Steelseries Siberia v3 Headset Review: A Good Value

Just a few weeks ago, Steelseries announced the launching of their updated Siberia line of headsets. The Siberia family has been their most acclaimed line of headsets and the (V) series is arguably their most famous. The Siberia V3 is a moderately priced headset that Steelseries hopes will satiate the appetite for top quality audio without bringing a premium price tag.

To start off, let me say I have spent a decent amount of time using different headsets and although I wouldn’t consider myself the most knowledgable individual on them, I would say that I was fairly well versed. With that in mind, hopefully I can provide some decent insight into the new Steelseries V3 gaming headset. First, as with all the Steelseries products that I have used, the packaging is top notch. Now, does packaging really make any difference or for that matter is it even worth mentioning in writing a review? I would argue that it is extremely important. For me, first impressions sometimes are the difference between purchasing something or just giving it a quick and passing glance. Steelseries products always come in a high quality box that is as clean and well thought out as it is sturdy. It is always a great way to get me excited about what treasures lie within.

Upon opening the box you are greeted with either a white or in my case, black headset that is nestled nicely inside. The headset looks pretty great, but nothing that is just going to blow your mind. They look sleek and immediately appear well built. When I removed them from the box I was surprised at how light they were. The Siberia V3 headphones weigh in at .62 lbs or 250 g, which is incredibly light. As soon as I took them out of the box I had to try them out immediately.

All of the Siberia line of headsets use a magnificent suspension system to help ensure a perfect fit on any head. They work to near perfection. I have always liked this feature and the new V3 did not let me down.

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Now that I have become so accustomed to using this suspension system it always pains me to use a different headset. I hate having to try to slide each side of a headset to try and make it fit my head. It is time consuming and I never seem to be able to get it the same as the time before. The suspension feature with the Siberia headsets are not only practical but also super convenient.

The Siberia V3 has redesigned their ear cups to make them more comfortable. I played for about five straight hours and I only noticed a slight bit of discomfort. When I play games I typically use Gunnar glasses and I had some issues with them pressing a little tight against my head. I had to keep readjusting and it bothered me so much that I had to take the glasses off. Is there really a good fix for this? I am not sure. However, it did seem alarming to me because I don’t have to wear glasses, I just choose too and with that in mind, I was a bit concerned for those people that have to wear them. Not sure if anyone else has experienced such issues, but I felt it was worth mentioning. Despite that issue, I liked the way they fit and felt like the ear cups fit snuggly around my ears, helping to keep the audio from escaping.

Perhaps the most important aspect of any headset is the audio and the Siberia V3 do a nice job. I played several different types of games from first person shooters to racing games and I even watched a couple movies with the headsets. I wanted to get a complete idea of how they would perform under different circumstances. For me, the biggest difference between “gaming” headsets and a purely “audio” headset is that at times the gaming headsets tend to sound a bit artificial. What I mean by that is sometimes in a gaming headset the makers really want to over emphasize the loud noises from games.

top quality audio without a premium price tag

Whether that be a bomb going off, or the rev of an engine, they artificially inflate the sound spectrums to help capture those sounds and at times they then drown out the other sounds of the game. If you could look at this on a sound board, I would expect the headsets would “red-line” when these instances would occur. Rendering you a more “pushed” or more accurately described, stressed driver and thus, reducing the quality of the audio. Having said all of that, I didn’t really experience much of it with the

. A few times I noticed the low ends feeling a bit louder than everything else, but that is only being a bit picky. For the most part, these do a great job of balancing the full range of audio.

When considering a gaming headset, the audio is of course paramount, but the quality of the microphone might not be too far behind. The Siberia v3 employee one of my favorite aspects of most of the Steelseries headsets. The mic retracts into the side of the left ear cup so it doesn’t get in your way if you aren’t using it. I don’t know about you, but I hate needing multiple headsets for different things. In other words, if you have a gaming headset with a big mic boom, you can’t really just wear it on the subway, or wherever you might be listening to music. It would look ridiculous. Thankfully Steelseries had us in mind when engineering a means to hide the mic. It is a great feature and one that really broadens the boundaries of the Siberia V3.

Another really great feature on the Steelseries V3 headsets is their ability to work with so many different platforms. I was able to play games on my PC, PS4, and Xbox One, even though on the Steelseries website it says that the “Xbox One version is coming soon” with the Xbox One headset attachment I was able to use it without any problem. It is a great one size fits all option. It is always a massive inconvenience to have to use different headsets for different platforms, not to mention costly. Needing to multiple headsets is quite honestly a waste of money and as an informed consumer would much prefer maximizing bang for buck and the V3 nail it.

I did find it a bit odd that there were no volume controls on the headset. Seems like a strange thing to omit and it is a bit curious why it was left out. There is a mute control on behind an ear cup but no volume control. I wish that it had been there because depending on where you have it plugged in tend to output at different levels.

Verdict

The Siberia V3 do a lot of things right and quite frankly arguably exceed their $99.99 price tag. They enable top quality audio for a more modest budget. Although they don’t have all the bells and whistles like led lighting effects or external sound cards, they do offer up an option for the regular gamer to experience games in all of their glory. The audio is as much a part of the game as just about anything else and a nice, quality, (and possibly most important) affordable headset, is something all gamers should own.

(A copy of this gaming product was provided to GameSided for the purpose of this review.)

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