Do you hear that? It is the sound of Sanctuary beckoning the bravest warriors to embark on a quest of epic proportions. Those who have been long anticipating the release of Diablo 3 have been hearing this call for quite long while now. Though most of the PC gamers of the world have been eagerly anticipating the third title in Blizzard’s award winning franchise, not everyone is properly equipped for its release. You may have upgraded your graphics card, hooked you PC up to a huge monitor, and even picked up a new keyboard and mouse, but have gotten a great gaming heatset to stay connected to all of your multiplayer peeps? If not, SteelSeries has got what you need. The Diablo 3 headset from SteelSeries is the only gaming headset that is that bears the Diablo namesake and is officially licensed by Blizzard.
First Glance
At first, I hated to open the box. The packaging for the Diablo 3 headset is beautifully designed. But my hesitation did not last long. I couldn’t wait to put this headset to the test. As soon as it was in my hands, I was shocked to feel how light weight it was. To the untrained eye, one might think that this headset simply a repackaged Siberia headset with a Diablo logo thrown on it, however, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. While the concept behind this headset is the same as the Siberia, the Diablo 3 headset has been completely redesigned.
The sides of the headset have been given a touch of a gothic style of design. The sharp points, smooth curves and jagged protrusions are reminiscent of the highest grades of armor from the game and give the headset a distinct look from other headsets. These features are accented by a stylized Roman numeral 3 emblazoned on the side which glows a deep red when plugged up. Behind these side pieces are the ear cups. The ear cups have the same pointy accents against the background of red mesh and are encircled by 4 red LEDs.
SteelSeries had given the Diablo 3 headset the same headband. This includes 2 large, flexible support rods with the retractable head strap. The flexible support rods hold the ear cups comfortably snug against you head, while the head strap provides the perfect amount of tension to keep the headset from moving. Since it automatically adjust to your head size, it is no problem for the Diablo 3 headset to go from the small skull of a child to the colossal cranium of George Lopez. Printed in the well-known font, the word Diablo is placed along the visible portion of the headstrap between grey accents that match those on the Diablo 3 mouse.
Recessed into the left ear cup is the retractable microphone boom. This is professionally crafted so that if you did not know that the microphone was there, you might overlook it. The foam pads that surround the drivers are remarkably comfortable and will completely surround most people ears. Going down from the ears you see the two tone red and black braided cable leading to the USB connector.
Software and Testing
If you already have a SteelSeries mouse installed with the SteelSeries Engine, then you are in luck. The SteelSeries Engine covers all of your devices from them. With the software you can control the LEDs on the headset and make a few other minor tweaks, but for the most part, I didn’t really see a lot of need to use the software.
