A good set of headphones is a treasure for those of us who want the best in gaming sound without disturbing the peace of those around us. On the other hand, a bad set of headphones can really detract from the gaming experience by not staying in place, hurting your ears over time, or simply by being uncomfortable. Having had a chance to test-drive the SteelSeries Siberia Neckband headphones and while they aren’t the nirvana of gaming headphones they still manage to be a cut above most.

These particular headphones are the over-the-ear type with a twist, they wrap around your neck rather than over your head. At first this is a bit awkward and even after getting them positioned correctly I was still aware of their presence throughout the gaming session. Thankfully, these phones make up for this drawback by being comfortable on the ears and having a great sound.

The SteelSeries Siberia Neckband headphones also come with a built in microphone that retracts from the left earpiece. This is nice for those times when not playing multiplayer games and you want to get the microphone out of the way.

In all this is a solid headset. I personally feel the “gimmick” of the around-the-neck design is unnecessary, though it didn’t take away from the gaming experience too much. If you don’t like the around-the-neck design check out some of the other headsets in the SteelSeries line, Feigned should have a review of the SteelSeries 5H v2 headphones later this week.