Previewed at CeBit the 7H Gaming Headset from SteelSeries with interchangeable ear-cushions and a wide assortment of features.
Product on Review: SteelSeries 7H
Manufacturer and Sponsor: SteelSeries
Street Price: £89
SteelSeries are ambassadors amongst the gaming elite, not only do they focus on gaming mice, keyboards and pads but they also have a rich product-line in the audio field. In the past we have had the pleasure of dealing with the Siberia series of headsets that SteelSeries brought to the market last year.
Back in March we went over to CeBIT and had an exclusive look at the upcoming SteelSeries 7H. Since then we have been eagerly waiting to get our hands on the 7H because as you can see from the video, not only can you disassemble the headset and take it with you to events a lot easier but its sound quality is said to be great for all-round usage both in entertainment and gaming scenarios. The 7H will offer gamers an interchangeable ear-cup featuring a closed memory foam solution or a soft-cloth solution that will allow certain sounds through (ideal for gaming teams specifically). The headset takes advantage of a 50mm driver giving your ears rich low, mid and high tones. Similar to the Siberia series, the microphone on the 7H is retractable, easy to conceal and braided with a volume control console.
SteelSeries Take:
Specifications
Headphones
Frequency response
– 18 – 28.000 Hz
Impedance
– 32 Ohm
SPL@ 1kHz, 1 Vrms
– 112 dB
Cable length
– 1 + 2 = 3 m (9,8 ft.)
Jacks
– 3,5 mm
Microphone
Frequency response
– 50 – 16.000 Hz
Pick up pattern
– Uni-directional
Sensitivity
-38 dB
Packaging & First Look
As you will have seen and will expect, the 7H comes in traditional SteelSeries packaging. A windowed box showing a glimpse of the product inside, with strong orange typography on the front and sides. On the back of the box we have a run-down of the more indepth technical details for those who want to be enlightened (these details are on the previous page).
The 7H box-ography
Slipping the contents out of the box we have quite an assortment of bundled extras. The 7H headset is fastened into a grey fabric mould. Underneath this casing are the 3.5mm audio jacks that come with a 2m extension should you need the extra length – for your convenience. Also included is an instructions sheet, product guide, sticker and interchangeable ear-cushions. The beauty with the 7H headset is that you can swap out the ear-cushions depending on the effect you want. So there are dampening leather for passive noise isolation, or cloth for hear-through.
A variety of extras within the 7H packaging
With the 7H finally out of the packing we can see that externally it resembles similarities to the 5HV2. That is because the 7H is a step up from the 5H headset. The key elements of the 7H are that we are able to dismantle the headset, fit it into your back easily and it has the attributes to make it more durable than previous headsets. On first impressions the headset looks fantastic. If looks are anything to go by, visually the 7H are very stylish and appear to have a very robust structure.
The 7H in the spotlight. A very tasteful looking headset
Closer Look
The 7H holds a very aggressive look whilst maintain elegance. The ear-cups and the entire frame of the headset are smooth and uphold a sturdy make-up. The ear-cups can actually rotate 45º. Each ear-cup is clearly labelled L and R for the respective ears.
The ear-cushions that come fitted to the 7H out of the box are the leather memory-foam that close off the headphones. If you have every felt memory-foam you will be aware that this material is extremely soft and perfect for lining the inside of the ear-cups. The spacing for the ears are oval shaped rather than circular – something that you may find on some headphones. This does make more sense since ears are generally oval shaped rather than round unless of course your names Mickey!
A sturdy outer shell
Memory-foam ear-cushions are extremely comfortable
The headband has an engraved SteelSeries insignia across it that is shiny in appearance and feel. Every little detail about this headset has been thought about and I am really liking effort that has gone into the styling.
SteelSeries emblem on the headband
On the left ear-cup there is a cavity that holds the microphone. If you are familiar with the Siberia V2, the microphone on the 7H follows a very similar form. The Microphone is retractable, bends and stays in the position that you leave it. All these attributes are what you want when gaming.
Retractable microphone coming from the left ear-cup
I briefly mentioned in the introduction that the 7H has the ability to be dismantled. The earphones can be pulled away from the headband to result in 4 separate parts. The photograph below shows only 3 parts. But the cord is also detachable. So this entire process makes the 7H a lot more compact for travelling or if you want to store the headset away you can simply dismantle in a few easy steps.
The 7H dismantles into separate parts for easy transportation
The cable is removeable to this can be dismantled from the headset. The 7H uses a mini-USB to plug into the left sided earphone. As well as a detachable cable we have gold plated 3.5mm jacks, a volume control unit (with mic cancellation) and an extra 2m of cable should you need it.
Detachable mini-USB cable to 3.5mm gold plated jack with volume control.
With its chameleonic (yes this is a word!) characteristics already manifest in the breaking down into smaller parts we can go one step further – the ear cushions can also be taken away and swapped out. The leather, memory-foam cushions that are in place straight out of the box can be removed in a simple pulling action. Once removed the cloth cushions can be attached. This will provide the user with the ability to hear what is around them much easier than the other ear-cushions because the material has gaps and is open. In the photograph below you can see the holes which the ear-cushions press into.
Ear-cushions are interchangeable. Choose material or soft leather memory-foam.
Performance
With the SteelSeries 7H headset being designed for gaming its only fair that we observe its performance in the gaming environment. Although it is primarily a gaming peripheral, we all like to indulge in music and movies from time to time. Those thinking about purchasing the 7H would surely like me to report on these applications too. So bearing all these aspects in mind – gaming, music and movies will be considered to give a decent and profound assumption of the performance of our headset today.
Its good practise to compare the headset in question against other solutions too, so I will be testing the 7H headset along with the Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty as well as the SteelSeries Siberia V2. Both are well recognised and leading gaming peripherals. It’s also important to keep the testing on a fair plane, so for the purpose of this examination audio will be provided via the 5.1 onboard solution found on the ASUS Rampage III Formula.
Gaming
Gaming headsets are generally designed with FPS (First Person Shooter) gamers in mind. So the following games were loaded up for some hardcore FPS gaming sessions.
Call of Duty Black Ops
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Both are extremely popular titles and feature not only intense visual action but also strong, pulsating audio tones from explosions, gunfire and other audio effects. Both titles were played at 2 hours a piece.
Comparing to the other headsets, the 7H offers similar performance to that of the Siberia V2. Tones are noticeably richer though. Noise is picked up in the exact direction it is found, explosions, gunfire, footsteps, vehicle noise feel very atmospheric. Locating noise from the enemy is extremely important if you want to come out on top, the 7H does a cracking job at pinpointing sound from other players.
As SteelsSeries claim – low, mid and high tones are a conspicuous of the 7H. Picking out each individual sound can sometimes be a difficult task with other solutions but I found the 7H to be a worthy contender. On the audio side of things in-game the 7H is a superb audio solution.
NOTE: I did test the microphone out and found it to be very clear, crisp and precise.
Music & Movies
For this series of tests. I played the following tracks which offer a vast range of audio tones and also watched a short action scene of Clash of the Titans on Blu-Ray.
The Naked and the Famous – Punching in a dream
Milk Inc. – In My eyes
Linkin Park – Waiting for the End
Nothing holds me back from saying that again the 7H does not disappoint. It’s ability to deal with a variety of different genres of music and indeed HD movies is very pleasing. The only remark I would say is that the bass tones could be tweaked slightly. Bass is something that I thrive on, whilst there isn’t a significant reduction in bass when compared to the other headsets mentioned above, it could be enhanced a little. I say this for those perhaps with onboard sound. I have various soundcards that I can use to enhance the bass boost so this isn’t particularly any concern.
Comfort
With a choice between two different cushions its fair to say that the 7H gives you an option that many headsets don’t even offer. Personally I prefer the leather memory-foam ear-cushions. Even after an hour of gameplay they don’t irritate the ear. The entire headset is fairly light unlike previous headsets I have reviewed such as the Psyko 5.1. Combing a lightweight solution with extremely comfortable materials means you hardly notice you are wearing the 7H.
Conclusion
Since we began reviewing SteelSeries products, I have always held their solutions in high regard. I particularly like the way they style their products – they aren’t always loud and boastful. But they serve a purpose. Functionality is always a key aspect of their product design. Quality is surely better than quantity.
The 7H is a by-product of this philosophy. Here we have seen a headset that is able to hold its own in a range of genres ranging from gaming right through to music and movies. The performance translated to the user is fantastic, low, mid and high tones are all distinct. The tones are crisp, fulfilling and precise. On the battlefield, picking out enemy footsteps or action on another area of the map is easy to identify.
As I’ve already mentioned functionality is a key element to SteelSeries product design and the 7H have plenty of features to talk about. Whether you want the noise to be dampened for passive usage or transparent for hearing those around you, this isn’t a problem because the headset features interchangeable ear-cushions to suit both these needs. If you frequent LAN events then the 7H are ideal because they can be dismantled into 4 separate parts to avoid any snapping or breakage within your luggage and if you need extra cable length there is another 2m provided.
It seems SteelSeries have thought about everything with the 7H. It’s a feature rich headset that offers extremely good performance and functionality. Coming in at around £90, £30-40 more than the 5HV2 and Siberia V2 – some will argue ‘is it worth the extra money?’. Well, we’ve seen that the feature-set is something that is quite unique about the 7H, combine this with the fantastic audio sound quality and you have a winning combination. The other offerings are great products but the 7H is a clear winner and I have no problem with recommending them.
+ Fantastic audio quality across every spectrum
+ Great build quality
+ Good for travelling – breaks into parts
+ Interchangeable ear-cushions
+ Retractable microphone
+ Very comfortable
Cons
– Bass could do with a slight punch
