Intro and Design
An intro, for SteelSeries? Fool, please! If I have to give any sort of background, you be in the wrong place! All jokes aside, the Siberia line of headset of have thee standard for the gaming industry and eSports for a long time now. We've recently checked out some of their mice and other headsets but today, we're going for the King. The Beast. The pinnacle of gaming headsets: The Siberia 800. That's right. Dolby Digital, Dolby Headphone, and many more features, all wireless. I just peed a little.
Right off after tearing into this package like a mountain lion in a baby goat, I was shocked at how many connections and gadgets were supported. PC, XBone, PS4, PS4, Atari 2600... Joking on the Atari but pretty much every other modern gaming machine is fully supported and this unit included everything you need to get rockin'. So, you have the headset that is the highest of quality and is just dripping with minimal but smooth style from glossy black to orange accents. These things are beau-tee-ful! The sound unit that you can actually control via the headset or on the unit itself is your brain into all the stunning features available, the most feature rich headset we've ever seen by far. They were a little tight on my head but I think I must have a weird melon as the padding and overall design is quite comfy. Check out all nerd specs below. W00t.
Performance
Ok, ok, we get it. The Siberia 800 are sturdy, purdy, and stunning to look at but how do they perform? Well, duh, they friggin' rock your noggin! I started out with some music, as I always do, to really put these babies to the test. Regardless of what I threw at it, the sound was absolute sonic bliss. I was surprised how deep the bass was without being muddy or overpowering. From sharp highs to rumbling low, for a gaming headset, this is no slouch in the music department. Moving on to the meat and taters, I immediately booted up Rise of the Tomb Raider, Layers of Fear and other eargasmic games. Oh man, was a stunning piece o' gear. Most gimmicky surround headsets sound chintzy or just tinny. Not the Siberia 800 in any way shape or form. Subtle whispers and light piano numbers were clear and defined. Bombastic explosion and dialogue rang loud and true. I'll say it again: This set will rock your noggin in the most delicious of ways, in full surround or not.
Value and Conclusion
It's just getting near impossible to NOT recommend gear from SteelSeries. They just produce absolute quality gear and the Siberia 800 is no exception. Now, they will set you back around $299 but if you want the best, you've got to pay for it. I would say that the strongest qualities of these beasts are the plethora of connections, the sound performance and overall build quality. They weren't the most comfortable cans on my head, even compared to the Siberia 200, but that may just be that I have a misshaped head (Name that movie!) - Overall, if you are a gamer and even dabble in movies and music, you can't go wrong with these bad boys. You can check out more info on the Siberia 800 here.
SPECIFICATIONS
SPEAKER DRIVERS
40mm Neodymium Drivers
Effective Range: 10 m, 30 ft
Headphone Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20000KHz
Weight with Battery: 318g, 11oz
Weight without Battery: 297g, 10oz
Max Volume: 100dB* SPL @ 1kHz
Ports: Wired Mode / Share Port,
Chat port, mini USB FW update port
Headphones
MICROPHONE
Frequency Response: 100Hz - 10000KHz
Mic Pattern: Unidirectional
Microphone Sensitivity -44 dB
Microphone Impedance 2200 Ohm
Indication: Red LED on mute
Microphone
TRANSMITTER
Wireless Range: 12m, 40ft straight line
Latency: <16ms, fixed
Ports: Analog In, Analog Out, mini USB,
Optical In, Optical Out, Power
Battery Type: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion, 1000mAh
Battery Life: 20 hours per pack, typical usage
