One area that is booming in the consumer electronic field is health and fitness wearables. For the last year or so we have watched multiple new products hit the market as this particular vertical tries to find an identity.  One of the items that we have been able to take a deeper look at in the lab is the Jabra Sport Pulse Bluetooth headphones. These are interesting because in addition to being headphones they can also take your pulse and track progress through different workouts. Let’s take a look and see if these stand out from the crowd or if they are just another device in the sea of also rans.

As we have said many times before the peripherals market seems to be one of the PC related markets that continues to grow at a very rapid pace. Everyone wants to get in on the gravy train these days and we are starting to see peripherals from companies that you would not normally think of when it comes to keyboards, headsets or mice. Today we are taking a look at a new product from a company that, until recently, was known for their memory, SSDs, and flash drives. We are talking about Kingston and their HyperX Cloud gaming headset. Now the question we have to find the answer to is: can a memory maker make a product that gamers, PC enthusiasts and audiophiles will like? Let’s dive in and find out.

Two new models will come under the labels ES-CTI300 and IE-CTI300, the first model is derived in the form of headphones, while other one is in the form of popular earphones. ES-CTI300 headphones are made of lightweight aluminum, come with 40mm drivers and detachable cable for which manufacturer guarantees that it will not get tangled, while IE-CTI300 comes with drivers of 14.3 mm diameter.

How many times have you reached into your pockets to pull out headphones and instead of listenting to favourite music spent the next few minutes untangling the "gordian knot" your headphones decided to make. Mladen Šimić, 27 year old Master of sociology from Croatia decided to put an end to this extremely annoying problem. He created "why knot", a very simple object that will keep your headphones from tangling and, what's even more important, damaging, since you dont have to wrap the cable around anything nor bend the connection spots.

After they recently acquired Astro Gaming, Skullcandy is releasing three new gaming headsets. Earlier this year they presented their customizable Aviator headphones and now they pull another big, big release. With a rather impressive design they are bringing us the SLYR, PLYR 1 and PLYR 2 all with affordable prices. Astro Gaming highlighted that these were created from scratch, and they are not just tweaks of previous models. Prices will range from $80 to $180, and if they manage to meet the requirements of the gamers they could achieve nice numbers.

A rather long time ago (in computer years) when real audio first came out on the computer the market was pretty bare for not only sound cards, but also for anything to use to listen to them. I can vividly remember buying an expensive ISA Soundblaster card and not being able to find any decent speakers to use with it. There simply was not a lot of choice out there to reproduce your audio. Of course before that I can still remember only having 8-bit audio through the motherboard speaker so decent is relative there. Now the market is flood of products many are just plain terrible (bad design, bad quality and bad audio playback). There are a few companies that have been working to break the “good enough” trend in audio. Cooler Master is one of them as we have shown you with their CMStorm Sirus headset. Now Cooler Master has another gaming headset available. This one is called the Sonuz and features a pair of massive 53mm drivers to push the sound deep into your skull. Let’s listen to them shall we?

Audio is a part of the computing experience that is very often overlooked when people are building their system. We see this every day when someone is talking about putting together an HTPC (Home Theater PC), a gaming system or even a general usage system. They stick with the audio on the motherboard and call it good enough. Even when someone takes the time to pick out a good sound card, they often buy $20 speakers to play this sound through. Today we are going to take a look at a combination audio card and headset from Rosewill this is the RHM-6308. The RHM-6308 is listed as a Circumaural Gaming Headset; we are going to see if this $30 headset can live up to its name.

After being impressed with the House of Marley’s Redemption Song On-Ear headphones we have now spent some time with their Zion In-Ear head phones. These follow in the same style as the Redemption Song headphones and are made of recycled or renewable materials. They also follow in the trend of being tuned for high quality sound and are designed for use with Apple’s lineup of products (iPad, iPod, iPhone) but will work with just about any media player or smart phone (with a few exceptions). With a price tag of $99.99 we are hoping that these headphones give us the same level of performance that we saw with the Redemption Song. Follow the bouncing ball and sing along as we tell your just how well they perform.

For those of you that have not guessed it yet, I am something of an Audiophile (ok snob). When it comes to the audio on my TV, PC, Car Stereo, etc. it needs to be very good quality. This is especially true on the PC where the sound quality of the games I play can make or break the game experience for me (and many others). Recently Cooler Master released a new gaming head set under their CM Storm line up. As I have found Cooler Master’s recent endeavors into the gaming peripheral world to be of excellent build and quality I wanted to check the new Sirus Gaming headset out. According to the write up the Sirus is true 5.1 surround with three 30mm drivers for front, center and rear along with a 40mm driver for a sub-woofer. Of course that is not all that you get with the Sirus so let’s dive in and see if this $130 headset is worth your time and money.

CM Storm Unveils a New PC Gaming Headset

Taipei, Taiwan – July 19th, 2011 - Cooler Master, an industry leading chassis, thermal solution, peripheral, and accessory manufacturer, today announces the release of the new CM Storm Sirus 5.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset. Boosting no less than 8 speakers (4 on each side) Sirus delivers powerful, immersive 5.1 surround sound and marks the beginning of a new range of CM Storm audio gear for gamers and audiophiles alike.


Immense Sound

Sending shockwaves throughout the industry, Sirus delivers real 5.1 surround sound with a dedicated extra large 40mm sub driver for explosive bass sound. Thanks to no less than 6 additional 30mm drivers, each fed by a discrete audio channel, Sirus produces precise and crisp directional sounds. Combine all channels and pair it with the bundled Tactical Mixing Console and you get full 5.1 channel-adjustable, real-time 360 degree audio. In addition, Sirus is coupled with a uni-directional microphone with background noise cancellation that enables crystal clear communications with teammates to coordinate strikes or mock your enemy’s after a dominating victory.


Suitable for extended Missions

Engineered to provide ultimate comfort and style, CM Storm Sirus features a futuristic military design and extra large comfortable cushions that sit around your ears and not on them. You can choose between smooth leatherette and breathable weaved earpads that can be clipped on and off in-combat within a few seconds.


On-the-Fly Customizations

Setting itself apart from the competition, the CM Storm Sirus includes a Tactical Mixing Console that is capable of precise real-time adjustments to the all separate 8 speaker channels. Loading an FPS game? Quickly lower the center channel and raise the remaining channels to simultaneously reduce distractions from your own gun noise and steps and increase your ability to detect enemy footsteps with pinpoint accuracy.


Advanced Tuning

CM Storm Sirus features a Tactical Software Console to further tune the performance of the headset to each user’s needs. Those with a keen ear will appreciate the ability to delve deeper into the settings to make detailed changes to various levels or disguise their voices with a few simple clicks.


Praised with awards before hitting the battlefields!

Sirus has already won the Red Dot Design Award 2011 and Computex Design & Innovation Award 2011, both of them praising its futuristic rugged carbon looks with smooth rubberized surfaces that not only prevent fingerprints and smears but give it a solid comfortable grip, and its innovative 8 massive speaker design with on-the-fly channel control.



The CM Storm Sirus 5.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset will be available in mid-July 2011 at an MSRP of $129.99 at every serious gaming gear shop.

About CM Storm
Through long-standing research programs, CM Storm product are co-developed with the world's most prolific enthusiasts and eSport prodigies. Thanks to intensive testing and continuous feedback, the CM Storm division has been able to fulfill gamers' needs and produce creative gaming gear fit for intense firefights. Marking a new era for Cooler Master, CM Storm Gear gives you an edge over standard Peripherals in your digital conquests. For more information, please visit www.cmstorm.com.