Smartphone and tablet gaming is on the rise lately and Cooler Master’s new CM Storm Resonar is a perfect audio product targeted towards the portable gaming crowd.
Technical Specifications:-
Headphones:-
- Earphone Style – In-ear
- Cable length – 1.3 meters
- Connector – 3.5 mm (Gold plated)
- Driver Size – 8 mm
- Frequency Response – 20 Hz – 20 kHz
- Impedance – 20 Ω
- Sensitivity – Bass Low: 94 dB ± 3 dB | Bass High: 100 dB ± 3 dB
Microphone:-
- Pick Up Pattern – Omni-Directional
- Frequency Response – 100 Hz – 10 kHz
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio – 58 dB
- Sensitivity – – 44 dB ± 4 dB
In-Line Remote:- Call receiving switch.
Overview
This red-wired earphones with patented BassFX technology and gold plated connector sure looks interesting as we move on to take a closer look.
As usual with Cooler Master products it comes in a great looking box perfectly showing off the earphones and it’s key features. Along with the phones the box contain a protective carrying pouch, 3.5 mm 4 pole to 3.5 mm 3 pole Y splitter (for separate audio and mic connections), 2 extra ear buds of different size, and a quick start guide.
Closer Look
Starting off with the packaging, it comes very well housed in a black box which provide a perfect illustration of the actual product and all the information of the key features. The rear of the box gives a quick look at the accessories provided inside and also the box folds out from the front to give a sneak peak of it’s patented BassFX tech and how it works along with the specifications.
Along with the usual quick-start guide , it comes with a 3.5 mm 4 pole to 3.5 mm 3 pole Y splitter cable (for separate audio and mic connection), two extra ear buds of different size and also a very well made protective carrying pouch which sports the CM Storm logo. It’s small enough to fit in your pocket comfortably but has enough room for the earphones as well the splitter cable and the extra buds and it’s hard enough to protect what’s inside from being damaged under normal pressure.
Coming to the main unit it is very well built. The drivers are housed by milled aluminium which makes it very light weight, durable and adds a premium feel. Also each of the phones come with it’s own BassFX dial which adjusts the bass level from the driver. The stock black rubber buds can be replaced with the extras or any other ear buds easily to suffice your comfort and taste. The rubber coated red flat cable is of high quality, durable and is of about perfect length. The 3.5 mm connector is gold-plated and sports a CM Storm logo. It is also 4 pole which supports a very wide range of devices. The in-line remote holds the mic and is fitted with a small button for answering calls, play/pause music.
Like all CM Storm audio products I have tried it is again a very well built one with premium finish for the price.
Performance
If there’s something awesome about this earphone then it’s the bass. Yep, it has got BASS, deep and clear. That low end boom is very much noticeable with the BassFX set to high. Here I should probably explain how this works to give you a clear idea.
The BassFX knob adjusts the position of the driver magnet which boosts the low end frequencies when set to “High” (or On) but it’s nothing like some EQ boost effect if you are getting that idea. The bass boost with BassFX is actually real and it feels like the drivers are pushing more air into your ear canal with that dial set to high compared to when it’s not.
Also I must mention that the bass is not only deep and more audible with BassFX but it is also very clear and doesn’t distort even at very loud volumes.
Now moving on to the rest of the dynamics it is again a winner in overall frequency response and clarity. Everything we tested just sounded great (keeping in mind the price). It delivers very clear, crisp, detailed mids and highs and punchy, booming (with BassFX on) lows. Perfect for enjoying games, music, or even movies. It performed equally well on all devices we have tried that includes PC, smartphones (various platform and devices), tablet and handheld.
Needless to say the BassFX is for people who wants a bit more of the boom and the normal setting is for flat audio experience, but in both cases the Resonar does it’s job perfectly without compromising any part of what’s being played.
The soundstage is also wide enough and feels natural. On bass test it clearly hit the 20 Hz mark (both BassFX on and off although with on it was more prominent which is no surprise).
Gaming
Being a gaming earphone it performs about perfectly on all the games we tried ranging from mobile games like Modern Combat 4, Asphalt 8: Airborne, N.O.V.A 3 to PC games like Battlefield 4, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, FIFA 14.
Depending on the game the bass setting might effect the experience for example Battlefield 4, Modern Combat 4, FIFA games sound better with BassFX on while Call of Duty (online), Counter Strike benefits from it turned off as it helps to focus on the footsteps, gunshot direction more but it comes down to personal preference anyway.
Media
In media test it again performed great. Movies and very much enjoyable and music sounds about perfect on this one. Movies get that “wow effect” with the bass turned on. Spent a lot of time testing the Resonar with a wide variety of music ranging from classical, jazz, blues-rock, contemporary rock to pop, hip-hop, house, dubstep etc. and it performed equally good on all. Some genres like hip-hop, dubstep etc. sounds better with the BassFX turned up for the extra boom on the low end.
The in-line microphone is not that great compared to the rest of the product but it’s good enough for normal calling, VoIP etc. and is certainly not a deal breaker.
Final Verdict
For a $50 of rough price tag and the audio quality it delivers for gaming as well as media the CM Storm Resonar is worth considering. Snug fit , nice noise isolation and the BassFX tech by Cooler Master certainly deserve kudos. It’s an excellent way to change the bass output on the go without much hassle. The build is also very durable along with the premium finish.
As for cons there aren’t any apart from the clarity of the mic not being as good as the earphones but it is okay for calling and does fine on VoIP.
Bottom line, the CM Storm Resonar is an all-on-one solution for high quality audio which suffice both gaming and media usage and comes for a decent price . Recommended!
Signing out
Atri Ganguly
