CM Storm Sirius S 5.1
While Cooler Master may be known for their
casings, power supply units and CPU coolers, the CM Storm sub-brand aims to
grab a slice of the lucrative gaming peripheral market. A solid mass of matte
black much like the Roccat Kave, the Sirius S 5.1 gaming headphones do look a
bit drab, mostly due to their unexciting squarish and blocky design.
On the whole though, the headphones are
solidly built. Besides the usual extension of the headband for fitting
purposes, very few adjustments can be made to how the headphones sit on your
head, not even the slightest of swiveling for adjusting ear-cup position. As
such, the stiff construction of the Sirius S wasn’t very comfortable, feeling
more like the headphones were merely balancing on top of our head. On the other
hand, CM Storm throws in interchangeable polyurethane and cloth cushioning for
the ear-cups.
On
the other hand, CM Storm throws in interchangeable polyurethane and cloth
cushioning for the ear-cups.
The parallels with the Roccat Kave continue
as the Sirius S also features four drivers on each side, though with some
differences. To start, all three of the front, rear and center drivers are of
the 30mm variety, while lower frequencies are handled by a 40mm driver. An
in-line control pod is included, but it is nowhere near as fancy as the ones
found on the other contenders. The simple control box can adjust front, center,
rear and sub volumes with the help of scrolling actuation.
Without the provision of any profile
presets, we jumped straight into testing. As the Sirius S has a suitably large
sub-woofer driver, it performed well on bass heavy tracks. Deep low notes were
heard on Elements Of Life by Tiesto, but they could have benefitted from a bit
more definition. Mids and highs unfortunately were a bit anemic, with Adele’s
voice sounding lukewarm on Melt My Heart To Stone.
Movie dialog also sounded muted and didn’t
take center stage during the opening sequences of both Lord of the Rings:
Fellowship of the Ring, or Swordfish. That said, we were able to tweak the
soundstage to be adequately wide and expansive. It was a shame that the
lackluster sound took away from the overall impact.
Surprisingly, the anemic sound performance
dissipates when plowing through Battlefield 3. The soundstage represents the
directionality of audio well, especially if you bump up rear driver volumes. As
far as gaming headsets go, this one certainly performs very well indeed.
·
Drivers: 3x 30mm (front, rear, center), 1x 40mm
(subwoofer)
·
Frequency response: 10hz to 20,000hz
·
Audio configuration: 5.1
·
Price: $138
Razer Tiamat 7.1
One look at the Tiamat is enough to
recognize that the 7.1 gaming headphones are a Razer product. The Tiamat
features Razer’s standard color scheme of black with neon green highlights, and
is easily the prettiest of the lot. The ear-cup also features a clear shell
allowing you a peek into the innards of the headphones, although these can be
replaced with standard matte-black versions if you like.
The cushioning is faux leather and does
help provide great noise isolation, a feature not evident with the competition.
Be warned, expect overheating after extended use. The fit of the headphones is
great; the free-hanging headband helped ensure comfort while the moderate clasp
of the ear-cups on the sides of your head had just the right amount of grip. In
short bursts of use, these headphones were the most comfortable.
One
look at the Tiamat is enough to recognize that the 7.1 gaming headphones are a
Razer product.
To back up Razer’s claim of 7.1 audio,
they’ve thrown in five drivers on each side. With a 40mm sub-woofer, a pair of
30mm front and center drivers, and another pair of 20mm side and rear surrounds
drivers; these headphones are equipped to perform.
For their in-line control box, it seems
Razer takes inspiration from actual audio switchboards. The device features a
toggle switch which allows you to select individual drivers. With the help of a
spinning dial, you can adjust the volume of selected channel. The Tiamat also
comes with a button which allows you to use it in 2.0 configuration as well.
Additional buttons are provided to mute volume for the headphones and
microphone.
Taking into account the amount of hardware
the Tiamat was loaded with, it was no surprise that it aced our testing
process. Delivering an excellent mix of audio, the headphones tackled all
comers superbly. The high point of testing was Elements Of Life which was
rendered with deep bass which was defined and impactful to boot.
Taking
into account the amount of hardware the Tiamat was loaded with, it was no
surprise that it aced our testing process.
Crisp clear dialogue was heard when
listening to movie scores. Particularly impressive was the right balance of
sibilance with Galadriel’s introductory monologue from the opening sequence of
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.
However, the headphones really came into
their own when used to play Battlefield 3. Besides the balanced sound with
nuanced details, the Tiamat has an extremely rounded and natural soundstage.
Not only did gunshots sound lifelike, but the direction they came from could be
accurately discerned. The Tiamat delivers an immersive gaming audio performance
which is mighty hard to top.
·
Drivers: 4x 30mm (front and center), 4x 20mm
(side and back 2x 40mm (subwoofer)
·
Frequency response: 10hz to 20,000hz
·
Audio configuration: 7.1
·
Price: $279.90
