7H Fnatic Edition and Siberia V2 Cross – Platform Headsets – Review

A Musician Reviews Two Gaming Headphones from SteelSeries

7H Fnatic Edition

$140 MSRP

 

 

Siberia V2 Cross-Platform Headset

$119 MSRP

 

 

Many gamers like listening to music, and many music lovers enjoy playing games. Serious gaming web sites provide excellent gear reviews. MyMac is stronger on audio reviews.

How good are SteelSeries’ two best over-ear, lightweight gaming headsets for music? Let’s listen and look at the stylish 7H Fnatic Edition and the retro-tech Siberia V2 Cross-Platform headsets. We abbreviate their names below as 7HFE and SV2CP.

SV2CP sounds noticeably better, and costs slightly less than 7HFE. The Siberia sonic experience is more full-spectrum, with a richer bass response. But SV2CP is somewhat less comfortable than is 7HFE, especially for users wearing glasses. If you are a dedicated music fan who doesn’t wear glasses and who plays games occasionally, the under $100 Internet price of SV2CP provides very good sound and value.

There is a bonus for the hearing impaired. My friend J. J. has severe hearing loss: he is 70 percent deaf, with terrible tinnitus. Playing music through SV2CP at loud volume allows J. J. to hear more than he has experienced in years, without his hearing aids inserted.

SV2CP are not great at physical noise isolation, because I can hear what J. J. is playing, from several feet away. But the benefits to almost-deaf music lovers and gamers outweigh any annoyances.

7HFE has five advantages over SV2CP:

• The styling and design of 7HFE are contemporary.

• Fit and feel of 7HFE are more positive and comfortable, especially when wearing glasses.

• Two different types of snap-on earpads are provided with 7HFE.

• 7HFE can easily be disassembled into three component segments for travel purposes.

• Audio playback through 7HFE can be equalized to enhance the bass and treble of its very clear midrange-biased speakers.

SteelSeries is known for their gaming equipment, not their audio gear. The company rep tells MyMac the purpose behind 7HFE:

We collaborated to make this version of 7H’s with the global gaming franchise Team Fnatic. It’s a limited edition run of the 7H (7H Fnatic Edition) that features their team branding and logo, which they use while competing in international events. From a specs angle not much has really changed from the regular 7H’s, except the Fnatic Edition comes with SND Block ear cushions for better passive noise cancellation.

Macintosh and iOS purchasers who don’t need the separate headphone and microphone cables that are standard with both headsets need to know that:

We currently do not have a reverse Y cable that is compatible for all of our headsets. We do offer a Siberia v2 Headset that was made specifically for the iPhone and other iOS applications.

MyMac congratulates SteelSeries for giving gaming customers affordable choices for playback headsets. Handle them carefully and they will last for years. You won’t be disappointed with either of these two models, given our recommendations above.

Question: why is no carrying case included with either model?

MyMac Review Ratings:

7 out of 10 for Siberia V2 Cross-Platform Headset

8 out of 10 for 7H Fnatic Edition

Here are gaming site links to thorough reviews of our evaluation headsets:

First one, the second one, and the third one.