Today, any respectable manufacturer of peripherals in the range of products necessarily have budget models for the widest possible audience, as well as flagship devices that only the most well-off customers who value high quality and convenience can afford. Not so long ago I already told you about the gaming headset Siberia 100, developed within the walls of the Danish company SteelSeries. Today I would like to dedicate my review of their new flagship model - Siberia 840. To tell about this headset for me is one complete pleasure, as it became the apogee of the work of talented engineers and designers, and also absorbed the most advanced technologies.
"The world's best wireless gaming headset" is a slogan on the frontal surface of the box. A pretty bold statement, I thought to myself. But all doubts were dispelled at the very moment when I put the headset on my head and first felt the love that the SteelSeries engineers had invested in their offspring. The box is able to tell us not only about the bold claims of the manufacturer. Among other things, we immediately see that the headset supports Dolby Headphone, Dolby Pro Logic IIx and Dolby Digital technologies. And also it is compatible with almost all devices capable of producing sound, including computers running macOS (I still can not get used to the new writing of the name of this operating system) and Windows, game consoles of the PlayStation and Xbox families, media centers, home theaters, and also all kinds of mobile devices. Siberia 840 supports Bluetooth technology BTLE with low power consumption, so you can connect it to almost anything.
On the back of the package, in addition to listing the items and descriptions of the headset in several languages, we can see for the first time that the Siberia 840 comes bundled with an external sound card, and in combination a transmitter with an integrated OLED screen and controls. At the top of the box you can see removable batteries, which are bundled with two, which allows you to use the headset continuously: while charging one battery, we just use the second one.
The side faces of the box show us the headphones cups, equipped with built-in controls, and a retractable microphone with a red ring-shaped LED at the end, which lights up if you activated the Mute mode.
When you first unpack this headset, you immediately understand that the manufacturer has done everything to impress you with attention to detail. The plastic form fits perfectly around the headset, not allowing it to hang out inside the box. Here, a bag with a moisture absorber is carefully glued, which allows to avoid dampening of the electronics in case it is stored, for example, inside a room with high humidity.
Of the pieces of paper in the kit, I found only the instruction manual, executed in the form of a simple and understandable set of images. Would you like to connect Siberia 840 to such and such a device - please kindly plug this wire here, and then click this button. With the connection and configuration can even figure out a small child. In this regard, everything is very intuitive and convenient.
The headset itself makes a very pleasant impression. You know, she somehow reminded me of a very expensive chair of a major company, covered with natural leather and exuding the powerful energy of its influential owner. It's a very elite look for this device.
Despite all the elitism, the headset is made of very high-quality plastic. As I did not try, I could not find any large metal parts in the case of the device. The decorative caps of the headphones cups, although they seem metallic, are not really such. It's just a plastic-styled plastic. But the most interesting, despite all this, the headset still looks great. You do not even have a fleeting desire to doubt its high quality.
The outer part of the headband contains a rubberized insert with the name of the company SteelSeries, which excludes the possibility of slipping the device from your hands, even if your palms sweat during fierce online battles. It would seem, a trifle, but in fact - a very useful feature. The only drawback of this material is that it perfectly collects dust on itself. But it is easily treated by wiping the surface with a damp cloth.
From the inside, the headband is lined with five divided pillows filled with foam with a memory effect. The longer the headset is put on your head, the better it adapts to it, memorizing the shape and features of the structure of your skull. In fact, in terms of the comfort of Siberia 840 - one of the most comfortable sets that I've ever tested.
The headband is easily adjustable in height. However, I did not find it inside the metal frame. Oddly enough, the manufacturer did not use this material to strengthen the structure. Still, this device is in a group of high-risk, because it is often dropped, in a fit of feelings, thrown to the table or sloppily pulled off the head. On the other hand, the plastic frame looks quite impressive, as it is reinforced with several ribs of rigidity.
Both cups of the headset rotate about their vertical axis 90 degrees one and about 15 degrees to the other side. This allows you to wear it on your neck in between play sessions. At the same time, the cups fit very nicely to your body and do not interfere at all. Yes, and put the headset on the table so much more logical, because the sounds from the speakers will be muffled and stop interfering with others. Around the horizontal axis of the cup is also rotated by 30 degrees, which allows them to fit as close to the head as possible in almost any shape and size.
40-millimeter dynamic radiators with neodymium magnets hid under the ear pads. It's nice that the manufacturer even decorated the plastic hidden from the user's eyes with the slogan "Victory is our everything!".
The ear-pads are also filled with foam with a memory effect, and are also decorated with a bright orange mesh and are stitched with orange thread. SteelSeries designers try not to change their corporate style for many years. Sound insulation of the headset at a very decent level. However, personally it seemed to me that the headphones at first very much press on my ears. But over time, "foam with memory" does its job, and the feeling of slight discomfort goes away.
A removable battery is hidden in the left-hand cup. The round cover is easily unscrewed and just as easily put in place. The arrow indicates which way it should be rotated to close the lock. The capacity of the battery is 1000 mAh, and according to the manufacturer, one full charge should be enough for up to 20 hours. Of course, I was unable to squeeze the maximum time during testing out of the battery, but it adequately lasted about 15 hours, which is also considered an excellent result, given that I constantly walked around the apartment, thus adding to the load of the headset.
In the right cup is hidden from prying eyes port Mini-USB, through which you can fill the headset with the latest version of the official firmware.
There are other important elements on the cups. For example, this wheel not only smoothly adjusts the sound, but also is used to navigate through the menu displayed on the transmitter screen (we'll talk about it below). Scrolling up and down you move the cursor, and by clicking on the wheel - select the menu item. Everything is simple and incredibly convenient. This is especially true when the transmitter is far enough away from you, and you want to change something in the settings, without getting up from a comfortable sofa.
Two keys, one of which you will probably use very often. This turns the headset's power on and creates a Bluetooth pair with another device. Near the rubber plug two connectors for 3.5 and 2.5 millimeters were hidden. The first one is used if you suddenly decide to connect to a sound source via an analog cable. The second one, called Share Port, is much more interesting: it allows you to attach one more headset to your headset, so that, for example, you can watch a movie with your soul mate or friend, without disturbing others who are with you in the same room. Very convenient and useful function, I must say.
The default microphone is deeply buried in the left-hand side of the headset. At its tip, you can see the ring LED, which lights up red as soon as you activate the Mute mode. The microphone provides a high quality voice, but it's omni-directional, which will allow your interlocutors to hear how you, for example, type on the keyboard. When I first started using the headset, I noticed that I could very well hear the work of my mechanical keyboard. Only then it dawned on me that this was not a problem with the noise reduction of the headphones, but only the work of the microphone. Having disabled it, I solved the problem. To turn off the microphone, you must press the power button once on the right side of the headset. Do not forget this, because the mic is slightly fonet, collecting ambient noise, and while listening to music or watching a movie, this can prevent you from enjoying the sound.
The microphone is equipped with a comfortable flexible leg and in the extended state it looks very impressive. There is in it something from the works of Hans Rudolph Giger with all this translucent black surface and small ribs inside it.
And here is the transmitter, which is a small box with rounded corners from translucent black plastic, through which its contents shine through places. On the front surface of the transmitter is a round handle for smoothly adjusting the volume of the headset, which in addition to the rotation is also able to be pressed inward with a characteristic "click". This allows the user to travel through the on-screen menu. If you need to go to the previous menu level, you will be helped by a small button located to the left of the handle.
On the right side of the transmitter housing there is a small connector where a discharged battery is inserted. It is very convenient that all important functions are concentrated inside one small box. Taking into account that two batteries are supplied immediately, you will be provided with almost continuous operation of the headset for several years (until the batteries work out their useful life). In general, Hot Swap technology, thanks to which you can replace the battery "on the fly", is extremely convenient, but it can boast of extremely expensive models of headsets and wireless headphones. Expensive and tasteful - it's just about Siberia 840.
On the back of the device are important ports and connectors. Analog input for sending signal to the transmitter from devices without a digital interface, next to it is an analog output, which you can combine with a 3.5 mm cable with a similar connector in one of the cups of the headset. There is also an input for power supply. And also a Mini-USB port for connecting to various devices and transferring digital audio. In the very right part, you can see the optical input and output, covered with flaps, protecting them from dust.
Most of the bottom surface of the transmitter is a rubberized insert, which prevents it from sliding over the smooth surface of the table or cabinet for the TV.
What really shocked me was the abundance of cables that I found in the box with the headset. Here you can find separate wires for connecting it to various gaming consoles, mobile devices, USB-ports and, of course, an optical cable with two plastic caps. The kit is really royal, because sometimes you'll buy yourself a brand new headset, and it only has a 4-pin plug without important adapters, for example, for a PC. Manufacturer Siberia 840 directly pleases with its generosity and attention to detail. In a complete set there is everything, that is necessary. And even more.
Another small detail: each cable is equipped with a birochka describing its purpose. So you will never mix up the wires and will be able to quickly find the one you need in this or that situation.
The power supply is supplied with four plugs for sockets in different countries. I found in the box a European plug, American, British and even Australian. You never know where your life will go, but here everything is at hand for long journeys.
The plugs are very simply put on the power supply. To remove them, you need to press the button with the inscription Open. The adapter provides the standard voltage and current for the USB port, so that it can be replaced with any similar power source. In case of connection to a personal computer, transmitter power and digital audio are transmitted via one USB cable.
OLED-screen of the transmitter displays the most important information about the system. Indicates the current volume level, the level of charging of the battery inserted in the charger, and the remaining battery power that is currently used to power the headset.
The transmitter menu allows you to adjust the sound with the standard equalizer, enable or disable the Dolby sound processing technology, adjust the balance of your interlocutors' voices with respect to the sound of the game, and much, much more.
You can create multiple profiles and customize the sound coming to the transmitter from various sources. For example, the sound from the PlayStation 4 console will be processed differently than the sound from your personal computer. Profiles and sources can be assigned unique names. Of course, it's somewhat inconvenient to type text using the wheel and the input button, but you are unlikely to use this function too often.
You can adjust the brightness of the screen, connect the headset to any Bluetooth sound source, adjust the system menu sounds, put the system into sleep mode, if you do not plan to use it in the near future, reset everything to the factory settings or even activate the screensaver.
You can always find out the version of the current firmware of the device and, if necessary, update to the current one. In my opinion, the menu of the transmitter is very clear, convenient and extremely functional. Today you rarely see a combination of these qualities in any device.
It's time to talk about the sound. In video games, Siberia 840 produces an expectedly great sound. Virtual Dolby Surround 7.1 covers you from all sides and allows you to hear every rustle with incredible positioning accuracy. Suddenly, I realized that I no longer want to use my old headset. After Siberia 840 you start to hear their frank shortcomings, so it's very difficult to look at other models without sadness. As for listening to music - everything is also very, very good here. No, I'm far from spoiled by expensive headphones and heated wires audiophile, but even I can hear the highest quality sound produced by this headset. All without exception, the frequencies are audible, bright, expressive and crystal clear. The basses are incredibly deep and saturated, which is especially well felt in the compositions of my favorite musical genre trip-hop. The volume of Siberia 840 is very good. I could not listen to it at full volume, because I was worried about the safety of my ears, so I lowered the volume somewhere to half and dissipated without a trace in my favorite music.
One of the incomparable advantages of the headset is the support for No-Lag technology, which compensates for delays in transmitting sound over wireless protocols, constantly changing the frequency of the radio signal. Siberia 840 operates at 2.4 GHz, but constantly adapts it, minimizing any delays in signal transmission. The maximum working distance of the headset allows you to move away from the transmitter for 10 meters without losing sound and signal quality. I have a wireless headset manufactured by Sony, and now it loses its signal even when I leave the transmitter to the kitchen for water. In the case of Siberia 840, I went to the farthest room of the apartment and, being separated from the transmitter by three brick walls with a total thickness of about one and a half meters, did not feel any discomfort.
The headset is compatible with the official application of SteelSeries Engine 3. With it you can adjust the equalizer and create several profiles directly from your computer. Here you can adjust the ratio of the sound of the voices of your interlocutors and the sound of games using the ChatMix and LiveMix controls. To be honest, I've always admired the SteelSeries software: it's extremely concise and understandable, there's nothing superfluous in it. And he always works without problems, which is also important.
Equipment:
- Headset SteelSeries Siberia 840
- User's manual
- Two Li-ion batteries.
- Wireless signal transmitter.
- Optical cable with plugs.
- Cable to connect to the Xbox 360.
- Cable for connecting to PS4 and Xbox One.
- Cable for connection to mobile devices.
- Analog cable.
- USB cable.
- Power Supply.
Headphone Specifications:
- Color: black / orange
- Headphone type: female, closed type
- Material: plastic
- Operating mode: wireless / wired
- Radius: 10 yards
- Излучатели: динамические, 40 мм
- Особенности излучателей: неодимовые магниты
- Частотная характеристика: 20-20000 Гц
- Сопротивление: 32 Ω
- Чувствительность: 108 дБ
- Масса: 318 г (с аккумулятором)
Характеристики микрофона:
- Диаграмма направленности: ненаправленный, с шумоподавлением
- Сопротивление: 2,2 кОм
- Частотная характеристика: 100–10000 Гц
- Чувствительность: -44 дБ
- Возможность отключения нет
Pros:
- Великолепный звук в играх, при прослушивании музыки и просмотре фильмов.
- Отличное позиционирование источников звука во всех без исключения играх.
- Гарнитура выглядит и ощущается, как очень дорогой и комфортный продукт.
- Впечатляющее время автономной работы от заряженного аккумулятора.
- Два аккумулятора обеспечивают практически непрерывную работу устройства.
- Внешний трансмиттер с ярким экраном и встроенным зарядным устройством.
- Возможность подключить к гарнитуре дополнительные наушники.
- Встроенные в чашки гарнитуры удобные элементы управления.
- Множество тонких настроек звука, доступных в меню трансмиттера.
- Поддержка технологий Dolby Digital, Dolby Headphone и Dobly Pro Logic IIx.
- Отсутствие ощутимых задержек при беспроводной передаче звука.
- Совместимость с программным обеспечением SteelSeries Engine 3.
- Исчерпывающе богатая комплектация гарнитуры.
Minuses:
- Микрофон лишён шумоподавления и защиты от ветра.
- Внутри оголовья отсутствует металлическая рама.
- Очень высокая стоимость гарнитуры.
Siberia 840 – это продукт премиум-класса и несомненный флагман линейки гарнитур SteelSeries. Мелкие недостатки ничуть не умаляют того факта, что перед нами действительно лучшая беспроводная гарнитура для современных игроков. И не важно, играете ли вы на ПК или же на игровых консолях, профессиональный вы геймер или же просто любите отдохнуть после работы. Ничего лучше в классе беспроводных игровых гарнитур вы сегодня точно не найдёте. Единственное, что действительно может отпугнуть покупателя от Siberia 840 – её высокая стоимость. На сегодняшний день гарнитура стоит около 27 000 рублей. Но хорошая вещь никогда не стоила дёшево, думаю, что спорить с этим постулатом просто глупо. Если бы я выдавал в своих обзорах медали, Siberia 840 обязательно получила бы золото, а то и платину в своей категории.
The article is based on materials .
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