Pulse-R are the last born in Cooler Master's house, belong to the "Aluminum" series and have an unique design. CMStorm has used high quality materials and has thought of everyone, especially gamers and modders by installing aluminum plates ready to be customized. If you're curious to see how they are, follow us in this new review.
On the following pages we will show you the strengths and weaknesses of the CM Storm Pulse-R.
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Preview
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Specifications
Headphones
- Frequency: 20 – 20'000 Hz
- Impendance: 50 Ohm
- Cable length: 3.0m
- Driver size: 42 mm
- Plug: 2x jack 3.5mm + USB2.0
- Earpads made from artifical leather
Microphone
- Frequency: 100 – 10'000 Hz
- Characteristics:
noise cancelling
Remote control
- Volume control and microphone
via slider
Package
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Test conditions
Regarding our Headset
respectively Microphone tests we subjectively describe acoustics, microphone quality
as well as ergonomics. The endresult therefore relies also on the tester himself.
We're doing our best to ensure comparable results if different reviewers were testing
different products. We think these review can be seen as a help if you like to buy
a specific product and can therefore be seen as subjective consumer advice.
Music
- Eminem - Recovery
- Medina - You and I
- Adam Lambert - Whataya Want From Me
- Lady Gaga - Lovegame and Pokerface
- Various House Mixes
- Senteced - Mourn
- Apocalyptica - Master of Puppets
- Poisonblack - Love Controlled Despair
Movies
- The Hunt for Red October
- Black Hawk Down
- Moon
- Prometheus
- Transformers I
Games
- Battlefield 3
- Crysis 3
- GRID 2
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Wearing confort and ergonomics
After a few days of use, we can say that the headphones are comfortable
although they are not very light. The weight of the Pulse-R is well distributed,
therefore they are balanced and the earpads are adjustable. If you use glasses or 3D
goggle, you may encounter issues since the earpads and there will be pressure
points.
We really like the noise isolation, the artificial leather does a good job and
seals perfectly. The headband is made from aluminium, the cushion is rather soft and pleasant to the touch. Like other products from
Cooler Master's "aluminium series" the CM Storm Pulse-R have customizable aluminum plates.
They can be removed by releasing two screws.
The cable is detachable and comes with two audio jacks (microphone and audio) as
well as a USB 2.0 connector. The latter is only to power the LEDs on the earcups, the remote control and microphone. The overall quality is excellent on
the entire product, which means, that this headset could even take a beating
should a competitive gamer lose his temper.
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Acoustics
Headphone
CM Storm chose to
equip their gaming headset with two 42 millimeter drivers. These are capable of offering a decent audio experience. Unfortunately by
default this headset comes with an unbalanced preset. In our opinion, the bass
is too present on the CM Storm Pulse-R by default and the mids and heights are
too silent. Some people might appreciate this picture but if you prefer more
linear audio, then you definitely have to turn down the bass. Once adjusted,
using a software equalizer the headphones sound pretty good. On the ears pieces as well as on the microphone and remote control there are white LEDs,
which all get it's power from the USB 2.0 plug. The audio signal solely travels
through the 3.5mm jack.
Microphone
From a technical point of view, the microphone
is good. The bracket is detachable and there is a joint. Unfortunately the
vertical position can not be changed. The distance from the mouth is not far but you should bend
it a bit to put it as close to your lips as possible. The noise cancelling works properly
and other people won't here any disturbing background noise.
The headphones also feature a handy remote control, with which you can adjust the volume and the microphone via two solid sliders.
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Conclusion
The CM Storm Pulse-R belong
Cooler Master's new "Aluminum Gaming Series" and they feature a unique and attractive design. The build
quality as well as the materials used is really good and fully complies with CM Storm's standard.
Perception of audio is certainly a subjective matter. In our opinion bass is way
too present compared to mids and heights. Despite the lack of virtual surround sound, we can say that the Pulse-R
offers good sound quality, once the overpronounced bass got adjusted by an
equalizer. The default setting only makes sense if you solely play games or watch
movies. The earpads that surround the 42 millimeter drivers are comfortable if
you don't wear glasses or 3D goggles. The microphone works well, is completely
detachable and even flexible. What's also practical is the integrated noise
cancelling, which works really well.
Comfort is on a good level but it could be improved. The aluminium plates are very interesting for modders
but they are adding additional weight to the headset. Despite the presence of a USB connector, the Pulse-R works exclusively
via the classic 3.5 mm jack. The only thing the USB connector is there, is to power the LED lighting on microphone, earpads and remote control.
Checking prices on geizhals.at we found the Pulse-R to be listed at 77 Euro. The
build level is definitely on a good level, but since there are quite a few
things that could be improved we award this headset with
3 out of 5 stars.