The CMStorm Pulse-R Headset -
The CMStorm Pulse-R is a gamer’s headphone and removable microphone combo with 42mm drivers, USB powered lighting, an in-line volume slider, and mic control switch. Cooler Master has wrapped this up in aluminum and plastic to give it some style.

Kicking off the walk around, we will start with the left ear cup. As you can see there is an aluminum plate that extends down from the cross bar to cover the back of the ear cup. Behind this is where Cooler Master (we will call them CM from this point forward) hid their LED lighting. The lights here are white which is something of a departure from the more typical red and blue that we see out there.

Along the bottom edge of the left ear cup CM has put the plug in for the audio/USB power cable as well as the port for the removable microphone. These have two different shapes which makes it almost impossible to mix up if you are not looking at them. Flipping the cup over we see a very unusually shaped ear piece. It is not the size or shape of most people’s ears and we are not at all certain that it will be comfortable or create enough of a seal to block out noise even with the large foam pads around it.

The cross bar that makes up the head rest is thick and very sturdy with a nice thick pad in at the top. It does help offset the weight of the Pulse-R. CM also put an aluminum bar through this for both looks and to help make it sturdier. There is also a slight angle to this which is supposed to add extra comfort.
The right side is nearly identical to the left (both are marked) but it has a design on it that is a part of the CMStorm logo.

Technically speaking the Pulse-R might be at a disadvantage. It does have a large 42mm driver, but that single driver is trying to push a range from 20hz to 20KHz. That is a lot of sound from one small speaker. Typically when you do this through a single source you can end up with mud in the mid-range as high and low end frequencies fight for space in the diaphragm. On top of that if the ear cups do not make a good seal around the ear outside noises can leak in while the sound from the driver bleeds out. It is not the best of audio environments. Now that does not mean the Pulse-R is doomed, but unless CM did their homework then the sound might not be up to where it should (or could) be.

The detachable microphone is nice and is made of a flexible material so that you can curve it to best fit for you. It is an omni-directional mic with a 100Hz to 1KHz (which is the most common range for the human voice). The Signal to Noise Ratio is 10dB + and the sensitivity is -42 plus or minus 3dB. These specs are fairly common and should be more than enough to do its job. You can check out the specs of the headphones below.

The weight of the Pulse-R is much less than other headsets from CM like the Sirus or the Sonuz thanks to the use of aluminum in the construction. This could be a good thing for comfort and extended wear.

The included audio cable is cloth shielded which should help prevent the cord from getting damaged over time. At one end there is a connection that looks a lot like a microUSB plug while at the other we find two 1/8-inch jack. One of these is for the headphones and the other is for the mic. There is also a USB plug that is there to power the lights. It is not required to run the headphones, but it does make them look nice.

Our overall impression of the Pulse-R is that they are a constructed well with some unusual design choices (ear cup shape). Of course the proof is in the pudding as they say so let’s dive into the actual performance of the Pulse-R.