SteelSeries just took the entire concept of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” out back and shot it, Old Yeller-style. The company announced a complete refresh of its Siberia line of headsets this week, from top to bottom.
On the high end, there’s the new $200 Siberia Elite Prism. This refresh is absolutely the least necessary, with the Siberia Elite launching just last year.
That being said, the new model does hope to rectify some common complaints with the headset—namely that it was too tight and that the microphone was not up to par with the rest of the headset. From the time I’ve spent with the headset so far I can definitely attest that it’s looser, though now I’d almost complain it’s too loose. I’ve occasionally had to hold the thing on my head while looking around with the Oculus Rift.
SteelSeries has also retooled its standard Siberia line, finally creating the follow-up to its Siberia v2. There are actually two models of the Siberia v3: A baseline $100 Siberia v3 model and then the $140 Siberia v3 Prism. Both versions of the v3 come with a retractable microphone, a mute button built into the left earcup, larger drivers, and the lofted-headband connection typical of the Siberia line.
The main difference? The baseline v3 model terminates in a 3.5mm jack with an optional dual-jack adapter, whereas the Siberia v3 Prism hooks into a USB slot and can be adjusted through the SteelSeries Engine 3 software (where you can tweak EQ, microphone noise suppression, et cetera). Oh, and the Siberia v3 Prism lights up with the now customary full-RGB color spectrum.
And for those of you who want a headset but aren’t really sold on the idea of plopping down $100 or more just yet, SteelSeries is also introducing a new bottom-end device called the Siberia RAW Prism. The RAW Prism runs a limited version of SteelSeries Engine, features a non-retractable microphone nub, and you click the left side of the headset to mute.
It doesn’t feel nearly as nice as the v3, neither in terms of the plastic nor the ear foam, but hey—it’s only $60. I played with this guy a little bit a few weeks back and it seemed like a solid option at that price, though of course we’ll have to wait for a full review to comment fully. Is it the headset I’d want to use day-to-day? Probably not. Is it a solid entry-level choice? It seems that way.
The whole line of headsets is available for purchase now, if you’re interested.