SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Headset Review
Overview
First there was the the SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Mouse, then there was this; the SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Headset
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In the box (plastic packaging) there’s not much, actually other than the headset there’s, well there’s nothing! 😉
At the time of writing the Sims 4 Gaming Headset is retailing on Amazon
Specifications/Features
courtesy of SteelSeries
| Frequency Response | 20Hz – 20KHz | Drivers and Magnet | SteelSeries 40mm, Neodymium |
| Earcups | Closed, supra aural (on-ear) | Illumination | 16.8 million colors, steady, off |
| Cable Length | 2m (6.5ft) | Cable Connector | USM (M) 2.0 |
| Frequency Response | 50Hz – 16KHz | Element | Omnidirectional electret condenser |
| Control | Main button | ||
* Additional details available here
First Impressions
First impressions of the SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Headset are not that good, the headset looks cheap (hold on it is cheap!) and judging by the weight there’s not much to it either. The Diamonds on the side look kind of cool though as does the microphone embedded in the left ear-cup. I’m not normally a fan of these Supra Aural (on-ear) headsets though, I guess we shall see…
Each ear-cup is the same apart from the left ear-cup features a built in microphone (yes that’s it sticking out near the bottom) and a microphone mute button. The ear-cups feature a tiny degree of orbital movement, but I’m not sure its really enough to aide comfort. In addition to this each ear-cups houses a 40mm Neodymium Driver with a frequency response of 20Hz – 20KHz.
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The SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Headset features a fixed plastic headband with a small Sims Plumbob logo at the top.
On the inside of the headband there’s a large (thick) single cushion, supporting the top of the head. There’s very little padding here though, but then with the low weight of the headset it’s unlikely to matter.
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The headband can be adjusted be by sliding the headband away from the ear-cup arm, there’s a ratchet system too allowing for some precise adjustment. There is around 28mm of adjustment per side and I would say the headband caters well for medium to large head sizes, but not so well for smaller head sizes.
The on-ear ear-cups feature a good size cushion with a fair degree of foam within, the material used also seems to be breathable, helping your ears to stay cooler during those longer Gaming sessions.
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The condenser microphone built into the left ear-cup is a curious sight and not a design that I have seen before. While I like its simplicity I’m skeptical about how well it’s going to pickup my voice. But it will be nice not having a boom sticking out in front of my face while Gaming though. 😉
The above shot gives a slightly better look at the functionality on the left ear-cup, with it’s built-in microphone mute button. It’s also a chance to marvel at that amazing Plumbob !
Overall, and considering the price the SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming headset seems Ok, it’s not going to win any design awards but then it never set out to! In basic terms if feels like a £30 headset…
Hardware Installation
The SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Headset was simply connected by way of its single USB connection. This was connected directly to the back-plate of the MSI Z87-G45 GAMING motherboard that forms part of our dedicated Intel Test Rig. It’s just simple USB Plug ‘n Play! Oh, and then download the software that’s not supplied and install it…
Testing Methodology/Setup
The SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Headset was tested using our Intel Test Rig with a fresh installation of Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit (service pack 1) installed together with all the latest relevant Drivers and software.
The headset does require software installation for full functionality. As per the instructions on the back of the box the SteelSeries Engine software was downloaded (here) and installed. Version 3.2.9 was used throughout testing.
GAMES/BENCHMARKS USED IN TESTING:
- Sims 4
- Survarium (BETA)
- Metro Last Light (benchmark)
- Unigine Heaven (benchmark)
- Unigine Valley (benchmark)
Hardware Performance
- Headset
The performance of a headset is predominately based upon what it sounds like, therefore what we have here is my opinion on what I think about the audio performance of the SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Headset; of course this is somewhat subjective…
Obviously I wasn’t expecting too much from a £30 headset, especially as it’s also a Game tie-in too (cynical I know!). But as I had already tested the SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Mouse and found out that it was actually rather good, there was still a little hope in me, thinking that surely it cant be that bad, it’s made by SteelSeries after all…
Listening to the Sims 4 is not the best test of a headset’s dynamics (although it sounded good enough), so I decided to go straight for the acid test (Metro: Last Light) followed up by a little music. OMG! Something must be wrong (I thought), I must have accidentally put a HyperX Cloud headset on my head and not realised! Nope, no mistake had been made, after a plethora of early testing I came to one conclusion. The SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming headset sounds bloody amazing, especially when you consider its paltry price tag.
The 40mm Drivers deliver a surprisingly crisp and refreshing sound, sure it may be a little bright, but it is so clear. Of course with all of this brightness you’d expect that the mids or at least the bass would suffer, but no! There’s real bass here and none of that thud, thud, booming bass that some Gaming headsets seem to deliver in spades either. There’s a form of control, every sound delivered can be heard, in amongst the others. It’s impressive stuff!
To be honest I really have nothing to complain about, the sound produced by the SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Headset is really rather impressive. I have no idea how they’ve pulled this off, but respect is due… 😉
Of course let’s not forget how the headset’s Plumbob mimics your Sims in game, clever that is too! It might have worked well on the Sims 4 Gaming Mouse as you can track it easily with your eyes, but the two on the side of your head are rather more difficult to see! 😉
- Comfort
Comfort level can be split into two categories, one if you have glasses and one if you don’t. As you may have gueseed if you dont have galsses you’ll find the Sims 4 Gaming headset to be quite comfortable, despite that fact that it sits on your ears (something that I personally don’t like!). Unfortunately if you do wear glasses (like I sometimes do) you will likely find the headset quite uncomfortable, as the ear-cup pressure is enough to squish your ear against the side of your glasses frame. Even after a short period of Gaming (1hr+) the headset started to feel uncomfortable, which is a shame. Glasses wearer, beware (oh that sounds almost like it rhymes, clever eh!?).
- Microphone
The omnidirectional condenser microphone built-in to the left ear-cup worked surprisingly well, despite my concerns. Although it did suffer form picking up sound coming from the headset’s Drivers. This could be dialed out (a little) via the standard Windows software. Considering where the microphone is placed, it worked remarkably well in my opinion.
Software
The SteelSeries Engine software has been seen before and has proven to be both easy to use and robust. It’s no different here as the software is nigh on identical to what we have seen here in the past.
The front page of the software allows you to choose the peripheral that you want to modify, in this case here we have the Sims 4 Gaming Mouse and Headset.
- SOFTWARE – (Illumination)
The illumination popup allows you to customize the illumination of the Plumbob, logically 16.8 million colours are on offer, but I’m not so sure! This functionality is also only relevant if you are not using the predefined Sims 4 In-Game config for obvious reasons. Other illumination options also allow for both, on/off and Colorshift modes.
Final Thoughts
To be honest the SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Headset
I could leave it there. as to be fair I think that’s as much as you need to know; but I guess you want a little more? Well yes the headset is plasticy and it does feel cheap, but then to be fair it is cheap, so that is to be expected. And the comfort level is not so good if you’re a glasses wearer (apparently that’s around 60% of us), die to the fact that the on-ear nature of the headset pushes your ear onto the frame of you glasses (well it did for me).
Of course in-game the Plumbobs (diamonds) on the side of the headset change colour in line with your Sims’s mood, clever but a little pointless considering where they are! You can also, of course mess with the colours and patterns via the SteelSeries Engine software.
I’m actually struggling to type this bit, why? Because the sound produced by the SteelSeries 40mm Drivers is amazing considering the price of the headset. This headset is better sounding that some £75+ headset that I’ve tested in the past. Yes, it’s a little bright, but the sound is so clear and precise, you can’t fail to be impressed. Then there’s the bass, yes that’s right there’s even bass too! The acid test of the Metro: Last light benchmark still seem to trouble the headset. Because of this a resorted to Dance music in an attempt to prove myself wrong, but no the headset competently coped with it all. If there was a score out of 10 for quality of sound per pound spent, the SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Headset would get 11! 😉
If you’re seriously considering this headset, then just buy it, it’s not only great for the Sims 4, but it’s an amazingly good sounding headset too. While you’re at you might want to pick up the SteelSeries Sims 4 Gaming Mouse at the same time, it’s pretty good too…
Verdict
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Where possible we always use Amazon’s price for Value… |
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Many thanks to SteelSeries for providing this sample for review
