Okay Geek Farm
SteelSeries 7H USB gaming headset review
Jason Tsay
A proper gaming headset is a must when it comes to playing games online. The SteelSeries 7H USB is the company’s flagship model, featuring virtual 7.1 surround sound, a travel friendly design, and a neat stowaway microphone. How does it perform in our tests? — Our review after the break!
Features
- Optimized soundscape for crystal clear high, low and mid-tones
- Interchangeable ear-cushions for both hear-through cloth and noise dampening leather
- 50 mm driver units provide a rich reproduction of all acoustic details
- Pull-out, invisible microphone
- Travel friendly and can be dismantled into 4 separate pieces
Our Impressions
The SteelSeries 7H comes in a sizeable cardboard box with a plastic window on the side. Within the packaging, you’ll find the headset, the USB sound card, an extension cable, a set of cloth earpads, and a brochure.
Design on the 7H headset is kept fairly simple - a rectangular headband attached to adjustable spherical earcups. The plastics used are of a matte but slightly metallic finish with hints of dark chrome. Our first impression of the headset was how solidly built it is. While not being entirely heavy, this thing feels like a tank and ready to withstand the abuse of hardcore gamers. On the leg earcup, you will find a pull-out mic concealed cleverly. The uni-directional mic can bend all you want to accommodate the position your mouth will be in while gaming. The 7H features a detachable braided cable that connects to the left earcup via what appears to be a proprietary jack. The first cable you can attach has a rectangular module for enabling/disabling the mic as well as adjusting the volume. At the other end are two gold plated jacks for the mic and headphones. You can choose to stick this into the included 2 meter long braided cable or into any source of your choice, as well as the USB sound card used for surround sound. The shorter cable is perfect for laptop gaming while the extension will reach your desktop without a problem. One other eye-catching feature is the fact that the headset can be broken down into separate parts for easier transport (two earcups, headband, and cable). We actually didn’t have any problems disassembling the headset and putting it back together - it gives a solid click.
We did have a couple build quality issues with the headset. The headband cushion started to peel off after about a week for no apparent reason. Secondly, the earcups and hinges are not perfectly fitted together so the cup was constantly getting stuck against the hinge. Nothing major but we thought it was worth noting.
The earpads don’t seem to be the most comfortable or cushy but having worn the headset for some time, I’m glad to report that you shouldn’t have any problems with them. For longer sessions, we;d recommend swapping over to the cloth pads but the leather ones are great for blocking out noise. Another thing to mention about wearing the headset - you might feel that it is too tight the first time you wear it but really, we’d simply describe it as a secure fit atop the cranium.
Audio on this headset is pretty impressive. In fact, we didn’t have any problems hooking up to an iPod and enjoying some tunes. Aside from music, FPS’s also perform admirably. As you’ve probably heard of by now, the SteelSeries 7H features virtual 7.1 surround sound. This is accomplished by a tiny USB adapter that acts as a sound card. We shoved it into the USB port on our computer and grabbed SteelSeries’ software off their site to get started. The SteelSeries control panel is not the most visually appealing piece of software we’ve seen but it provides easy toggles for surround sound options and equalizers. The external sound card did amplify the volume a bit but did not make things sound a ton better. That said, we did indeed feel that the directional audio made a difference in our favorite shooters. As for microphone quality, we didn’t have much to complain about but did find that we sounded a little more muffled than we did with a Razer Carcharias headset.
Overall
Positioned as SteelSeries’ flagship ‘set, we had high expectations for the 7H USB. It has many laudable features and is very well constructed. After having the chance to actually try them out, we can say for a fact that they won’t disappoint.
Pro’s
- Surround sound audio
- Solid build and construction
- Stowaway mic
Con’s
- A bit expensive
- Slightly muffled microphone
Where to buy
MSRP: $149.99
This review was done by Jason Tsay, who was provided the 7H USB headset by SteelSeries.
