SteelSeries is back with a brand new set of premium wireless headsets that are primarily for the Xbox 360, but will work with other devices too. The SteelSeries Spectrum 7XB are on the review block today, a solid headset that untethers you from your Xbox and makes communication with your co-op partners even easier.
Inside the package you’ll find your headset, which feels extremely solid in construction, a set of pass through cables to hook up your audio (red and white connectors), a ?” to ?” stereo cable, the Xbox 360 microphone cable, your base station, and finally two triple A batteries.
Rather than utilize a built in rechargeable battery, SteelSeries opted for two AAA’s - which of course - you can get your own rechargeable versions of. It took about 14 hours of use for mine to run out with a mix of 360 and PC use.
The base station is powered by a USB port and you can hook up audio to your 360 a few ways. If you utilize component cables with the red and white audio connectors there’s a pass through connector that sits between them and the input jacks. If you use HDMI or Optical audio, you’ll need to connect the box to a headphone jack on either your TV or receiver. This was the method I used.
I used the headset through a variety of games, but most of my co-op time consisted of Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon and F.E.A.R. 3. The nice thing about these two games is EDF is quite busy, with lots of audio and effects while F.E.A.R. 3 can be busy at times, it also slows down and uses environmental effects to create tension. With these two ends of the spectrum it was easy to get a good feel for how the headset’s audio quality was.
The 7XBs performed fairly well from an audio standpoint, I had to cycle through the ExactSound settings to find one I liked as they were a little light on bass at first. For the most part they sounded great and it was easy to determine directional audio. The closed ear design also made it impossible to hear the outside world - this was proved numerous times as I successfully ignored my wife asking for assistance with things around the house.
The best thing by far is the LiveMix audio, something also available on other SteelSeries headsets. When your teammates talk, the mixer dynamically lower the in game audio so you can hear them easier - and it works exactly as advertised. No more struggling to hear my co-op partners over the sound of gunfire and explosions.
The retractable microphone works well and is extremely flexible, most of my teammates said I sounded great. One problem I had though is when you talk - the closed ear design makes it tough to hear yourself - so you end up talking louder than you intend. It would have been nice to have included the ability to turn on monitoring for your own microphone channel.
I tried to run interference with the headphones, after all that’s always been a problem with wireless cans. I used my cell phone, turned on the microwave, and even fired up the PS3 with Wi-Fi and downloaded something. Nothing seemed to interfere and cause the audio to drop, though without any audio playing there was a slight hum. Most likely this was due to electrical feedback on the base station.
I also used the Spectrum 7XBs on my PC, mostly to listen to music and watch videos. I was able to walk around most of my downstairs floor without the audio cutting out using this method - so distance from the base station shouldn’t be an issue for most, Steelseries claims 32 feet. My only gripe is there is no way to hook up the microphone on a PC right now - it ONLY works with the Xbox 360. Hopefully SteelSeries remedies this in the future.
The final question everyone always asks is - “what do they cost?” It’s not cheap - $179.99 is pretty steep for wireless headphones. A few Amazon searches revealed some competitor products anywhere from $100 to $130. Whether the quality of those are as good as the 7XB is remained to be seen, but needless to say you usually get what you pay for.
If you need the ultimate set of wireless headphones for your Xbox 360 with a slick voice communication option - look no further than the SteelSeries Spectrum 7XB - just be prepared to open your wallet.
Specifications:
Frequency response: 18 – 28,000 Hz
Impedance: 32 Ohm
SPL@ 1kHz, 1 Vrms: 112 dB
Cable length: 3.3 ft. (Detachable from headset to controller with 2.5 mm plug) Jacks: 3.5 mm
Microphone
Frequency response: 50 – 16,000 Hz
Pick up pattern: Uni-directional
Sensitivity: -38 dB
Transmitter box
USB Powered (from Xbox 360)
3.5 mm stereo jack input
Input level control
2.6 GHz radio interface
Range: 9 m (30 ft.)
Dimensions: 83 mm x 83 mm x 26 mm
The Good:
+ Quality Construction
+ Closed Ear design
+ Solid Sound Quality
+ LiveMix Audio is Perfect for Co-Op
The Bad:
- hard to hear yourself talk
- price
- some minor static here and there
- mic only works on 360