SteelSeries Siberia 200 Review (Page 2 of 4)

Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware

There are quite a few different colors to choose from for the SteelSeries Siberia 200. Among the different colors are Gaia Green, Proton Yellow, Sakura Purple, and Alchemy Gold. This is not it, however. The last two has names almost as eccentric as the previous colors mentioned, which is... black and white. Jokes aside, this is quite a wide variety of colors to choose from; according to your own liking, or to match your setup. The SteelSeries Siberia 200 features leather earcups for improved comfort, and they really do feel comfortable. The earcups are also over the ear to provide the best seal when using them. One thing I am picky on is the shape of the earcups. Because our ears are not circular, an oval-shaped earcup would provide a better fit. However, with the Siberia 200, it was not a big issue other than for establishing a seal, since they do bend up and down a bit to accommodate different users. Most of the headset is made from plastic keeping it very light. Unfortunately, it does feel a bit cheap. At the bottom of the left earcup is where the cable extends. It is not a braided cable, but it did stay out of the way. There are also inline controls to turn the microphone on or off, and the ability to adjust the volume. The cable itself is 1.8m long, which is pretty decent. Overall, the Siberia 200 looks good, especially with the multitude of colors to choose from, and feels sturdy, despite the plastic.

As mentioned before, the SteelSeries Siberia 200 has leather earcups with padding below it to keep the experience comfortable. After some hours of gaming, I did not feel any strain on my head. The headset remained as comfortable as it was when I put it on. The earcups themselves are big enough to provide a good over ear experience. Unfortunately, due to how tight they hold on to your head at the top, they do open up a bit at the bottom of your ear, so the seal is not that great. That said, the earcups should be big enough to provide a good fit for most users. The headset did not move around, because of how tight it sits, as well as how light it is. The earcups also house the 50mm neodymium drivers with a frequency range of 10Hz to 28000 Hz.

My first experience after putting the headset on was very enjoyable, and it stayed that way. The SteelSeries Siberia 200 is very light, thanks to its plastic construction, but it does feels a bit cheap because of it. The headband is not adjustable in the same way as traditional headsets are, since it moves either up or down depending on how big your head is. There are two elastic pieces that pull back into the headset after it is removed. There are also two plastic poles that are bent over the top of the headband that reach down to the earcups to provide more stability, and I think a limit to how far the headband can stretch to. I like this design, since it does offer a lot of flexibility, while not having to struggle to adjust the size of the whole assembly. On top of the headband is the SteelSeries branding in black, which really creates a nice look in contrast with the red background.

The microphone sits at the bottom left side of the SteelSeries Siberia 200, and it is retractable, while being very flexible as well. After using it for a while, the sound reproduction was good with no surprises, as one would expect. It is very small, and fits nicely at the corner of my mouth a small distance away. After shaping the microphone to where I want it to be, it is still rigid enough to stay in place. I prefer a microphone that either detaches or is retractable. Designs with a boom arm like it is with the Siberia 200 gets in the way, and adds a bit more bulk to the outside of the headset, while removable and retractable designs offer a cleaner look. The Siberia 200 features a unidirectional microphone, with a frequency response rate of 50Hz to 16000 Hz. It can be muted with the in-line controls, although there are no explicit indicators to tell you whether the microphone is muted or not.


Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion