We set our eyes and ears on the Kingston HyperX limited edition gaming headset made in collaboration with SteelSeries.

Product on review: SteelSeries Siberia v2 – Kingston HyperX Edition
Manufacturer & Sponsor: SteelSeries/Kingston
Street Price: £69.98 inc VAT

Kingston has been pushing the HyperX brand and community to new levels with their commitment to esports. What better way to celebrate 10 years of the HyperX branding than pairing up with SteelSeries to create a limited edition Siberia V2 gaming headset in the HyperX colours. Coming in with impressive specifications and features, the Siberia V2 is an established favourite amongst gamers, let’s see if the HyperX iteration can continue that legacy.

Overview by Kingston

Get your head in the game and kick your opponents’ backsides with this premium, limited edition headset. In classic HyperX® black and blue (like the other guy will be), it amps up your game with 50mm driver units delivering rich and dramatic soundscapes, from immersive background music to precise 3D positional sounds of footsteps and gunfire to add to your experience. Plus, you’ll look cool while you’re playing, thanks to the award-winning Siberia V2 design.

Specifications & Features

Headphones

– Frequency: 18-28,000 Hz
– Impedance: 32Ohm
– SPL@1KHz, 1V rms: 112dB
– Cable length: 1,0 + 2,0 = 3m
– Jack: 3.5mm

Microphone

– Frequency: 50–6,000 Hz
– Pick-up pattern: Uni-directional
– Sensitivity: -38dB

– Retractable built-in microphone. Use it for gaming or IP telephony
– Volume regulator and voice mute switch
– 1m cord, with 3.5mm mini jack for connecting directly to PC or audio equipment like MP3 players
– Closed-type headphone
– 2m extension cord with 3.5mm mini jacks for connecting to PC or other audio equipment
– Tested and approved by professional gamers from NaVi, Incredible Miracle and SK Gaming.

Packaging & First Look

Box Front

At the front we can see some subtle ‘gaming’ decor, in the form of lightning and other designs as well as the Kingston HyperX and SteelSeries logo in opposite corners. At the top we right there are various esport teams endorsing the product and finally there is a large see through cut out allowing the buyer to view the product. Overall the packaging quality is attractive and not too elaborate.

Reverse side reveals Multilingual information

On the reverse side of the product we find the customary multilingual features and a list of specifications aided by a small image of the product.

Light on the bundle

At this price it may either be a blessing or a disappointment not to see a bundled carry bag, but considering the nature of the product, throwing in a cheap protective bag may be insulting to some, while the inclusion of a good quality one may push the price higher. It could be an idea to have a well designed ‘hanger’ that could be used on the side of your case for a product like this, though none of these situations are present. A little light on the bundle here with just a sticker and extension cable. The cable is textured and rubberised, a pleasant change from plain cabling but many would like to see braided cables, not too much of an issue though.

The SteelSeries Siberia V2 – Kingston HyperX Edition

Coming in with the same design as the Siberia V2 there is little to mention other than the colour change. The deep metallic blue accented with black is striking and well finished, if not beautiful. Even if you are not interested in fandom or brands, the colour alone should be enough to sway the aesthetically conscious towards this product.

Closer Look

Top down view

The Kingston HyperX logo can be seen across the top of the headband. Having a ‘suspension’ design, we can expect good quality comfort.

Inside of the headband

The headstrap looks to be real leather, another perk of the suspension design is that there is no need for thick, soft padding.

Inside the ear cup

There are numerous HyperX inspired designed inside and on the outside of the earcups, a neat addition for the theme. The padding around the earcup feels like a memory foam which is covered by a breathable PU leather.

View from the side

From the side we can really appreciate the design effort put into this piece, not just cosmetically, but functionally. The bars going round the top are a rubber coated spring like metal (likely spring steel) that can hold its shape while giving flexible and elastic properties. The colour under normal lighting will appear much darker, but this image really shows off the lovely metallic hue chosen.

Microphone at full extension

The mic is retractable and adjustable, easy to store away when not needed, however, I believe that removable microphones offer more versatility, and longevity to products of this nature, especially in the situation when the microphone stops working yet the headset remains functional. There may be a work around with the use of desktop microphones, but it would be much easier and convenient if you can just source a replacement mic.

The in-line controller

The inline controller is a nice addition, small and simple in matching colours to the headset itself. There is a mute mic switch and a rubberised volume dial.

Performance Testing

Comfort & Design
Upon wearing the headset, one is pleased by the comfort provided by the soft padding on the ear-cups and the springy feel of the headband. Perfect head squeeze strength and little heat/sweat build up to report, so wearing for long periods shouldn’t be an issue. Those with larger ears may find that your ears cannot fit inside the earcup perfectly and may experience a dull ache appearing overtime. This is easy to pass as an oversight as the padding is so comfortable it can be difficult to tell whether you are wearing correctly or if you have the headset seated on the top corner of your ear. This is likely a limitation to having a circular earcup design, so those with large ears may want to avoid. Those who wear glasses will be pleased to hear that the comfort doesn’t degrade when wearing your frames. The cable without the extension is a relatively short 1m, which could be useful if you wished to use this headset on the move with your portable MP3 device. Though the 2m extension was more than sufficient for desktop use. Being of a closed design, surprisingly there was a fair bit of sound leakage at moderately high volumes. Overall the build quality is great with the only downside worth reporting is that the volume dial felt a little stiff and was difficult to operate.

Multi-Media
First impressions are very good but that was because the 50mm drivers were able to deliver awesome bass, smooth and punchy. Then, on closer inspection, the overall audio experience was slightly disappointing. The high tones felt a little dipped, lacking presence and balance. Some high notes felt barely present at all. Sidewalks and Skeletons ‘Forever‘ lost its atmosphere and become a vibrational seductive tease. To explain, no matter how good the bass is, without the balance, it will always diminish to being a glimpse of how good something could be. When testing, all audio filtering via software is switched off including the EQ. Trying to recover the high tones resulted in a strange muddiness where the mid tones would diminish. So felt it was best to leave with a flat EQ. Listening through my music library resulted in similar overall impression. Great in some areas, OK in others.

Moving on to various games, the Siberia v2 – HyperX edition really came alive and it became clear that this is a perfect example of a ‘gaming headset’ being geared for GAMING! Usually we see a dip in the mids with accented bass and highs but overall the mids and highs seemed fairly balanced backed by an awesome booming bass that really made for dramatic effect. Playing through Amnesia: The Dark Decent was chilling, enthralling and damn scary.

Microphone
Quality of the microphone was very good and very clear with good noise cancelling, however, the microphone had to be at full extension to pick up what you are saying.

Conclusion

Kingston made a great choice to team up with SteelSeries to deliver the HyperX celebratory gaming headset because the Siberia v2 embodies the spirit of what gaming audio should be, explosive, immersive and impressive while being comfortable enough to wear for long periods of time.

Most downsides to this product are minor, to list a few, the mic needs to be fully extended when in use, otherwise it may not pick up your voice properly, this could be down to the good quality noise reduction. Some may prefer a braided cable. The in-line remote volume dial was a little stiff to move. Finally, the lacking bundle of just a 2m extension and a sticker. In regards to audio accuracy, the gaming headset is, well, geared for gaming and may not deliver the balanced performance audio enthusiasts would want for music playback, still, the audio performance was great with some of the best bass reproduction around for this price point. As a final criticism, maybe the Siberia v2 is due a refresh beyond various coloured editions?

Backed and endorsed by those in the top flight of esports, the SteelSeries Siberia v2 – Kingston HyperX edition is a great opportunity for gamers to experience the pinnacle of gaming audio. Quality throughout in a breathtaking metallic blue aesthetic, this should be one on your wishlist!

Pros.
+ 50mm Drivers
+ Impressive bass
+ Impressive HyperX Aesthetics
+ Very comfortable
+ Great for gaming

Cons.
– Weak high range
– Lacking bundle

Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net. Thanks to Kingston for providing today’s review sample.

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