SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Gen 2 Review

Design and features

• Similar design to the Nova 7
• Steel headband gives more rigidity
• Dual connectivity works like a treat

Despite being billed as a second-generation headset, SteelSeries hasn’t played around too much with the design of the Nova 7X Gen 2. In fact, if you put the two together, you’d be hard pressed to work out which one was which. 

That means the new headset comes with the same build that you’ve come to expect from the brand. While the shell is largely made from plastic, the steel headband – supported by an adjustable elastic spring band – gives the headset a better level of rigidity compared to all-plastic headsets. This reduces the amount of contact pressure you feel – and after hundreds of hours of wearing these cans, I can confidently say it does. 

My biggest issue with the design, though, comes with the ear cups. Like the original Nova 7, the Gen 2 features fabric earcups, which are soft and malleable. However, as a glasses wearer, I found the earcups applied quite a bit of pressure to the side of my head after a few hours of wear. 

I tried a couple of different frames during testing and while I always felt an element of fatigue after a while, the pressure was at its worst while wearing glasses with thicker arms. Generally speaking, I could relieve the pressure by either adjusting the frames slightly or taking the headset off for a few minutes, but it’s something to consider if you’re a glasses wearer like me. 

Outside of that small flaw, the headset and its feature set impressed. With similar multimedia controls on the earcups as before, the Gen 2 made changing volume on the fly a breeze. 

The left earcup features a volume control dial, as well as a push-to-mute feature for the microphone (which illuminates a bright red LED on the mic boom when in use). The push-to-mute button is nice and sticky and sits proud when enabled, making accidental mutes a thing of the past. 

The right earcup features a volume dial for game and chat mixing, as well as power and Bluetooth buttons. The power button features an LED that indicates the battery level, although you can’t see that unless you take the headset off. 

Connectivity-wise, the Nova 7 Gen 2 uses an omni-platform wireless USB-C dongle, which lets you use the headset across various platforms with relative ease. During testing, we used the headset primarily on PC, but also on Xbox Series X, and mobile without issue. It also has Bluetooth 5 and a 3.5mm headphone jack, giving you plenty of options, including dual connectivity.

The USB-C connectivity means that, like the last generation, you can charge the headset directly via USB-C. In fact, due to the port being situated on the right ear cup, you can even do this while using the headset without any interruption to your gametime. It also means you can make use of fast charging, with 15 minutes giving you about six hours of juice.

Battery life

• Over 50 hours of battery life
• Quick charging capabilities

The battery capacity of the Gen 2 is greatly improved over its predecessor, with SteelSeries promising 54 hours wirelessly, 42 hours on Bluetooth, or 38 hours on dual connectivity out of the box. 

My experience wasn’t too far from that, either. While testing the headset across both my work day and gaming sessions, I managed to get 51 hours of battery life from the headset before needing to charge it. However, when I used the dual connectivity function, I found the battery drained much faster. 

I was quite impressed with the battery life overall and found that a quick charge at the start or the end of the day meant I could stay wireless pretty much entirely.

If you do get low on battery, the headset warns you with three audible beeps every couple of minutes. If you’re in a call or using Discord when this happens, it can be incredibly jarring as you can’t turn this off or turn it down.

I found that a full charge took approximately an hour and a half.

Sound Quality

• Great gaming performance, amplified by the app
• Good music performance
• No ANC, but reasonable passive isolation for the price

I was quite impressed with the overall performance of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Gen 2, especially when used in conjunction with the GG app. I’ve been playing an awful lot of Escape From Tarkov recently – a game where audio cues can often mean the difference between life and death. 

I found the headset balanced the ambient noises of Tarkov’s maps well, while ensuring I could hear the lightest footsteps of my enemies. I usually play Tarkov with my trusty Beyerdynamic DT 770M’s and I was quite surprised by how well this headset held up in comparison. 

Likewise, playing games like Battlefield 6, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, and RV There Yet, the Nova 7X Gen held up well – so much so that it’s become my go-to headset for gaming now. The bass has enough presence to give explosions and action-heavy moments the weight they deserve, the mids ensure dialogue is clear and balanced, and positional audio felt accurate and well-defined. 

The sound quality while listening to music is pretty good too. It’s not as good as some of the best headphones that we’ve tested but the overall performance is pretty good. 

I played around with the settings in the app for music to get the best out of the headset, as some songs felt a little bit washed out. However, once I found the right settings, I clearly hit a sweet spot for sound quality. 

One thing to note is that the headset doesn’t come with active noise cancelling, which isn’t exactly a shock considering the price. However, there’s a decent amount of passive isolation: while playing games or music, I can’t hear the whirr of my PC fans and, to the irritation of my husband, I can’t hear him talking to me from my office doorway or the sound of my Ring doorbell. 

That being said, it doesn’t block everything. I can hear the muffled clickity clack of my mechanical keyboard while playing music, for example. 

The Nova 7X Gen 2 noise isolation isn’t perfect, but it does a reasonable job – and for the price, that’s all you can ask for.

Microphone quality

• Retractable design allows for versatility
• Clear sound that’s good for gaming

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Gen 2 comes equipped with the Clearcast Gen 2 boom arm microphone, which sits in the left ear cup when not in use. When you need it, all you need to do is gently pull on the tactile end and bend it into an ideal position. 

It’s a simple design, but it works, and the retractable arm gives the Nova 7X Gen 2 more versatility for those looking to use the headset as headphones while out and about. 

The end of the microphone also comes equipped with LEDs, which turn red when push-to-mute is turned on. I found these LEDs to be really helpful while using Discord and while they’re noticeable enough, I never felt they were distracting me from the task at hand. 

As for the microphone itself, it’s good, but it’s not brilliant. It’s what you’d expect to find on a headset at this price.

On Discord, video conferencing calls, and in-game chat, my voice came through clearly, making communication easy. However, the quality of my voice is definitely compromised, making me sound quite tinny in nature. 

You can alter the output of the microphone using SteelSeries GG, but regardless of what filter I applied, I still sounded relatively unnatural. 

For the average person, this won’t be a problem. But if you’re looking for streamer-grade quality, you’re better off looking for an external microphone. 

Software

• Over 200 presets to pick from
• Manual tuning gives you full control

The SteelSeries GG software is a brilliant companion to the Arctis Nova 7X Gen 2. Used as the hub to install and update the headset’s firmware, the software also features a whole suite of customisation options, giving you the opportunity to change the mix for games, music, and entertainment.

The software comes with over 200+ presets for common games like Counter-Strike, Fortnite, Call of Duty, and more, but you can also play around with the equaliser yourself to fine-tune the mix to your liking. 

You can choose presets using the companion app too, which is perfect if you’re a console or mobile-first gamer looking to gain an upper hand. 

On the whole, these presets are pretty good – we found they amplified footsteps in games like Arc Raiders and Escape From Tarkov, while boosting the surround sound in more single-player games. 

The manual settings, however, are locked to the desktop app only, so bear that in mind if console gaming is your primary driver for this.

Should you buy it?