Any true gamer knows the importance of a good pair of headphones. Whether it's for LAN parties or late night gaming without, headphones are an essential to any hardcore gamer's arsenal. Today we take a look at and test a set of these gaming headphones from Icemat called their Siberia Multi Headset. Siberia Multi Headset comes with a clip-on microphone, volume control dial, and a 3.5mm to 6.3mm converter. The headphones are self adjustable and sport a clean and modern look. If you are in the market for good accurate sounding gaming headphones, then this review is for you.

Packaging

The Siberia arrived in one piece shipped from Denmark in a packing box and its sturdy and attractive display box. Removing the goods from the box, we have the Siberia itself, Microphone with swivel mounted alligator clip and on/off switch on it, an extension cable (1.8m) with a volume control box on it (typical volume wheel), 1/8" to 1/4" adapter and 3 pieces of Velcro. If you don't want to attach the microphone to your shirt, you can use the Velcro strips to mount the microphone on your monitor instead.

Specifications on the product

Here are the specifications and features:

HEADPHONE: Frequency resp: 18-28.000 Hz Impedance: 40 Ohm SPL@1kHz, 1V rms: 99 - 104dB Cable length: 1,0+1,8=2,8m. Jack: 3,5 mm. + 6,3 mm. converter.

MICROPHONE: Frequency Response: 80-15.000 Hz Pick-up pattern: Sensitive uni-directional 1V/P@1kHz: 38dB

Design

The most striking thing about the Siberia is the design. A white frame with black earphones, it looks quite distinctive and fits perfectly with the name Siberia*. The top of the headband is leather with "Icemat Audio" printed across it. Felt is on the bottom of the headband. The comforting earcups are accompanied by an auto-sizing system that actually works. This is achieved by way of two "bungee like" cords on each side of the head set. I found the self-adjusting head strap and ear cushions to be very comfortable. To make the headphones fit even more comfortably, they are tilted slightly on the inside to fit over your ear better. There are also some air holes in the ear pieces (providing much needed airflow to your ears) to completely get rid of the sweating after prolonged periods of time. The wire connected directly to the headphones is only a meter long which is awfully short (for home and computer audio....). Fortunately, there's an extension cord that is 1.8 meters long and also includes a volume control as well as a microphone. As mentioned, the microphone is actually a completely separate unit that slides into holders on the headset wire. You can put this microphone on your shirt with the clip, or mount it on your monitor. The microphone also comes with an on/off slider switch built onto it for muting purposes. If I have any complaints about the design, it would be the volume controller. It should be made slightly lighter so that it can hang without you being able to feel a pull on the speaker wire.

* Due to popular demand there is now a Black version including all the parts.

How do they sound?

I listened to music as well as played games for weeks on end with the headphones. For music, I tested out the headphones with a few MP3s I had lying around (some death metal, metal, hard-rock, psychedelic, etc). I found the sound quality of the Siberia acceptable, yet not quite in the same league (the bass is a little weak and higher frequencies are a bit too loud) as some of the other headphones designed specifically for music. However, I have no major complaints here. Gaming is where the Siberia headphones really shine. For most users, it will probably be the main purpose as well. I tested the headphones with UT 2004, Painkiller, KOTOR2, Freedom Force 2, Act of War, Brothers in Arms, Doom 3: RoE, Half-Life 2, CS: Source and Project Snowblind. The headphones performed very well with the highs, lows, and bass coming through the speakers really nicely. The quality of the sound in the games was excellent. The microphone performed much better than I had expected. The microphone picked up my voice clearly and without a lot of fumbling around.

Conclusion

Overall, these headphones are an extremely good choice. The combination of frequency response range, comfort, and features make them an excellent choice for any gamer. The price of these headphones (they are now available also in black gloss paint) are a bit high at $79, but I think they are worth it. You can either buy it directly from Icemat (other retailers).

Pros
- very comfortable to wear
- self adjusting
- unique headphone physical design
- removable microphone/volume control
- sound is sharp and clear and it still lets you hear what's going on around you making it perfect for LAN gaming
- long headphone cable (though the
- gold plated plugs

Cons
- a bit more bass would have been nice
- higher frequencies are a bit too loud compared to the mid and lower frequencies
- audio cable is too short (not to worry though the volume control/ microphone has an extra 1.8 meters of cord attached)
- pricey
- volume controller is heavy

Special thanks goes out to Soft Trading for their time and assistance in making this review possible.