Page 3 - Subjective Audio Analysis
There are many challenges when it comes to reviewing headphones, because of how subjective the experience could be. It takes experience and time to train your ears to be able to make a proper judgement for an audio review. These challenges force us to take quite some time to listen and compare it to other sound equipment to have the best results, and to be able to give it a fair observation. Unfortunately, since different people have different tastes in their headphones and what they should sound like, it is hard to come to a truly objective conclusion. As such, the Cooler Master MasterPulse Pro headphones were put through a series of subjective tests to come to the best final conclusion. All the tests were done with my computer using the USB connection, and the in-line sound card provided the rest. I focused more on the gaming tests, since these headphones are more aimed for that particular use. The product was also broken in for an extended amount of time to ensure the best listening experience at the time of testing. All tracks were uncompressed CDs, FLAC, or LAME encoded MP3s at 192kbps or higher. All gaming tests were performed in games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and DOTA 2. However, the important tests occurred in Counter-Strike, because being able to distinguish different directions from where sound is coming from is pretty important.
The Cooler Master MasterPulse Pro is tuned out of balance, common to most gaming headphones on the market. Usually, this is done for a reason, as it helps in different types of games to pick up sounds like footsteps or any other effects. However, the way the Cooler Master MasterPulse Pro was tuned was questionable at best. The bass was really light with the side panels on. The side panels can be removed to increase the lower range frequencies, however, I did most of the music testing with the side panels still attached, since this is a better use case. There are also three different modes the headphones can be used in. This includes optimized for music, movies, or gaming. For the music tests, I listened using both music mode and normal mode. In both of these cases, the experience was similar, except for a slightly deeper bass in music mode. The bass itself was light and hollow, while being only slightly smooth for those that exist. At many points, it was boomy. The bass was stronger and less boomy with the side panels removed, but still does not completely deliver the punch bass is known for.
The midrange is mostly defined by vocals and some instruments, such as the guitar or cello. The midrange was muffled to say the least. Lower range vocals came through much the same way as the bass, which was hollow. As we move up, the midrange suddenly became overboosted, which made it sound like you were listening to your phone's speaker. This caused the sound to be unnatural and cold. Moving higher up the frequencies, the sounds started to be blanketed. Much like the bass, again it was hollow. This became even worse when it reached into the upper midrange, which was, simply put, dry. The boosted midrange section distorted a lot of things.
The treble suffered the most with the Cooler Master MasterPulse Pro. I usually enjoy listening to music while being able to hear some violin or other higher range sounds in the background filled with energy. The treble was similar to the midrange. It was recessed, meaning the high range mostly came through blanketed. I would also describe this as nasal. It lacked energy, and as such was really dark. It was overall weak and too gentle, which just did not deliver any meaningful high range sounds that has impact. Overall, I would say it was really recessed, lacking the ability to reach sharp and clean high tones.
Soundstaging and soundscaping was narrow and stuck together. When a full range was being played, it sounded completely one dimensional. The imaging was undefined and unrealistic. Layering was poor at best, being mostly low resolution and lacking in detail. The funky frequency distribution created for some unclear frequency separation, which messed with the cohesiveness as well, because it was so confusing to listen to. The general output was unclean and the frequency distribution was uneven. It missed some chunks in the treble and upper midrange, which became more apparent with the underwhelming bass. Overall, it was a weak experience in all these aspects. It was simply unable to create a realistic sound.
Even if the overall music listening experience was not pleasant, the Cooler Master MasterPulse Pro's intended purpose is for gaming. In this area, the headset was not much better. The only reason why any sense of direction can be perceived at all is because the game is very well designed, and not necessarily the headphones itself. Features such as the Virtual 7.1 surround sound and Bass FX did not help to produce improved game effects, and the enhancements did not increase the sense of direction. Games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive relies on directional sounds, and the headset performed quite poorly. Footsteps and other sounds, such as reloading, can even be stuck together and artificial sounding with Virtual 7.1 enabled. You are better off with the effects disabled.
Overall, the listening experience was below the mark for gaming headphones. There was nothing that sets the Cooler Master MasterPulse Pro apart from other gaming headphones in the music department. Actually, it was quite a bit behind the competition. In the gaming aspect, the headphones were still poor. Of course, there were some cool features such as Bass FX, but it did not really suit my tastes in sound character. There is also a hidden omni-directional microphone found on the left ear cup, which was also not very good. It was not very clear when used for chatting. While using it, my voice seemed distant. It was also easy for the microphone to pick up any background noise.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
