SOUND NORMALIZER ARCTIS 7 PRO

You can also tweak mic volume and toggle surround sound on or off. Boosting the high-mids (the fourth of the five-band EQ) generally boosts footstep noises in multiplayer titles, so Engine offers the chance to save a profile just for this. Features and SoftwareĪlthough it's not required to use the Arctis 7, SteelSeries Engine software offers the chance to tweak EQ profiles and create custom profiles for individual games. For gaming, it's a totally different matter, though, and provided an important extra level of precision to sound cues, like footsteps and grenade tosses. It didn't add anything to our music experience, since songs are almost always mixed in stereo and applying a surround space to them just ends up with muddiness. But it also meant we lost a tiny bit of emotional response from rumbling low-end sound effects.ĭTS Headphone:X v2.0 virtual surround technology powers the soundspace and made for an impressive stereo spread with a just barely perceptible ring of digital artifice. That actually made the Arctis 7 very versatile and even suitable for soft-touch video editing and mixing tasks. In our comparison tests, the audio response offered a less authoritative bass than wired audiophile headphones and the Cloud Alpha. The balance and clarity does come at the expense of a little weakness in the low end, but not to the extent that in-game ambiance or bass-heavy music felt lightweight.

That says a lot about these 40mm neodymium drivers. But despite sitting much looser than the Cloud Alpha there's no 'seashell effect' or audio leakage at play in the Arctis 7. Ordinarily, you'd expect a washed out sound as a result of the audio output mixed with room noise leaking into the sound chamber. These don't look like audiophile headphones by any means, and the contact points aren't particularly snug. The fact it manages such clarity and richness runs contrary to its appearance and the sensation of wearing it on your head. The ArcEdition is noticeably louder, while retaining the character of previous models and keeping distortion at bay, even at high volumes. Previous versions of the Arctis 7 sounded exceptional but tended to output on the quiet side.

SOUND NORMALIZER ARCTIS 7 PRO

It's a no-fuss, elegant design, and we actually miss that chat mix wheel on other headsets we test now, including the more expensive Arctis Pro Wireless ($290/£280 at the time of writing), which migrates the feature onto a wireless receiver/control box. A volume thumb wheel and mic mute button are also placed at the rear for easy access, while the mic is retractable. The chat mix thumb wheel at the rear of the left earcup is a revelation, saving you from delving into in-game or Windows volume settings and bringing your buddies' dulcet tones up to the desired level effortlessly. What we absolutely love about the design of the Arcis how intelligently its controls are laid out. More than boosting your immediate comfort, that extra padding will keep the 2019 Edition feeling gentle and luxurious for longer. The earpads are thicker than before, and, again, while the effect is subtle at first, it's a long-term benefit because earpads lose their plumpness through repeated use over time. But it might slightly improve the durability, since one of the rare design pitfalls of this range is that the headbands tend to sag over time as they lose elasticity after months of solid use.

This didn't make a significant difference in terms of comfort. That works too, but the Arctis 7 is considerably more breathable than the Alpha, thanks to that elasticated headband and materials used at the contact points.įor the 2019 Edition, SteelSeries tweaked the headband and earpads. The headband's slightly more substantial than in older iterations, now matching that found in the pricier Arctis Pro headset. The only rival headset offering similar luxuriousness after long sessions is the HyperX Cloud Alpha, which takes the traditional headband design, as well as the earcups, and absolutely smothers it in memory foam.

The result isn't night and day but, rather, a sustained level of comfort that only makes itself evident as being superior after an hour or two of use. The Arctis takes a different approach, instead suspending its 375g weight above your head with an elasticated band. Most headphones use a lightweight metal or plastic headband to keep the unit on your head and press the earcups against your ears.

Sound normalizer arctis 7