Hardware Review: SteelSeries Siberia Neckband Headset

In a recent poll, our readers clearly expressed that they carry no great amount of love for the Apple earbuds included with every iOS device. Today we’re going to take a look at a product that may be just what the doctor ordered for iPhone and iPod owners looking to upgrade to a decent headset without spending a fortune.

The SteelSeries Siberia Neckband is a stylish and affordable set of headphones that I recently got my hands on for a review. We’ll rate the cans on both design and functionality so you can decide whether they’re right for you.

Aesthetic Design

We’ll start with the first thing you notice about the Siberia Neckband: they look beautiful. If you’re a serious Apple fanatic like me, odds are you care a good amount about aesthetics and won’t just strap any ugly product to your head.

Fortunately, this is one well-designed piece of headgear. The contour of the white plastic is super sleek and the harsh contrast between the black grills white plastic makes it hard to look away.

The Siberia Neckband is so attractive that it has made an appearance up in a number of music videos, including David May’s “I’ll Be Watching You.”

Functional Design

The Siberia Neckband scores quite high in the functional design aspect as well. Most notably, the version I tried was specifically designed to work with iOS devices. The manual points out that they’re compatible with the 2nd generation iPod Touch and the iPhone 3GS, but they also worked perfectly with my iPhone 4 and iPad.

The iOS-specific element comes into play with the control buttons on the wire. If you’re familiar with the headset that comes with the iPhone, this works the same way and even looks quite similar.

As you can see, the same three-button design is present here as on the Apple headphones. Here’s a quick rundown of how they work:

• Volume Up/Down: Press “+” and “-”
• Play/Pause: Press center button once
• Skip to Next: Press center button twice
• Previous: Press center button three times
• Fast Forward: Press center button twice and hold
• Rewind: Press center button three times and hold
• Answer/End Call: Press center button once
• Decline Call: Hold center button for two seconds
• Switch Calls: Press center button to put current call on hold and switch, hold center button to end current call and switch

Microphone

Instead of building the mic into the control button like Apple, the SteelSeries Neckband contains a cleverly hidden and extendable microphone. It lives discreetly in the left can and can simply be pulled out for use.

I have mixed feelings about this design. One on hand, it is quite clever and works really well. The fact that it puts the microphone right up by your mouth means you get a cleaner recording (in my testing it fared better than Apple’s mic). However, this feature really only works in a home or office setting; you probably don’t want to talk on your phone in public with the mic extended unless you’re willing to field a few space man comments. The Apple mic is so hidden that it appears to be non-present, which is preferable in my opinion for outings.

Now, to be fair, I only use my Siberia Neckband at home anyway, and I like it that way. Further, the mic does in fact work in the hidden position, albeit not as well. So if you don’t like the extended look, you can keep it hidden.

Comfort

First of all, as the name implies, it’s not a traditional set of headphones. Instead of squeezing your scalp, you place the cans on your ears and let the band rest on the back of your neck.

I had never tried a neckband design before and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve never been a fan of big, tight headbands and this is a really nice alternative. The band expands and contracts so that no matter how tiny or massive your noggin is, you should still be able to find the perfect fit.

The neckband design is also great for any fashion-conscious music fans who like to listen whilst sporting a ball cap (or fedora for you Indy fans).

Ear Comfort

Big headphones can be murder on your ears, especially if you happen to have particularly large ears like I do. The Siberia Neckband does a great job of avoiding ear fatigue through the use of heavy black padding in a cup around the ears.

This makes for an impressively comfortable fit. I have a fairly low tolerance for big headphones and can’t usually stand them for more than a half an hour at best, usually much less! With these though I can typically make it through an entire album (around an hour) before my floppy ears get sore and I need a break.

Audio Quality

Audio quality is definitely the most important part of any headset review, so how did the Siberia Neckband fare? On the whole, I am quite satisfied with the performance of the Siberia Neckband. In fact, they’re easily the best sounding set of headphones that I own. The sound is remarkably full and captures the audio spectrum very nicely. I tested them out with some Miles Davis tracks and the high squeal of the trumpet sounded beautiful, but it was the low thump of the bass that really impressed me; excellent for such a low cost product.

Are they the best headphones I’ve ever heard? Certainly not, and they definitely won’t compete with your $400 studio headphones. But for $80, they blow away plenty of the competition. Ultimately, if you’re a serious audiophile, it’s not going to be easy to find any product in this price category that will please you, but if you’re an average listener who wants a great audio experience without breaking the bank, I fully recommend checking these out.

Here are the tech specs for both the headphones and the microphone.

Headphones

• Frequency response: 18 – 28.000 Hz
• Impedance: 40 Ohm
• SPL@ 1kHz, 1 Vrms: 104 dB
• Cable length: 1 m / 3.3 ft.
• Jacks: TRRS jack for iPhone

Microphone

• Frequency response: 80 – 15.000 Hz
• Pick up pattern: Uni-directional
• Sensitivity: -38 dB
• Impedance: 2K Ohm

Conclusion

To sum up, if you’re looking for a solid set of iPod and iPhone-compatible headphones, go strap on a SteelSeries Siberia Neckband. They’re designed specifically for iOS devices and have on-board controls similar to those found on Apple’s earbuds. The super comfy cans won’t over-stress your ears, the neck resting fit is perfect for anyone who doesn’t particularly like traditional headphones and the sound quality doesn’t fail to impress.

Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. Have you tried these? If so what did you think? If not, have we convinced you to give them a shot?

Want to get your iPhone peripheral reviewed? Shoot us an email or tweet and if we think our readers will like it, we’ll take a look!