Audio Performance

I'll split the audio performance analysis into two parts - gaming and music. Even though the headset produces the same sound regardless of what it's being used for, you won't necessarily look for the same things while annihilating your virtual opponents as you will when listening to your favorite tunes.

Gaming

After a prolonged round of blind A-B testing, I can conclude that the 40-millimeter audio drivers built into the Arctis 7 are identical to the ones SteelSeries uses on the Arctis 5. With that said, everything I wrote regarding the Arctis 5's audio performance applies to the Arctis 7 as well.

What that means is that you get a very smooth, neutral sound reproduction without any noticeable bumps across the frequency range or attempts to artificially change the sound of your games (or music, but more on that in a minute). When playing games, that translates into precision and a ton of details you may miss if the headset were tuned differently. You'll be able to hear something as grandiose as a building blowing up or as subtle as your enemy crawling in the grass with equal clarity and precision. I kept figuring out the direction and distance of my enemies and their gunfire with ease - awesome!

In case you're a fan of bass-heavy headphones, you might find the sound signature of the Arctis 7 a bit dull, at least before diving into the system-wide equalizer offered within the SteelSeries Engine 3 software and adjusting it to your liking.

I'd also like to point out that there were no audible differences between the Arctis 5 and its supplied USB sound card and the Arctis 7 wirelessly connected to its WiFi dongle/sound card. If you're worried about losing sound quality because of going wireless - don't be.

The passive noise isolation is great. With the ear cushions being marketed as "airy", I was a bit worried that they were going to leak a lot of sound into their surroundings, but they didn't.

Music

Thanks to the strong focus on precision and clarity of sound, the Arctis 7 holds its own in pretty much every music genre you decide to throw at it. The built-in drivers can keep up with fast drums, guitars, male and female vocals of all ranges, and everything else your playlists may consist of.

When considering these for music, don't think about them the same way you'd think about a regular gaming headset. This isn't a headset that's good with games and usable for music. The Arctis 7 is equally suitable for everything it might be used for, and its aforementioned acoustic qualities are beneficial and pronounced everywhere.

Just like with games, in case you find the bass lacking, you'll be able to adjust it via the system-wide equalizer. If you don't overdo it, you'll be able to do so without adding any audible distortions to any part of the frequency range. You can find one of my suggested equalizer settings that will add a bit more oomph and excitement to the overall presentation in the software section of this review.

Even though the Arctis 7 can benefit from a good DAC/amp, it's not something I'd really consider buying unless you already own one. Let's keep in mind that this is a wireless headset. If your plans include constantly using it in wired mode, you're better off going with the Arctis 5 (or the Arctis 3 for that matter - watch this space for its review, it's coming soon).

7.1 Surround Sound

Much like the Arctis 5, the Arctis 7 supports the 7.1 Surround Sound and DTS Headphone:X technologies, which should in theory make the sound "bigger" and convince your ears that it's coming from a grand total of eight different speakers rather than just the two. To switch it from stereo mode to 7.1 Surround Sound, you simply need to press a single button in the SteelSeries Engine 3 software. You can then pick between a couple audio presets (Game, Movie, Music).

Since the surround sound performance is exactly the same as with the Arctis 5, my advice is also the same - don't bother using it. If you're after immersion, you won't get it because the acoustic presentation becomes too distorted to be truly enjoyable. You also won't gain a competitive edge when using 7.1 surround sound on this headset, which would perhaps make up for the loss of overall sound quality. In fact, you'll have a harder time figuring out what your enemies are doing.

You can certainly play around with this option and check out if it does anything for you, but it probably won't take you long to realize that you're best off sticking with good old stereo mode, where the Arctis 7 excels.