SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 vs Arctis Nova 7
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Differences Summary
Connectivity and Controls
Headphone Audio Quality
Microphone Audio Quality
Software
Comfort and Build Quality
Verdict
Differences Summary
The Arctis Nova 3 is wired only. The Arctis Nova 7 can be used wired or with 2.4 GHz wireless and Bluetooth simultaneously.
The Nova 3 has customizable RGB lighting.
The Nova 3 is made completely of plastic, but the Nova 7 has metal on the headband.
While both the Nova 3 and 7 have the same listed frequency response of 20 Hz - 22 KHz, the Nova 7 has better sub-bass extension.
Connectivity and Controls
Arctis Nova 3
The Nova 3 is wired only and it connects using a USB-C port on the left earcup.
There are three cables in the box, so effectively three way to connect. There’s a USB-C male to USB-C male cable. There’s an extension cable for that (USB-C female to USB-A male). Lastly, there’s a USB-C male to 3.5 mm cable.
The controls are the Nova 3 are a headphone gain wheel (finite scroll), mic mute button, and RGB on/off switch.
Arctis Nova 7
The Nova 7 can be used wired or wirelessly. Unlike the Nova 3, the USB-C connection only lets you charge the device and update the firmware. To use a wired connection, there’s a 3.5 mm cable in the box.
Also included in the box is a USB-C dongle, a USB-C to A extension cable, and a USB-C to A charging cable.
When used wirelessly, you can use both the 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth connection together. Only the 2.4 GHz connection is affected by any EQ settings applied. To make things easier, I’m going to refer to the connection using the dongle as just “wireless” for the rest of this article.
Game/Chat mixer dial.
Getting into controls, the power button only turns on the wireless connectivity of the headset. You have to use the Bluetooth button to turn that on as well. This can be changed in the settings to make them both turn on at the same time.
Additionally, they power off separately, so you might turn off the “power” button only to have the headset continue to drain power while the Bluetooth is still on.
Speaking of that, the battery life is stated to be up to 38 hours with wireless only and 26 hours with both wireless and Bluetooth. SteelSeries also says you get 6 hours of power from 15 minutes of charging. My usage lined up with these numbers pretty well.
The game/chat mixer dial only works on PC in SteelSeries Sonar, but it lets you adjust the volume of your game compared to voice chat on the fly.
On the left earcup there is a headphone gain wheel and a mic mute button. The gain wheel is finite scroll just like the Nova 3.
Headphone Audio Quality
Left to right: Nova 1, Nova 3, Nova 7.
The Nova 3 and Nova 7 are very bright sounding headsets, even more than the previous Arctis lineup (Arctis 3, 5, 7, and 9). The detail overall on the Nova 3 and Nova 7 is about the same.
The treble has good clarity, but it’s cranked up to the point of being painful. The lower midrange is also under-represented leading to a less full sound than say the HyperX Cloud Alpha. The sub-bass is stripped out of the Nova 3 almost entirely, but the Nova 7 packs a bit more punch down there.
Warzone with the Nova 7.
For FPS games like Call of Duty: Warzone, they get the job done. The transient response in the bass is fast, so percussive sounds like footsteps don’t get muddied up with other sounds in a chaotic environment. For music, or any other use cases, I give the win to the Nova 7 as the sub-bass actually has an ounce of physicality that you can actually feel.
Would I put either of these in my top 5 headsets? No. But if you’re already a fan of SteelSeries sound signature, you’ll love these. I speak at greater length about the sound in my video comparison.
Microphone Audio Quality
The microphone audio quality of the Nova 3 is far superior to the Nova 7, but that’s most likely due to the Nova 7’s wireless connection. Still, that’s the whole reason to buy the Nova 7, so you have to take the good with the bad when you go wireless.
The overall sound of the Nova 7 is muffled, the audio cuts out often, and there’s some static in the high end frequencies. The Nova 3 is overly sibilant and harsh to listen to over extended periods, but the quality is usable. Neither have very strong background noise cancellation despite them being labeled as ClearCast Gen 2 mics.
Software
I’ll only be focusing on SteelSeries Engine in this article. I have a separate review of SteelSeries Sonar. Both headsets get access to the same software.
In SteelSeries Engine, you can control a few basic functions like the equalizer. In the Nova 3’s case, you can also customize the RGB and for the Nova 7, you can control some Bluetooth options.
The advantage of using Engine over Sonar is these settings can be saved to the devices themselves for use on other consoles or even phones.
Specifically, all the Nova 3’s settings save directly to the headset. The Nova 7’s power and Bluetooth options save to the headset, but the EQ is saved to the dongle specifically. This is why it doesn’t affect the Bluetooth audio.
The only edge the Nova 7 has in terms of software is the equalizer is 10-band and has +/- 10 dB sliders. The Nova 3’s EQ is 6 band and +/- 6 dB. Both are a bit annoying to use since they create a static sound in the headset as you’re shifting the sliders.
Comfort and Build Quality
The Nova 3 and Nova 7 are almost identical when it comes to the build and comfort. The Nova 7 has a small strip of metal at the top instead of the plastic from the Nova 3. Also the piece of plastic that connects the earcup to the rest of the frame is longer on the Nova 3. Other than that, the builds are the same.
The headsets each have “Airweave” cushions that are like a rough cloth. The advantage of these is they don’t trap in heat. The disadvantage is they leak out sound and don’t fit very snug. The earcups have swivel on both.
There’s a cloth strap under the headband of each that can be adjusted using the small notches to control the clamping force. At long last, adjustment brackets have been added to the Arctis Nova lineup so you can control the length as well.
Nova 7 headband adjustment mechanism.
While I was working out with the Nova 7, it shifted around quite a bit due to the unfixed headband, and the ear cushions don’t suction into place either. Ultimately, I find both headsets quite uncomfortable, but SteelSeries fans should love them.
Verdict
Choosing between the Arctis Nova 3 and Arctis Nova 7 is as simple as deciding on how much you need wireless connectivity.
If you don’t need wireless, the Nova 3 is a great choice and it also will have better microphone performance. The Nova 7 is for those who want an ultra-versatile device to use anywhere.
For those not already committed to SteelSeries devices, I find the HyperX Cloud Alpha to sound better than both of these headsets. For wireless needs, the Audeze Penrose blows both of these out of the water, but it also launched at a far higher price. The Penrose (my review) is still my #1 pick for competitive gaming despite its build issues.
