Cooler Master Storm Sirus 5.1 Gaming Headset

Features

As I point earlier this is where Sirus headset sets itself apart for the other headphones on the market. Cooler Master calls this the Tactical Mixing Console where the sounds can be fine tuned. What you are able to do is to make defined precise adjustments to the speaker and subwoofer channels with on the fly modifications. Each channel can be adjusted individually all from this central console. 

Taking a closer look a the mixing station we can see that we can control the audio levels of the different 5.1 surround sound components. Loading a FPS game? Rapidly lower the center channel and raise the remaining channels to reduce any distractions from gun noise and which will heighten your capability to detect enemy footsteps with pinpoint accuracy… in other words your opponents will be eliminated before they even knows what hits them. 

The Tactical Mixing Console is a good size at 3- 7/8 of an inch across and 1- 1/2 inches tall with the dial itself is 1- 7/8 across and 1/2 inches tall. Make from aluminum the dial has been knurled to give you instant grip and pinpoint control when adjusting the audio. I know you are thinking “what if I reach for it and the D#$% thing slides away from me”. Well don’t hit it so hard… no really the mixing console does have some weight to it and I am guessing it is about 8oz which is a half pound plus it has rubber base that has heavy treads to keep it in place.

As you can see from the Tactical Mixing Console you can adjust the levels of the Bass, Center, Rear, and Front channels. By pressing the center button you can scroll through these levels, but I found that the order they picked for the scrolling was odd. If you have it set to the master level control you would think that the next press would take you to the center channel – the next one in line- but it jumps over to the Front channel, then the Rear, Center, and finally the Bass. This, for me, is hard to memorized as to what will be the next and I would have to take my eyes away from the game to see where I am at.

Believe it or not the Tactical Mixing Console is an option. You do not have to use this to be able to use the headset. What you do loose is the ability to fine tune everything, but you can make some adjustments in the software. If you use the audio jacks that are included all you have to is plug them in, plug in the USB, attach the plugs from the headset in the audio cable and you are done. This makes it handy if you are traveling and you do not want to worry about another piece to take with you.

On the left side of the Sirus is the microphone. The microphone is permanently attached (which I like) and can be moved up and completely out of the way. The mics that plug in always seem to loosen up over time and just never stay on the place you want them.

The microphone boom moves from the straight up position (zero degree) to as far down as about 130 degrees which would put it about an inch past most users chin. The middle section of the boom can be conformed to what ever angle you want it to be.

Sirus is attached with a uni-directional microphone with background noise cancellation that makes it possible to have crystal clear conversations with teammates and smack talk to your enemy competitor.

A cloth covered support pad is place right in the center of the cross over piece. This piece has the just the right fell of enough support and comfort without adding unwanted weight to the headset that after long periods of use would start to fill heavy.

As you probably have already guessed the Sirus Headset is a over the ear headphone. You really have to do this to get the total effect of the 5.1 surround sound as you want to try and eliminate as much of the outside noise as possible. Back in the day you wanted to be able to hear others if you were at a LAN and you wanted to talk to you teammates, but now with almost all the games having some sort of in game communication or teamspeak and ventrilo servers running there is no need to increase the distractions.

To customize the fit you can extend the ear pieces for the head rest by a total of 1- 1/2 inches. The struts have an overall size of 1- 1/2 inches, but appear to be two piece as the middle ridge house the wires that run to the speakers. When you adjust the stroke you can feel the “clicks” in the holding mechanism in the top part of the headphones. The base of the struts are able to swivel to give more added comfort when sizing them to your head. 

Not everyone goes to battle in a full lit room so you need to have your hardware visible in low light conditions. The CM Storm Sirus is fully lighted at the Tactical Mixing Console, the ear pieces and at the end of the mic boom. The red on the end of the boom quickly tells you if you have the mic open (light on) or muted (light off).