SteelSeries have teamed up with Apple to provide iPhone, iPod, iPad users with an audio product to enjoy movies and music with.
Product on Review: Steel Series 7H Series iPhone/iPod/iPad
Manufacturer and Sponsor: SteelSeries
RRP: Approx £75 inc. VAT (GBP)
What started off as a small 2-man operation at the turn of the millennium has since grown to what we now recognise as one of the world’s leading professional gaming peripherals brand – SteelSeries. Known for their high quality and professional grade gaming products, which range from mouse-mats to headsets, they cover all the necessary hardware that is key to a gamer’s success. We’ve had a look at some SteelSeries products in the past, such as the original 7H headset, including a very unusual accessory not normally associated with gaming – gaming glasses. Today we are very lucky to get hold of the 7H ‘iPhone/iPod/iPad’ edition – a slight variation of the 7H that we reviewed previously, so moving swiftly on, let’s have a look at the specs.
Specifications & Features
ALTERNATE DESIGN
SteelSeries 7H is now available in an alternate design for mobile devices like the iPod®, iPhone®, and iPad®. The soundscape has been optimized to reproduce crisp highs, crystal clear vocals and deep, balanced bass levels for an impressive set of cans.
SUPERIOR SOUND
The rich and detailed sound that the SteelSeries 7H delivers is powered by 50 mm drivers for a superior soundscape. The soundscape for the 7H was precarious to achieve. In order to be both an awesome headset for gaming as well as a powerful headphone for music, applications and VoIP, the 7H was tested and perfected by gaming professionals and musicians to achieve great sound for all ears.
PERFECT FOR TRAVEL
The feature to disassemble the 7H into 4 pieces including at each ear cup, headband, and the cord, makes it ideal to travel with
VOLUME CONTROL
The SteelSeries 7H features a cord with a built-in volume control. You can simply adjust sound levels manually instead of having to adjust it in your software settings.
QUICKLY ANSWER CALLS
The SteelSeries in-line remote includes the SteelSeries logo directly in the centre, which allows users to quickly answer and hang-up phone calls with an easy click of the logo.
INTERCHANGEABLE EAR CUSHIONS
We also understand that it’s important to have the option, especially if it means communicating with your team during a tournament. The 7H is also equipped with interchangeable cloth ear cushions that can easily be swapped out for a completely different, hear-through audio experience. Regardless of what type of sound you prefer, both ear cushions surround the outside of your ear, making them comfortable to use.
TECHNICAL
• Frequency response: 18 – 28.000 Hz
• Impedance: 32 Ohm
• SPL@ 1kHz, 1 Vrms: 112 dB
• Cable length: 1 m
• Jacks: 3,5 mm
• Microphone
• Frequency response: 50 – 16.000 Hz
• Pick up pattern: Uni-directional
• Sensitivity: -38 dB
Packaging & First Look
Different to the original 7H, SteelSeries have decided to go for a much clearer look for the packaging for this new edition. From first glance one can see that the design of the headset is almost identical to the original 7H. The box is window free with a relatively small amount of information and colours.
Spinning the box around to the back, it lists some of the main features in several languages and features an image of the breakdown of the headset.
Unlike the original 7H this ‘i edition’ features a magnetic door on the front that opens to reveal the headset in all its glory. The headset is attached to a felt covered plastic support, with the buttons on the cable attached to the front for display purposes. Around the back is where the all the accessories and usual blurb that comes with headsets. In this case its an extra set of material ear cups and an instruction manual.
Once removed from its support we have a very impressive and stylish looking headset. This edition of the 7H is identical to the original 7H headset in almost every way – bar the single 3.5mm audio/microphone jack that will be discussed later. From initial inspection the build quality is done to a very high standard, with a sturdy, quality feel to them, with lots of attention to detail.
Closer Look
Just like the original 7H, it maintains its aggressive yet elegant look. The chrome details and metallic paint on the plastic ear-cups adds to the elegances. Unlike the majority of headsets out there, the headband is flatter than normal, which gives it that ‘gamer’ appearance, which could be something that could drive away potential buyers bearing in mind it’s designed for iPod/iPhone or iPad users.The ear cups are labelled right and left, with the left ear cup containing the retractable microphone and the micro-b USB connection, which we’ll look at later. The ear cups by default have leather memory-foam padding of an oval shape, which helps reduce the ambient background noise. They are not particularly large, so anyone with big ears could experience discomfort after prolonged use. A good feature is that they are detachable and can even be replaced with felt memory-foam if you would prefer to hear more of what is going on around you.
Just like the original, the headset has SteelSeries and its logo across the top of the headband.
Again, just like the original 7H, this headset can be de-assembled into 4 main parts (with detachable ear cushions), which can aid transportation of the headset when not in use. To disassemble, there are just 2 clips you push down and it detaches.
Just like the original 7H and the Siberia V2 headset, this edition also features a retractable microphone that can be bent into position. When fully retracted it barely protrudes from the ear cup.
The 7H ‘i’ edition also features the interchangeable ear cushions, which are very simple to swap out.
The cable for this headset is specifically designed to work with Apple products, because of this, the headset is only usable with their products if you want to use the microphone, otherwise it acts as standard headphones. The cable is approximately 80cm in length, which could be an issue with some people. On the cable there are 3 buttons, of which 2 control the volume (+/-) and the third, the SteelSeries logo, answers and hangs up phone calls.
Performance & Comfort
This headset is a slightly unusual product for a gaming peripherals brand, due to it being optimised for Apple products. Normally to test out the performance of a headset we’d kick back and play a variety of games and music and use VoIP programs, but with this headset the microphone is useless when used in conjunction with the latter. For this reason the microphone can only be tested with actual phone calls, which is a pity, as they use very little bandwidth. With this in mind, we’ll be testing on both an iPhone 4 and a PC to get an overall idea of how it fares.
Gaming
Since SteelSeries design all their products around gaming, what better way than to test over several hours of gaming? For this phase we’ll be jumping in game in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Counter Strike: Source.
Just like the original 7H, every sound was crisp and precise. The direction the sound originated from was also easily distinguishable – something that I found put me one step ahead of many CSS players. However, in BC2 there was a discernable lack of bass when standing next to a tank, or when C4 explosives went off next to you.
Music
For this part of the testing a wide range of songs were listened to, that covered many genres. Just as with gaming the different keys and tones were all very clear and crisp, yet some of the tunes that had more bass in them struggled to maintain a clear output when at a higher volume, so that slight distortion occurred.
The music was listened to on both PC and iPhone and this issue occurred on both. However, when calling someone the recipient’s voice was crystal clear as was the microphone.
Whilst on a general scale the headset performs to a high standard, bass is something that is important for me, so this could be a potential place to improve. This could however vary for different users so it shouldn’t be considered a major problem.
Comfort
The tests took place over several hours, which to say the least, were pretty uncomfortable on my ears. Whilst I don’t have big ears, it would seem that Dave (the original 7H headset reviewer) has smaller ears thus found them very comfortable. Continuous adjustment was needed to temporarily avoid discomfort; however this would seem to be another minor issue and would vary depending on ear size.
Conclusion
Although the SteelSeries 7H i-edition is a well-designed product with neutral styling and a high build quality which will appeal to many consumers, it may be filling a gap in the market that may not even be there. The headset is marketed as a mobile accessory, yet is styled as a desktop headset; the design is more akin to a gaming accessory than a fashionable portable headset. I can see this being an issue for all but the least style conscious of nerds, and those who don’t wish to fashion themselves on fighter pilots.The sound quality of the headset is above average for a mobile headset, the 50mm drivers perform well at high and mid tones but lack definition in bass (I apologise that we have not had the time to make a video demonstrating this). Although this fact is not a major issue for gaming and the headset is very clear when making calls, the lack of bass clarity is very obvious when listening to music.
Overall, the 7H i-edition is an uninspired step into unfamiliar territory for SteelSeries and is not a bad first effort. It is priced reasonably for an iPhone accessory at around £70 but I think it lacks the finesse to beat its competitors in this category, so for these reasons the SteelSeries 7H iPod/iPhone/iPad edition will be awarded:
+ Superb build quality
+ Great design
+ Clear and crisp audio
+ Good price
Cons
– Mic only useable with Apple products
– Not enough bass
– Can be uncomfortable after prolonged use
