Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Battery life is an essential consideration when it comes to the best wireless gaming headsets since you don't want to have to worry about charging mid-match, and you’re free to use the headset for hours on end with no tether to a charging cable. As someone who is constantly forgetting to charge their tech, the battery life of the Arctis Nova 7P was a relief when I was jumping in and out of multiplayer games and Discord calls and simply not having to deal with a depleting battery light or audio signifier. While the Arctis Nova 7 works just fine out of the box with PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and others, you can really customize the audio with the SteelSeries GG app on PC. The standout feature of this app is Sonar, a Parametric EQ dashboard that enables 360-degree spatial audio and allows you to dial-in your preferred audio settings on a game-by-game basis. If this all sounds too overwhelming, you can easily take advantage of more than 20 presets for specific games that automatically tailor the soundstage with the push of a button. Since it has that simultaneous connectivity, SteelSeries has decided to include separate buttons for power and Bluetooth. If you’re connected to a Bluetooth source and use the power button to power off, the headset will still receive that Bluetooth signal. You have to press that Bluetooth button to power it off. Out of the box, it’s clear that the Arctis Nova 7P is a high-quality headset. Its build is incredibly strong, featuring a sturdy, metal form factor to help give it that premium feel. It’s got a deep blue-hued headband across the top for enhanced comfort, and the ear cups are made of a pleasantly soft material. The entire product is white aside from its blue band to mimic the stylings of the PS5.
Being a higher-end SteelSeries headset, the performance is very impressive. It’s simple to connect to both PC and PS5 with the included USB dongle. The sound profile is incredibly clear, and even at low volume levels, you are able to hear even the most subtle sound effects or noises within a game. It’ll impress users who love a strong bass profile, too.
How do you control the Arctis Nova 7 Wireless?
That being said, the ability to take phone calls while still enjoying game audio, chat with friends on Discord across multiple systems, or even just listening to music, a podcast, or an audiobook while gaming is something that can’t be understated. This is especially prevalent on systems like Nintendo Switch that don’t have any built-in support for music apps like Spotify or Apple Music. The headset features support for 360 spatial audio, which makes in-game listening far more immersive and captivating. The Arctis Nova 7P is also compatible with the PS5’s Tempest 3D Audio. Which one is best for you? Let's dive into the differences between all three with an informative table to lay it all out. Then we'll discuss the features a bit to help you make your choice. Model Unlike the Arctis 7, the ear cups are thinner except for the raised circular portions that house the replaceable ear cup plates. These small, circular plates act as an accent instead of covering the entire outside surface as the ones on the Arctis 7 do. We’re impressed with some of the software-related features that come with the Arctis, notably the new Sonar Audio Software Suite. It’s an add-on to the SteelSeries GG Engine and provides a ton more control. You can adjust mic volume, game volume, chat volume, chat mix, and much more. You can also turn on the ClearCast AI noise cancellation here.
One notable feature regarding the design of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro headset is its comfort during longer gaming sessions. I wear glasses when sitting in front of screens, and more often than not wearing a headset simultaneously will result in a dull ache or a feeling of abrasion behind my ears where the cups of the headset have been resting for too long, but the soft cups of the Arctis Nova 7P mean this problem is avoided entirely. If you’re hoping to use this for anything else, it also comes with a 3.5mm port for wired connectivity. In essence, you can connect the Nova 7 Wireless to just about anything, though if you want wireless connectivity to an Xbox, you need to get the Nova 7x instead. In addition to the Bluetooth capabilities, as seen with the recent Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, the entire Arctis line of headsets have been redesigned to feature a slightly smaller form factor and decrease the overall weight by 14% when compared to last year’s Arctis 7+ line. We know you look cool, so you need the gear to match. We made the headset light and stylish; we've made the mic neatly retract, all in a super-slim new design ID. We also added a cool PVD coating onto the super slim steel headband (Physical Vapor Deposit, also found on high-end watches). And if you really want to flex, tell your friends it took 50,000 lbs. of pressure to cold roll the steel into the shape of your noggin.Users have reported connectivity issues like stuttering that affects audio quality and you can find more information on this in our Sound Profile test. We have also tested GG software's compatibility with consoles and you can read more about this in App Support. The build quality is still fantastic – from the sturdy steel headband to the stretchy band that lets the headset literally float on top of your head during use. This time around, though, SteelSeries has also made the entire headset height-adjustable to ensure a more universal fit for just about everyone. I do miss the Ski Goggle headband that was used in the previous generation headsets, as the updated band isn’t quite as comfortable or bouncy. That being said, the headset is still incredibly lightweight, and the memory foam AirWeave ear cushions still provide comfort and breathability for long gaming sessions. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 features audio output pretty close to our in-house target, with a handful of notable deviations. While the sub-bass is nicely emphasized, the bass comes through up to around 5dB louder than we generally like to see between 100-200Hz, and there’s a pretty significant dip around 400Hz. However, while bass and midrange sound have some definite foibles, the high range frequency response is considerably wonkier, with a huge dip at 5kHz and a big over-emphasis at 7kHz. Lows, mids, and highs As our gaming headset collection grows, we understand it may be difficult to discern between the older and newer models. You may have been eyeing our Arctis 7, but wasn't sure if you should get the Arctis 7+ instead. Furthermore, our latest release includes the newer Arctis Nova 7. We have corrected information regarding a comparison with these headphones and the SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless in Compared To Other Headphones.
Though the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless is more than just a light refresh, you can still see the general outline of previous SteelSeries headsets in its design. The ear cups are oval where they meet the ear pads, and the headset still comes with replaceable ski goggle headbands and ear cup plates. It also uses similar materials, namely durable-feeling plastic for the earcups and metal for the headband (PVD-coated steel in the case of the Nova 7). That’s where most of the similarities end. I was pleased to find that many games actually had the audio settings customized by the developers, meaning you’re actually hearing the game audio as intended. One such example was the Destiny 2 preset which was created by Bungie’s sound designers to highlight the unique sounds heard throughout the solar system. This delivered an unparalleled audio experience that allowed me to hear things I had not heard in my more than 1,000 hours spent in the game. I was seriously impressed.Considering all the connectivity on the Nova 7 Wireless, it’s no surprise that you can hook it up to just about any system. The USB-C dongle lets you use the headset with a PC, PlayStation, or Switch, while you can use the Bluetooth capability for Mac, tablets and phones. Of course, you can also connect it to any analog device thanks to the 3.5mm connection. We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.6 , which updates how we measure latency. We've updated and renamed the following test groups: Wired Connection, Bluetooth Connection, and Wireless Connection (Dongle). We've also added new codec latency measurements and provided an audio sample of recorded latency.
Great Deal 
New Comment