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SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless vs SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 19, 2024 02:40 PM

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Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Feb 01, 2024 08:11 PM

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Amazon.com
SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Picture

Our Verdict

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless

Depending on your preferences, you may want to check out either the SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless or the SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless. The Arctis 7+ are more customizable headphones as they're compatible with Sonar, which is a software integrated inside SteelSeries GG companion software, offering even more features. It offers a parametric EQ and presets as well as adjustable levels for microphone and chat control. These headphones are also compatible with PlayStation 5's Tempest 3D AudioTech, which can help create a more immersive audio experience. However, the Arctis 9 support Bluetooth, which is good if you want to stay connected to your console and smartphone at the same time. They have slightly less non-Bluetooth wireless latency and better microphone performance.

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Variants

  • Arctis 7+ Wireless (Black)
  • Arctis 7+ Wireless (Destiny 2: Lightfall Edition)
  • Arctis 7+ Wireless (White)
  • Arctis 9 (Black)

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Black
Arctis 7+ Wireless
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Black
Arctis 9
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Destiny 2: Lightfall Edition
Arctis 7+ Wireless
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White
Arctis 7+ Wireless
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Black
Arctis 9
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Black
Arctis 9
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Main Differences for
Neutral Sound

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.2
6.8

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.7
5.7

Bass Accuracy 
 

6.8
7.2

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Design Picture 2
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show Text 

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.5

Comfort Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Comfort Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.79 lbs
0.83 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.3 lbs
1.1 lbs
Show Text 

Controls 
 

7.8
7.8

Controls Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Controls Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Good

Feedback  

Great
Great

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

Mute/Unmute
Mute/Unmute

Channel Mixing 
 

Yes
Yes

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

No
Bluetooth Sync
Show Text 

Breathability 
 

5.8

Breathability After Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

7.4 °C
Show Text 

Portability 
 

5.8
5.5

Portability Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Portability Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Portability Picture

 

8.3" (21.0 cm)
7.7" (19.6 cm)

 

8.0" (20.2 cm)
6.9" (17.5 cm)

 

2.0" (5.0 cm)
3.3" (8.4 cm)

Volume  

129.43 in³ (2,121.00 cm³)
176.90 in³ (2,898.86 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show Text 

Case 
 

0.0
0.0

Case Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Case Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Case Picture

Type  

No case
No case

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A

Build Quality 
 

8.0
8.0

Build Quality Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Build Quality Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Build Quality Picture
Show Text 

Stability 
 

7.0
7.5

Stability Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Stability Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Stability Picture
Show Text 

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Angled Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Side Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Front Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Rear Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Top Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless In The Box Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless In The Box Picture
Show Text 
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details
See details

Bass Amount 
 

0.17 dB
-1.84 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-2.09 dB
-2.99 dB
Show Text 

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

5.3
5.4

Consistency L  

See details
See details

Consistency R  

See details
See details

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

1.88 dB
1.27 dB
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details
See details

Raw FR R  

See details
See details

Bass Accuracy 
 

6.8
7.2

Bass  

See details
See details

Std. Err. 
 

5.09 dB
4.02 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

22.78 Hz
57.39 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

0.04 dB
-6.1 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

5.01 dB
1.65 dB

High-Bass 
 

7.91 dB
4.3 dB
Show Text 

Mid Accuracy 
 

7.8
8.1

Mid  

See details
See details

Std. Err. 
 

2.89 dB
2.59 dB

Low-Mid 
 

4.25 dB
1.44 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

0.29 dB
0.07 dB

High-Mid 
 

0 dB
-0.8 dB
Show Text 

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.7
5.7

Treble  

See details
See details

Std. Err. 
 

1.93 dB
6.11 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-0.08 dB
-4.76 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

2.13 dB
-1.58 dB

High-Treble 
 

-2.78 dB
-4.59 dB
Show Text 

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.6
7.4

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details
See details

Peaks 
 

1.63 dB
1.64 dB

Dips 
 

0.91 dB
1.34 dB
Show Text 

Imaging 
 

7.1
6.0

Group Delay  

See details
See details

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details
See details

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.28
0.28

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

18.17
12.19

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

2.14
2.01

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.89
7.13
Show Text 

Passive Soundstage 
 

5.7
6.1

PRTF  

See details
See details

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

4.83 dB
3.12 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

9.01 dB
7.6 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

20.46 dB
17.9 dB

Openness 
 

5.1
5.6

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

3.0
3.0
Show Text 

Virtual Soundstage 
 

2.0
2.0

Virtual Soundstage  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Virtual Soundstage
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

Yes
DTS 7.1
Show Text 

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.7
7.1

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details
See details

WHD @ 90 
 

0.330
0.303

WHD @ 100 
 

0.127
0.416
Show Text 

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

0.1.8.0
2.4.00

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Wireless (Proprietary)
Wireless (Proprietary)

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

Default
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Boom
Boom
Show Text 
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

4.8
3.7

Noise Isolation  

See details
See details

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-13.96 dB
-10.8 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

0.69 dB
0.73 dB

Mid 
 

-10.26 dB
-5.64 dB

Treble 
 

-33.19 dB
-27.86 dB
Show Text 

Leakage 
 

7.4
7.4

Leakage  

See details
See details

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

37.16 dB
37.13 dB
Show Text 
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

Yes
Yes

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Recording Quality 
 

7.6
8.1

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details
See details

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

83.54 Hz
88.51 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

3.16 dB
3.44 dB

HFE 
 

6,933.79 Hz
6,544.63 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

2.5
0.112

Gain 
 

22.29 dB
19.93 dB
Show Text 

Noise Handling 
 

7.2
7.5

SpNR  

See details
See details

SpNR 
 

19.13 dB
32.44 dB

Noise Gate 
 

On/Off Toggle
Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

7.0
7.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

7.5
7.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

9.3
8.0

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

60.7 hrs
20.3 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

60.7 hrs
20.3 hrs

Charge Time 
 

3.6 hrs
5.6 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Auto-Off Timer
Auto-Off Timer

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
No

Charging Port  

USB-C
micro-USB
Show Text 

App Support 
 

8.0
8.0

App Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless App Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless App Picture

App Name  

Steelseries GG
SteelSeries Engine

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

Yes
Yes

Windows  

Yes
Yes

Equalizer 
 

Parametric + Presets
Graphic + Presets

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

Adjustable Level
Adjustable Level

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
8.5

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
4.1

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
Bluetooth + Console/Non-BT Wireless

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
303.00 ft (92.35 m)

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

N/A
194 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A
55 ms

Android Latency 
 

N/A
130 ms
Show Text 

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

8.2
8.8

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

66.60 ft (20.30 m)
153.00 ft (46.63 m)

Non-BT Latency 
 

37 ms
28 ms
Show Text 

Wired 
 

9.5
9.0

Cable Picture  

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless Cable Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
No

Length  

4.10 ft (1.25 m)
N/A

Connection 
 

Mini B 8-Pin
No Wired Option

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
0 ms
Show Text 

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only (Not included)

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Show Text 

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only (Not included)

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only (Not Included)

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Show Text 

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only (Not included)

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only (Not included)

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Base/Dock 
 

3.4
7.0

Type 
 

Wireless USB Dongle
Wireless USB Dongle

USB Input 
 

Yes
Yes

Line In 
 

No
Yes

Line Out 
 

No
Yes

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

USB-C
USB
Show Text 

Check Price

Black
Arctis 7+ Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Black
Arctis 9
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Destiny 2: Lightfall Edition
Arctis 7+ Wireless
Searching
Finding store
White
Arctis 7+ Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Black
Arctis 9
B&H
 
Black
Arctis 9
BestBuy.com

SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless

SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless

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SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless vs SteelSeries Arctis 7+ Wireless: Main Discussion

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