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Hardware Review

SteelSeries Arena 7 Speakers Review

Don’t let their size fool you

As someone who has used the same desktop speakers for over ten years, it felt alien to see (and hear) a different set of noise nodes inhabiting my desk. My desire for noise is often a simple one, where my speakers pull a very basic duty with general PC sound – but the moment I want to talk quality, I bring out the headphones to make sure I am getting the full picture. So with open ears and an open mind, I wanted to see what I was missing out on.

Out of the box, the SteelSeries Arena 7’s have that same signature feel of quality that I have encountered with other products like the Arctis Nova Pro headphones or the Alias Pro microphone, all sleek and matte finished in black and dark grey. Logical metal use is found where it counts, particularly with making sure that components can be wear resistant and balanced to sit where needed. Physical controls are also simple and to the point, with a volume knob on the right speaker and a dial on the subwoofer to control the amount of WUBS you get from your bass. Special mention to all the cables also, because they were robust and shared the build quality.

Big, round – solid. Like a Shot put ball

Right away I am quite impressed with the magic trick that SteelSeries has achieved with the two speakers, being that they appear to be massive, unwieldy bastards – but the second you set them down you realise they don’t actually dominate a desk space. The squat, rounded design of the left and right desktop units makes them feel like shotputs in your hand – but sitting on the desk, they are quite petite and efficient with how they peek out from under my elevated monitors. Initially I rolled my eyes at the RGB rim lighting, but with a little software and a minute or two you can dial it back to something warm and forgettable.

First hurdle done, with the actual set up taking mere moments – in fact, it took me longer to extricate the components of my old Logitech speakers, if only for the cable malarky. A quick USB plug later, and I was up and cooking. With not a single setting touched, everything sounded warm and rich – rewarding the effortless set up. I put on my best audio snob impression and blasted some proper quality music options to see what I was in for, and was surprised to find that for the first time in years I wasn’t desperately reaching for my headphones. I have experienced far more expensive speakers in my life, especially when interacting with musician friends – and the sound quality with zero tweaks on these puppies was excellent. My wishlist of expensive wall-mounted bastards like the Bose S1 Pro’s suddenly felt a million miles away.

Tweaks come by way of SteelSeries own software package, creatively titled ‘GG’. I already had it installed on account of the other SteelSeries goodies that I use, so I was tickled to see that the Arena 7’s made themselves right at home. In here I could select some preset options, and was surprised to find that the speakers actually offer a pretty decent attempt at Spatial Audio. It may not be my cup of tea to ‘feel’ all my audio coming from an imaginary orb in front of my face, but I can’t fault the execution on their part. I also took the time to fiddle with the EQ on offer to hit that ridiculous sweet spot that makes my weird metal tastes sound less crunchy, and to my delight it worked brilliantly. Of course, RGB settings can be amended with the Prism centre – offering a madhouse of opportunities to colour code and customise whatever you like – but for an old fool like me, I was happy to just make them a little more subtle. As a bonus, you can also turn the RGB off entirely with the right speaker button – but I am not that much of a curmudgeon.

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The SteelSeries GG software can also hook up with PrismSync for epic lightshows

My next excursion was into my gaming tastes, and I decided to attack with a multi-pronged plan. Firstly, I wanted to see how audio density would be handled in a game that layers sound like a mad lasagna – so I booted up DOOM Eternal to bathe myself in music, mutilation and movement mayhem. Now DOOM is a game that sometimes feels auditorily overstimulating to me, even with headphones, so the experience of the Arena 7’s was like being at a concert in the front row – but not in a negative way. I was immersed in the audio, but not in a way where I would miss smaller audio cues – like low health dips, or ability cooldowns. A solid tick for me. My next outing was to be one of immersion – to see what happens when I set foot into situations where I desperately need to hear specific things. Warhammer 40000: Darktide is one such game, with many quiet audio cues that warn you of elite enemies or special secrets to discover. Darktide is a game I would never consider playing without my headphones – in fact, it was one of the factors for me buying my original Sennheiser headphones – so playing with speakers felt like a profane act. Incredibly, within moments of entering my mission I could almost taste the telltale hiss of a hidden scripture (a bonus collectible you can find in missions) and the directional audio leading me right to its hidden corner. I was scarcely done with my feeling of satisfaction before the telltale howl of a plague hound filled the air, making me jump out of my skin – but again the Arena 7’s did work by heartily revealing the direction it was thundering towards me from by virtue of the audioscape. Another big tick.

As an aside, I did pair the speakers to my phone via bluetooth to listen to a podcast while tidying my garage. The process was painless enough and worked as you would expect – so kudos to SteelSeries for helping me get that mess under control. In a party setting, I could see this as a fun way of letting your mates play DJ for an evening, but I am nearly forty years old and don’t want my kids to have another excuse to pump the Bluey Official Soundtrack any more than they already do, so I will quietly endorse it and then pretend such a thing doesn’t exist. Depending on your playspace, you may get a little more traction out of pairing them to a console instead.

A much better look at the lighting than what I managed to achieve as an RGB curmudgeon

Final Thoughts

Really, the impressive impact of the Arena 7 speaker option is that it prompted me to actually leave my headset off on occasion. There was no adjustment period or grinding of personal expectations to make them fit into my day-to-day use, I just fired them up and enjoyed what they did right from the beginning. At their price point, you could argue that picking up a set of Logitech Z623’s might leave more coin in your wallet – but given the impressive output and flexibility of the Arena 7 and its options you’d be hard pressed to justify the dip in build quality. Really, the only nitpick I could leverage is that the prominent RGB feature might communicate that these are exclusively for gamers, when really I’d recommend them to anyone who wants a no-fuss audio solution for their home PC.

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Review unit supplied by the manufacturer 

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SteelSeries Arena 7 Speakers Review
Brings The Boom
Easily fronting a stellar showing across both design and quality, the SteelSeries Arena 7 speakers are a very welcome addition to any set up – gaming or otherwise.
The Good
Same great build quality you’d expect from SteelSeries
Great range of sound, with very respectable bass
Software options are spot on
Price point isn’t eye-wateringly high
The Bad
Might be a tad too gamer-centric with the RGB and branding

SteelSeries Arena 7 Speakers Review
Brings The Boom
Easily fronting a stellar showing across both design and quality, the SteelSeries Arena 7 speakers are a very welcome addition to any set up – gaming or otherwise.
The Good
Same great build quality you’d expect from SteelSeries
Great range of sound, with very respectable bass
Software options are spot on
Price point isn’t eye-wateringly high
The Bad
Might be a tad too gamer-centric with the RGB and branding
Written By Ash Wayling

Known throughout the interwebs simply as M0D3Rn, Ash is bad at video games. An old guard gamer who suffers from being generally opinionated, it comes as no surprise that he is both brutally loyal and yet, fiercely whimsical about all things electronic. On occasion will make a youtube video that actually gets views. Follow him on YouTube @Bad at Video Games

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