Written By Tom "Hucky" Fairbairn
07 November, 2009 06:41 PM

The New and Improved Siberia V2

As part of the new and improved range of SteelSeries Professional Gaming Peripherals, allow me to introduce the SteelSeries Siberia V2 Gaming Headset. The old Siberias have been kicking around in gamers' bedrooms since mid 2004 after becoming one of the most popular gaming headsets on the market. That being said, it would be grossly naïve to claim they had no drawbacks. Fragility and bad microphone placement were often cited as critical design flaws which prompted some Siberia users to switch to the 5Hv2 and various other headsets.

The good news for gamers is that the Siberia V2 headset fixes the aforementioned imperfections and adds a host of other innovative features. I personally think the sound quality is the most noticeable improvement, but I'll go further into that later. First of all, let's check out the sex appeal of the new Sibs.

As you can see, the headset has retained the same basic shape and material composition as the original Siberias, with a few important adjustments. The earcups are made of a comfortable leather covering which sits nicely against your head and doesn't get caught in your hair. The headband has been loosened slightly (albeit not enough to accomodate my fat head) while remaining firm enough to hold the headphones against your ears to achieve noise cancellation. The earcups are firm but not claustrophobic and I had no trouble with them after several extended periods of use.

The integration and quality of the microphone is one thing that really impressed me about the v2. The seperate microphone supplied with the original Siberia headset was clumsy to attach and sounded quite tinny. The v2 features a clever pullout microphone with an adjustable arm pliable enough to suit every gamer. It looks stylish and retracts far enough into the headset to prevent it becoming an eyesore when using the v2 for music, travel or watching a movie.

As pictured above, there's a handy mic activation switch with inbuilt volume control. It sits around 70cm down the cord and is easily reachable by fully extending your arm. The volume control in particular should come in handy for people with sensitive ears - the Siberia v2 has elevated some particular frequencies used in gaming (most noticeably in the high end) and is quite loud by default. I had no problem quickly adjusting the volume to suit my ears, regardless of the fact I was using an amp.



Both the microphone and headset cords are shortenable to a convenient 1m length and extendable to 3m. One of the minor qualms I had with this headset was the 1m cord, as it's slightly too short for me to use with an mp3 player in my pocket. It doesnt worry me because I have other headphones to use with my iPod but could pose a minor issue for buyers planning on using the headset with a portable music device. For gaming, the 3m cord is ample and easy to detach /extend.

While listing all these specific improvements, it's worth noting that I was constantly in awe of the build quality of these headphones. Sometimes I purchase and pick up a product and think it's going to last me a lifetime. These headphones didn't quite inspire that level of assurance (see the upcoming 7g review for something much closer) but they certainly had me feeling confident that they'd last a long time. They don't feel anywhere near as fragile as the old Siberias and I'm sure this will be music to the ears of many. I've heard stories of people breaking 3 pairs of Sibs in a row, sending them all back and ending up purchasing another headset. I can't envisage this happening with the new Sibs.