Perk up your ears.
The competition for best headset was pretty stiff this year, but the SteelSeries Arctis line ultimately stole the show, providing several strong contenders across various performance and price ranges.
When it came down to it, it was a struggle deciding between the Arctis 7 and the Arctis Pro Wireless options. While the Arctis Pro Wireless revealed itself as the superior option, the price (above $300) is, frankly, a bit too high to fully embrace.
A dual wireless connection (2.4G lossless + Bluetooth connection) provides crisp sound, along with the Hi-Res (40,000 Hz output) speaker drivers and a high-quality surround-sound system. The headset is comfortable and light while remaining sturdy. A dual battery system guarantees the headset is always charged, and a desktop hub acts as an equalizer and a charger at once.
The Pro undoubtedly has top notch performance in pretty much every regard, but unless you’re a hardcore audiophile, the increase in sound quality over our actual winner is likely to be lost on you.
At half the price, the Arctis 7 still has stellar performance, with options for both wired and wireless use, and the same surround sound system. It still has quite good audio drivers (S1 ultra-low distortion) and the same design for the shell, remaining comfortable and sturdy for long periods of use over many years, if you take care of them.
The Arctis 7 might take a bit of a performance hit over the Arctis Pro, and it may be missing a couple of fancy features, but the value is an undisputed win over its more powerful cousin.
We could absolutely see someone who wants the best of the best jumping for the Pro and being very satisfied with its performance, but we feel that there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to performance over cost, and the Arctis Pro Wireless exceeds that, providing less bang for your buck than the other top notch model, the 7, available from the same brand.
With that in mind, our final choice for best gaming headset of the year is the Arctis 7.
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Published: Dec 20, 2019 08:00 pm