SteelSeries Siberia V2 Headset Review

In their attempts to create the best products SteelSeries have focused on improving some key areas on their ever popular Siberia headset.

Product on Review: Steelseries Siberia V2 Headset
Manufacturer: Steelseries
MSRP: £74

It was only a few weeks ago that I reviewed the Steelseries Siberia and today we have a fresh new version of this wonderful headset. Steelseries have recognized some of the issues that critics highlighted in the first version of the Siberia, and have made steps towards creating an even better gaming headset – which is fabulous news. I always find it admirable when companies identify problems and make the effort to improving their products – it shows how much they care about the consumer.

Steelseries have the following to say about the new and improved Siberia V2:
– Closed type headphones
– Pull-out microphone
– Crystal clear high, low and mid-tones
– 50mm driver units
– Lightweight suspension construction
– Integrated volume control located on the cord

Based on the award-winning SteelSeries Siberia Full-size Headset, the v2 features major enhancements in sound quality, comfort and its microphone. Every element of the v2 has been optimized for pro gaming, making the headset a preferred piece of equipment for the worlds’ best competitive PC gamers – the most demanding headset users in the world.

Sporting 25% larger 50mm driver units, the SteelSeries Siberia Full-size Headset dramatically boosts overall acoustic performance. Experience a rich and detailed soundscape from immersive atmospheric background music to precise 3D positional sounds of footsteps, gunfire and more.The close type ear cups feature thick leather padded cushions built from sound dampening foam, designed to offer passive noise reduction from loud surroundings and improve comfort over prolonged use. A virtually invisible uni-directional microphone can be retracted from the left ear cup, optimized for essential voice communications. The v2 remains lightweight and its trademark headband suspension construction makes it extremely comfortable for use over long periods of time.”

Specifications

Headphones
– Frequency response: 10 – 28.000 Hz
– Impedance: 32 Ohm
– SPL@1kHz, 1Vrms: 112 dB
– Cable length: 1,0 m + 2,0 m = 3,0 m / 9,84 ft.
– Jack: 3,5 mm

Microphone
– Frequency response: 50 – 16.000 Hz
– Pick up pattern: Uni-directional
– Sensitivity: -38 dB

SteelSeries Siberia V2

The Steelseries Siberia packaging has pretty much stayed the same. It comes packaged in a very informative, colourful box giving you a sneak peek of the headset itself inside.

SteelSeries Siberia V2 Headset box

The box opened, with instructions manual

Now, with this being a V2 there are obviously some significant improvements which I mentioned earlier. The elements that Steelseries have focused their attention on and upgraded are the following:

• Upgraded audio technology
• Pull out microphone (rather than an independent mic attached to a cable).
• Relocated volume control
• Closed ear cups now come with a more comfortable leather material

The left side of the Siberia V2 Headset

The right side of the Siberia V2 Headset

So the actual visual appearance of the Siberia headset hasn’t changed altogether that much. On the exterior the earphones and headband still look very stylish. The microphone has now been integrated into the left earphone and it literally reels in and out depending on whether you wish to use it or not. This is an ingenious idea, rather than before with the original Siberia headset the microphone was dangling from a piece of wire and was a separate item in general. So now you won’t have the problem of either leaving it behind, or getting it tangled up. Its there if you need it, and if you don’t it can be nicely concealed.

The microphone on the Siberia V2. It moves in and out.

Another item that has been upgraded is the earcups. They are now made of leather with a very soft inner material to make them even more comfortable. The previous Siberia headset had cloth; cushioned earcups that even though were reasonably comfortable did give some discomfort after prolonged usage. I assure you, these new earcups are a brilliant addition and are very soft.

The headband on the Siberia V2’s is very much the same

The earcups have been upgraded and are now very soft

The volume control has also received a facelift and now comes much smaller and is better placed than on the previous Siberia headset. The volume control on the previous headset was placed on the extension lead, so if you happen to only want the short lead to use the headset then you didn’t have any volume control, but now with the new and improved V2 you can control the volume and mic on both the short and extended cable. (To use the mic by the way, you just have to slide the button up or down). With both the short (1m) cable and the extended (2m) cable you have a total cable size of 3m which is more than enough.

The volume control button with mic functionality

The cabling, along with gold jacks. The extension cable allows for up to 3m of length

Now that we have seen the visual improvements on the Siberia V2, we will now put it through a few tests as the last enhancement is the upgraded audio technology.

Performance

In order for us to gage whether the Siberia V2 is as formidable as the previous headset that we tested. It will need to be put through a few tests in both the gaming and entertainment environments.

Steelseries claim that the audio technology used on the Siberia V2’s improves the richness of the sound, giving a boost to the bass, overall volume and an enhanced response to 10-28,000 Hz. I’ll be comparing all the playback to the original Siberia headphones so that I can identify any improvements right away.

Modern Warfare 2 was released just days ago and is the much anticipated sequel to the thrilling franchise that is Call of Duty. I see no better candidate for testing the Siberia V2’s on this new release as it features some intense action that is sure to produce a massive assortment and variety of sound effects.

Loading up MW2 I began playing the single player campaign, as right from the word go there is a feast of action that is good test material for our headset today. Steelseries are right to claim the right to this upgrade in audio quality because the difference in bass is quite clear, and the sound is indeed richer. You have to be quite discerning to identify the sounds but the improvements are definitely there and recognizable. The sound does indeed sound more concise so a thumbs up here.

Quake Live since the beginning of the year has attracted millions of gamers world-wide to the FPS battleground. It’s based on the ever popular Quake III Arena but is designed to run through your web browser via a plugin. You can literally play it anywhere, on any machine that has a web browser. It does not suffer if you have inferior hardware and thus it does not depend on powerful graphics cards and processors.

Whilst Quake Live is not as visual spectacular as COD:MW2 it does feature a good variety of sounds to pick up. It was more difficult to pick out the improvements in audio with this game, picking up the sound effects in MW2 are probably easier because of the different surroundings and characters you are found in and with. MW2 is 12GB and Quake Live a 400MB plugin, that in itself is a testament to the differences in complexities. Putting this aside the improvement in audio quality is still present and what sounds that are picked up have more bass, a deeper tone and the sound is crisper. Very pleasing to see that both games found the Siberia V2 to be a success in the performance department. Now we will have a listen to some music.

Entertainment
Listening to a variety of tracks , I found the Siberia V2’s to be great. Audio quality was very good, particularly bassy type tracks. Its nice to see a headset that compliments both departments and presents us with no problems. To test the microphone out I tested it out over an IM session, the recipient actually commented that the feedback was very good. Clear and concise, just as the playback through the headphones are.

Comfort
This is the one area that I think Steelseries have done exceptionally well in. The Siberia’s are now a lot more comfortable and they almost feel that they are not on your ears/head. The earcups are soft and extremely comfortable. With hours of usage, its what you require – there’s nothing worse than earphones that ache your ears after prolonged or even short use.

Conclusion

It’s not often that a company will go out of their way to improve a product by spending more money on redesign and marketing but Steelseries have done this and its to their praise. They are clearly dedicated to their customers, and seek to produce honest products that they will enjoy.

Make no mistake, the Siberia V2 is a refined product and is a welcome improvement, the changes that have been made compliment an already successful product and I have no doubts that this new version will be endorsed by many.

They are more comfortable, functional and offer better audio quality than their predecessor. Well done Steelseries, you have produced an excellent product that comes highly recommended by Vortez Hardware.

Some may think that this headset is on the pricey side, and especially when you compare it against the Mionix Keid 20 it is £20 more. Both headsets look and perform very similar. The only real difference being the microphone and smarter cabling on the Siberia V2.

I award the Siberia V2 Gold for its sheer excellence and for Steelseries attention to detail.

Pros
[+] Impressive looks
[+] Improved comfort
[+] More functional
[+] Better sound quality
[+] Lighter cable

Cons
[-] Cost