SteelSeries continues to produce good gaming headsets, and their latest entry, the Siberia 350, is no exception. The Siberia 350 is priced competitively as a mid-range wired headset between the company’s high-end Siberia 650 and entry-level units. It’s intended to blend affordability with sound quality, and I’m happy to report that it accomplishes precisely what it sets out to do.
50mm Neodymium Drivers, Onboard USB Soundcard
Headphone Frequency Response: 10 – 28000 Hz
Headphone Sensitivity: 80 dB
MICROPHONE
Microphone Frequency Response: 50-16000 Hz
Microphone Pickup Pattern: Unidirectional
Microphone Sensitivity: -42 dB
Microphone Impedance: 2200 Ohm
CONNECTION
Cable Length: 1.5 m, 5 ft
Connector Type: USB
In terms of design, the Siberia 350 looks identical to the V3 Prism. It offers the same RGB illumination on the sides so it looks a bit showy on Twitch or at LAN parties. It also comes with a retractable microphone that’s flexible enough to allow a range of positions.
More than just a simple rebrand, the Siberia 350 offers new DTS Headphone:X 7.1 surround audio, memory foam earcups and a volume control unit on the cable. It’s the only model in SteelSeries’ lineup of headsets to offer the new surround sound technology. The technology really shines in first-person shooters, allowing you to quickly determine where your enemies are. It sounded good in Overwatch and CS:GO and I had no problem telling where enemies were based on auditory cues.
The Siberia 350 uses a self-adjusting suspension based design to keep it lightweight, with fewer parts and hinges. It’s easy to put on, but as with any “one size fits all” design, there’s no such thing as a perfect fit. It’s nowhere as comfortable as the pricier Siberia 650 or Siberia 800, or some of the other headsets I’ve reviewed. I can wear it for a couple of hours at a time before I feel like switching out or taking a break. That said, it’s much more comfortable than the older V3 Prism due to the new earcups.
As with the previous design, the settings on the Siberia 350 can be controlled with the SteelSeries Engine 3 software on Windows and Mac. It offers controls for illumination, settings for multiple gaming profiles, and a 5-band equalizer if you want to tweak how things sound.
The headset connects through USB and works on PC, Mac and PS4 platforms. It is not compatible with the Xbox One or mobile devices. Unfortunately, the wire’s a bit short at 1.5m/5ft in length so hooking it up to a PS4 might pose some difficulty if you plan on sitting far away from your TV. For this reason, I really wish the cable was detachable.
One major downside is the audio quality of the microphone. While perfectly serviceable for online gaming, it doesn’t have the quality of its big brother on the Siberia 800 or any of the desk mics from Blue. I wouldn’t recommend recording voiceovers for Let’s Play videos with the onboard mic.
I consider the Siberia 350 to be strictly a PC gaming headset. While it’s adequate for music listening, it doesn’t really compare to the high-end offerings in SteelSeries’ headset lineup in terms of audio fidelity or comfort. But for the asking price, it’s a decent headset that gets the job done.
A unit was provided by SteelSeries for the purpose of this review. The SteelSeries Siberia 350 retails for $120.
