Testing
With 53mm drivers, I was confident about the ability for bass to come through. With that being the case, I decided to pull out some alt rock songs to see how it handled a little more subtle of a song selection. Do note that there is no included software, so all audio settings are default. (No equalization.) Not being a USB headset this was unneeded, Cooler Master left it up to your sound card to handle adjustments.
Hoobastank – The reason – The beginning of this song is key with its subtle bum bum bum. It is highly recognizable and a great indicator of how a headset will perform when the vocals come in. The bass was a strong starter, but the vocals were clear when they came in. The highs weren't quite where I like them to be, but I typically tweak the equalizer settings to bring out the highs a bit more. The sound was very rich throughout the song in a good way.
R.E.M – Losing My Religion – This is a song where too much bass can really inpact the feel of the song. Again I found the highs weren't quite how I liked them, but the guitar was clear. I decided to really crank up this song to see if the sound levels would change with a volume change. I was pleased that the headset performed consistently when bouncing between a low volume and a high volume.
Pandora - Trance Radio – I put this into the testing mix while I was writing up this review. I normally throw some trance on while writing and was very pleased with the Sonuz performance here. Whether playing a booming bit of techno, or some really subtle electronica the Sonuz kept it sounding great. A lot of it tends to have a driving bass throughout the piece and the 53mm brought it home here. (Stamina Instrumental by Cozi was particularly intense with long driving bass runs.)
Star Trek 2009 – I saw Wes covered this movie a little while back when reviewing a headset and as a trekkie I thought it was a perfect excuse to re-watch. First off this movie would sound better with a fair amount of headsets when compared to watching in a living room with just TV speakers. That being said, with sound effects and huge amounts of bass making up movies these days (and Star Trek 2009 is a great example of this) a quality headset can make a huge difference. The vocals were spot on, the effects rattled my head, and the "hello" when Nero's first officer comes on at the beginning of the movie had the right amount of depth to it. As we discussed during the comfort section, I could watch a few movies in a row with this headset without getting annoyed or too warm.
In Game - Diablo 3 – This is sold as a gaming headset and it does not disappoint. Say what you want about Diablo 3 (I happen to like it), but I love the music and effects. The Sonuz renders them well. The music and effects came through clearly. The crackling fire was a good example of the environmental effects. (Standing before the Crystal Arch about to do a solo run at Diablo respecing spells one has some time listen to the different effects.) The bass from the crumbling landscape caught my attention and I realized that after a few runs I had gotten used to it. Hearing these environmental effects with a bit more punch brought the excitement of the game back to be a bit.
The Microphone – I use Skype quite a bit for both work and personal life, so the mic quality is pretty important as well. I called a buddy up and caught up with him. Over the course of the call asked how I sounded. I was surprised to hear that it sounded better via Skype and the Sonuz mic than my iPhone. Really not sure how much I can expand on the quality there. Again the switch made it easy to know when I was on mic or not.
