Introduction
SteelSeries are one of the hottest gaming brands around, so I’m very happy today to have their flagship gaming headset, the Siberia Elite Prism, in the eTeknix office. The Siberia series has long proven to be a big hit with the gaming community, especially their excellent V2 and more recently, the V3 versions of the headset, as they offer great performance for a very reasonable price; something that has made them a smash hit with the eSports community.
The Elite Prism more than doubles the price of the V3 headset, but promises a lot more features and functionality for desktop users, such as multi-format support, USB and 3.5mm connectivity, Dolby surround processing and a whole lot more, so I have pretty high expectations of what this headset should be capable of.
As you can see from the specifications below, it’s certainly packing a lot of features and should be a great headset, so let’s get right to it and take a closer look at what the Elite Prism has to offer.
The packaging for this headset is really nice, it has all the hallmarks of a premium product and a really nice image of the headset on the front.
Around the back, there’s a few extra details about the SteelSeries Engine, which will allow for surround and EQ processing, as well as customisation of the headsets built-in LED lighting.
In the box, you’ll find everything you need to get you started and more. There’s a quick start guide, a 4-pole cable for mobile devices, dual 3-pole for aux devices, such as your PC, an extension cable and a USB sound card with proprietary connection for the headset, as well as a pair of 3.5mm jacks for headphones and microphone, giving you a huge array of connection options to support many different gaming systems and devices.
All of the cables are of a very high quality, with flat, tangle-free, rubber coated cables.
The headset comes hard-wired with another high-quality cable and a proprietary connector, which can be connected to any of the multiple connection cables that are included in the box.
As if the Elite Prism didn’t have enough connectivity options included in the box, the right ear-cup also has a headphone jack. You can use this to connect another set of headphones, so you can share your audio with a friend; not the most practical feature in the world, but a cool addition none the less.
The headset just oozes premium quality and the mixture of soft finish metals and rubber coated white surfaces looks absolutely stunning.
The metal headband support is very well finished and mounts to the rear-center of the ear cups, while the left to right cable runs through the inner suspension-style headband.
The inner ring of each ear cup is actually a control wheel – turn this one and you can control the master volume level; great for making quick adjustments while enjoying your favorite media. There’s another on the left ear-cup that can be used to mute or unmute the microphone.
Much like the other Siberia series headsets, the microphone has a flexible and retractable boom that pulls out of the bottom of the ear cup. This is a really nice solution compared to a detachable boom as you can still hide it out of sight, but you’re not going to misplace it like you can a detachable one.
The headband is nice and strong, offering good support over your head. Instead of an extending slider on the side, the outer headband is fixed, while the inner section uses a suspension mounting.
On one side, you’ve got a lovely white finish, with an embossed SteelSeries logo on the top.
The inner section is treated to some luxurious padding that will help provide a comfortable fit for those long gaming sessions.
As you put the headset on your head, the inner band automatically stretches out, providing you with the optimum fit.
The ear cups are an over-the-ear design and are treated to a thick padding for improved comfort levels.
It looks super thick, but the padding is actually only half as deep as it looks. The black leather is just extended over the back of the ear cup to further add to the esthetics; it works too, the headset looks stunning!
