SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless [7, 7P, 7X] vs Audeze Maxwell Wireless: Which Headphones Are Better?

Tested using Methodology v2.0

Updated Nov 06, 2025 02:09 PM

See SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless [7, 7P, 7X] Review

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless [7, 7P, 7X] Picture

TypeOver-ear

Noise CancellingNo

EnclosureClosed-Back

Bass Amount Very Emphasized (6 dB)

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

Treble Amount Balanced (0 dB)

MicYes

Sound Signature Warm

TypeOver-ear

Noise CancellingNo

EnclosureClosed-Back

Bass Amount Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)

WirelessYes

TransducerPlanar Magnetic

Treble Amount Balanced (-1 dB)

MicYes

Sound Signature Warm

Recommended in 8 articles:
Gaming
Wireless Gaming
PC Gaming
5

Recommended in 8 articles:
Gaming
Wireless Gaming
PC Gaming
5

Our Verdict

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless [7, 7P, 7X]

Audeze Maxwell Wireless

The Audeze Maxwell Wireless are better gaming headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless. The Audeze have a sturdier design, and their boom mic has better noise handling, so you're less likely to be drowned out by loud background noise. They also have a longer continuous battery life. That said, the SteelSeries have a more comfortable fit for most people. They have more in-app sound customization features, including a parametric EQ.

Variants

Arctis Nova 7X (Black)
Arctis Nova 7P (Black)
Arctis Nova 7 (Black)
Arctis Nova 7 (Diablo IV Edition)
Arctis Nova 7 (FaZe Clan Edition)
Arctis Nova 7P (White)
Arctis Nova 7X (White)
Arctis Nova 7 (World of Warcraft Edition)

Maxwell for PlayStation (Dark Gray)
Maxwell for Xbox (Dark Gray)

Review

See Audeze Maxwell Wireless Review

170

Check Price

Black

Arctis Nova 7X

Dark Gray

Maxwell for Xbox

Black

Arctis Nova 7P

Dark Gray

Maxwell for PlayStation

Black

Arctis Nova 7

Diablo IV Edition

Arctis Nova 7

FaZe Clan Edition

Arctis Nova 7

White

Arctis Nova 7P

White

Arctis Nova 7X

World of Warcraft Edition

Arctis Nova 7

Main Differences for

Sports And Fitness

Threshold

0.10

Sports And Fitness

6.9

6.6

Stability

6.5

6.0

Bluetooth Connection

7.9

8.9

Comfort

7.5

7.0

Full Comparison

Sports And Fitness

6.9

6.6

Travel

6.2

Office Work

6.5

6.7

Wireless Gaming (In Development)

7.5

7.8

Wired Gaming (In Development)

7.8

Audio Reproduction Accuracy

7.0

6.6

Noise Isolation

4.7

5.2

Microphone (In Development)

7.7

8.3

Frequency Response Consistency

4.7

5.2

Sound

Sound Profile

Normalization Frequency

500 Hz

400 Hz

Bass Amount

Very Emphasized (6 dB)

Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)

Treble Amount

Balanced (0 dB)

Balanced (-1 dB)

Sound Signature

Warm

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Frequency Response Consistency

4.7

5.2

Consistency L

Consistency R

Std. Deviation

1.98 dB

1.68 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Raw FR L

Raw FR R

Bass Profile: Target Compliance

7.3

9.2

Bass Profile: Target Compliance

RMS Deviation From Target

5.7 dB

2.7 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

20 Hz

Low Bass

5.07 dB

1.75 dB

Mid Bass

6.72 dB

2.54 dB

High Bass

5.01 dB

0.69 dB

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Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance

9.0

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance

RMS Deviation From Target

1.47 dB

1.4 dB

Low Mid

-1.65 dB

-1.41 dB

Mid-Mid

1.35 dB

-0.68 dB

High Mid

0.56 dB

0.44 dB

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Treble Profile: Target Compliance

7.0

9.8

Treble Profile: Target Compliance

RMS Deviation From Target

4.21 dB

1.69 dB

Low Treble

-1.91 dB

-1.32 dB

Mid Treble

1.81 dB

-0.71 dB

High Treble

-5.71 dB

-2.37 dB

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Peaks/Dips

7.1

7.8

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

1.52 dB

1.24 dB

Dips

2.8 dB

1.42 dB

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Stereo Mismatch

5.7

5.1

Frequency Response Mismatch

Phase Response Mismatch

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

1.27 dB

1.64 dB

Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch

1.73 dB

1.46 dB

Weighted Phase Mismatch

2.8°

4.3°

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Group Delay

7.2

2.1

Group Delay

Weighted Group Delay

1.1 ms

2.4 ms

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Cumulative Spectral Decay

CSD

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless [7, 7P, 7X] CSD

PRTF

7.0

6.2

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)

2.94 dB

3.5 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.)

6.6 dB

4.08 dB

PRTF Distance

11.49 dB

11.08 dB

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Harmonic Distortion

8.2

8.9

Harmonics Levels

THD Ratio

WHD @ 94 dB SPL

0.32%

0.10%

WHD @ 104 dB SPL

0.24%

0.22%

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Electrical Aspects

Impedance

Sensitivity @1kHz-1V

115.0 dB SPL

N/A

Bluetooth Max SPL

100.3 dB

107.9 dB

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Virtual Soundstage

2.0

4.1

Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

On/Off

Speaker Modeling

On/Off

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

Virtual Surround

Windows Sonic Spatial Audio

Dolby Atmos

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Test Settings

Firmware

1.10

1.0.1.74

Power

Connection

Wireless (Proprietary)

Codec

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

Test Instrument

Audio Precision APx517B

EQ

Default

Audeze

ANC

No ANC

Tip/Pad

Default

Microphone

Boom

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Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

Over-ear

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Wireless

Yes

Transducer

Dynamic

Planar Magnetic

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Comfort

7.5

7.0

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.72 lbs

1.07 lbs

Clamping Force

1 lbs

1.1 lbs

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Controls

7.6

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

Not OS specific

Ease Of Use

Good

Feedback

Good

Call/Music Control

Yes

Volume Control

Yes

Microphone Control

Mute/Unmute

Channel Mixing

Yes

Noise Cancelling Control

Talk-Through

Additional Controls

Bluetooth + Multi function

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Portability

5.9

5.3

Portability Picture

L

8.1" (20.6 cm)

10.2" (26.0 cm)

W

7.4" (18.9 cm)

9.1" (23.0 cm)

H

1.9" (4.9 cm)

2.4" (6.0 cm)

Volume

116.42 in³ (1,907.80 cm³)

220.12 in³ (3,607.10 cm³)

Transmitter Required

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Case

0.0

Case Picture

Type

No case

L

N/A

W

N/A

H

N/A

Volume

N/A

Build Quality

7.5

8.0

Build Quality Picture

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Stability

6.5

6.0

Stability Picture

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Headshots 1

Angled Picture

Side Picture

Headshots 2

Front Picture

Rear Picture

Top

Top Picture

In The Box

In The Box Picture

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Isolation

Noise Isolation - Full Range

4.8

5.3

Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph

Noise Cancelling

Overall Attenuation

-11.64 dB

-12.98 dB

Bass

2.78 dB

3.77 dB

Mid

-11.06 dB

-13.49 dB

Treble

-29.75 dB

-32.74 dB

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Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios

4.1

4.4

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph

Airplane Noise Attenuation

-8.35 dB

-9.48 dB

Airplane Noise Isolation Audio

Office Noise Attenuation

-9.60 dB

-9.99 dB

Office Noise Isolation Audio

Street Noise Attenuation

-10.20 dB

-11.12 dB

Street Noise Isolation Audio

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Noise Isolation - Voice Handling

Female Voice 1

Male Voice 1

Female Voice 2

Male Voice 2

ANC Wind Handling

ANC Wind Handling Graph

ANC Wind Noise

N/A

Leakage

7.0

7.4

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

39.59 dB

37.39 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

Yes

In-Line

Boom

Yes

Detachable Boom

Yes

Mic

Yes

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Recording Quality

7.8

7.5

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

LFE

20 Hz

89.8 Hz

FR Std. Dev.

2.89 dB

3.84 dB

HFE

6,933.79 Hz

6,088.74 Hz

Weighted THD

2.446

0.307

Gain

27.76 dB

-6.85 dB

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Noise Handling

7.7

9.0

SpNR

SpNR

35.78 dB

42.68 dB

Noise Gate

On/Off Toggle

Speech + Pink Noise Handling

7.5

9.0

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample

Speech + Subway Noise Handling

8.0

9.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

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Active Features

Battery

9.3

9.0

Battery Type

Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life

33.3 hrs

77.4 hrs

Additional Charges

0.0

Total Battery Life

33.3 hrs

77.4 hrs

Charge Time

1.9 hrs

3.2 hrs

Power-Saving Feature

Auto-Off Timer

Audio While Charging

Yes

Passive Playback

Yes

Charging Port

USB-C

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App Support

8.5

7.0

App Picture

App Name

Steelseries GG

AudezeHQ

iOS

Yes

Android

Yes

macOS

Yes

Windows

Yes

Equalizer

Parametric + Presets

Graphic + Presets

ANC Control

Mic Control

Adjustable Level

Room Effects

Playback Control

Button Mapping

Surround Support

Yes

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Connectivity

Wired Connection

9.9

8.3

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

Yes

USB Audio

USB-C

Detachable

Yes

Length

4.10 ft (1.25 m)

4.07 ft (1.24 m)

Connector

1/8" TRRRS

1/8" TRS

Latency - Analog

0.3 ms

9.1 ms

Latency - USB

N/A

13.0 ms

Recorded Latency

Recorded Latency Connection

Analog

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Bluetooth Connection

7.9

8.9

Bluetooth Version

5.010

5.3

Multi-Device Pairing

Bluetooth + Console/Non-BT Wireless

2 Devices

Quick Pair (Android)

Yes

Quick Pair (iOS)

Line Of Sight Range

328.08 ft (100.00 m)

334.65 ft (102.00 m)

Latency - SBC

235 ms

186 ms

Latency - aptX

N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)

N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)

N/A

Latency - LDAC

N/A

236 ms

Recorded Latency

Recorded Latency Codec

SBC

AAC Support

Yes

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Wireless Connection (Dongle)

7.6

8.0

Line Of Sight Range

110.89 ft (33.80 m)

173.88 ft (53.00 m)

Latency - Dongle

29 ms

23 ms

Recorded Latency

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PC Compatibility

Analog

Audio + Microphone

Wired USB

Audio + Microphone

Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

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PlayStation Compatibility

PS4 Analog

Audio + Microphone

PS4 Wired USB

Audio + Microphone

PS4 Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

PS5 Analog

Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB

Audio + Microphone

PS5 Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

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Xbox Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Audio + Microphone

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Analog

Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless

Audio + Microphone

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Base/Dock

3.4

Type

Wireless USB Dongle

USB Input

Yes

Line In

Line Out

Optical Input

RCA Input

Dock Charging

Power Supply

USB-C

USB

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Check Price

Black

Arctis Nova 7X

Dark Gray

Maxwell for Xbox

Black

Arctis Nova 7P

Dark Gray

Maxwell for PlayStation

Black

Arctis Nova 7

Diablo IV Edition

Arctis Nova 7

FaZe Clan Edition

Arctis Nova 7

White

Arctis Nova 7P

White

Arctis Nova 7X

World of Warcraft Edition

Arctis Nova 7