Products
SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 2017
Astro A50 Gen 3
Tested using Methodology v1.3.1
Updated Mar 01, 2024 09:54 PM
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Tested using Methodology v1.4
Updated Jan 26, 2024 05:59 PM
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TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
Noise CancellingNo
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
Noise CancellingNo
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Our Verdict
SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 2017
Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017
The SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 2017 are slightly better gaming headphones than the Astro A50 Gen 3. While the SteelSeries aren’t as comfortable as the Astro, and their dock doesn't support charging, they can be used wired and are more versatile. The recording quality of the SteelSeries microphone is also noticeably better. On the other hand, the Astro have a better default sound profile, but you always need their dock to use them, which is restrictive. The SteelSeries are also cheaper and will have a better value for most.
Variants
- Arctis 7 (Black)
- Arctis 7 (White)
- A50 (PS4)
- A50 (Xbox One)
Check Price
Black
Arctis 7
SEE PRICE
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PS4
A50
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Amazon.com
White
Arctis 7
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Amazon.com
Xbox One
A50
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Main Differences for
Mixed Usage
Mixed Usage
Threshold
Mixed Usage
6.9
6.2
Noise Isolation
4.9
2.3
Leakage
7.1
3.8
Battery
8.9
7.4
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
8.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.9 lbs
0.8 lbs
Clamping Force
1.3 lbs
1.1 lbs
Controls
7.1
6.2
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Decent
Good
Feedback
Great
Good
Call/Music Control
No
No
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
Adjustable
Mute/Unmute
Channel Mixing
Adjustable
Yes
Noise Cancelling Control
N/A
No
Talk-Through
N/A
No
Additional Controls
No
Presets + Surround Sound
Breathability
6.6
6.7
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
5.3 °C
5.2 °C
Portability
5.9
5.4
Portability Picture
L
7.6"
7.1"
W
7"
7.4"
H
2.9"
4"
Volume
154 in³
210 in³
Transmitter Required
No
Yes
Case
0.0
0.0
Case Picture
Type
No case
No case
L
N/A
N/A
W
N/A
N/A
H
N/A
N/A
Volume
N/A
N/A
Build Quality
8.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.5
6.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
-1.14 dB
-1.48 dB
Treble Amount
-1.99 dB
-0.83 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
5.4
7.9
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
1.27 dB
0.42 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Raw FR L
Raw FR L
Raw FR R
Raw FR R
Bass Accuracy
8.3
8.4
Bass
Bass
Std. Err.
2.42 dB
2.13 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
40.58 Hz
Low-Bass
-1.9 dB
-3.97 dB
Mid-Bass
1.69 dB
-0.47 dB
High-Bass
3.6 dB
1.66 dB
Mid Accuracy
8.5
8.4
Mid
Mid
Std. Err.
2.03 dB
2.13 dB
Low-Mid
2.44 dB
0.04 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.91 dB
-1.94 dB
High-Mid
-0.75 dB
0.59 dB
Treble Accuracy
9.0
7.6
Treble
Treble
Std. Err.
2.23 dB
3.25 dB
Low-Treble
-0.57 dB
-2.93 dB
Mid-Treble
-1.01 dB
2.04 dB
High-Treble
-1.41 dB
-6.09 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.7
7.2
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.41 dB
1.91 dB
Dips
1.16 dB
1.23 dB
Imaging
8.5
8.7
Group Delay
Phase Response
Weighted Group Delay
0.32
0.18
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.02
0.22
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.31
1.51
Weighted Phase Mismatch
4.29
9.19
Passive Soundstage
6.2
7.1
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
4.26 dB
1.81 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
8.97 dB
3.8 dB
PRTF Distance
16.64 dB
5.67 dB
Openness
4.9
9.2
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.7
7.2
Virtual Soundstage
2.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
Head Tracking
No
Virtual Surround
Dolby 7.1
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
8.0
7.5
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.251
0.259
WHD @ 100
0.102
0.165
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Power
On
Connection
Wireless (Proprietary)
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
EQ
Default
ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Microphone
Boom
Isolation
Noise Isolation
4.9
2.3
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-13.3 dB
-5.74 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
0.61 dB
-0.08 dB
Mid
-7.37 dB
-1.11 dB
Treble
-33.64 dB
-15.91 dB
Leakage
7.1
3.8
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
39.21 dB
54.74 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
No
In-Line
No
No
Boom
Yes
Yes
Detachable Boom
N/A
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
7.9
7.2
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
84.76 Hz
348.96 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.89 dB
1.38 dB
HFE
6,736.4 Hz
3,466.89 Hz
Weighted THD
0.52
0.334
Gain
23.6 dB
23.46 dB
Noise Handling
8.8
9.0
SpNR
Speech + Pink Noise
Speech + Subway Noise
SpNR
40.56 dB
46.83 dB
Active Features
Battery
8.9
7.4
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
24 hrs
13 hrs
Additional Charges
0
0.0
Total Battery Life
24 hrs
13 hrs
Charge Time
3.5 hrs
5.8 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Yes
Auto-Off Timer
Audio While Charging
Yes
Yes
Passive Playback
Yes
No
Charging Port
micro-USB
micro-USB
App Support
8.0
7.5
App Picture
App Name
SteelSeries Engine
Astro Command Center
iOS
N/A
No
Android
N/A
No
macOS
Yes
Yes
Windows
Yes
Yes
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
N/A
No
Mic Control
Level
Adjustable Level
Room Effects
N/A
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Sound
DTS 7.1
Surround Support
No
Connectivity
Bluetooth
0.0
0.0
Bluetooth Version
N/A
No Bluetooth
Multi-Device Pairing
N/A
No
NFC Pairing
N/A
No
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (SBC)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
N/A
iOS Latency
N/A
Android Latency
N/A
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
8.7
6.7
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
125 ft
58 ft
Non-BT Latency
28 ms
99 ms
Wired
9.5
0.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
No
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
No
Length
4.2 ft
N/A
Connection
1/8" TRS
No Wired Option
Wired Latency
0 ms
Analog/USB Audio Latency
N/A
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC/PS4 Analog
Audio + Microphone
No
PC/PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio + Microphone
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
Audio + Microphone
Base/Dock
7.0
9.6
Type
Wireless USB Dongle
Wireless Dock
USB Input
Yes
Yes
Line In
Yes
Yes
Line Out
Yes
Yes
Optical Input
No
Yes
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
Yes
Power Supply
USB
USB
Check Price
Black
Arctis 7
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
PS4
A50
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
Arctis 7
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Xbox One
A50
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
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SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 2017
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Comments
SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 2017 vs Astro A50 Gen 3: Main Discussion
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