A country in a box

The headset comes a box with the same styling as the In:ears (reviewed here), it even has the same ‘Looks damn cool’ logo on the front too.

You can see the top side of the headset through the large window on the front of the box, which shows that’s it’s gonna end up on a shop shelf. I have the white version to review today, however you can also get a black version. Both colours are glossy plastic, which is very iPod like; showing you the kind of audience Icemat are targeting.

Inside the box, you’ll find a load of advertising leaflets, a mic, the headset itself, a 3.5mm to 6.3mm converter, a microphone hook (with Velcro mounts) and an extension cord which has a built in volume control.

The separate mic method used by this headset means that you can use the headset without the usual mic aerial sticking out your head. This is more a pair of headphones, with a mic as an extra. The fact that this headset has been designed for music listeners rather than just PC users, is evident in the fact that they packaged a gold-plated converter for the larger plug type used on most hi-fi equipment.

The mic is the same one that is packaged with the In:Ears, although it has a longer cord. To help stop the thin mic cord getting tangled, there are several push clips all the way down the thick headset wire, which means both cables can be moved as one.
The headset cable is quite thick, and is covered with ribbed plastic; this should help it survive the punishment that daily use throws at it. The 2.8m cable terminates in a gold connector with two green bands signifying it’s a line-out device. The headset itself is built well, and the feel of quality is undeniable. The microphone has a small mute slide switch and another Icemat logo on the side. In order to position the microphone, you can either use the microphone hook, and clip it onto your monitor, or wherever else the Velcro will stick, or you can clip it to your shirt. Either way, you have to make sure that it’s pointing at you as it’s a unidirectional design meaning that it only detects sound in a cone in front of it.

The ear ‘muffs’ are nice and soft, which should help when gaming for hours on end. The speakers themselves are at a slight angle to the foam. This means that the foam doesn’t actually touch your ears, only your head. The speakers are positioned in such a way to be as close as possible to your ears. The closer the speakers are, the more bass you will get. Try forcing your headphones closer to your ears and you will see what I mean. This angled approach should also make them more bearable over a long period of time, as there is no pressure being exerted on your ears themselves.

As sound is simply vibrations in the air, there needs to be a way for air to enter the back of the speakers, otherwise a vacuum forms lowering volume and bass. The Siberia has a honeycombed back to each of the speakers which not only looks cool but provides a perfect method of air to pass.

To make sure that the headset will fit everyone’s head, there is a nice and flexible head strap which is connected to the man body with elastic. The band is padded, to make wearing these headphones a pleasure. To maintain the headsets shape, there are two pieces of white clad metal which arch over the head band and connect the two speakers together. It’s through these rods that the signal wire for the right earphone passes, which means that only one wire comes into the Siberia, rather than two making a ‘V’ shape (like the SteelSound 4H).

All over the headset, there are Icemat logos, ranging from the huge lettering on the headband, to the tiny images on each of the headphone backs and the volume control.