Today we will be looking at the Steelseries Siberia, a headset designed to maximize comfort during long gaming sessions whilst also being multi-functional.
Product on Review: Steelseries Siberia HeadsetManufacturer: Steelseries
MSRP: £49.98
Steelseries sit comfortably within the gaming scene as a company well known for producing great gaming products, endorsed by influential gaming teams such as SK Gaming, Evil Geniuses, fnatic, Made in Brazil. These phenomenal gamers rely upon their gaming equipment in order to win the most prestigious of events. To win events, premium, top quality hardware is needed – it comes as no surprise that they would put their confidence in such a brand as Steelseries.
Today we will be looking at the Steelseries Siberia, one of Steelseries newest headsets that is designed to maximize comfort during long gaming sessions whilst also being multi-functional.
Taken from the Steelseries website this is what they have to say about their Siberia headset:
“The SteelSeries Siberia Full-size USB Headset was developed in co-operation with professional gamers to ensure that the soundscape, specifications and comfort is suitable for long gaming sessions. But the SteelSeries Siberia USB Full-size Headset is also designed for multi-functionality.
This headset is bundled with a USB soundcard featuring virtual 7,1 surround, extremely suitable for gaming, music and movies. Supports 3D positional. The 12 channel equalizer allows for tweaking to personal preferences, while the built-in effects processor can provide ambience and other effects.
Apart from using the headset for PC-gaming, this product has been designed so gamers can use it with their favourite MP3-player, handheld gaming device or practically any other kind of portable digital device.“
Specifications
Headphone
– Frequency response: 18 – 28.000 Hz
– Impedance: 40 Ohm
– SPL@1kHz, 1V rms: 99 – 104 dB
– Cable length: 1,0 m + 1,8 m = 2,8 m / 9,2 ft.
– Jack: 3,5 mm (6,3 mm converter included)
Microphone
– Frequency response: 80 – 15.000 Hz
– Impedance: 2K Ohm
– Pick-up pattern: Uni-directional
– Sensitivity (1V/P@1 kHz): -38 dB
Soundcard
– USB: 2.0
– Surround sound: Virtual 7.1
– Equalizer: 12 channels
– Jack: 3,5 mm (USB cable included)
– Operating systems: Win XP/Vista/Win 2000/Win 98/Win ME
Packaging
The Siberia headset comes dressed in a nicely decorated box with a window allowing you to preview some of the contents inside. On the front are some brief details, showing the special features of this headset, whilst the back goes into more detail regarding the actual contents inside the box and describing the benefits of each device/feature. There are some specifications also, which are actually on the previous page of this article.
Steelseries Siberia Box – Front
Steelseries Siberia Box – Back
Opening the box, inside the headset and other parts sit inside a plastic case. Along with the headset itself you get a manual, sticker, Velcro sticky pads, and extension cable/volume control.
Steelseries Siberia internal box tray
Removing the large golden audio HI-FI jack (6.3mm) reveals the standard (3.5mm) audio jack that will allow you to plug into MP3 players or your PC.
Gold Audio HI-FI Jack
Inside there is an extension cable to provide greater length. The standard cable is 1M long, with the extension you have a total of 2.8M of cable, which is more than enough if you are perhaps listening to HI-FI audio, or sat back on the couch console gaming. Couple with this extension cable is a volume regulator that allows you to control the volume on the fly.
Assortment of contents inside box
Without a microphone, this product cannot be classified as a headset so accompanying the headphones is a dynamic mic that can be placed on clothing or your monitor. The mic is also detachable in case you choose not to use it.
So far, some great design features – giving plenty of flexibility. Just what a gamer requires!
Detachable microphone that comes with the Steelseries Siberia Headset
Volume control regulator for the Steelseries Siberia
Closer Look
The Siberia headset is available in white/black/red and special edition pink. Today we have the black version. The ear cups come in a glossy black finish, from the images you can see that these headphones look really nice. I like the fact these headphones are closed – they cover your ears completely and close off any ambient noises. Perfect for gaming, as you do not want to be distracted by any background noise.
The ear cups are really soft and cushioned this will allow hours of use. Hour after hour of gaming. Over the top of the headphones is a band with an embossed Steelseries logo.
2.8M extension cable
Steelseries Siberia headband with Steelseries logo
Closeup of Siberia Headphones, mesh reinforcement with double enforced cabling
Comfortable inside ear cups
Performance
Like other gaming peripherals the performance we report in this section could be classed as opinionated based on personal preference. To gage the performance here we will put the Siberia’s into a range of tests. We will be testing them whilst listening to game audio, movies and music, plenty enough to help us ascertain if this is a quality product.
Games
Call of Duty: World at War
WWII classic and the latest in a range of FPS Call of Duty: World at War has a multitude of battles, explosions, gunfire and the rest! A great challenge for the Siberia headset.
I loaded up Call of Duty: World at War and before I knew it I was hours into playing some free-for-all online play. The Siberia headset captures the very spirit of gaming and transports you quite literally into the game. I had previously always played with just speakers, playing with the Siberia improved my game tenfold. Quite a lot of the gameplay in COD:WAW is quite slow paced, so creeping around various terrain, you pickup footsteps and noise from other players with ease and you are instantly aware of where the action is taking place. Explosions sound superb also, there is a great balance of bass, treble and clarity. Overall very impressed.
Crysis
Crysis, again a massive title that is guaranteed to be on every gamers shelf. The gameplay is different to that of COD:WaW. The guns and battles are vastly diverse.
Similarly excellence performance can be had in other games like Crysis. The explosions and sound effects sound very atmospheric and its clear to tell that this headset is a premium device.
Entertainment
For the entertainment test, I watched some movies and listened to various MP3 tracks. Overall audio performance was very good, I couldn’t really fault these headphones. To test out of the microphone I recorded some voice recordings and played them back to analysis the quality. The microphone picks up your voice very easily in various positions and the clarity specifically is brilliant quality.
Comfort
The Steelseries Siberia headphones feel great. Compared to the Creative Fatal1ty headphones that I usually would use they are much more snug. I used these headphones for hours at a time and they didn’t feel awkward or irritating at all. I find ear plugs and similar headphones quite uncomfortable to use, but with these closed headphones they are much better for long gaming sessions. So a definite thumbs up.
Conclusion
The Steelseries Siberia headset is an exceptional audio achievement. As a gamer, the headphones are something to support you whilst you are on the battlefield. I really like the Siberia’s, with them I can pickup those extra little sounds that I wouldn’t usually pickup with another headset. I can’t praise the surround system used on these enough.
Steelseries Siberia on our model
At a price tag of around £50 / €55 / $82 the Steelseries Siberia are a great buy, they are placed right in the middle of the budget and high-end headsets. But those looking to spend £30-40 would be advised to spend just a little extra on the Siberia’s as they truly merit a buy – just consider the package that you are buying into, a multi-functional headset including support for HI-FI, MP3 and PC as well as including the microphone and volume control.
Pros
+ Extremely clear
+ Great treble and bass
+ Very comfortable
+ Multi-functional
Cons
– None!
The Steelseries Siberia, looks great and delivers that high quality audio that you can rely upon for a variety of needs. I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing this product, and I would recommend the Siberia to anyone. The highest award for excellence – Gold is awarded to the Steelseries Siberia.
