STEELSERIES SIBERIA 840
Are we witnessing the best wireless headset?
IT’S A WIDELY HELD opinion among tech journalists that if you’re after the best wireless headset money can buy, the SteelSeries H Wireless is your best bet. With outstanding audio quality, a retractable mic, an intuitively designed wireless dock, and a subtle sleek design, it solved all the problems that are associated with wireless headsets. Indeed, few manufacturers have even come close to matching the H Wireless’s perfection. So, with the launch of the Siberia 840, an updated variant of the H Wireless, we had to get our hands on it to see exactly what had changed with this legendary design.
Where do we begin? Well, let’s start with what’s the same. The overall design aesthetic and comfort is identical to the H Wireless. The soft foam padding at the top of the band is still exceptionally comfortable (though we wish there was just a touch more at the crest of the crown). And you still get two interchangeable batteries included with the charging dock.
The dock is also almost identical to the one included with the H Wireless (now renamed the Siberia 800), supporting a variety of EQ adjustments, and with multiple options for audio out.
IN WITH THE NEW What’s changed, then? Three things primarily. Firstly, there’s been a slight adjustment to the overall aesthetic design. Instead of plain plastic ear cups, you’re now greeted with a faux brushed aluminum metallic finish. Bluetooth has also been included, to connect to other devices such as phones, laptops, and tablets. On top of that, the company has integrated support for its SteelSeries Engine desktop software, so you can control your profiles and EQ settings on your rig, as opposed to having them isolated on the battery dock. Apart from that, and it fitting into the new naming scheme, that’s about it.
Differences aside, how does it fair as a headset? Honestly? Pretty damn good. The audio quality is exceptionally well rounded—SteelSeries has always prided itself on good quality balanced audio, and this is something you can definitely hear. There’s nothing missing when it comes to an EQ; if anything, it could do with being a touch crisper on the upper end of the treble, for the sake of clarity, but that’s something we’d usually expect to see in a headset with a higher frequency response than the likes of this—those frequency responses that are usually kept on the analog side of life.
The omnidirectional mic does a swell job of ensuring little background noise is heard, and your voice remains crisp and clear. Range is a good 20 feet, depending on walls and layout, and battery life is roughly 16–20 hours, depending on usage and volume. Not that it’s an issue, as you’ll always have a fully charged battery sitting in the dock, waiting to be swapped in.
What really impresses, however, is the Bluetooth. With it hooked up to a system and a cell phone, it’s easy to take calls while gaming or when just sitting at the desktop, without having to worry about the quality of call, or being distracted from what you’re doing. Indeed, when we received a call, the dock notified us that our phone was ringing, the headphones rang through, asked whether we wanted to answer it with a simple press of a button, and that was that.
But is it worth the money? $330 is a lot for any headset, and the fact that you can find wired audiophile solutions that provide far better sound quality, without the need to swap out a battery every now and then, is a big deal. What SteelSeries has achieved with the Siberia 840 is impressive, there’s no doubting that, but at this price, it’s food for thought whether you want the wireless freedom that the 840 provides, or the ease of use and audio quality of something a little more traditional.