Normally, licensed products don’t really work out. By licensed, I mean that a company is ordered by another company to make products based on their companies products. An example of such would be those crappy movie games that always accompany the latest kids movie/TV show such as Avatar, Transformers, and so on.
This disdain of licensed products usually causes me to sneer at the general range of licensed products, the ‘Tron’ and ‘Starcraft II’ accessories released by Razer are some that immediately come to mind. Quoted by many as being overpriced for what they can achieve, usually people give them a wide berth when purchasing professional gaming grade products. And that leads onto the second problem, they usually aren’t as good as the standard products the outsourced company makes. So, after being referred to a ‘sick looking Diablo 3 headset’ by a friend, I opened it like a good cynic, expecting to smirk and laugh at them the next day, pointing out the flaws in their product.
And then, that pent up supremacy never came. Based on the Steelseries Siberia V2, these Diablo 3 issue cans look awesome. The little features really do add to the aesthetic appeal of this headset, from the sinister looking obsidian edges, to the red grilles on the outside of the speakers. There are eighteen LED’s incorporated into the device, seven of which can be seen in the picture above. The stylized ‘III’ lights up, as well as the four curved lines that form an incomplete circle around the speaker.
As you can see, the suspension on the headphones is exactly the same as the Steelseries Siberia V2′s. As I’ve been meaning to buy Siberia V2′s for quite a while now, they were recommended to me by quite a few friends as they are extremely comfortable to wear for long periods of time. After trying on a friend’s V2, he wasn’t kidding, it really does feel weightless on your head. The headset also features a retractable microphone that is on the Siberia V2′s, hopefully the microphone quality will be better than it’s cousins one.
Compared with the Siberia V2, the biggest differences between the two headphones, apart from their aesthetics, are the cables that connect the devices to your computer or otherwise. These new headphones feature braided cables, ala Razer Carachias. The cable is significantly stronger compared to the Siberia V2′s, and a lot less likely to break under stress. The integrated controls in the cable feature your standard volume control, as well as the ability to change the pulsation and brightness of the LED’s on the headset.
The Siberia V2′s also have the older 3.5mm jacks that plug into your computer, to provide audio input/output. Using an adapter, it can be connected to an iDevice, such as your iPhone/iPad. Otherwise, when you use it for gaming, you can connect your headset to a provided USB soundcard, which will dramatically increase your devices performance. These new headphones connect directly through USB, so it isn’t possible to connect it with an iDevice… yet. Fingers crossed perhaps.
Otherwise, these headphones are released in October, during Blizzard’s annual… Blizzcon. They are expected to cost around $119, and the only thing lacking is a name at this point. ‘Mephisto’ has a nice ring to it, no?
