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I simply cannot appear to get the quantity proper on my regular gaming headset. Once I reviewed the Asus ROG Delta S Wi-fi headset, its earth-shaking output practically deafened me. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wi-fi, in the meantime, was so quiet at first that I puzzled if the Delta S had really given me listening to loss. That’s, till I enabled SteelSeries’ magical Sonar EQ system, at which level my complete world modified for the higher.
The Arctis Nova 7 is superbly strong, with a versatile steel headband and durable plastic earcups. Regardless of its strong exterior, it is surprisingly lithe and does not weigh too closely on my head. The all-black design banishes blinding RGB lighting altogether. It feels much less gamer-y than a number of headsets on the market, although after years of scorching my retinas with my PC case lighting, I am typically okay with that.
Pop the Arctis Nova 7 in your head and you will instantly discover how snug it’s, with mushy cushioning within the ear cups and an honest match for medium craniums. SteelSeries says the comfiness is because of its “ComfortMAX system,” a reputation that is so enjoyable it apparently must shout at you. The one draw back is a slight stress on the ears—that got here into play after a number of hours’ utilization, although it is simple to regulate the earcups to ease the stress.
Whereas there is no lively noise cancelling included, the passive sound isolation on the earcups is just not unhealthy in any respect. The Arctis Nova 7 additionally features a ChatMix dial on the best earcup, which helps you to shortly alter the quantity stability between your recreation and your chat app. It is notably helpful for these instances when considered one of your occasion members decides that now is an efficient time to begin yelling about loot drops at 4,000 decibels.
Wi-fi: Sure
Drivers: 40mm Neodymium drivers
Connectivity: USB-C, 2.4GHz dongle, Bluetooth
Frequency response: 20–22,000Hz
Options: Sonar spatial audio, parametric EQ, retractable AI-powered noise-cancelling mic, ChatMix dial
Weight: 326g
Battery life: 38 hours
Value: $180 (opens in new tab) USD / £175 (opens in new tab) / $285 (opens in new tab) AUD
The headset guarantees 38 hours of battery life, and eerily I obtained virtually that precise determine in testing. Longer in reality, at 38 hours and 20 minutes. Basically, it will final you days and days. SteelSeries claims you may get six hours of juice from a 15-minute cost, and that is not simply advertising and marketing bluster. These cans cost quickly, so that you should not be operating on empty for lengthy. Oddly, the SteelSeries GG app solely measures battery life in 25% increments. The headset has a few LEDs that point out tough battery percentages, too, since you’ll be able to’t see these lights until your eyes are on stalks, the indicator won’t ever provide you with a exact determine—a inexperienced LED denotes something from 50% to 100%, which is not very useful.
Because the battery drains, the headset beeps frequent warnings, however these are so piercingly shrill that I ended up wishing the battery would die and ship me into the cool embrace of silence.
It is designed round spatial audio… It is a literal gamechanger.
That mentioned the sensible software program actually makes up for the little niggles I’ve encountered. Opening the Engine part of SteelSeries GG, I discovered that the Quantity Limiter setting was enabled—evidently the explanation it was so quiet to start with. As soon as I turned it off, that is when issues actually obtained shifting. And as soon as I might augmented the already incredible audio high quality this headset delivers with SteelSeries’ Sonar EQ, each video games and music sounded phenomenal. It is designed round spatial audio, too, which let me know precisely the place these footsteps have been coming from and felt prefer it gave me a real benefit. It is a literal gamechanger.
When arrange correctly, Sonar’s spatial audio is wonderful. It is punchy and deeply immersive, along with your gaming audio taking up a brand new lifetime of its personal. Bullets and explosions really feel virtually kinetic, but it surely’s not only for hard-and-fast shooters—video games like Inside (opens in new tab) with fantastically crafted ambient audio design are raised to a brand new stage.
SteelSeries GG has presets for tons of video games, as properly. Although my favorite recreation wasn’t current, I might choose an identical title from the checklist and nonetheless really feel the advantages. For instance, there are presets for Name of Responsibility: Warzone (opens in new tab), Warzone 2, and Trendy Warfare II. As a result of I am a caveman, I nonetheless play Name of Responsibility: WWII, however deciding on Trendy Warfare II nonetheless made a world of distinction. I am not a lot of a aggressive gamer (does Worms World Social gathering depend? Sure -Ed), but when a dirty informal gamer like me can really feel this a lot of an edge, anybody who enjoys the tough and tumble of aggressive gameplay will love Sonar.
That is made even higher by the extent of management you recover from virtually each side of each the headset’s output and enter. You possibly can individually configure your video games, chat, media and microphone, and every part has a spread of presets and plottable graphs for varied video games and kinds.
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You may as well join the Arctis Nova 7 wirelessly to 2 units directly, one over Bluetooth and the opposite utilizing the included wi-fi dongle. Meaning you’ll be able to faux to work on firm calls out of your telephone whereas concurrently gaming in your PC. Not that we suggest you idiot your boss into pondering you are working (opens in new tab).
From my testing, it is clear the software program and audio output are the Arctis Nova 7’s robust swimsuit; enter, however, is weaker. The microphone is a little bit tinny, which is just about par for the course relating to wi-fi headsets. It is higher than the not too long ago reviewed Asus ROG Delta S Wi-fi (opens in new tab), and is available in at much less cash, but it surely will not knock your socks off.
Plosives have been noticeable and there is an ever-so-slight echo; it is not as unhealthy as sitting in a cavern gaming on a stalactite-powered laptop computer, but it surely’s there. Readability is fairly good so far as headset mics go, nevertheless, and it is loads loud too. That mentioned, when you’ve obtained a standalone desktop microphone, you may at all times be higher off utilizing that as an alternative.
Whereas there is no lively noise cancelling, the mic is nothing to jot down house about, and the battery indicator beeps are a bit annoying, there’s nonetheless a great deal to love about this headset. Consolation, model and audio output high quality make this gadget a compelling buy for $180, and the Sonar software program simply ramps every little thing as much as max.
When you think about it is basically a reduce down model of the distinctive Arctis Nova Professional (opens in new tab) for lower than half the worth, mixed with a long-time favorite of ours—the Arctis 7 (opens in new tab)—it actually provides us hope for the way forward for wi-fi gaming headsets. Whereas the Arctis Nova 7 is not fairly the proper gaming headset, it is a tremendous strong purchase virtually for the spatial audio alone.
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