Hello all, and welcome to the Launch Review for the CM Storm Sonuz Headset from Cooler Master. Normally these hardware reviews would be only in the Hardware Section, but seeing as this is a launch review, I’ve decided that everybody should see this.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The Box
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Jumping right into this thing, we can see a partial shot of the headset on the right, along with the in-line remote on the cable. The box comes in the typical black and red packaging that Cooler Master’s CM Storm products are synonymous for. At the bottom the box says “53mm Driver Explosive Sound Gaming Headset”, which is just freaking enormous.
Swinging around to the left side of the box reveals a few key areas of interest on the Sonuz headset, along with a picture of the headset.
- A) Omni-Directional Microphone
- B) Innovative 3.5mm Detachable Microphone For Both Sides
- C) In-Line Remote With Volume Control And Microphone On/Off Button
- D) 97.0mm Earpad Provide The Most Outstanding Comfort
Below that Cooler Master reveals all of the specifications for the CM Storm Sonuz.
Headphones
- Drivers: 53mm
- Frequency Response: 10 – 20,000Hz
- Impedance: 45
- Sensitivity: (@1kHz, 1V/Pa): 98 +/- 3dB
- Input Power: 200mW
- Connector: 3.5mm Gold-Plated Headphone Jack
- Inner Ear Cup Diameter: 97.0mm
- Cable Length: 2.0m
Microphone
- Pick-Up Pattern: Omni-Directional
- Frequency Response: 100Hz – 10,000Hz
- Signal To Noise Ratio: 58dB
- Sensitivity (@1kHz, 1V/Pa): -47 +/- 3dB
On the back there is an ‘Introduction’ to the CM Storm Sonuz, to go along with that they include some key features. The Features listed are the same as previously stated, with the noticeable difference being that they are now available in eight different languages. That’s a lot of ways to say super awesome headset!
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The Goods
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The goods inside the box consists of the headset, a second microphone rubber plug and the Key Features manual.. That’s literally all that is included inside the box. It’s nice to keep the paper materials down. We all got to do our part to save the trees man!
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The Headset
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Finally the headset itself. From the frontal view, there is the detachable microphone on the left. With a simple twist and pull the microphone will unlock and pop out, with that done, you can then move the microphone over to the right ear-cup, if you prefer. The headset is made of plastic, but also includes metal, as well as cloth materials. Doing a 180 with the headset reveals that these are not your typical headphones, as you will be able to see by the profile shot, these headphones are banana shaped. I found the look to be a bit gaudy at first, but after using them for the past week, I can say that the design actually works extremely well.
Looking at the right ear-cup you can see that the headset has a bit of styling, including some mesh grills around the CM Storm logo. With the headband adjusted the metal inner-workings are revealed. Though the Sonuz is built with plastic, the headband adjuster is metal, which will lead to greater durability in the future.
Here the microphone is pulled down. It is not adjustable in the sense of being able to bend it to where you prefer, but it does have a good degree of swivel room, and can, as I said earlier, be removed and put on the right ear-cup, or removed completely. Here is also a good shot of the ear-cups. They are wrapped in cloth, which I thought was an odd choice by CM Storm. I personally prefer leather or pleather for my ear-cups, but after using the Sonuz Headphones, the Cloth is not as much of a space-heater as I thought it would be. The ear-cups (as stated earlier) are 97.0mm in diameter inside which leads to them fitting perfectly around the ears and never resulting in ear fatigue, which happens a lot with headphones that do not fit around the ears.
Roughly 18″ from the edge of the left ear-cup is the in-line remote for the CM Storm Sonuz. The remote is made of thick sturdy plastic, and it includes a central volume wheel that controls the headphones, and a microphone On/Off Switch. The volume wheel scrolls extremely smooth, and the Mic On/Off is stiff, so that you shouldn’t turn your mic on or off by mistake.
At the end of the 2 meter braided cable is two gold plated 3.5mm jacks. I was a bit confused at first since they are not labeled, but after plugging them into my PC, the computer drivers automatically detected them and asked me whether they were the phones or the microphone. Apparently I made the right decision because they’re working.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Comfort / Mic Quality
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Initially I was apprehensive about how comfortable this headset could be. Having been spoiled for the past few months, using the SteelSeries Diablo III Headphones, I wasn’t sure if another headset would be comfortable for multiple hours of use. I was wrong. When first wearing them, they felt extremely heavy, which is due to the massive 53mm drivers. Luckily the way Cooler Master designed the headset leads to the weight being distributed very evenly.
The banana shape of the headset leads to the top band resting towards the front of my head, rather than in the very middle, which happens to be a sensitive area for most people. The pad on top is quite soft, and is just thick enough so that the headphones weight does not sink it into your head until it’s flush with the plastic base.
Using the microphone online was a pleasant experience. While gaming I had no complaints of not being heard over the action going on within the title, and when using Skype, the microphone delivered a clean signal without picking up background noise, such as my fan. No reason to get into details when it comes to a microphone on a headset. It either works like it should, or it doesn’t.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Testing
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
For testing the CM Storm Sonuz headset I did what headphones are made for — I played Video Games, watched Movies, and listened to Music. Each track, game, or movie will be graded on the alphabetical scale with A+ being the highest score possible. They will be graded on the quality of the sound, the clarity of the sound stage (how wide the stage feels), and the Positional Clarity (how distinguishable sounds are in each direction).
Movies
Aliens – 1986 – Blu-Ray
Sound Quality – A-
Sound Stage Quality – B
Positional Clarity – A
The enhancements made to the Alien series for Blu-Ray is nothing short of amazing, but sadly the Sound Quality and Sound Stage Clarity aren’t quite on par with movies made these days (which is understandable). Overall the Sonuz Headphones deliver and absolutely enjoyable experience, leading me to be quivering under my covers at night thanks to my renewed fear of Xenomorphs.. Thanks Cooler Master.
Inception – 2010 – Blu-Ray
Sound Quality – A+
Sound Stage Quality – A
Positional Clarity – A
Simply put, if you haven’t seen Inception, you are missing out on one of the most aesthetically appealing movies ever made. The movies is beautiful in every sense, the video quality, audio quality, and the movie itself. There is not much to be critical about when watching Inception with the CM Storm Sonuz. Everything feels great, with the Sound Stage again feeling a bit tighter than with more expensive headphones.
Between The Buried And Me: Colors Live – 2008 – HD
Sound Quality – A-
Sound Stage Quality – A
Positional Clarity – B
Between the Buried and Me is one of my favorite bands for a reason. Not only is their music flat out amazing, but it’s also an outstanding test of the quality of headphones or speakers. Their music has such a wide-range of influences that you get a bit of blues and country in some songs, a bit of funk in others, and sometimes you just get some flat out African style beats. This all comes together beautifully with these phones. The positional clarity is a bit weak for the Sonuz phones though when watching this live HD Concert. The sound stage is plenty large enough to accommodate the whole band, but at times it feels as if the instruments lose their place on the Sound Stage and the Positional Clarity suffers for it.
Music
Fiction by Avenged Sevenfold from Nightmare / 2010
Sound Quality – A+
Sound Stage Quality – A+
Positional Clarity – A
Probably not my favorite song on the album, but the combination of Mike Portnoy on the drums and the Rev on Piano makes for an absolutely amazing test for all different headphones. The mixing on the track is phenomenal with the piano embodying almost all of the mids and highs in the recording and the drums practically absorbing the entire low-end part of the track.
Fear Factory – The Industrialist / 2012
Sound Quality – A+
Sound Stage Quality – A
Positional Clarity – A
Fear Factory are the fathers of Industrial Metal, so it was only fitting that their new album be named The Industrialist. Since they became Metal Gods in the mid 90′s, all of their albums have had some of the best mixing you will hear this side of Adam D. Listening to the entire album with the Sonuz headphones is a bit of a euphoric experience. They reproduce everything so well, especially the drums, which are sadly done with a drum track, rather than a studio drummer.
In The House – In A Heartbeat composed by John Murphy from 28 Days Later / 2000
Sound Quality – A+
Sound Stage Quality – A+
Positional Clarity – A+
Oh my goodness. That’s all I can say. This track was composed for the movie 28 Days Later and is, simply put, one of the greatest orchestral pieces done in the last twenty years. The Sonuz were able to reproduce every part of the track with excellent results. I get chills each time I listen to this track no matter what type of listening equipment I am using, but the Sonuz Headphones just help to amplify the entire experience. If you have never heard this track, I URGE you to check it out on Youtube.
Games
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter
Sound Quality – B
Sound Stage Quality – B+
Positional Clarity – A+
Oh Serious Sam, you and I spend so much time together, thanks to the amount of products I review. The positional clarity is top-notch in Serious Sam, which is not surprising. There should never be an enemy who is able to sneak up on you in this title with the CM Storm Sonuz. Sadly the the Sound Stage and Sound Quality are a bit lacking. Most of this can be chopped up to the fact that Croteam simply ported over a large portion of the sound files from the original 2001 and 2002 titles for these HD remakes.
Metro 2033
Sound Quality – A+
Sound Stage Quality – B+
Positional Clarity – A+
Picture yourself crawling through the sewers underneath the Motherland, being chased by Nazi’s, Reds, and Mutants. That’s the experience that Metro 2033 delivers, and having a headset that can reproduce every creepy sound that the tunnels produce makes for an even more engrossing experience. The Sound Stage at times felt a bit muddied, but other than that the Sonuz performed admirably.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Sound Quality – A+
Sound Stage Quality – A
Positional Clarity – A
Skyrim is my on again/ off again relationship. Sometimes I spend days at a time dumping 5-10 hours into the title, and other times I can go weeks without even thinking about. But no matter what the decision is, there is never any question that Skyrim sounds damn good with these headphones.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Conclusion
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The CM Storm surprised me on several fronts, and I am not easily surprised these days. Not only do the massive 53mm drivers provide excellent bass, they also are able to reproduce highs quite well and mids reasonably well.
At times the bass can be a bit overbearing, depending on the mixing and equalizing of what you’re watching or playing, but that is always easily fixed. The design of headset is ingenious, and leads to hours of comfort while doing, whatever it is that you do at your PC. Another thing that I was glad to see was the detachable microphone. The only other headset I have seen with this design is the Tritton Ghost Recon 7.1 Console Headset (review coming for that very soon), and I got to say I love this design. Not only does it lead to the microphone never being ripped out while gaming (how you manage that, I have no idea), but it also means that if you don’t want to use the microphone, it can be very easily removed and stored somewhere safe.
Being all plastic, some may question how durable the headphones are. Well, fear not, for I am here to tell you that, though the headphones may be plastic, they are extremely durable. In fact, they are the most durable plastic-based headphones I have ever had the privilege of using.
Cooler Master has designed themselves a winner with the CM Storm Sonuz headphones, and to make it an ever sweeter deal, Cooler Master offers this all to you for $69.99, which is seriously cheap for a headset this powerful. If anybody is in the market to grab a new gaming headset, this should be right at the top of your list. The combination of performance and price makes the CM Storm a no-brainer.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A quick explanation of the award system. We have the main award category with three awards; Bronze (Good Overall Product), Silver (Great Overall Product), and Gold (Excellent/Near Perfect Overall Product) as the highest. Then we have two different Sub-Categories, Internal Hardware Awards for performance; Yellow (Low-End Performer), Orange (Mid-Range Performer), and Red (High-End Performer) as the highest. The third and final Sub-Category is for both Internal Hardware and External Peripherals; Black (Enthusiast/Gamer Qualities), Blue (Exceptional Build and Design), Green (Terrific Dollar To Performance Ratio), White (Innovative But Flawed)
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Pros:
- Excellent Bass Reproduction
- The Highs Are Exceptionally Clear For The Price Range
- Build Quality Is Stellar For Being Mostly Plastic
- Price Is Unbeatable
- Cable Is Plenty Long For The Average PC User
- Sound Reproduction Is Natural Sounding Compared To Many ‘Enhanced’ Headsets Out These Days
Cons:
- Mids Have The Tendency To Get Washed Out
- The Sound Stage Feels A Bit Squished At Times When Watching Movies
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
This Headset Is A No Brainer For People Wanting A New Headset, So Click Here To Get Yours Now!
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
