Pros: -Sound quality was great
-comfortable
-looks great

Cons: -mic does not come out of earpiece, so sometimes voices coming in were echo'd back
-Breaks super easy. I mean SUPER easy. Paper thin plastic caused it to break in multiple places from light use. (rebroke in different spot after fixing)

Other Thoughts: It was nice while it lasted, but I think I'm done with steelseries headsets. My 5Hv2's mic cuts out so I replaced it with a headset that lasted 2 months of light use.

Pros: The audio is decent quality, nice pre-amp and overall sound experience. Look really simplistic

Cons: Build Quality is atrocious. I've owned them for roughly 6 months and just through normal wear and tear (taking on and off multiple times a day) the headband extension has already broken on both sides, and is being held together by Tape and Zip Ties. Also there isn't much customization in terms of the lighting patterns

Other Thoughts: Overall I give it a low score due to me needing to repair them so soon. BUT, they do make excellent cupcake tins, spray some PAM in there for that non stickyness and kablam, you've got yourself some really tasty treats, but seriously, I wouldn't recommend these to anyone

Pros: Im going to start right off with saying that I am an extremely critical reviewer of headphones. I've got a headache problem, so a badly designed pair of headphones can make this problem ten times worse.

This isn't a badly designed pair, but it's also not my ideal set either. While the pads on the top and the ear pieces are comfortable, the non-conforming dated design of the set makes my head hurt after short sessions. For most people however, this isn't a problem, so I can't take off a whole egg just on that fact.

The sound quality is great for the price, which isn't all too bad either. This is a headset after all, and the sound is the main concern. It sounds great! Very crisp. The microphone piece being small and accurate like it was was also a nice feature, I don't really enjoy a big piece of plastic in front of my mouth while playing all of my games.

Cons: Not really the best form factor, more modern headphones conform much better to the average head shape than these.

The plastic used to construct the headset feels cheap, though it hasn't broken yet.

I don't really see the point of the colors around the ear pieces, they don't necessarily add any flare to the product when it could definitely use some.

All of these complaints are very minor cosmetic issues, nothing major, which easily merits this product a 4 egg rating for it's price range.

However, I tried hooking this to a wii U and the playstation 4 and never really got it connected. I figured, it's a usb headset so why not include a driver set that allows it to work with all modern USB connections? Apparently it only works with the ps4 and no other game system.

Other Thoughts: If I didn't already have a headset that bested this set in every aspect of it, for just a small dose of cash more, I most definitely would have rated this a five egg product, but alas, 4 eggs will have to do.

Pros: -Clear crisp sound (excellent mid and highs, decent bass)
-Extremely light feeling on the ears
-Non clamping feel
-Decent length cord
-No hiss from being USB powered
-Nice looking
-Fairly sturdy
-Very soft cloth
-Superb for both regular and large sized heads
-Software is simple and neatly designed

Cons: -Bass is a tad weak
-Cord is a bit stiff

Other Thoughts: I have not tried out the mic yet nor really need to since I have a standalone mic. The real reason I bought these is cause I have a large head and prefer cloth. It's very difficult to find a headset that doesn't clamp to your head and hurt. Not to mention most headphones have that sunction cup feel around your ears (these don't). These are just as comfortable as the Razer Carcharias (and without the hiss). I've read the mic isn't very good but if you don't care about that so much, then these are superb headphones. I would certainly pay $100 for them and they are only $60.

Pros: Sleek design, definitely gets a 10/10 on looks and comfort. The white/gray is a great contrast to all of my other peripherals that are black (mouse, keyboard, camera, monitors, printer). The lighting built into the outside of the earphones is superb. I think by default mine was purple, but the software made changing the colors really easy, so I had it cycle through the RGB spectrum. Granted, I know that I can’t see it, but a friend of mine saw it and was really impressed. If you’re looking for a stylish headset, the Siberia RAW Prism is a good place to start.

The cushioning is also very well positioned and soft. I’ve had a Corsair Vengeance 1500, and prior to that, an HS1, and this headset is is far more comfortable than both. The Vengeance 1500 has “softer” cloth material for the headset (it reminds me of velvet a little, but certainly isn’t velvet), while the Prism has cloth that *looks* like it should be rough. However, when the headphones rub against my ears/head over the period of an hour or two, I definitely don’t feel uncomfortable with the Prism’s cloth and the same can’t be said for the Vengeance 1500.

The audio quality is really good considering that you’re paying for a headset and not headphones. Better highs and lows than my Vengeance 1500s, Mumble came in crisp by default. There were a few cases that made me end up adjusting the highs (see cons) but for the most part, games, music, and VoIP sounded clear. The sound quality is very good by my standard, though I’m certainly not the person to spend hundreds of dollars on sound cards and headphones.

Cons: The one part of the Prism’s style that I don’t like is the cord. It’s a non-braided, run-of-the-mill USB cable. It’s a little stiff, which wouldn’t be a problem except for the length of the cord. anyone who would use this headset for the PS3 or plug the headset into the USB ports on the backside of the case, this can be problematic. The cord simply doesn’t cooperate. It’s not long or flexible enough, and it seems a little silly to “break in” the cord.

By far, though, the absolutely worst problem with this headset is the microphone. It’s “micro” alright. But it picks up EVERYTHING. Typing? Breathing? Someone coughs in the living room? Microwave beep in the kitchen? Yeah. It’s that crazy. It takes a lot of fine tuning between Windows and application sound settings just to get it to only pick up stuff in the same room, but that’s not even the end of it. People on the other end of a voice call can HEAR themselves through the earphone. There is even a “microphone noise reduction” option in the settings, so SteelSeries seems to be aware that this is a design issue. It helps, but not nearly enough. I finally gave up trying to fully solve the problem, the mic is not usable.

Other Thoughts: If you plan to make relatively minimal use of the microphone, this is a pretty cool headset. You’ll get some jealous looks if you go to a LAN party or maybe if you’re some sort of DJ, but looks and audio quality are all this headset has. Treat it more like something without a microphone, and if you do need a microphone with your headset, look elsewhere than the Prism.

Pros: I am really impressed with these headphones, especially at the current ~$50 sale price. Most importantly, the sound quality is excellent!

I have my headset currently connected to the top USB port on my Windows 7 PC. Installation was very simple - plug-n-play! No drivers necessary for the headphones or built-in microphone.

Listening to "Random Access Memories" by Daft Punk and the "Skyfall" score by Thomas Newman - the sound quality is excellent. No distortion at all in the full frequency range, and these handle loud volumes very nicely as well. I do not hear any background noise or hissing when listening to music. I will definitely be using these headphones as my primary listening device on my PC.

Some folks here have complained about the short cord length. It certainly seems long enough to me if your computer or gaming console is within a few feet. The cord is also long enough to reach behind my PC to connect to rear USB ports.

The white color is stylish and clean. I also like the classy glowing lights on the outside of the earpieces. The lights are bright, but not so bright as to light up the entire room you are in (like many case fan lights on PCs).

The headphones are very comfortable to wear during long listening and gaming sessions. The fabric-covered foam ear pieces and headband piece are soft but firm.

Onto the microphone, which several reviewers have complained about. While it isn't the highest quality mic, it certainly does the job and has decent sound quality for game chat, Skype calls, etc. I wouldn't use this mic to record a podcast, but it is completely acceptable for everyday use on a computer. I am very happy with the quality, and I am glad it was included. I also love how the mic is integrated into the left earpiece, instead of sticking out in front of my face like most headsets.

Cons: It would have been nice, maybe for future models, if the cord was detachable, and a standard 1/8" mini-stereo jack was included so I could use these with my Nexus 7 for listening to music and movies on the go.

Pros: All in all, these are decent sounding, beautiful ‘cans’ but Steelseries should seriously consider a 1 to 3 inch retractable mic in place of that small knobby..

The lights on these headphones are the quality that really makes them shine:
- Changeable colors match a scheme if paired with lighted fans on a desktop or a lighted keyboard.
- Lights can be fully disabled.
- Software triggers (detailed below.)
- "ColorShift" pulsing light. (Non-programmable. Only 4 presets: Purple to teal, orange to yellow, rainbow, and pulsing off/on between Red/Yellow/Green/Teal/Blue/Purple)
- Playstation support (Only tested on PS3, which does not output sound through the headphones.)

Sound quality:
Balanced sound. I'm hobbyist audiophile and have owned headphones by Grado, AKG (detailed mids-highs, less bass/lows), and August EP650's (strong bass/lows) in addition to numerous in-ears. These have a decent sound signature that falls between the two extremes. With this frequency response, they provide great in-game detail and acceptable lows for listening to music.

Software pros:
- Custom configuration presets.
- Application triggered presets. (Example: Open a music player and the equalizer changes to the "Music" preset and color changes. Whatever config preset created for any application designated to trigger it.) When closed, then it reverts to the config preset enabled previously (Whether default or other.)
- Equalizer works great, custom presets suit intended optimization.
- "Mic optimization" (I had no mic problems with it on or off but I didn't have voice monitoring on.)

Long-term wearability/comfort:
These aren't the most comfortable cans to wear for long periods. I wore them for 5 hours and it became slightly uncomfortable but not as uncomfortable as my AKGs. Honestly, I am prone to discomfort with headphones with pains on the top of my head and especially my ears (from glasses). These were actually more comfortable to wear compared to other headphones so I’d say for those who don’t have wearability problems they should be okay. If I didn't get a headache, which I did not, then others should find them comfortable.

- Removable ear pads...sort of? (See cons.)

Cons: Initially, I thought the ear pads were non-interchangeable/non-removable. The two-paged instruction booklet didn't mention anything about removal, either. When I grabbed at them to look closer, it felt very cheap and easy to pull apart like they might have been glued on. I cautiously pried a bit and saw that they do come off, but I am not sure that they are meant to. With a little forceful effort (and slightly ripping the fabric on one...) I got them back on after venturing to remove them.

The mic is very quiet, but I understand why. It's really an issue of design. That built-in mic is going to pick up game play in the speakers and be sensitive to any voice monitoring. Lowering the mic gain avoids feedback- at a cost.

Like others mentioned, there is some feedback when chatting. I was able to hear my own voice feeding back on a Google Hangout through the other's sound. Suggestions in OTs.

Maybe a con, maybe not, but there is almost no documentation for these included in the box. Sure, everything is online, though. It would have been nice to know that the pads are/are not removable or whether the PS3/PS4 will play ingame sounds through the headphones.

Mediocre build quality. They seem like they will last a while if you are careful. But for some of those hardcore gamers who may or may not rip her headset off and throw it across the room when someone breaks the kill streak...well they may not hold up so well to that. Personally, I'll keep them nicely lit on my desk lamp :D

Other Thoughts: All in all, I like these headphones. They are an overall 3.5 stars.

Sound quality is 5/5 for gaming headphones at this price point.
Build quality is 3/5.
Aesthetics is easily a 5/5.
Functionality is 2/5 since they are limited to PC, have a short USB cable, and poor microphone design.

They look great, sound great for their intended purpose, but the build quality feels rather cheap. These go well with my Corsair Raptor K50 keyboard (also changes colors similarly)! I put in the same hex numbers and the headphones are far brighter than my keyboard and do not match exactly. But it's no worry. With some fine tuning you can match the light colors.

They remain lighted even if you choose other sound devices on a Windows PC. You know, like if you want to sleep to some mellow music on your speakers and set the headphones to a mellow dark red color. Even when not on your head, they're nice to hang on a desk lamp at night as a subtle nightlight, whatever color you want. That is the best quality, in my opinion, a subtle nightlight matching your mood.

A couple opinions:
Regarding the comfort of the pads and somewhat also addressing the sound leak into the mic:
Designing removable ear pads might not increase manufacturing costs too much and also would allow for users to optionally invest in more comfortable or noise isolating pads, if he or she should choose to. As they are now, there isn't even that option unless someone hacks and glues them herself.

For the quiet mic/feedback issue everyone mentions:
I have experience in audio engineering, and knowing what I know, they should design a retractable mic! (A thin, ~2-3 inch slightly curved rod that slides out in place of the current small microphone knob) then they could probably avoid this problem completely. (hint, hint, SteelSeries ;)

I would look forward to a Bluetooth version of these headphones in the future. The USB cable is quite a limitation if you’re using them with a PS3/4 and sitting across the living room. As with the August EP650 headphones, decent Bluetooth cans at under $60 are possible. Doing so would expand these beyond the gaming market to other devices, also.

Perhaps with more comfortable, noise isolating ear pads I imagine quite a few people would buy them up (although you'd have to make the color scheme hardware programmable, like with some programmable keyboards and mice.) These are extremely stylish and the changeable color is very appealing, stylistically.

Pros: Comfortable BUT....

Cons: It breaks within 1-2 months of light use.

Other Thoughts: I have spent the last month trying to get mine replaced, spoken with several people from this company and they absolutely 100% refuse to replace it. I would be very cautious buying anything from Steel Series, their products are flimsy and their customer support is absolutely horrid. I will never purchase anything from them again and will steer as many people away from them as I can.

Pros: USB connectivity, easy install, PS4 compatible, Comfortable, color changing illumination! and Loud Sound!

Cons: No Xbox One compatibility

Other Thoughts: Best Headset for PC Gaming, works great on my PS4

Pros: Very lightweight and comfortable. Most of the headsets I’ve used or owned have been stiff, heavy, and hurt my ears after an hour or so. These are extremely comfortable; I really like the earcup padding and they are some of the best feeling headphones I’ve used.

These provide a very clear sound with the right about of treble and bass. Personally, I think they sound just as good for music as they do for games. Games, music, and movies sounded very good with these.

The steelseries Engine program is very simple and easy to use. I was able to easily customize the equalization to my liking, and they also have a few pre-built equalization options.

The illumination is a nice touch (obviously not very useful, but it looks cool). You can use the steelseries Engine to customize the colors and have it cycle among the different colors. Looks very nice against the rest of the pure-white headset!

Cons: Short cable. The USB cable for this headset is only 5ft long, so it is only useful if you plan to sit right next to your computer. If you’re thinking about getting these, but you don’t sit right next to your computer, expect to buy a USB extender (or just look for a wireless set or one with a longer cord).

The microphone sounds alright, but it picks up ambient noise and a lot of sound from the headset itself. I can live with it picking up ambient noise, but not its own sound. If I’m playing a game or listening to music, I can hear that just as well as I can hear myself through the mic. This would seriously bug other people in online games. I understand they wanted to tuck the mic away neatly to keep a nice form factor, but it hurts more than it helps. Easily the worst part of the headset. Turning on the mic auto optimization through Engine doesn’t help this, either.

The box states that these are compatible with the PS4, which is true. However, as the headphones have no volume control, you have to control the volume from the PS4 device settings. Normally, this is not a problem, but the MAX volume setting was still surprisingly quiet. Compared to using them with my computer, the max volume setting on the PS4 was only around 25-30% as loud as they can get on my PC. Playing games on the PS4, I have a hard time hearing dialogue or other quiet sound effects. I have another headset that I use with my PS4, and it gets much louder using just the PS4 volume control. Blame Sony or steelseries, but I would NOT suggest to use these with the PS4. They get plenty loud on my PC, though.

Again, don’t buy these for your PS4 unless if you sit right next to it. Most people have their consoles hooked up to a TV and sit much farther away, so these simply won’t be useful for most PS4 users.

Other Thoughts: These are compatible with PS4, as the box states. I would NOT recommend them for the PS4 however, because the max volume is surprisingly quiet and the cable is much too short for most PS4 users. I feel like they listed PS4 compatibility on the box because it’s technically compatible, not because it’s actually a good headset for the PS4.

The short cord is either good or bad, depending on your situation. Close to the computer at all times? Great! Farther away from it? Bad!

There is no way to customize settings on the headset (equalization, illumination colors, mic auto optimization) through the headset itself. You need steelseries Engine to change these settings. Not much of an issue, but please be aware of this.

The sound, form-factor, and comfort are definitely worthy of a 5 Egg review. However, it loses 1 Egg on poor mic performance and another Egg on poor performance with PS4.

Overall, these are a good budget set if you don’t care about a ton of extra features or a good mic. These are not for you if you need a longer cable or plan to use the mic heavily.