SteelSeries Siberia Raw Prism Review

Delivering the Siberia experience at a more affordable price point, SteelSeries present a USB headset with customisable LED lighting, the Siberia Raw Prism.

Product on Review: SteelSeries Siberia Raw Prism
Manufacturer & Sponsor: SteelSeries
Street Price: £45-50 GBP

‘Raw’ by definition means unprocessed, unrefined, fresh or pure. So in context, SteelSeries are describe their Raw products as a straightforward, clean design. This results in a minimalistic design approach that offers a sleek aesthetic in a simple material construct. What is then presented is a lightweight USB headset that should provide good comfort and ‘Siberia’ quality audio at a good price.
As The icing on top, the Siberia Raw is part of the latest ‘Prism’ group. Powered by USB, we are able to customise the LED lighting via the SteelSeries Engine 3 with 16.8 million colours to choose from.

Let’s move on and take a closer look and see how Raw the Siberia has become.

Overview by SteelSeries

We are proud to introduce an entirely new product designed to make the Siberia brand even more accessible – to unlock great gaming audio for a wider set of gamers than ever before. The new Siberia RAW Prism is an economical gaming headset with a lightweight design and comfort level worthy of the Siberia brand. Its SteelSeries speaker drivers push out a full range of sound with crisp detail. Powered by SteelSeries Engine software, gamers can customize and back up audio profiles, while the illuminated ring on each earcup can be customized with 16.8 million color options. A built-in microphone with Mic Auto Optimization technology for clear voice communication resides on the left earcup, along with an easily accessible microphone mute button. A USB connection powers the Siberia RAW Prism, making it compatible with PC, Mac, PS4 and more.

Technical Specifications

Headphones
– Frequency Response: 20 – 20000 Hz
– Impedance: 32 Ohm
– Sensitivity: 94 dB
– Cable Length: 1.5 m (5 ft.)
– Connection Type: USB

Microphone
– Frequency Response: 50 – 16000 Hz
– Pick Up Pattern: omnidirectional
– Sensitivity: -38 dB

Compatibility
– Windows and Mac OS X
– PlayStation

Packaging & First Look

Box front

The box fits in well with its siberia stable with accents of bright gloss orange with a more minimalistic display of the contained product. The information is direct with product name, branding, features and compatibility presented neatly.

Reverse side

At the back is a detailed, multilingual breakdown of all the features with a fitting diagram.

USB connection and included guide

The bundle is light with just a short user guide included and the USB connector is not goldplated. Though considering the nature of the ‘Raw’ product, that shouldn’t be a huge concern.

Overview of the Siberia Prism Raw

Large padded earcups, padded headband and slimline design, everything is as you would expect of a quality headset. Though there is an abundance of plastic present, it feels of reasonable quality and so doesn’t strike a major concern.

Closer Look

Side view

From the side it is easier to appreciate the Siberia design, the lighting ring on each side breaks up the aesthetic adding interest even when it is not powered up. The grey mesh fabric accents the white favourably giving an overall positive impression.

Integrated microphone and mic mute

The microphone is built into the left side earcup, and can be muted by pressing in the centre of the earcup. This gives essential microphone control without the need for an inline remote.

Large earcups

The earcups are large and should completely encircle most peoples ears, while the mesh fabric and padding is soft and light, enabling breathable comfort.

Adjustable strap

The adjustable strap is plastic and clicks in confident notches allowing for size adjustment to fit your head. Though as it seems to be a fairly soft plastic, its not impossble to wear down and ‘slip’ over time.

Software & Lighting

The SteelSeries Engine 3 is easy to use and automatically recognises which product you have plugged in that is compatible. The Siberia Prism Raw offers basic functions, including a microphone optimisation, an equaliser as well as custom lighting. You are able to save various settings and profiles should you wish so you can adapt to each situation whenever you need to.

The lighting offers either a steady (solid) colour, or an option of various colourshift presets that scrolls through various colours. This level of customisation gives people a sense of control and freedom to suit any environment.

Scrolling through a colourshift preset

Performance Testing

Setup, Design & Observations
USB setup is fairly simple and the Siberia Prism Raw works reasonably well via Plug n’ Play, though it is recommended that you download the SteelSeries Engine 3 to get the best performance out of it as well as access the customisation options. The sound resolution is restricted to 16 bit 48 MHz, which is fairly standard for USB headsets at this price point.

On wearing the Siberia Raw Prism, the comfort level is very good, aided by the lightweight design. The earcups completely encircled my ears without problem and the material was very airy. There was a fair amount of sound leakage, but considering this is a USB headset it is unlikely to cause any disruption. The plastic construct is fairly solid and is flexible in areas of concern, though movement and bendability is fairly constrained as it is not foldable. A point worth noting is the potential for the adjustable strap to wear over time, which may cause slipping in size adjustment, however, in a stable environment, this shouldn’t pose much of a threat.

The lighting is solid and vivid and bright and reproduces all colours, from rainbow to white, bright and clear with noticeable improvement over some products in the green/blue area, where some other products can struggle.

Another thing to note is, that the cable is ‘only’ 1.5m long, which may not be long enough if you plan on having it plugged in around the back into your primary system USB ports and we feel that 2m may have been more ideal. Though, it is a shame that we do not see a removable cable.

Multimedia
Listening to some bassy music, we get a very balanced feel with the Siberia Prism Raw, the bass is punchy and powerful, but not overbearing. Due to the lightweight nature of the drivers, there is a slight lack in impact, which some may be looking for. The mids and highs were clear and bright, giving a very enjoyable listening experience. Turning the volume up to max there is little/no perceived distortion, however, the top volume seems fairly restricted and some may prefer something a little louder.

In gaming the Siberia Raw Prism shines again, giving some crisp details and booming explosions. So in audio quality, the Siberia really is impressive.

Microphone
The microphone itself gives sign of its ‘Siberia origin’, picking up vibrations and allowing those you are talking with to hear anything you happen to be listening to. This is slightly cut out by using the microphone optimsation, and after experimenting a little, it is best to leave the microphone sensitivity at a very low level allowing it to adjust itself. At literally 4 (YES 4) in the windows microphone properties, the microphone was said to sound fairly reasonable and clear with little interference though did still pick up background noises such as typing and mouse clicks. So functional but could be improved upon.

Conclusion

The Siberia Raw Prism comes out swinging with great sound quality, comfort and attractive design. It is easy to setup and the customisable LED feature offers a distinct characteristic many will enjoy.

There are various considerations that make the Siberia Raw Prism seem fairly incomplete that are worth mentioning, aside the microphone which is the single weakest aspect of the Siberia Raw Prism. There are various other things to consider too, such the relatively short, non modular, non anti-tangle or braided cable, the relatively low max volume, non folding/ no carry case as well as general bundle. This is exacerbated by the price point of €59.99/$59.99, which doesn’t appear to have translated well in the UK. Directly converting to approximately £46 GBP, you will be lucky to find it available for less than a total of £50 including delivery. This is breaking above the entry threshold that the Siberia seemingly appeals to and though the comfort and sound quality are great, it doesn’t come in hard enough when considering the competition. Though that does not detract from the Siberia Raw Prisms own appeal and charm, being of the few offering full RGB LED customisation at this price point.

Baring all that in mind, SteelSeries have a very likable audio solution with the Siberia Raw Prism. It is unique enough to stand on its own. If you require a higher quality microphone, this may disappoint a little and there are alternatives that may suit you better. So on reading this, if the downsides do not seem like a big deal, you will be glad that the Siberia Raw Prism lives up to the ‘Raw’ definition, with all the essentials performing strongly and will come well recommended.

The Siberia Raw Prism offers excellent sound quality and comfort; the added touch of customisable lighting allows you to further define the sleek aesthetic.

Pros.
+ Attractive Aesthetic
+ Customisable LED lighting
+ Good quality audio
+ Comfortable and light

Mediocre
+- Pricing

Cons.
– Poor microphone
– Low overall volume
– Non-modular cables