SteelSeries Siberia V2 Headset w/ USB Sound Card
The SteelSeries Siberia V2 headset is an analog audio headset with integrated pull out microphone and an in line controller while USB Sound Card allows for a variety of connection options and additional controls.
Ease of Use, Performance: 23/25
Look & Feel: 24/25
Features 24/25
How much I enjoy 23/25
Total: 94/100
The SteelSeries Siberia V2 Headset is an upgraded headset from the previous version with a major upgrade in the better and 25% larger drivers in each ear piece. The Siberia V2 also has a unique external USB Sound Card available for full virtual 7.1 surround sound using any headset.
The SteelSeries Siberia V2 is a great headset that is very comfortable and highly versatile if you purchase the USB Sound Card to go along with the basic headset. The Siberia V2 headset by itself makes a great analog stereo headset using the two 3.5 mm stereo connections for the audio and microphone.
The Siberia V2 is a very comfortable headset with a large cup over each ear and padded leather ear pieces and a unique spring cable device that rests on your head. The head rest part is spring loaded so the full headset rests comfortably on the top of your head with two rubber coated bars above that for the ear pieces to press against your head.
The pictures show what I am talking about much easier than I can describe but wearing them is the only way to describe how comfortable these headsets are. The spring loaded band between the headbands and the cups take much of the weight of the headset making less weight rest on your ears and sides of your head.
This one feature makes the Siberia V2 a great headset and makes the most of a unique design to improve the comfort but the performance does not end there. The head rest allows the ear pieces to rest comfortably on the ears and very centered over them for the best possible audio.
The drivers of the Siberia V2 are great with all the various tones from low to high quite clear and deep bass is also very good, this is a great sounding headset for regular stereo audio by themselves. Including the comfort level the headset head rest and the large soft leather ear pieces gives you makes the Siberia V2 the most comfortable headset I have reviewed to date.
The virtual 7.1 surround sound is also great from the USB Sound Card but is not as good as the real thing, the USB Sound Card allows for a great variety to the headset as well. The USB Sound Card has the USB connection on one end and the two audio connections for audio and the microphone on the other.
The sound card has a volume up and down as well as a mute and microphone on and off buttons that make them kind of redundant with the inline controls of the headset. The USB Sound Card works as a stereo device without having to install the SteelSeries drivers but using the drivers available from the SteelSeries website allows the virtual surround sound.
You configure the 5.1 or 7.1 virtual surround sound using the Playback device setup from your sound control panel and simply choose which speaker choice you want for an easy to use virtual surround sound. I would be hesitant to use the USB Sound Card with a particular type of ear bud set that includes the microphones using a single 3.5 mm connection as I did have a problem with this particular type.
I used the USB Sound Card with a Razer ear bud set and another head phone set without problems for both in just listening but the Razer ear bud microphone set did have a problem. The Razer Moray + has a four section 3.5 mm connection and I think this was causing the USB Sound Card to heat up excessively.
I was getting temperatures from the main audio chip on the sound card that was uncomfortably hot to hold so I found out what was causing it. With the microphone connection of the Razer Moray + connected the SteelSeries USB sound card would heat up but without the microphone connected it would not.
While I found this odd it was not all that surprising given the fact that the Razer Moray + uses a four piece 3.5 mm connection and has much smaller microphone so feedback from the connection or the size may have been causing some kind of overheating. This is not something I would find as a problem as I would not use the SteelSeries with this particular ear bud set for the microphone but did want to check out the capabilities of the sound card.
Aside from the little overheating problem using a small ear bud set using both full sized headsets and another ear bud set without a microphone I had no problems with the USB Sound Card from SteelSeries. I had no problems whatsoever using a few other headsets and ear bud sets with the SteelSeries USB Sound Card so I am thinking the overheating was being caused by the four piece 3.5 mm connection that is unique to the Razer Moray +.
The sound card itself provides a nice functioning virtual surround sound that works pretty well but the USB Sound Card also adds the ability to provide sound using USB. The USB sound card from SteelSeries works well but I would be hesitant to use it with odd headsets that have things like the four piece audio and microphone connections all in one.
This type of connection is probably the reason for the heating problem, that or the fact that the smaller microphone is too small for the USB sound card. Whatever is the problem for overheating it does not happen with regular sized headphones, ear buds or the SteelSeries Siberia V2 or the Razer ear buds without the microphone connection as part of the same 3.5 mm connection of the ear buds.
The SteelSeries USB Sound Card works well and the Siberia V2 is a great headset for gaming, movies and music for both stereo audio and virtual surround sound. I had no problems other than the overheating using the ear buds and the microphone of the Moray + and none at all with other headsets.
The SteelSeries Siberia V2 really sounds great for all my tests and even virtual surround sound does well for using the set as a virtual 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound headset. I found the headset worked very well for gaming and even stereo audio in gaming with current games like Battlefield Bad Company 2 the audio was exceptional.
Virtual surround sound also sounds great but like I said not as good as real surround sound but when you need to use a headset this is a great way to do it. The SteelSeries Siberian V2 with the USB Sound Card is a great product and one I highly recommend for a headset with microphone.
Check out the SteelSeries Siberia V2 headset at the SteelSeries, Newegg and other websites or from local stores such as Best Buy and GameStop.