over-ears support Bluetooth, so you can use them wirelessly with your smartphone, they don't mitigate the low rumbles of bus and plane engines. They also lack a carrying case to help protect them when you're on the go and have a bulky, gamer-centric design. On the upside, they last over 33 hours continuously, which will do just fine on intercontinental flights.

Pros

Comfortable and well-built.
Over 33 hours of continuous battery life.

Cons

Prone to inconsistencies in bass delivery.
Poor noise isolation performance.

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Amazon.com

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Office Work

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless are passable for office use. They have a comfortable fit suitable for long days at the office and deliver over 33 hours of continuous playback time. They have a retractable microphone that reproduces your voice clearly on calls. Thanks to their Bluetooth and wireless dongle support, you can pair them with your PC and smartphone simultaneously. Unfortunately, they have trouble blocking out background noise like office chit-chat, though they do a better job cutting down the hum of A/C units.

Pros

Comfortable and well-built.
Good overall microphone performance.

Cons

Prone to inconsistencies in bass delivery.
Poor noise isolation performance.

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Amazon.com

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Wireless Gaming (In Development)

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X, as well as their variants, are good for wireless gaming, especially as they come in console-specific variants. Their warm sound profile helps emphasize sound effects like footsteps in gameplay. However, if you prefer a different sound, their companion software offers a parametric EQ and presets to help you fine-tune them. If you wear glasses or have features that might interrupt the earpads' seal on your head, you might perceive less bass than our measurements indicate. These headphones also have over 33 hours of continuous playback time and are comfortable for long gaming sessions. You can even connect them to your console and smartphone simultaneously, and the Xbox variant has low latency using the included dongle, ensuring your audio and visuals stay in sync while gaming.

Pros

The 7X very have low wireless latency via dongle.
Good overall microphone performance.

Cons

Prone to inconsistencies in bass delivery.

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Amazon.com

See our Wireless Gaming (In Development) Recommendations

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Wired Gaming (In Development)

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless and their variants are good for wired gaming. These headphones come with a 1/8" TRRRS to 1/8" TRRS cable, meaning you can plug them into consoles with an AUX port with full audio and mic compatibility. That said, while their retractable boom mic offers a very good overall performance, it performs much worse when connected via an AUX port than when connected wirelessly. These over-ears have a comfortable fit and are well-built, and their warm sound profile can help bring out game sound effects. However, if you wear glasses or have thick hair, the headphones may underdeliver on bass due to an interrupted earpad seal.

Pros

Good overall microphone performance.
Wired connection has near zero latency.

Cons

Prone to inconsistencies in bass delivery.

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Amazon.com

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Audio Reproduction Accuracy

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless have adequate audio reproduction accuracy. Their frequency response generally adheres to their warm sound profile, though a significant dip in the low-treble can veil dialogue and instruments. This is likely an intentional tuning decision to reduce fatigue over long gaming sessions, though. Our unit's right driver is louder than the left driver and will perceivably shift objects in the stereo image to the right of where they should be. At typical listening levels, harmonic distortion won't lead to audible coloration. Meanwhile, the headphones interact with the outer ear in a similar way to angled reference speakers, which can contribute to immersion.

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Noise Isolation

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless have poor noise isolation performance. They aren't equipped with ANC, and their passive isolation does little against lower frequency noises like car engines or slamming doors. That said, the headphones don't leak much audio, with a thin and closed off version of your audio barely passing the noise floor of an average home.

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Microphone (In Development)

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless has very good microphone performance. Your voice in calls and recordings will sound full, though with an extra bit of sibilance on S and T sounds. Even in environments with loud, continuous noise, your voice is still clear and audible, though the background isn't fully suppressed. You can supplement the headphones' performance with their ClearCast AI Noise Cancellation (accessible in software).

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Frequency Response Consistency

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless have poor frequency response consistency. While they have a headband with a minimal range of extension, physical characteristics like head size don't affect the headphones' audio delivery much. That said, if you have thicker hair or wear glasses, your experience with the headphones' audio will diverge significantly from our frequency response measurements in the bass.

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Sports And Fitness

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Travel

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Office Work

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Wireless Gaming (In Development)

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Wired Gaming (In Development)

Performance Usages

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Audio Reproduction Accuracy

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Noise Isolation

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Microphone (In Development)

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Frequency Response Consistency

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Changelog

Updated Mar 12, 2026:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
Updated Mar 12, 2026: This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test, and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
Updated Jan 12, 2026:
We've mentioned the Fractal Scape in the Noise Handling box.
Updated Apr 25, 2025:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.0, which adds the following tests: Stereo Mismatch, Group Delay, Cumulative Spectral Decay, PRTF, Harmonic Distortion, and Electrical Aspects. We've added new performance usages and updated the text throughout the Sound tests and side-by-sides.

Check Price

BlackArctis Nova 7X

BlackArctis Nova 7P

BlackArctis Nova 7

Diablo IV EditionArctis Nova 7

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FaZe Clan EditionArctis Nova 7

WhiteArctis Nova 7P

WhiteArctis Nova 7X

World of Warcraft EditionArctis Nova 7

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Differences Between Sizes And Variants

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 come in three console-specific variants:

Model	Wireless Compatibility	Wired Compatibility	Headband Color	Control Scheme
7	PC, PS	PC, PS, and Xbox	Black	ChatMix
7P	PC, PS	PC, PS, and Xbox	Blue	Sidetone
7X	PC, PS, and Xbox	PC, PS, and Xbox	Green	ChatMix

We tested the 7X variant, which come in two color variants: 'Black' and 'White'. We tested the 'Black' Variant but expect other color variants to perform similarly. You can see our unit's label. All three console-specific variants have slight cosmetic differences, with varying accent colors. The 7X variant offers the most cross-platform compatibility, and both the 7 and 7X feature ChatMix dials. The 7 and 7P offer the same level of compatibility, but the 7P features a Sidetone dial instead. Except for the abovementioned differences, we expect all models to perform similarly.

If you encounter another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.

Popular Headphones Comparisons

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 are wireless gaming headphones with a similar frame design to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. Like the SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless, they support Bluetooth, which is good if you want to stay connected to your console and smartphone simultaneously. They also trade blows in features and customization with gaming headsets outside the SteelSeries product stack, such as the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless 2023 and Turtle Beach Atlas Air, though their continuous battery life falls short compared to that of both competitors.

Check out our recommendations for the best headsets for Xbox Series X|S and the best wireless gaming headsets.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5

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Amazon.com

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless are more versatile gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 because they can be used via a wired connection. Used wirelessly, there's little to choose between these two pairs, but the Arctis Nova 5 just about have the edge due to their superior mic and longer battery life. The choice will ultimately depend on your usage.

HyperX Cloud III Wireless

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Walmart.com

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless headphones are better for console gaming than the HyperX Cloud III Wireless. The SteelSeries come in three variants for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. They support Bluetooth and multi-device pairing, and they're the natural choice for Xbox owners, as the HyperX lack Xbox compatibility. While the SteelSeries have a great battery life, at 33 hours of continuous use, the HyperX are a better choice if you want to go longer without recharging.

Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless 2023

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Amazon.com

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless offer a bit more versatility than the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless 2023. While both headphones are comfortable, the SteelSeries are better built and be used analog in addition to Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth wireless. They also come in console-specific variants, which is nice if you're an Xbox gamer. However, if you're only looking to wirelessly game on your PC or PlayStation, then the Razer are worth considering. They have a significantly longer continuous battery life and a better overall performing boom mic.

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless

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Amazon.com

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless and their variants are better overall gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless. While they're both comfortable closed-back headsets with non-detachable boom mics, the Arctis Nova 7 have a better mic performance and feature Bluetooth compatibility. However, the Arctis 7+ have a better build quality. Helpfully, the sound profiles of both headphones can be customized via their companion app to your liking.

How We Test Headphones: Over 800 And Counting!

Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.

You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.

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