Steel Series Siberia Neckband Review
by Tim Miller
First Impressions
After looking at the 7G keyboard (black) and the Ikari Mouse (black) I wondered to myself why Steel Series chose to send me the Siberia Neckband to review compared to their other headphones. You see, the Siberia Neckband is white in color and looked out of place with the other review products. Once I started using the Siberia Neckband I understood why they sent it......
The Good
Taking the Siberia out of the package I noticed the quality of the product and thought to myself, "Well this is a start for justifying the price". Before I even hooked it up to my PC I tried them on to check the comfort since these are designed to be used pretty much anywhere. These are the most comfortable neckband headphones I have worn hands down. I could see wearing these out in public also since the retracted mic is pretty much hidden when not in use. I hooked them up to my PC replacing my cheaper headphones by Logitech which are also neckband in style but often cause some pain to the back of my ear during long gaming sessions. I think the retractable mic is really a nice feature. Specially when you have kids who make it a habit of breaking your headphones often. The sound in CounterStrike: Source was very nice and the bass of gunshots rang true. I did get some complaints of noise on my mic, but I had a heavy duty fan blowing in my office that would have brought on the complaints no matter what headset I was using.
Then I decided to try the "other" feature of this headset... its compatible with a XBox 360. I tried it on both of my 360’s playing Call of Duty 4 and really enjoyed not only hearing voices, but the game through the headphones at the same time which I found to be one of my favorite features of the Siberia. I do wish the cord was a bit longer as my TV’s used were 62" and 70" and I would have liked to sit back a little further. I found it perfect when I moved to a 36" upstairs, although I missed a few phone calls... and when I finally did hear the phone I almost gave myself whiplash as I forgot I had the Siberia neckband on due to the comfort.
The Bad
The price might be a little steep for some, but overall this set of headphones is comparible to others in this price class. The real bargain is for a XBox 360 owner as you will have multiple uses for this headset. I wish the headset featured active noise cancellation, but didn’t have any real problems without it.
The Conclusion
By the end of my review my intial puzzlement over the headphones was replaced by admiration. Once again my favorite feature was using the headphones with my XBox 360 and PC. The headphones have great sound, function, and a decent microphone to give them a high rating for an all around headphone.
Specifications for SteelSeries Siberia Neckband:
Headphone
- Frequency response: 18 - 28.000 Hz
- Impedance: 40 Ohm
- SPL@1kHz, 1V rms: 104 dB
- Cable length: 4.3 + 4.6 = 8.9 ft.
- Jack: 3.5 mm (6.3 mm converter included)
Microphone
- Frequency response: 80 - 15.000 Hz
- Impedance: 2K Ohm
- Pick-up pattern: Uni-directional
- Sensitivity (1V/P@1 kHz): -38 dB
