In a sea of headsets, SteelSeries brings its best to current-gen consoles with the Arctis 7X and 7P.
Picking a gaming headset has never been trickier, with so many manufacturers and models, all with a variety of features – it can be hard to pick the right one for you.
Thankfully, SteelSeries has bought its award-winning Arctis 7 range to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles with the Arctis 7P and Arctis 7X respectively.
Are they worth your money, though? We put each of them through their paces.
Design
Whether you’re playing on PlayStation or Xbox, the design of each of these Arctis headsets remains the same. While the 7X features a black finish with a geometric green print on both sides of the headband, the 7P offers a cleaner look – mimicking the PlayStation 5’s white, blue, and black design, although it’s also available in black, too.
Each features a retractable Discord-certified ClearCast noise-canceling microphone, with a ski goggle headband design and AirWeave ear cushions for comfort. The 7X allows for both game and chat audio mixing using the right side’s earcup dial, while the 7P offers mic monitoring instead.
As for onboard controls, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, a micro-USB port for charging, a mic mute button, and a volume dial, all on the left cup.
If you’ve seen a SteelSeries headset over the last few years, then there’s little to surprise you with these new entries – although that’s no bad thing. For our money, they’re still some of the cleanest-looking headsets available.
Audio Quality
Both the Arctis 7P and 7X offer SteelSeries’ excellent speaker drivers, meaning directional audio can help players listen out for an opponent lying in wait in Warzone or Apex Legends.
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Despite each headset’s lightweight form-factor, there’s plenty of punch to their output, too. For one, grenade explosions in the likes of Black Ops Cold War will leave your ears ringing, while the sound of a stadium chanting in FIFA 22 feels more akin to the real thing.
Mic quality remains excellent, as we’ve come to expect from SteelSeries, and the 7P’s mic monitoring allowed us to hit a sweet spot with ease. Features
Both headsets offer 24 hours of battery, while the USB-C dongle adds connectivity to the Arctis 7X or 7P for phones, tablets, or the Nintendo Switch. Sadly, though, there’s no Bluetooth functionality.
While the Arctis 7P doesn’t currently offer surround sound capabilities on PlayStation consoles, Sony may unlock that functionality in the future. It’s also worth noting that that 7X has the advantage of working on Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo consoles, as well as PC.
The 7P won’t work with Xbox, though, thanks to Microsoft’s own proprietary wireless technology not being in the dongle. While a PlayStation headset not working on Xbox consoles may not be news to some, multi-platform gamers may well want to opt for the 7X knowing it can play nicely with both systems.
Verdict
With impressive battery life, clear audio, and a comfortable fit, it’s hard to look past the SteelSeries 7P and 7X headsets as great options for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S respectively.
Not only are they great for gaming, but the retractable mic makes them ideal for listening to audio when watching a movie or enjoying music, too.
The Arctis 7X and the Arctis 7P are available now for £174.99 | EU €199.99 | $149.99 each.