The SteelSeries Diablo III Headset is part of last year’s Blizzard tie in gear for your PC. The headset itself is aesthetically designed around Diabalo III and it definitely looks the part but is it the top tier loot it claims to be?
Specifications (taken directly from the box):
Headset:
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Microphone:
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First of all, it is a plug and play headset; it’ll work right out of the box as soon as you plug it into your computer. It takes the standard few seconds to configure itself like all peripherals but then it runs like anything else does. It’s not particularly power hungry either, so you can run it directly out of your keyboard USB as well.
Still, without installing the software that it works with, you get good sound coming out of your haste regardless of what you’re listening to. Music is clear, game sounds are good and the microphone works and is clear. Installing the software gives you two things: firstly, the new divers will improve the sound quality for both what you hear and what the mic picks up. Secondly you get to manage many details of the headsets performance and what applies when. Unfortunately the software is a download and as such, isn’t supplied with the headset. It is however a small download, which can be found at http://steelseries.com.
The software is compatible with both the headset and mouse from the series; so you have everything in one place. The headset settings can have multiple profiles made for it, encompassing a few EQ pre-sets, as well as allowing you to customise it to your tastes. You can also adjust the illumination of the design on the outside of the speakers, it can be set to flash at a regular pace or to trigger; which will make it light up whenever there is noise. It can also be turned off altogether if you prefer. Trigger is pretty much the best one and is useful for when people want to talk to you while you are on a VOIP service; as they can see when someone else is talking to you.
You can have an unlimited (probably) number of profiles, so you could have one for each; game/music/film should you wish it. As that is an option you can also set specific profiles to activate once a specific program has been activated. You’ll find it best to set these depending on genre as what works well in survival horror games, doesn’t work quite as well in MMO’s or with films or music.
The headset is lightweight and has an overhead suspension that adjusts the headset to fit quite neatly. This does however make it unable to be adjusted to make it looser or tighter, in the capacity that you might want or require. It does lend a reasonably tight grip and like a pair of shoes can be “worn in” to make it more comfortable/fitting. As the suspension can move out of parallel to the bars above, it can take a little adjustment to get it sitting just as needed.
The stereo speakers are covered with a pair of XL sized ear cups, which are spongy and soft. They seem quite well protected; so aren’t in much danger of getting ruined by damp hair after a shower. They do sit quite comfortably over your ears foe extended periods of time though I have had problems with it aching as it presses my ears into my glasses. I’ve mainly worn the headset with glasses but I did test for a few hours without and I had no problems with comfort then.
The microphone is retractable and flexible and offers a decent quality of sound for people on the receiving end. Its stiff enough to stay in place but flexible enough to be knocked out the way when you’re taking a quick sip in between gaming. It is quite out of view; so you have to watch out for dipping it in your drinks. The uni-directional pick-up does mean that you broadcast less background noise, which I’m sure is more to the benefit of others than yourself.
The volume on the headset can go to quite dire heights; so if for whatever reason you want to blast your ear drums with noise you can do it quite easily. The mute switch is easy to use roughly halfway down the cable and the volume wheel is easy to turn. There does seem to be a small drop for going down from max volume but it is smooth from thereon. The volume control on the headset is not directly applied to the computers own volume control so you may have to mess around with both to get the volume just right.
The cable is made from a nice red and black, woven nylon material and is seems quite sturdy. It is only 1 metre long though so in most cases you’ll have to use the less than appealing plastic 2m extension cable. It’s not ideal and having the main cable at 1.5-2m would have been much nicer for both the general length, aesthetics and to reduce cable clutter.
Overall
The headset is a more than competent piece of equipment. It looks good, sounds good, feels good and has a lot of utility if you decide to put in the time to make adjustments for individual activities. Aside from my own personal comfort issues there is very little I can say that is bad about it. It is a good headset but just that; it lacks the surround sound that other high priced headsets have and it isn’t as adjustable as some others on the market.
You can buy this sweet mouse over at SteelSeries by Clicking Here
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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