Page 7: Testing, Conclusion
Testing
The music tests gave good impressions regarding the quality of the sound. The bass was strong but not overwhelming. The highs have a good amount of weight to them, and mids stand out as well. Most notably, the repeated drum beat that starts up about six seconds into the song has a real, noticeable pop to it. All the individual instruments could easily be discerned from one another at any point in time in the song. All told, the Sirus performed impressively in the quality test.
In the channel separation tests, the headset stumbled a little bit. The front and center channels could be easily discerned from each other, and the bass was really impressive with any work with a dedicated LFE channel, but there were times where it was difficult to hear what was coming from the rear channels. Granted, the rears are generally the least-used of the channels in most movies, but without fiddling with the levels the try to bring them up louder than everything else they were generally drowned out, even for things like musicals and action scenes where the echo would be heard from the rear channels after the other channels died down on the test receiver. That being said, since the only thing that really needed to be done is tweaking the levels, it is hard to actually call this a failure on the part of the Sirrus so much as something to keep in mind.
The results of the channel location tests were much more impressive. Even with all of the individual volume levels equaled, you could clearly tell the direction of all of the things in the game. There were a couple of potential oddities compared to the test receiver, but they were minor. In particular, the rear channels seemed a bit more "forward" than what is typically expected (though that may be simply a difference in how the test receiver is set up by comparison), and the center channel seemed quite a bit "closer" than it did with the test receiver. Neither of these things were actually problems, though, and after a few minutes of gameplay it was hard to even notice unless you were looking for it.
Conclusion
The typical worries from a company entering a new market seem to have been unfounded for the Cooler Master Storm Sirus. Cooler Master have done their homework, and offered up a quality product at a competitive price. While it doesn't perform as good as dedicated equipment and there are a couple minor usability problems, it ultimately lives up to the high standards of the rest of the Cooler Master Storm line and is well worth a look for those in the market for a more compact solution to their surround sound needs. A $129 MSRP may seem like a dear price to pay for a set of headphone, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. It is far better to get a surround sound set that works and offers increased functionality than to get a set that doesn't work to your needs and be forced to put up with it.
ASE Publishing would like to thank Cooler Master for making this review possible.
The music tests gave good impressions regarding the quality of the sound. The bass was strong but not overwhelming. The highs have a good amount of weight to them, and mids stand out as well. Most notably, the repeated drum beat that starts up about six seconds into the song has a real, noticeable pop to it. All the individual instruments could easily be discerned from one another at any point in time in the song. All told, the Sirus performed impressively in the quality test.
In the channel separation tests, the headset stumbled a little bit. The front and center channels could be easily discerned from each other, and the bass was really impressive with any work with a dedicated LFE channel, but there were times where it was difficult to hear what was coming from the rear channels. Granted, the rears are generally the least-used of the channels in most movies, but without fiddling with the levels the try to bring them up louder than everything else they were generally drowned out, even for things like musicals and action scenes where the echo would be heard from the rear channels after the other channels died down on the test receiver. That being said, since the only thing that really needed to be done is tweaking the levels, it is hard to actually call this a failure on the part of the Sirrus so much as something to keep in mind.
The results of the channel location tests were much more impressive. Even with all of the individual volume levels equaled, you could clearly tell the direction of all of the things in the game. There were a couple of potential oddities compared to the test receiver, but they were minor. In particular, the rear channels seemed a bit more "forward" than what is typically expected (though that may be simply a difference in how the test receiver is set up by comparison), and the center channel seemed quite a bit "closer" than it did with the test receiver. Neither of these things were actually problems, though, and after a few minutes of gameplay it was hard to even notice unless you were looking for it.
Conclusion
The typical worries from a company entering a new market seem to have been unfounded for the Cooler Master Storm Sirus. Cooler Master have done their homework, and offered up a quality product at a competitive price. While it doesn't perform as good as dedicated equipment and there are a couple minor usability problems, it ultimately lives up to the high standards of the rest of the Cooler Master Storm line and is well worth a look for those in the market for a more compact solution to their surround sound needs. A $129 MSRP may seem like a dear price to pay for a set of headphone, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. It is far better to get a surround sound set that works and offers increased functionality than to get a set that doesn't work to your needs and be forced to put up with it.
ASE Publishing would like to thank Cooler Master for making this review possible.