SteelSeries Siberia V3 Prism Review

The distinctive SteelSeries Siberia V3 is added to the ‘Prism’ series, allowing those who enjoy custom illumination to express themselves in style.

Product on Review: SteelSeries Siberia V3 Prism
Manufacturer & Sponsor: SteelSeries
Street Price: £120 GBP

The Siberia V3 is arguably one of the most refined gaming headsets in existence, impressing us with its lightweight comfort and good sound quality. Of course, there is also need to deliver the V3 with a USB solution, to which some will rejoice as it enters as part of the ‘Prism’ range, which has LED illumination that is customisable with 16.8 million colours and supported by the SteelSeries Engine 3.

Comparatively, the £105-£120 price tag is quite lofty for the Prism, £20-35 over the V3 itself. This sets the Siberia V3 Prism in its own class, one which becomes a statement of luxury and desire.

Overview by SteelSeries

For the past 10 years the Siberia brand has been synonymous with quality gaming audio. We set the bar for comfort and performance with the original Siberia (v1). The critically acclaimed Siberia v2 went on to become the number one PC gaming headset in the world.

Not ones to rest on past success, we knew the Siberia v3 would have to be an incredible headset. We delivered.]

Technical Specifications

Headphones
– Frequency Response: 10 – 28000 Hz
– Impedance: 35 Ohm
– Sensitivity: 80 dB
– Cable Length: 1.5 m (5 ft.)
– Connection Type: USB

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

Compatibility
– Windows and Mac OS X
– Playstation

Packaging & First Look

Frontside of packaging

The packaging design is similar to the current stable of products, with the orange and grey minimalistic design, with some compatability information and the statement to let you know that it is indeed an illuminated headset.

Reverse side

At the back we get a diagram that breaks down some features in various languages as well as information about the SteelSeries Engine 3.

Opened up

Inside the box we find some paperwork, while the headset sits in a well formed blister that protects the headset in transit.

The Siberia V3 Prism

The Prism is still young and isn’t available in a variety of colours (this is likely to change as we saw with the V2), by standard it appears to be a black on grey or greyish blue. Though considering the customisable lighting, the colour scheme of the headset itself is not a major concern and it looks great in its own respect.

Closer Look

From the side

The siberia V3 Prism shares the design and refinement with the Siberia V3, including the use of the suspension style headband which is soft and lightweight, the perforations in the side of the Prism model is for the LED lighting to shine through.

A closer look at the suspension design

This design is a solution that allows automatic adjustment to your headsize and is suitable for the majority of people.

Left side

On the left ear cup there is a mute switch for the microphone.

The ear cups

The inside earcups are more accommodating than the V2, making more space and better comfort fit for most. The Siberia V3 Prism has an orange inner lining, accenting the default ‘heat orange’ or burning orange LED colour.

The retractable microphone

The retractable microphone is slimmer than found on the V2 and is easily postitioned in the desired place.

Software & Lighting

The software is the same as used with the Siberia Raw Prism which is the SteelSeries Engine 3, it is easy to use and offers a GUI that enables a basic equaliser, microphone optimisation, as well as the selction of a steady solid LED colour, as well as the preset colour shift patterns. The LED lighting is good quality and very vivid. You can also save some custom settings should you wish.

The software support for the Siberia V3 Prism is a little disappointing at this price point when you consider that, there is no virtual 7.1 rendering, you can not customise your own colourshift, there is no ‘improved’ noise cancellation for the microphone and we are restricted to the audio resolution of 16 bit 48,000 Hz. Though these can be countered with various reasoning, sometimes it is better to be with than without. Though, SteelSeries apparently have an SDK in the works for this year for people to develop new features for the SteelSeries Engine software.

Default Orange colour

Performance Testing

Setup, Design & Observations
The setup is fairly simple and will work with proprietry drivers via ‘plug n play’, which will allow the Siberia V3 Prism to be compatable with the PS4. The SteelSeries Engine 3 can be downloaded and installed for Windows and OSX allowing you to access the customisable features.

The headset is very light with a light squeeze so shouldn’t cause much, if any fatigue. The memory foam earpads are soft and squishy and remain comfortable for long periods. Though a matter of subjectivity, the comfort of the Siberia V3 is currently in its own class and is one of the most comfortable headsets available, though this may not apply to everyone, particularly if you are on the larger side.

The construction is mostly good quality plastics, likely reinforced with steel in places. The mute switch clicks solidly in place, though it can be easy to forget its position without an indicator of some sort (LED on mic tip works well on others). The cable is soft feel but not quite anti-tangle nor the pleasing finish of a braided cable. The cable length is fairly short (1.5m) which leads to the assumption that you will be using with the front panel USB ports.

Multimedia
Listening through familiar music tracks, I distinctly get a clear and more open sound when compared with the standard V3. This made for enjoyable music playback with a balanced audio signature. Bass is punchy and precise, the mids and highs come well accounted for. At maximum volume there is little to no distortion and is at a level that should satisfy most.

I spent some time in Final Fantasy XIV: ARR, when running into a FATE there is a lot of action going on and the V3 Prism is no slouch at sending every action to your ears. Despite the cluttered nature, it was fairly easy to identify what was going on and where. DOTA2 sounded great, from the thick of the action to ambient sounds nothing was unaccounted for.

Microphone
The microphone seemed to be fairly sensitive in picking up background noises and needed to be set to a fairly low sensitivity. Once setup, it was said to sound good and clear. Though, it still wasn’t immune from sending audio from any loud music or videos you may be listening to or watching to anyone else in your conversation.

Conclusion

The Siberia V3 Prism kicks in with that all round refined feel of a top quality headset with vivid bright customisable LED lighting. The comfort is excellent and gamers will find that the squishy forgiving memory foam and the lightweight headset will enable them to play for long periods without issue.

The drawbacks are arguably balanced, firstly, the Siberia V3 Prism and the customisable 16.8M colour lighting looks excellent, each colour is clear. Combined with the great audio, comfort and build quality, it is one of few in an area of specific desire and has a high price tag to match. There are other criticisms too, such as the lack of virtual 7.1 surround which FPS fans may seek, lack of bundled extras and non modular, non braided cabling. Though none of that can deny that the Siberia V3 Prism is a beautiful and mighty ally for the gamer. This one gets a gold.

The Siberia V3 Prism merges colour and finesse to deliver a great looking and great sounding, quality gaming headset.

Pros.
+ Attractive Aesthetic
+ Customisable LED lighting
+ Very light and comfortable
+ Great balanced audio

Cons.
– Price
– No virtual 7.1 surround