SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Review

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X is not only the peripheral maker’s best bang-for-your-buck gaming headset, but it might just be its best gaming headset period. Sure, the Nova Pro Wireless is the flagship, but the Nova 7X has a number of qualities that, for my usage, puts it on top. 

The 7 advantage

While the Nova Pro Wireless boasts active noise cancellation, a nifty base station with audio splitting, and swappable batteries, I’ve only really made use of the latter. Plus, the need for faux leather pads instead of mesh leads to some heat issues over longer gaming sessions. At $349, it’s a tough sell for most.

Buy the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X on Amazon.com

The Nova 7X, on the other hand, might not have ANC, a base station, or swappable batteries, but it does have more comfortable earpads and less clamping force, is generally lighter, and recharging on-the-fly is easy enough using USB-C. It also retails for $179, which is a significant discount over the similarly performing Nova Pro Wireless. 

Sound you can trust

Though the price gap is huge, overall sound quality is largely the same between the Nova Wireless and the Nova 7X. I’d even go as far as to say that I prefer the 7X with its slightly warmer tone. 

I’ve always found myself going back to SteelSeries when it comes to gaming headsets. The older Arctis non-Nova line has been fantastic when it comes to comfort over marathon gaming sessions and I’ve always found Arctis to top the table when it comes to accuracy in competitive games. I’ll often hear footstep noises that wouldn’t be as clearly conveyed with another headset. It’s hard to put my finger on how exactly SteelSeries has achieved this, but I’m happy to say the Nova line is equally dependable.

The Nova 7X has simultaneous wireless, too, with both 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth support. That means users can game on a console or PC while chatting on a mobile device at the same time, so there’s no need to pause your Warzone session when your phone starts to ring.

Mic matters

Like other modern gaming headsets, microphone quality has seen an improvement in recent years. Though it still pales in comparison to a dedicated mic, the Nova 7X’s boom benefits from noise-canceling and “Sonar ClearCast AI algorithms” to block out unwanted noise.

Put simply: The mic sounds plenty good enough for coordinating with teammates and talking over Discord, but I wouldn’t depend on it for Twitch or YouTube streaming.

Arctis Nova 7X vs. 7P vs. 7

Curiously, there are three versions of the Arctis Nova. There’s the 7, which is all-black and themed around PC gaming; the 7P, which is black with a blue replaceable strap and focuses on PlayStation; and the 7X, which is black with a green replaceable strap and tailored towards Xbox. They are all priced the same, despite the additional functionality added in the 7X, which has an extra bit of tech allowing it to work with Xbox systems.

Assuming no discounts are on offer, I’d recommend anyone thinking about grabbing the 7 or 7P get the 7X instead. Even if you don’t own an Xbox console right now, having that compatibility may be useful in the future. At no additional cost, it’s a no-brainer and the green accent color is only really noticeable when the headphone isn’t being worn and, if you really hate it, it can be swapped out.

Arctis Nova 7X review sample was provided by SteelSeries.