Design
When pulled out of the box, users will be immediately greeted with a pristine and gorgeous looking design. Built to sit amongst other ‘premium’ gaming headsets on the market, it’s clear how this decision has impacted upon the physical appearance of the device. Boasting an appearance that combines the use of aluminium and plastic, the headset manages to look fantastic without going over-the-top. While there are white lights that emit from both the earcups and the microphone, it’s able to look pretty damn discreet thanks to the colour choice, and lack of intensity. Don’t worry, you aren’t going to be blinded or distracted by any of the lights. The build quality of this device certainly feels premium, and fitting of the £60 price tag. None of the materials used feel cheap or flimsy, with a sturdy plastic being used throughout, and the aluminium feeling strong to the touch. It’s safe to say that your money is being well spent on a top-notch build.
In an attempt to add an element of custom design, the sturdy aluminium panels that sit on the outer-side of the earcups can be taken off, and replaced with your own modifications. It’s a novel idea that most consumers will likely dismiss, but for those big on e-Sports, they may very well benefit. Regardless, you have to at least give Cooler Master credit for thinking outside of the box, and incorporating this little quirk.
The microphone that comes with the headset feels well made, just like the rest of the product. In order to work with as many different users as possible, the microphone arm can be bent and moved around with ease in order to sit in the sweet-spot, and capture your voice just fine. The size of the microphone isn’t too big either, and it doesn’t distract when placed close to the face.
The headset is nicely compact, with size reduced where necessary, making for a device that doesn’t feel too big, especially when being worn. The headband is fairly thin and sits just fine on top of the head, with added comfort coming from the flexibility of the aluminium strap that fits nicely to whatever shape and size your head might be. The earcups are on the large side when placed in comparison with the rest of the design, however they do contain 42mm drivers, and the cushioned area is meant to sit on the entire ear, so the size is well justified.
The Pulse-R unfortunately falls victim to significant comfort issues that left my ears feeling uncomfortable, and in a spot of pain. Despite a thick cushioning attached to each earcup, the headset did put a lot of pressure on my ears, and after a session of about an hour, they felt a little crushed. This isn’t to say that the feeling is unbearable however, but it’s hard to ignore, and those with sensitive ears will likely have a hard time working through the discomfort.
Aiming to reduce on the cumbersome nature of transporting headsets around, Cooler Master have designed the product in a way that elements can be attached and detached for ease. Having a tough time keeping those cables tamed and untangled from around the device? No problem, simply pull the wired connection out of the headset, and you are separated. The microphone can also be removed too thanks to its 3.5mm jack connection. Keeping your headset in good condition has never been easier, and the packaging that comes with the device is handy to keep hold of too, with it keeping everything in place, and separated.
With cables that don’t overwhelm the user, the Pulse R trails off towards a microphone jack, an audio jack, and a USB input that’s used to power the headset. All the cables are bundled together; resulting in clean and organised wiring that is far from a pile of chaotic wires sometimes found in other headsets on the market. As part of the wiring, there is a small control unit that allows you to change the volume on the fly, as well as mute and unmute the microphone. It’s very convenient, and it has enough grip so that you don’t fumble with the slider controls, even in the middle of a heated gaming session.
Audio
The audio quality is a bit of a mixed bag, though for the purposes of a gaming headset, it does well at its primary use. When testing the audio quality with a variety of songs and styles, I wasn’t too impressed with what the Pulse-R had on offer. Because of a boost in the bass frequencies, I found that in most cases the song was being overwhelmed by them, often sounding muddy when placed against the higher frequencies. Some songs and styles (particularly that of pop music) worked nicely with the headset, but anything that was more complex and had lots of frequencies and instruments gelling together just sounded as though they were missing something. Any heavy metal, or rock music I played through them just sounded weak, and it was hard to listen to.
Thankfully the frequency response of this headset works better within a game, where the bassy sound works better, really ramping up the quality of sound effects and voices, lending a much more ‘cinematic’ style to the proceedings. The wide stereo field is a welcome addition too, really making you feel as though you are feeling every moment of the on-screen action, and almost appearing to be inside the scene you are playing. The sound quality also lends itself nicely towards voice chat, with voices sounding crisp and clear.
As an added bonus, the earcups have been designed to cancel out any exterior sound, and they do a pretty good job of it. Though loud sounds that are close will still be heard, they are at least dampened, and they don’t interfere that much with what’s being played. The only issue found was an annoying interference that could be heard at times of complete silence. Though this couldn’t be heard when used on my laptop, it was evident on my PC, so you might discover that certain hardware may cause this issue. It’s definitely nothing that ruins the headset, though if you experience this issue it’s hard to ignore. As I have said though, it’s only really noticeable at times of silence, so if sound is playing, you will not hear a trace.
Microphone
The microphone is very surprising on this headset, and it does a great job of capturing the voice with plenty of clarity. Whenever I was talking to friends online, I was never once asked to repeat what I had said, and after listening to a recording of that conversation, my voice sounded absolutely fine. The microphone also does a great job at isolating any background noise that may come through on the microphone, and during my time with this product there was never an instance where my voice was overrun by things happening around me. While loud sounds in close proximity will bleed through, they are kept at a low volume, and your voice will always be heard over anything else captured.
Specifications
- Model Number – SGH-4330-KATA1
- Channels – 2.0 Stero
- Driver diameter – 42mm
- Impedance – 50 Ω
- Frequency Response – 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz
- Ear Coupling – Circumaural
- Ear Cushions – Leatherette
- Microphone – Detachable
- Omni-directional
- Microphone Sensitivities @1kHz – -42 ± 3 dB
- Microphone Frequency Response – 100 Hz – 10,000 Hz
- Signal to Noise Ratio – 60dB
- Connector Cable – 3.5mm headphone and microphone jack
3 m / 118.11 in USB for LED power only Detachable - Dimensions L x W x H – 221.6 * 194.1 * 81 mm
- Headset Weight – 420g / 0.93 lbs
- Accessories – In-line volume control and microphone mute
The Pulse-R headset is largely a great piece of kit, and though its sound quality isn’t great for listening to music, it works perfectly fine with games. The microphone is more than capable too, and you shouldn’t have any communication issues as the clarity is bang-on. The only real gripe with this product is the comfort, which feels lacking, and will often result with your ears becoming a little painful under all the pressure. That said however, it is possible to battle through that issue, and if you are looking for a decently priced premium headset, you couldn’t go much wrong with this one.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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