SteelSeries is a Danish manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories, including headsets, keyboards, mice, gaming surfaces and software.

INTRODUCTION :

Steelseries gaming peripherals has been a hit on the market with its stylish design and high quality. One of them is Steelseries Siberia V2 Headset. Most of them said that it was the most comfortable gaming headsets they have ever tried. Today, I will be reviewing the Steelseries Siberia V2 Diablo III Edition Gaming Headset.



FEATURES :

INCREDIBLE SOUND - Featuring 50mm driver units that reproduce crystal clear sounds in high, low, and mid-range tones is at the core of what is creating an incredible Diablo® III audio experience. Whether it’s the ominously toned soundtrack, the approaching hiss of a Witch Doctor’s firebomb or the bloody rage of a Barbarian whirlwind, users will clearly hear the gut wrenching hurls and exploding innards of your enemies.

DEMON RED ILLUMINATION - Alert the world around you that you’re in the game. – The matte black headset features “demon” red, LED illumination on the right and left side Diablo® III logo slashes and around each earcup.

EQUALIZE IT ALL - Let’s face it, the way you hear the game is unique to the tones your hearing can pick up, and probably completely different than the next gamer, which is why SteelSeries provides Diablo® III Headset users the ability to adjust, personalize and save all of their audio and equalizer settings. Save up to 8 settings for specific character profiles.

KEEP OUT THE NOISE - The earcups feature a leather covered noise reducing foam, which helps you to focus on the important audio or voice communication, and not being disturbed or interrupted by outside noise.

LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION - SteelSeries over-the-head suspension design keeps the Diablo® III Headset cans lightweight and adjustable for just about every head size. We believe in keeping the gameplay heavy, not the gear your’re wearing to play it.

IN CONTROL - The integrated volume controller on the cord also offers a mute button, all for instant control without having to navigate through software settings.

RETRACTABLE MICROPHONE - The Diablo® III Headset features a retractable microphone system. Pull it out when you need it. Hide it in the left earcup when you don’t.

SMART NOISE-CANCELLING MIC - When you’re playing multiplayer, it’s more than just rugged skill that will win you achievements, it’s communication that will help you dominate. To support that, The Diablo III Headset features an active noise-cancelling, “smart” microphone that allows your team to hear you above whatever is happening in the area around you – appliances, dogs barking, whining spouses, and more.The microphones processor reduces the “noise” and focuses on the sound that is closer to the mic, your voice. The red/orange/yellow color on the depictions below represents the amount of processed input when using a microphone, and clearly shows the difference in processed sound between using a conventional microphone without noise-cancellation, and the active noise-cancelling microphone on the Diablo III Headset.

GLOW BABY GLOW - It’s not the Burning Hells that power this bad boy, but a total of 18 LED lights to power the red illumination and 4 pulsation options. It is color and light with a purpose. In-game activity is mimicked and illustrated through the pulsating red glow – enter into battle, dominate insidious traps, interact with your environments – your headset lighting will show it all.

AND THE NUMBERS
Headphones
- Frequency response: 18 – 28,000 Hz
- Impedance: 40 Ohm
- Cable length: 3 ft.
- USB Cable extension: 6.5 ft.
Microphone
- Frequency response: 50 – 16,000 Hz
- Pick up pattern: Uni-directional
- Sensitivity: -38 dB
- Active noise reduction: Up to 20dB

RETAIL BOX AND PACKAGING



The box was pretty awesome. They got some stylish Diablo III Design in front and some information about the headset on the back side.


Legit Review photo

Inside the box, we got a quick start guide,a leaftlet containing their other products, the extension cable, and the headset. You have to download the Steelseries Engine to customize your profiles and illuminations.

TESTING SESSION.

Musics :

For musics, I tested it with Steelseries Engine for Diablo III Headset. It has some preset profiles. I chose 'Musics' (obviously). For bass test, I chose Avenged Sevenfold: Afterlife,Shepherd of Fire and Almost Easy. It was surprisingly good. When you plug in to your PC, you can straight listen to musics. But, with Steelseries Engine installed, it's like another experience. The bass was superb and the treble was not too bright. It gives the same result with Madeon : Finale. I never expected the USB sound card can produce a high quality sound. And the volume level was pretty high, unlike CM Storm Ceres 400 i tested couple weeks ago.

Games :

Steelseries has also set up some preset profiles specially made for gaming. The in-game background music enhanced and become more realistic than before. Explosions and gunfire heard was like nothing I expected. It sounded like I was really in the battlefield. I have no complaints about the sound quality when I'm playing games, whether it's RTS or FPS games, I was really satisfied with the sound produced by the drivers. You can also experience virtual surround sound by using Razer Surround Sound Software.

Comfort :

If you ask me, I'm more of a closed type headset design. Although they claim this headset is a closed headset, I disagree with that. The headset sits on your ear, but it did not cover your ears entirely. For your information, our ears are not circle in terms of shape. It's more 'oval' like shape. For me, this headset is a semi-open back design headset. It's kind of irritating when it does not cover my ears entirely. But, the headset was really lightweight due to its headband suspension. I can't really say that this headset will feels like nothing on your head. Due to its open back design, you can feel the headsets press on your ear, but it does not clamp too hard on your ear until it can cause pain. I wear spectacles and I have no problem wearing it while gaming. Because it's open back design, I can't really feel the noise isolation. The noise dampening foam doesn't really help much to prevent outside noise from coming in. But still, I can wear these for 3-4 hours without any problems, other than hot and sweaty feelings because they use leather materials for the ear cushions. You can wear this for 5-6 hours if you are in a cool, dry room while gaming.

Mic Test :

Steelseries said that the mic was an 'active noise-cancelling microphone', which means it will block out outside noise, and focus only on your voice. I have to agree with it. The mic really picks up only your voice. My teammates says that my voice were clearer than before. I have no problem with the mic quality.

CONCLUSION

I can see why Steelseries Siberia V2 can be a hit with it's lightweight suspension headband and retractable mic. I gotta say I do like this headset and I would recommend it. For PC Gamers, you can buy the Diablo III Edition for enhanced musics and gaming experience. It does improve your performance while playing FPS. But, as I mention, it is an open back design headset. So, for those who would like to buy closed type headset, this is not for you. If you don't mind with it, then this is a good choice for you. Steelseries Siberia V2 is available on market for RM349-RM399. For the Diablo III Edition, you can get it for RM419-RM429. Just for reminder, SS Siberia V2 Diablo III Edition uses a USB Connector, which means you can't use for your iPhone,smartphones or other digital devices. It only meant for PC Gaming.

PROS :
-Sound quality was superb
-Very lightweight, suitable to use for long period
-Perfect choice for PC Gamers
-Customizable Illumination and Equalizer
-Microphone quality was great
-It has it's own USB Soundcard, great for gamers on budget

CONS :
-Can only be used for PC or Mac
-Can get a little bit warm and sweaty after wearing it for long period
-Semi-open back design
-Almost no passive sound isolation while wearing it
-Can't use with your high-end sound card if you have one

ANOTHER PICTURE FOR THIS AWESOME HEADSET!