It’s still surprisingly comfortable to wear despite that one issue. The ski goggle headband keeps the steel band from putting pressure on your head, while the airweave memory foam ear pads are plush and keep you from feeling any fatigue even after wearing it for long periods. Having also tested the Nova Pro Wireless, though, we much prefer the soft leatherette covering its ear pads to the coarser cloth here. Considering the price, a softer fabric would have given it higher value. We've added a comparison between the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless and the Astro A30 Wireless in the Non-Bluetooth Wireless box. 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. 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

We have received user reports of a noise floor when using mic monitoring. We have updated Recording Quality, but the scoring of this test hasn't changed. 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.

What should you get instead of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless?

The Arctis 7 and 7+ feature a revolutionary retractable mic design, so when you want to play solo, or aren’t interested in team chat, you can simply stow it neatly away. The Nova 7 takes this to the next level, bringing a microphone which now completely retracts into the headset when not being used for a super sleek design, and more on-the-go convenience if you want to listen to your music on the daily commute when a mic isn’t needed. 6. Improved battery Update 02/25/2021: A user has reported experiencing bass distortion when using the SteelSeries Engine 3's 64Hz EQ band above 0dBs. We tried adjusting the 64Hz EQ band on the companion app to -0.1dB and played a 64Hz tone. This resulted in slight audible distortion. We also heard slight distortion when adjusting the EQ band to 0.1dBs. However, changing the tone to 180Hz and adjusting the EQ band in the app didn't produce distortion. We also repeated this with a 500Hz tone and couldn't hear distortion when adjusting the EQ band. It seems like this issue is only limited to the 64Hz band when adjusted on the SteelSeries Engine 3. However, we don't test for this and, as a result, our scoring and results haven't changed. 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.

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. 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. One of the benefits of having that wide range of connectivity is the ability to connect to multiple devices at once, and SteelSeries has made that a feature here. Its multi-device, multi-platform support lets you connect to a wireless source and Bluetooth source simultaneously, so you can take that important call in the middle of a battle without having to grab your phone. 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.In addition, I've tested the headset during Discord calls to see how easy it was to connect and how clear the audio through its microphone sounded, and I've used it to listen to music which once again has made full use of the audio profile. 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. We've expanded this review to reflect the performance of each of the SteelSeries' Arctis Nova 7 lineup's variants: the 7, 7P, and 7X. Although we tested the 7X variant, we expect the other variants to perform similarly. We have corrected information regarding a comparison with these headphones and the SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless in Compared To Other Headphones.

Aside from its tried-and-true sound quality and design overhaul, the marquee feature of the Arctis Nova 7 is undoubtedly the simultaneous Bluetooth audio. Pairing wireless 2.4GHz game audio with a low-power Bluetooth 5.0 radio is the feature I never knew I needed – and it seriously is a game-changer. Not only can you consolidate all of your audio needs into a single headset, it allows for much-needed cross-platform party chat through services like Discord across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC with relative ease. One complaint I would have is how close the Bluetooth and Power buttons are, which sometimes results in me pressing the wrong thing when trying to turn the headset on and wondering why it's taking so long to connect. For a premium headset, it’s a fairly basic setup, and it would’ve been nice to be able to access EQ presets on the device itself. 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 unique suspension headband found on the Arctis 7/7+ has been redesigned in the ComfortMAX System with more points of adjustment for improved fit options. The stretchy fabric band helps spread pressure evenly so it almost floats above your head, and new height adjustable, pivoting earcups provide more ways to adapt the headset to your individual head shape. 3. Dual Wireless, simultaneous listening

Price comparison

As far as compatibility goes, the 2.4GHz wireless connection of the Arctis Nova 7 uses a USB-C dongle to connect with PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Android, and USB-C iPads with up to a 40-foot range. The Bluetooth side of things works with any Bluetooth-enabled device, of course. SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 – Software The following test groups have been updated following TB 1.6: Wired Connection, Bluetooth Connection, and Wireless Connection (Dongle). There have also been text changes made throughout the review, including to the usages and product comparisons to match these results. 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