siberia-neckband posts

The SteelSeries Siberia Neckband takes a slight departure from the company's no-nonsense, minimalist, design philosophy. The visually pleasing design also provides top-notch sound quality for a variety of different uses, including the Xbox 360 and music devices. Discreet retractable microphone.

The Good: Beautiful looking neckband design. Soft ear cushions. Excellent sound quality with heavy bass. Retractable microphone. Compatible with Xbox 360 (adapter included). Great for non-gaming uses like music and movies.

The Bad: Neckband design can become uncomfortable after a long while, especially if you wear glasses. Despite its generously long cable, plugging the adapter into a wireless Xbox 360 controller will essentially make it wired.

The Bottom Line: The wrap-around design is purely up to preference, but we think it looks hot and offers strong aesthetic appeal on top of the SteelSeries quality. The sound quality is superb with strong bass and it works great for a variety of non-gaming uses like music and movies. This is by far one of the best headsets we've ever tested. Its design is expertly complimented by the discreet retractable microphone, which makes it ideal for gaming or plugging into a portable music device. Unfortunately, as much as we loved the headset, we found that it became uncomfortable after long periods, especially if you happen to wear glasses. The longer you wear these, the more its weight and pressure pressing against the sides of your head becomes apparent. Still, the Siberia Neckband's versatility makes it the ideal purchase for all entertainment purposes.

SteelSeries made a name for itself in Europe as a specialized maker of high-performance pro-gamer gear. The company uses a minimalist, no-nonsense, design philosophy that puts function and performance above all else. That means there are no extraneous lights or functions on their gear that don't directly relate to competitive gaming. In an effort to make its presence better known in the U.S. market, SteelSeries is paying a little more attention to aesthetics in addition to high-performance and quality, as evident with its Siberia Neckband Headset. Its recent acquisition of another specialized gaming peripheral company, Ideazon, marks the company's intention to bring pro-gaming quality gear to home gaming enthusiasts.

We test out SteelSeries' top current top offerings, the 7G Gaming Keyboard, Ikari Laser Mouse, 5H v2 Headset and the Siberia Neckband Headset to see how performance and price balances out between the pro and hardcore gamer.