The future of Headsets
‘SteelSeries Siberia Elite Gaming Headset’
The future is here thanks to SteelSeries and their new Dolby Digital 7.1 surround sound gaming headset, the ‘Elite Series’. The Elite Series is based on the Original SteelSeries Siberia V2 their most well-known gaming headset, out selling all other headsets from SteelSeries by miles thanks to its many variations, from standard colour sets to custom built E.G World of Warcraft.
From the very first version, to this current version the Siberia headsets have been built to a premium standard, showing off pure quality and design. The only question to us is, does the new Siberia Elite Series do brand any justice? Well the brand still comes with the iconic Retractable Microphone and suspended self-adjusting headband, and now comes with some added extras thrown in for good measure, which we shall go into more detail within this review.
Features and tech Specs
SteelSeries Siberia Elite Headset Features:
- Siberia Design – Retractable microphone, passive noise isolating cushions and intuitive dials on the earcups to adjust volume and mute microphone
- Superior Sound – Next-generation SteelSeries drivers are engineered with the learnings from over 10 years of delivering premium audio specifically designed for gamers
- Unparalleled Comfort – Lasting comfort thanks to self-adjusting suspension design, hand-stitched leather and memory-foam ear cushions
- Customize Your Look – 16.8 million colours
SteelSeries Siberia Elite Gaming Headset Specifications:
Headphone
- Frequency Response: 16 – 28000 Hz
- Impedance: 32 Ohms
- SPL@1KHz, 1V ms: 113dB
- Cable Length: 1.2m
- Extension cable: 2m
- Connector: 3.5mm 4-pole+3-pole x2
Microphone
- Microphone Mic Patter: Uni-directional
- Frequency: 75 – 16000 Hz
- Impedance: <2.2k Ohm
- Sensitivity: -38dB
‘AN OUTSTANDING PRODUCT’
The packaging
This is so simple do discuss, because as always SteelSeries pack, design and ship their products to a very high standard, and the packaging for the Elite Headset is just as you expect ‘OUTSTANDING’.
Inside the box you will find the Siberia Elite Headset either in white or black, depending on the one you ordered. You also get a SteelSeries Mobile USB Soundcard V2 that allows for the Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround sound, a Two Metre extension cable, for that extra reach. You also get 3.5mm jacks to connect to any headphone and microphone connection, a single jack connection for mobile use, the user manual and finally the well-known SteelSeries Sticker.
‘Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround sound’
The Design
In simple terms, it’s damn impressive, but as always, let’s go into more detail; the first thing that stands out a mile, are these oversized closed cup earcups, they are so damn huge compared to any of the other headset I have, which includes the Steelseries Wireless, the Fnatic and the Siberia V2 Diablo 3 headset. When I say oversized I do not mean width wise, it’s more to do with the depth, they look, chunky, being made with memory foam and covered with stretchy leather
The headband consists of two separate pieces, one being the beautifully beaded metal finish steel arc, which is attached to the outer earcups. Under that you get suspended self-adjusting headband, with the SteelSeries name etched into the top which has a rubbery feel to it. The suspended headband is also spring loaded, so you can use it as a slingshot if you are bored (Not recommended though). The suspended headband comes with a line of padding on the underside, which makes the whole headset feel comfortable when in use.
On both sides of the earcups where the steel arc attaches, there are these awesome backlit rings of light (LED) that shine out different colours based on what they have been set to within the SteelSeries Engine 3 UI.
Both earcups come with a dial, the left dial on the earcup turns on and off the microphone and the right dial adjusts the volume. Underneath the right earcup is a 3.5mm audio output connection, this allows for someone else to hook up their headset or speakers with a 3.5mm jack and listen in. Underneath the left earcup is the retractable microphone, when you use the left dial this turns off the microphone but also turns off the white LED that the microphone has to let you know if it is on or off.
The Software
The Elite Series comes with a USB V2 Sound card, this not only works as a Soundcard it also powers the rings of light. It’s a simple plug and play device, and all you need to do is download the engine software from the SteelSeries website, the software is called SteelSeries Engine, currently running on version 3.0.
The SteelSeries Engine UI brings together all of the companies gaming peripherals, very similar to the Razer Synapse Software. When the software is loaded, you will see ‘My Gear’ tab, this will show all of your SteelSeries connected peripherals; and allows you to quickly access the peripherals configuration settings.
Under the Library tab, you can assign your peripherals to work, differently based on the game you are playing, for example, with a mouse; you can assign all the buttons to work differently based on the game you are launching, makes gaming more fun and saves time setting up the buttons all the time for the same game over and over again. The best thing is, if you create an account, you can sync all your settings to the cloud and you will never lose your gaming settings again.
‘16.8 million colour combinations’
Settings available for this headset
Loading up the SteelSeries Siberia Elite Gaming Headset configuration setting you get a mixture of tools, these include the following DD – Dolby Digital on/off switch that simulated 7.1 surround sound, Mic noise reduction on/off, this helps filter out other noises around you during communication. Auto Microphone Compression, this auto corrects the sound of your voice so your voice does not come across too loud or too quiet while recording.
Microphone Sound Tones, this feature allows you to hear what you are saying through the microphone via the headset, you can either turn it on or off and the level you prefer, 99% of us prefer to have this option turned off. Finally Microphone volume, which controls the strength of your voice coming through to other users.
We then have the equalizer which comes with 12 preset profiles to choose from, if you are not happy with the pre-defined profiles you can create your own. On the bottom left is the ‘Config’ button, this allows you to set up profiles for your games.
Then finally we have the ‘LED’ button, again this comes with its own set of pre-configured profiles or you can choose to set and create your own colour set for your headset. There is a total of 16.8 million color combinations to use, so it could take you a while to set up the perfect combination of colours.
Personal Experience
When the new headset arrived, I was “mmmm nice” then I opened it up and said “OMG those ear-cups are so damn huge” I instantly thought they would look crazy on my head. So I removed the SteelSeries Fnatic headset and set up this new headset. I only use headsets for gaming, watching, twitch, YouTube and other broadcasting sites. I never use the headset for watching movies and listening to music I have alternative appliances for them.
I set up the Equalizer to how I like it, turned on Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround sound, set up the LED to one of the pre-sets, I chose ‘Colorshift’, loaded up Metro Redux, put the headphones on and I was highly impressed by what I hearing. I have the Razer Tiamat to compare this headset too, and I can confirm this headset is a lot better, cheaper; more comfortable and produces much better quality of surround sound.
This headset was so comfortable to use, the ear cups did not look out of place, even though they are so damn huge. Using the dials on the sides of the headset was a bit fidgety due to the metal arc getting in the way, saying that, over time I did start getting used to it.
‘I cannot say this any louder BUY’
Overall
For the first time I cannot see any downside to a headset, it’s amazing, it looks amazing, 7.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound is perfect, comes with all the connection you would need, for more than just your PC. I can not find a real issue, the rings of light require power to illuminate, so not using the USB Soundcard and expecting them still to work is just dumb.
I cannot say this any louder BUY, these are well worth it and you can currently grab them on amazon for less that £150.00
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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