SteelSeries are well known for their gaming headsets, with their branding and headsets being used in some of the world’s top eSports competitions. Their latest range, the Siberia 200 represents more value for your money, priced at £60. SteelSeries were good enough to send me over one to test out and damn was I impressed!
The first thing you’ll notice is how ‘slick’ the design is and the overall feel of the headset. For those who had the predecessor, the Siberia V2, the Siberia 200 will look familiar in size and stature. There isn’t much adjustment at the main headband, but you’ll certainly find that it fits on your head perfectly fine, with somewhat comfortable padding preventing the top from irritating you during use.
There are two connectors, one for the headset itself and one for the microphone. The microphone itself is rather conveniently placed in the left ear, which can be pulled out when you are talking to your friends during gameplay. I really liked this, as my previous headset had the microphone annoyingly stuck in front of my chin at all times. It was nice to simply insert the mic back into the headset and relax with my games. You can also turn the mic on/off with the little panel a short way down the main wire, which also lets you adjust the main volume.
Having the main connector from the secondary headset and microphone adapters as a 3.5mm jack really helps the headset’s versatility. Extensive use with my PlayStation 4, PC and even my phone all had great results. I don’t think I’ve played Spotify so much in the past couple of days! The quality of audio coming out of the Siberia 200, well, it’s just so much better than any other headset I have used in the past. I was left extremely impressed with its overall performance.
It was the performance when using the PlayStation 4 which really impressed me the most, especially two games; Journey and Rainbow Six Siege. The latter made me feel so engrossed in the game, as I was able to spot and hear little things so much more than when I had my previous standard headset. The little details, the way the headset makes you instantly recognise where shots are coming from really impressed me. On the other side of the spectrum, going away from action that is Rainbow Six, Journey gave me an experience I won’t forget in a very long time. I had previously played it on the PlayStation 3, but never really appreciated the soundtrack, until now that is. Thanks to the Siberia 200, it completely blew my ears away. I could hear each note, each tone change perfectly. If you are thinking of getting this headset, I strongly you recommend you sit for an hour, put the headset on and enter the world of Journey. Even if you only listen to the soundtrack, it will completely overwhelm you on how beautiful it sounds.
Unfortunately, there was a small problem that I had with the headset. During conversations on both the PlayStation 4 and Skype on PC, I could only hear my friends through the left headset. Whether that is a design choice, I’m not sure but I would of preferred it to go through the entirety of the headset, not just one ear. The overall sound was fine, just was a little annoying that the other earphone seemed useless during conversations.
VERDICT
After spending time with the Siberia 200, you can certainly see why most competitive gamers use SteelSeries headsets for eSports tournaments. I’m no audio expert, but using the headset I felt more engrossed in the games I played than ever before. If you don’t think sound is important in gaming, the Siberia 200 will prove you wrong and then some.
Priced at £60, the Siberia 200 is great value for money, with its firm yet lightweight design built to stand both short and long gaming sessions. Think of it as an excellent long term purchase. Apart from my slight gripe with the chat, I have nothing but praise for the Siberia 200. There are plenty of expensive headsets out there, but if you’re looking for one that won’t break the bank and offer very good performance, the Siberia 200 will more than do the job.
