SteelSeries Siberia v2: Review

@egincontrol your huge head sold a pair of @steelseries Siberia v2s just now
— BYOB Kenobi (@T6SROF) January 29, 2012

I've had my Siberia v2s from SteelSeries for about a year and a month.  This review will be a "living" review as the events of the next few days unfold.  Full disclosure?  Mine just went out.  I no longer receive any audio from the right ear.  Does that mean they were a bad buy?  I don't know.  I have a support ticket to SteelSeries and have ordered a set of Beyerdynamic DT-770s to replace the Siberia v2s.

Previous headphone solutions:

• Endless cheap ear buds
• Turtle Beach x41

Pros:

• Very comfortable fit
• Reasonably cool over long periods of time (longest I ever wore them was probably 20 or so hours... don't judge me)
• Good enough sound to not feel cheated that I'm not able to use my 7.1 system.
• Mic included.
• in-line mic/volume control is a nice touch. 
• Looks great.
• SteelSeries supports esports... making them an easy to support company.

Cons: 

• Mic Quality isn't "podcast" quality... more like "skype" quality
• Build quality - 13 months of use shouldn't result in failure
• Sound quality is great for an entry level set of headphones, but it's simply entry level sound.

Now, for my fake Q&A with myself:

Who should buy Siberia v2s?

If you're someone who wants to have acceptable sound and an easily available mic while keeping your total costs under $100 these are perfect.

What would prevent you from recommending Siberia v2s?

The sound is in no way "enthusiast" level sound.  In the past I used a very nice 7.1 system in The Multimedia Lounge, but since the baby was born I've had it in the box.  The sound from the Siberia v2 was way better than my Panasonic TV's built in speakers but nowhere near as good as my 7.1 system.  It was "good enough" to satisfy the need for some volume, but they just aren't exciting headphones.  You won't feel left out if it's these or nothing, but you're not going to be blown away.  It's competent with good enough levels and clarity to satisfy someone who just wants to be able to hear everything loud and clear.  If your main reason for buying headphones is to listen to music and the mic really doesn't matter to you, you should look elsewhere.  

Why did you buy them?

I bought a set of Siberia v2 headphones because I was able to "demo" the sound quality and fit by watching and listening to other people that have them and play their games live on Twitch.tv.  EG.InControl has a head like a 5 gallon paint bucket and I've never even seen him adjust his ear cups once.  I too have a large cranium and wanted something comfortable.  The voice quality seemed good enough and the price was right.  I was sold.

How has your perspective changed?

At first I felt I needed a headphone/mic combo because that's all I've ever used.  In a previous life I used to use a plantronics hands free phone kit that I loved and ever since then I've liked having a headset/mic for communications.  As time went on I realized that I'd like to have a higher quality microphone for podcasts, game casts, etc.  I upgraded to an entry level condenser mic (Blue Snowball).  This made the included mic of the Siberia v2 redundant.  The only thing the mic had going for it was comfort.  I could be laying on my back and the mic would stay right in my face vs the Blue Snowball being stationary on my desk and requiring a reasonable level of proximity to sound good.  Once I fell into a groove with the Snowball I started questioning if I should get a higher quality set of headphones to go with the mic.  It wasn't pressing, but it was something I really wanted for down the road.  When my Siberia v2 went out, I immediately snatched up a Beyerdynamic DT-770 (which will arrive in 2 days).  These are about as close to professional quality as I'm comfortable buying.  Why so serious about headphones?  I want to be able to monitor the quality of the recordings I make to ensure that everything sounds perfect before publishing.  If I can't tell that they suck and they suck then it's still my fault for putting out a sucky recording filled with suck.

I also believe that the vast majority of PC gamers will love Siberia v2s.  They are much better than just about every stock option you'll have going into their purchase.  They just won't blow you away if you have a nice set of speakers.

Also, the fact that I got just over a year of use out of mine makes me question whether or not the savings are worth it.  The DT-770s get amazing reviews for their durability and long lasting quality and are more than twice as expensive at $180.  That means I'll have to use the DT-770s for about 3 years to make them worth less per year than simply replacing the Siberia v2.  From what I'm reading, that shouldn't be a problem, but we'll have to see.  

Why is this called a "living review"?

I plan on coming back and editing, or adding additional posts to augment this review as I go through my customer service experience with SteelSeries and receive my new set of cans from Beyerdynamic.  These few days listening through $5 ear buds vs the SteelSeries Siberia v2 vs the Beyerdynamic DT-770s should be pretty interesting.  Throw in an evaluation of customer service and suddenly a simple "uh... mine broke but they sounded good before that" review isn't good enough anymore.