SteelSeries 7H Headset Review (for iPad, iPhone and iPod)

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. The Headset4. Comfort and Performance5. Conclusion6. View All Pages

One of the main areas in which the 7H excels is comfort.  It is clear to us that SteelSeries have done everything possible to make this headset as comfortable as they could.  Like most other headsets on the market, the SteelSeries 7H features an adjustable headband so that you can make sure you achieve the best possible fit.

As we mentioned earlier in the review, SteelSeries include a second set of earpads with the 7H which have a cloth covering rather than faux-leather.   These are designed to improve comfort in intense gaming sessions where you may be wearing them for hours on end.  Switching between the two sets of earpads is extremely simple, requiring us to simply pull off the standard earpads and click the others in.

SteelSeries have chosen to use an over-the-ear design for the earpieces so the earpads actually press against your head around your ears.  This allows the headset to fit more securely than on-the-ear designs and also brings with it better noise isolation. When you have the volume of this headset turned up to a reasonable level, it is almost impossible to hear any external noise unless it’s very loud.  This makes the 7H ideal for use at LAN events where there is likely to be a high level of ambient noise.

Being an Apple edition product though, we thought it fitting to start our testing with the iPad 2.  We loaded up Real Racing 2  HD and were surprised at how much the 7H improved the overall experience when compared to the inbuilt speaker.  It reproduced the engine sounds very well and added an extra level of immersion to the experience.

Moving on to our Macbook, we fired up iTunes to see how well the 7H coped with music playback.  In this test the 7H was able to deliver a clear sound through all of the registers even though the lower registers were much more pronounced.

The 7H also performed well in our movie playback test which we performed with both our Macbook and iPad.  In the opening scene of The Dark Knight, the slight prominence in the lower registers made the deep bass notes sound very impressive.  Sound panning was much more effective with the 7H than with our Macbook’s built in speakers although vitual or dedicated surround sound would improve the experience further.  This was even more noticeable with the iPad which lacks sound panning altogether as it only has one speaker.

Despite performing well across the board, it’s gaming where the SteelSeries 7H really excels.  The sound balance is perfectly set up for gaming and performs espeically well in FPS titles.  In Call of Duty: Black Ops, gunshots were reasonably prominent but not overexposed and we were able to hear our enemies sneaking up behind us at all times.  The USB version of this headset does provide better sound panning, though, as it supports virtual 7.1 surround sound.

Become a Patron!