SteelSeries Arctis 7+ vs Arctis 9
Product links in this article are affiliate links. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Differences Summary
Connectivity
Controls
Headphone Audio Quality
Microphone Audio Quality
Comfort and Build Quality
Software
Verdict
Differences Summary
The three main differences between the Arctis 7+ and Arctis 9 can be broken down into connectivity options, controls, and headphone audio quality.
The 7+ can be used wired or wirelessly with the included USB-C dongle, but the Arctis 9 also has dual wireless functionality. The 9 can be used wirelessly with the USB-A dongle and Bluetooth simultaneously. The trade off is the Arctis 7+ has 30 hours of listed battery life while the Arctis 9 has 20.
The controls are slightly diffierent with the Arctis 9 gaining a Bluetooth pairing button which doubles as a media control button for phones.
The Arctis 7+ has better headphone audio quality than the 9 even though the drivers have the same listed specifications.
Connectivity
Arctis 7+ in use with an undocked Switch.
The Arctis 7+ can connect using the included 3.5 mm cable or the USB Type-C dongle for 2.4 GHz low latency transmission.
The wireless functionality works on PS4, PS5, PC, Android, and I even tested it on the Nintendo Switch undocked. When used with the USB-C transmitter with Android, you can answer calls and change music tracks with the 7+’s power button.
To use the 7+ with a USB-A port, you'll need to use the adapter cable included in the box.
The Arctis 9 can also be used wired with a 3.5 mm cable or wireless with the included dongle transmitter. However, the 9 doesn't actually include a 3.5 mm cable in the box, so you'll have to supply your own.
The dongle on the 9 is a lot larger than the sleeker 7+ transmitter. I don't mind this because the Arctis 7+ connecter is so wide it often takes up multiple USB slots - it plugs into one and blocks one next to it. I tested the dongle with both my PC and PS4.
For Xbox users who want wireless support, consider the Arctis 7X or Arctis 9X.
What the Arctis 9 adds is Bluetooth functionality. And the Bluetooth even works while the headset is actively receiving audio from another device. You can answer calls or listen to music from your phone or other device with Bluetooth while using the lower latency dongle to play on PC or PS5.
An annoying design oversight of the Arctis 9’s Bluetooth is if you use it near the edge of the dongle range while it’s plugged in, it will continuously beep and try to reconnect to the dongle. There’s no way to stop it from doing that without just taking out the dongle entirely.
The Arctis 9 dongle needs an off switch…
Doing home workouts while using the Bluetooth on my phone was annoying to the point where I had to just stop and take out the dongle from my PC.
Controls and ports
The second difference is minor and pretty much an extension of the first. The controls and ports are slightly different on these devices.
Arctis 7+ controls and ports.
On the left ear cup of the 7+, there's a mic mute switch, headphone gain wheel, proprietary USB slot for the included 3.5 cable, a traditional 3.5 mm cable slot, a USB type-C charging slot (which is also needed to update the firmware), and a retractable mic. On the right ear cup is a game/chat volume mixer, and a power button that can also be used to control media on Android.
Arctis 9 game/chat mixer in focus.
Arctis 9 right ear cup controls.
The controls are switched around quite a bit on the Arctis 9. Most of the controls are on the right ear cup including a headphone gain wheel, mic mute button, Bluetooth pairing/media control button, power button, micro USB port, and 3.5 mm headphone port.
The left earcup only has the game/chat volume mixer and retractable mic. The game/chat mixers for both the Arctis 7+ and 9 only work on PC. You can blame Sony and Microsoft for that.
Headphone Audio Quality
The drivers of the 7+ and 9 have the same specifications: 40 mm, 32 ohm impedance, 20 Hz - 20 kHz frequency response. That said, I tested the Arctis 9 through 3.5 mm, Bluetooth, and the wireless dongle. The 7+ sounded significantly better both wired and wirelessly.
Over the transmitter or Bluetooth (for the 9), both devices have a subtle electronic hiss in the background.
Specifically, the 9's bass response is weaker than the 7+’s and not as defined. SteelSeries devices honestly never thump and never boom. That’s why I’m not the biggest fan of their sound… But the 9 has even less sub-bass out the box than the 3, 5, and 7+. I don't know how or why this is the case, but the 9 hurt my ears due to how screechy they were.
This could be tuning. Maybe SteelSeries was aiming for that thinner, more distant and hollow sound. But I’m not convinced. The 9 also seemed to respond worse to EQ adjustments. With the 7+, I could improve the sound with the EQ in SteelSeries Engine, and when Sonar actually worked I could the stack bass enhancement effect with the parabolic EQ and get little to no distortion.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition with the Arctis 9.
The Arctis 9 just could never produce that same sub-bass and would distort before I could get it to the level that the 7+ could.
For competitive FPS players only interested in hearing footsteps as clearly as possible, one might not care about this too much. Bass haters might also shrug this off.
However, from my perspective, even if you don't like warm sounding devices, you can just decrease the low end on the 7+ with EQ. With the 9, you're stuck with something tinnier no matter what. Again, I’m not sure why this discrepancy is the case when the drivers should be the same, but that's my experience.
Warzone Pacific with the Arctis 7+.
So those are the three main differences between the Arctis 7+ and 9: different connection options, different controls, and the 7+ just sounds better. Now I'll quickly go over the similarities and in particular the build, mic and software.
Comfort and Build Quality
The build quality on the Arctis 7+ and 9 is basically identical. There's a steel headband with excellent flex on both headsets. There's no direct vertical adjustment, but there is the classic ski goggle headband that you can make looser or tighter using the velcro strap.
The mesh padding material doesn't lock in or block out sound, so you get an open back headset feel from these even though they’re technically closed back. I prefer fake leather from a comfort and sound isolation perspective, but this is personal preference.
The Arctis 9 comfort level is about a 6/10 to me. I like pleather more.
Microphone Audio Quality
The mics are equally bad on the Arctis 7+ and 9. Significant compression is going on here and they both sound worse than the cheaper wired models - the Arctis 1, 3, and 5.
I really wanted to see if SteelSeries Sonar software could help out here by adding filters or EQ. However, Sonar was still in early access as of my tests and it simply would not work properly. Even still, the raw mic quality is pretty much unsalvageable.
Software
Both the Arctis 7+ and 9 get access to SteelSeries Engine.
Both devices connect to SteelSeries engine which is the stable app while Sonar is in early access. You get basic EQ adjustments on both and can change the sidetone volume.
The 7+ actually gets the short end of the stick here as the options like bass enhancement are only accessible in Sonar whereas you can use it directly in SteelSeries Engine with the 9.
Sonar early access is really great… when it works.
The 7+ doesn’t have as many features in SteelSeries Engine directly.
Then again, without Sonar you have to enable the 7.1 virtual surround sound gimmick to access the bass enhancement or vocal clarity options. And yes I said gimmick - this isn't real surround sound just like every headset with one driver per earcup doesn't have real surround sound. It's just a filter.
There’s some great news for console users when it comes to SteelSeries Engine. The settings save to the wireless transmitters of the both Arctis 7+ and Arctis 9, so you can use your custom EQ on PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch. The sidetone settings were finicky to save on the 7+ for some reason, but as long as I unmuted the mic before changing the settings, they saved properly.
Verdict
Holding the Arctis 7+ (left) and Arctis 9.
I recommend the Arctis 7+ over the Arctis 9. The headphone audio quality hit and 50% worse battery life is not worth gaining dual wireless functionality and Bluetooth support.
However, if given the choice of any wireless headset on the market, I much prefer the Astro A50 over these. I like the sound much better, but that device is less versatile and has auto-shut off issues.
The search for the best wireless headset continues…
Product Listings
SteelSeries Arctis 7+: https://amzn.to/3HhBW5f
SteelSeries Arctis 9: https://amzn.to/3uy4d3O
