Oct 24 2011, 04:41 PM
QUOTE(SSJBen @ Oct 22 2011, 06:38 PM)
Steel Series Siberia v2 Review
Steel Series has been around the enthusiast gaming market for quite a long while now and has established quite a name from themselves.
Steel Series is endorsed and used by over 130 professional gaming teams on the market today, which says quite a lot in comparison to older competitors like Razer and Logitech.
The Steel Series Siberia v2 has been in the market for nearly 2 years.
But is it still enough for the gamer who needs a quality without compromises stereo headset?
Comfort utmost, looking simple.
The original Siberia has always been known for its unmatched comfort, particularly due to its dynamically adjustable headband.
Just like the original, Steel Series kept with the design and adhere the “don’t fix it if it isn’t broken” saying as much as every gamer would say.
The headset is connected by 2 wire-thin frames, and below it the headband itself that rests over the head.
I’ve always liked this 2-tier design from the original Siberia as the headband is very adjustable and doesn’t weigh down on your head as if you’re wearing a helmet.
The ear cups are embossed in plush leather and I for one have never really liked leather over my ears. The generous size of the Siberia v2’s ear cups and open-ended design makes for good airflow; blood gushes and sweaty ears weren’t a problem.
You can have the headset on over for hours on end and due to its extraordinarily lightweight, it’s almost as if you could forget you’re actually wearing a headset.
There are no compromises here; Steel Series absolutely delivers when they say you can wear the headset without feeling fatigue through extremely long gaming sessions.
It’s just brilliant how comfortable the Siberia v2 is.
A small inline volume control allows you to adjust the volume of the headset on the fly.
Theres also a simple mic mute switch to turn off the mic when you don't need it.
Sleek, simple and some might even say, it’s a different looking beast all together in comparison to many other headsets.
You won’t be looking like a cave-troll with the Siberia v2 that’s for sure.
Siberians do sound really good, they just don’t sound amazing.
The Steel Series Siberia v2 headset is first and foremost, a stereo headset. Even though Steel Series sells an alternative USB version which enables virtual surround sound, the one I have in hand is the original 3.5mm model.
Good news first, the headset really does excel in the mid and high frequency range due to its large 50mm drivers.
Be it when you’re playing heavily orientated multiplayer games like Call of Duty: Black Ops (or the upcoming Modern Warfare 3) to a more robust single player experience like the Witcher 2 and even into racing games, the Siberia v2 does hold up pretty well in almost any situation.
I’ve been playing a lot of Metro 2033 lately and part of what makes the game so eerie in that underground subway areas is the atmosphere and ambient effects.
I do get a pretty good idea on where monsters are about to climb out from be ready to kill them before I turn into sewage dinner.
But the one qualm I do have about the Siberia v2 is its lack of bass, in this case the low-frequency range do tend to suffer a little bit.
I’ve been using the Turtle Beach DPX21 for quite some time and perhaps I’ve been spoiled by the amount of bass that can be produced from the DPX21.
Even without the optional DSS 7.1 processor from the Turtle Beach, the PX21 in itself still trounces over the Siberia v2.
The Siberia v2 on the other hand, with however much audio enhancements I applied from my PC soundcard (it’s an Asus Xonar DX 7.1) or from the DSS 7.1 from Turtle Beach itself, the bass still seem to be really weak. There’s also a low tolerance on the low-range which causes audio to crack a little bit when a game or movie goes for that deep “oomph” in a scene of explosion.
Of course, no headset is worth RM399 if it doesn't atleast sound decent in playing movies or your favourite music.
The Siberia v2 does not fail to dissapoint on this part as it is a perfect alternative to your desktop stereo speakers when you need to crank up that volume when watching movies.
At least I don’t sound like a Solid Snake knock-off with the mic.
The Steel Series Siberia v2 has a retractable boom mic that hides away in a very snuggly fit on the bottom left of the ear cup, almost hard to discern if the Siberia v2 actually has a mic or not.
I like the low-profile design here as this means that I won’t have to stare at an adjustable “worm” jutting out from my chin when I’m gaming.
Sound quality wise, I’ve made calls over Skype and through multiplayer gaming in Team Fortress 2.
While my friends can tell what I’m saying clearly most of the time, I do appear to be a little bit muffled when I tone my voice down and speak softer.
Overall, the mic quality is good for what it is, it works and will hold its own if you do need a virtual conference meeting every once in a while.
Just don’t let your peers see you in it...
The buying verdict, pricey but worthy.
Coming in at RM399 it is quite a bit pricier than other alternatives like the Turtle Beach PX21 or the similarly priced Corsair HS1, it is a hard ask if the Steel Series Siberia v2 is worth the money or not.
Sound quality wise, there's not much to complain about on the Siberia v2 other than the lack of bass.
If sound clarity is an absolute must to you, the Siberia v2 is one of the best in its class.
Moreover, I've said it earlier and I'll emphasize it again: the Siberia v2 is one of the most comfortable pair of ear-cans I've ever had on.
It's almost as if the Siberia v2 want be a part of my head and I wouldn't take them off for anything, except if only I wouldn't get weird stares on the street.
With all said and done, the Siberia v2 is a worthy buy for gamers who wants that comfort, that clarity in sound and can sacrifice in a little bit of bass.
thanks ben for nice review here!Steel Series has been around the enthusiast gaming market for quite a long while now and has established quite a name from themselves.
Steel Series is endorsed and used by over 130 professional gaming teams on the market today, which says quite a lot in comparison to older competitors like Razer and Logitech.
The Steel Series Siberia v2 has been in the market for nearly 2 years.
But is it still enough for the gamer who needs a quality without compromises stereo headset?
Comfort utmost, looking simple.
The original Siberia has always been known for its unmatched comfort, particularly due to its dynamically adjustable headband.
Just like the original, Steel Series kept with the design and adhere the “don’t fix it if it isn’t broken” saying as much as every gamer would say.
The headset is connected by 2 wire-thin frames, and below it the headband itself that rests over the head.
I’ve always liked this 2-tier design from the original Siberia as the headband is very adjustable and doesn’t weigh down on your head as if you’re wearing a helmet.
The ear cups are embossed in plush leather and I for one have never really liked leather over my ears. The generous size of the Siberia v2’s ear cups and open-ended design makes for good airflow; blood gushes and sweaty ears weren’t a problem.
You can have the headset on over for hours on end and due to its extraordinarily lightweight, it’s almost as if you could forget you’re actually wearing a headset.
There are no compromises here; Steel Series absolutely delivers when they say you can wear the headset without feeling fatigue through extremely long gaming sessions.
It’s just brilliant how comfortable the Siberia v2 is.
A small inline volume control allows you to adjust the volume of the headset on the fly.
Theres also a simple mic mute switch to turn off the mic when you don't need it.
Sleek, simple and some might even say, it’s a different looking beast all together in comparison to many other headsets.
You won’t be looking like a cave-troll with the Siberia v2 that’s for sure.
Siberians do sound really good, they just don’t sound amazing.
The Steel Series Siberia v2 headset is first and foremost, a stereo headset. Even though Steel Series sells an alternative USB version which enables virtual surround sound, the one I have in hand is the original 3.5mm model.
Good news first, the headset really does excel in the mid and high frequency range due to its large 50mm drivers.
Be it when you’re playing heavily orientated multiplayer games like Call of Duty: Black Ops (or the upcoming Modern Warfare 3) to a more robust single player experience like the Witcher 2 and even into racing games, the Siberia v2 does hold up pretty well in almost any situation.
I’ve been playing a lot of Metro 2033 lately and part of what makes the game so eerie in that underground subway areas is the atmosphere and ambient effects.
I do get a pretty good idea on where monsters are about to climb out from be ready to kill them before I turn into sewage dinner.
But the one qualm I do have about the Siberia v2 is its lack of bass, in this case the low-frequency range do tend to suffer a little bit.
I’ve been using the Turtle Beach DPX21 for quite some time and perhaps I’ve been spoiled by the amount of bass that can be produced from the DPX21.
Even without the optional DSS 7.1 processor from the Turtle Beach, the PX21 in itself still trounces over the Siberia v2.
The Siberia v2 on the other hand, with however much audio enhancements I applied from my PC soundcard (it’s an Asus Xonar DX 7.1) or from the DSS 7.1 from Turtle Beach itself, the bass still seem to be really weak. There’s also a low tolerance on the low-range which causes audio to crack a little bit when a game or movie goes for that deep “oomph” in a scene of explosion.
Of course, no headset is worth RM399 if it doesn't atleast sound decent in playing movies or your favourite music.
The Siberia v2 does not fail to dissapoint on this part as it is a perfect alternative to your desktop stereo speakers when you need to crank up that volume when watching movies.
At least I don’t sound like a Solid Snake knock-off with the mic.
The Steel Series Siberia v2 has a retractable boom mic that hides away in a very snuggly fit on the bottom left of the ear cup, almost hard to discern if the Siberia v2 actually has a mic or not.
I like the low-profile design here as this means that I won’t have to stare at an adjustable “worm” jutting out from my chin when I’m gaming.
Sound quality wise, I’ve made calls over Skype and through multiplayer gaming in Team Fortress 2.
While my friends can tell what I’m saying clearly most of the time, I do appear to be a little bit muffled when I tone my voice down and speak softer.
Overall, the mic quality is good for what it is, it works and will hold its own if you do need a virtual conference meeting every once in a while.
Just don’t let your peers see you in it...
The buying verdict, pricey but worthy.
Coming in at RM399 it is quite a bit pricier than other alternatives like the Turtle Beach PX21 or the similarly priced Corsair HS1, it is a hard ask if the Steel Series Siberia v2 is worth the money or not.
Sound quality wise, there's not much to complain about on the Siberia v2 other than the lack of bass.
If sound clarity is an absolute must to you, the Siberia v2 is one of the best in its class.
Moreover, I've said it earlier and I'll emphasize it again: the Siberia v2 is one of the most comfortable pair of ear-cans I've ever had on.
It's almost as if the Siberia v2 want be a part of my head and I wouldn't take them off for anything, except if only I wouldn't get weird stares on the street.
With all said and done, the Siberia v2 is a worthy buy for gamers who wants that comfort, that clarity in sound and can sacrifice in a little bit of bass.
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