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As we’ve seen over the past year or two, I’ve been paying a lot more attention to headphone. While I’m primarily using them for work-for-home purposes, there is of course a lot to be said about a good pair of headphones for gaming, to immerse yourself in what you’re playing (and not bother the other folks in your home). To that end, Steel Series just released their Arctis 7+ / 7P+ headsets a few days back.
Now, I will say, the Steel Series Arctis 7+ can just as well be used for your work calls as well, as they’re compatible across a wide variety of devices (courtesy of the 2.5 GHz USB-C dongle):
- PC / Mac
- Playstation 4 / 5 (the 7P+ model can take advantage of the 3D sound the PS5 produces)
- Nintendo Switch
- Mobile phone (requires a USB-C port)
- Oculus Quest 2
It’s a bit interesting that the Xbox line isn’t included, but that’s just something to be aware of. Again, you’re going to need to plug in the USB-C dongle to connect the headphones to your device, so you’re not using bluetooth (which should, theoretically, be more stable and clear). The headphones themselves also charge via USB-C. If you run through the 30-hour battery life, a 15 minute charge will get you 3 hours of time; you can also use the headphones while you’re charging them.
Whatever you’re using these for, the Steel Series Arctis 7+ line (I’m including the 7P+ here as well) includes a retractable mic as well. In other words, push it away for storage, when listening to music, or even just single player games. Time for work calls, or to join the squad to crush the zombie hordes? Then roll that mic out, friend.
Speaking of rolling – the Steel Series Arctis 7+ has a physical wheel on the earcup to adjust the volume, as well as a physical button to mute yourself. This is great (you don’t want touch controls for these if you can help it, in my experience) as you don’t have to drop into system menus to tweak things. Oh, and also worth noting – you’ve also got a 3.5mm input on the headset, meaning you can plug these into your favorite phone (if you’re still got that port) or device to get tunes going. I see in their packaging notes it also comes with a USB-C to USB-A adapter, which should give you more flexibility to get that wireless dongle plugged in.
In terms of the sound, the Steel Series Arctis 7+ headphones have 40mm neodymium drivers, with a response range of 20-20000 Hz (ie, covering everything you could possibly hear). The built-in mic is bidirectional, and can pick up from 100-6500 Hz. Now, while the headphones themselves are not noise cancelling, the mic IS, so you shouldn’t be transmitting background noise out.
For the Steel Series Arctis 7+ (but not the 7P+) you’re also getting early access to the SteelSeries Sonar audio software. What’s that do? Well, for one, it enables 7.1 Surround sound, and allows you to do things like adjusting your EQ and audio settings for the game and chat seperately, so you can get the settings that work best for you.
The Steel Series Arctis 7+ and 7P+ all run for the same price – $169.99. While the Steel Series Arctis 7+ is sold out (you can sign up to be notified), the Steel Series Arctis 7P+ (in black or white) is in stock. If your chosen color is sold out, though, again, you can sign up on their email list. While dealing with another dongle (instead of vanilla Bluetooth) is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, it should provide for a very immersive soundstage for your games (and conference calls, I do suppose). As far as which one to get? Well, if you’ve got the PS5, the 7P+ seems to be the route to go, otherwise, the 7+ may be the better choice with that additional software access. steelseries.com
