CMStorm Ceres 300 Gaming Headset Review - Ceres 300

Audio on gaming computers is one of the things that gets overlooked when people are building their systems. While they are busy making sure they have a powerful CPU, GPU and enough RAM they seem to forget that audio is an important part of the gaming experience. With good audio the gaming experience becomes more immersive. Of course even if you do get a good audio card you still need something that can reproduce the audio properly or that is just a waste of money. Headphones, Speakers, etc. all need to be able to do their job or you lose a part of the overall gaming experience. With that in mind we are taking a look at set of gaming headphones from Cooler Master’s CMStorm line, the Ceres 300. Let’s see if this set of headphones can bring out the best in your gaming audio.

The CMStorm Ceres 300 Headphones -
The CMStorm follows the typical headphone design. You have two ear pieces that house the speakers (these are over the ear), a crossbar that connects the two and a cable that leads away from them that is intended to be plugged into your audio source. As the Ceres 300 also has a removable microphone there is, of course, a port for that and another plug to accommodate it. It is a pretty simple design and hard to screw up.
CERES300-0362

The Ceres 300 is extremely light which almost gives it a feeling of, cheapness (for lack of a better word). Although Cooler Master has done a good job on the design they still are very obviously plastic and make all of the little plastic creeks when handled.

Kicking off our inspection of the Ceres 300 we will take a look at the ear pieces where the speakers are tucked away. These are 40mm drivers with a stated frequency response of 20Hz to 20KHz and impedance of 32 Ohms. This is a pretty decent spec for speakers and depending on how they are tuned you should get good separation.  On the down side the plastic enclosure (with a single metal mesh piece) could present an issue with lower frequency sounds as it is simply not the best material to use. Despite this little fact the overall design has a good look to it. Cooler Master built a nice looking headset and the pads that go around your ears look fairly comfortable.  

CERES300-0363 CERES300-0364 CERES300-0365

On the left ear cup has the input cable and there is also a small port that is meant for the removable microphone. This is a nice feature for anyone that just wants to use the Ceres 300 as a set of headphones. The mic is fairly standard with a range of 100Hz to 10KHz and a sensitivity of -54db (+/- 3db). Nothing to write home about, but it will get the job done.

CERES300-0366 CERES300-0367

The ear cups are connected to the rest of the headset by a large arm. This arm does restrict movement of the ear cup a bit and could end up preventing a good fit for some people’s heads. It is also made of plastic which raises concerns about longevity. From there you find a fairly stiff cross bar to hold everything together. This cross bar is how the two ear cups are connected electronically and is adjustable to give you the best comfort. Cooler Master has put in a pretty nice pad to keep the top of your head happy.

CERES300-0368 CERES300-0369

Moving down to the cable there is a control unit that comes complete with a volume dial and an on/off switch for the Microphone. It is a nice, although common, feature. Over all the Ceres 300 is a good looking product, but it simply does not feel like it is a high quality product due to the construction materials. Of course, in the end what it sounds like and feels like to wear will trump all of that. So let’s dive into that part of the review.

No comments

Leave your comment

In reply to Some User