Cooler Master's first venture into the gaming in-ear headphone, lets see how well they did.
Here's the spec:
Headphones: Driver size: Frequency response: Impedance: Sensitivity: Max output power: Connector: Cable Length: Microphone: Pattern: Frequency Response: S/N Ratio: Sensitivity: | 10mm 10Hz - 20kHz 16Ω 106 +/- 3dB (1kHz) 16mW 3.5mm gold plated headphone jack 1.2M Omni-directional 70Hz - 10kHz 58dB 42 +/- 2dB (1kHz) |
Design:
*Please note prior to reading this portion of the review that the sample we received for review was from a slightly faulty sample batch and therefore some of the photos may not be wholly representative of the full retail product. The performance however was not hindered and so this only applies to the design portion and photos shown.
The CM Storm Pitch gaming headphones are definitely designed around almost all the popular trends in headphones over the past few years.
Starting with the earbuds you get a mostly metal design with the housing of the drivers being a grey-cappuccino colour. Having always been a fan of metal products I do like the use of metal here but on a cold day it's quite uncomfortable putting freezing metal into your ears. Other than that this has been perfectly fine and has shown to be very scratch resistant under significant usage. |
JVC HA-FX1X earphones and while it exactly the same size & shape of the Pitch's one, it is only the medium tip and not the larger tip. Not only this but compared to the ones provided in this product, those had a much better feel and are more secure in your ear. I found the ones provided with the Pitch to be very slippery therefore I would recommend replacing them with some better tips for an overall better sound isolation and experience.
The connection for the cord to the earphones feels very secure and surprisingly sits in the ear rather nicely with no irritation at all. The black rubber used definitely compliments the earphones nicely but I think as with some other little areas of the product, the tiny gaps where it doesn't sit flush with the other components definitely does let the product down a little. |
Along the cable for the left earphone we find the microphone and call answering button. I found this to be an optimal location and the button click feels very smooth and easily accessible.
As for the 3.5mm jack you get a flat connector which isn't as good functionally as a right angled connected and will potentially lead to cable issues in the future but aesthetically it does look and feel top quality with it having metal on the outermost part. One odd experience I have had with this connector is that it's rather harder to pull out of the female jack connection compared to other jacks. |
Included in the package is an audio splitter to split the headphone and microphone jacks. This is due to the Pitch's using a four pole 3.5mm audio jack that is compatible with phones. everything about this adapter all the way down to the length of the cables is completely on point but we did notice the metal cover on jack connector came loose and came off. We have however been informed |
that this was an issue only limited to the review sample batch they received and has been fixed in the manufacturing process for retail versions.
Performance:
When it comes to performance a lot of people will be skeptical of in-ear headphones that are branded for 'gaming' and I have to admit that I am part of that crowd. In-ear heaphones in general offer a very small soundstage leading to a very two dimensional experience compared to on or over the ear headphones. This is the same situation as open and closed designs.
The Pitch headphones admittedly don't really break free from this stereotype as while they do provide a very rich experience with clear separation between instruments & sounds, they don't provide that enticing third dimension to the audio that completely encapsulates you in the music.
The sounds itself is very warm with crisp highs and deep lows, an overall good feel for the gaming and music experience regardless of the type of music you listen too. The low end was always punchy with only a little muddying to the mid range at very high volume. On the high end again we saw clear audio with it only starting to go a little 'fuzzy' at high volumes. As for the mids I have been extremely impressed in this department as it was very rarely affected by either end of the frequency scale, staying pronounced and never overwhelmed even in bass heavy music unless as I just said, you were running them at extremely high volumes.
I definitely enjoyed the past two weeks with these headphones and having replaced my daily headphones the Sony MDR-XB400's to review these I have grown accustomed to having the convenience of both a good quality microphone and the call answering/play-pause button at my fingertips.
Overall I feel that with the Pitch headphones you get a high quality pair of headphones that may not be the outright best for gaming and are better as a general pair of headphones but they can act as such if needed. I feel that when it comes down to performance on these, for in-ear headphones they have done the best they could of at the price they have done them for.
The Pitch headphones admittedly don't really break free from this stereotype as while they do provide a very rich experience with clear separation between instruments & sounds, they don't provide that enticing third dimension to the audio that completely encapsulates you in the music.
The sounds itself is very warm with crisp highs and deep lows, an overall good feel for the gaming and music experience regardless of the type of music you listen too. The low end was always punchy with only a little muddying to the mid range at very high volume. On the high end again we saw clear audio with it only starting to go a little 'fuzzy' at high volumes. As for the mids I have been extremely impressed in this department as it was very rarely affected by either end of the frequency scale, staying pronounced and never overwhelmed even in bass heavy music unless as I just said, you were running them at extremely high volumes.
I definitely enjoyed the past two weeks with these headphones and having replaced my daily headphones the Sony MDR-XB400's to review these I have grown accustomed to having the convenience of both a good quality microphone and the call answering/play-pause button at my fingertips.
Overall I feel that with the Pitch headphones you get a high quality pair of headphones that may not be the outright best for gaming and are better as a general pair of headphones but they can act as such if needed. I feel that when it comes down to performance on these, for in-ear headphones they have done the best they could of at the price they have done them for.
Conclusion:
The Cooler Master CM Storm Pitch headphones are a great set of headphones to have. I didn't find anything particularly bad about them and found the quality of sound to be exceptional given the price they retail for.
Taking into account the fact they are in-ear headphones and that ebcause of this I expected the soundstage to be quite small, the CM Storm Pitch's provide in my eyes the best package for price, portability and every day use that you can really get from a gaming headphone. By saying this what I mean is that no I would not have these as a dedicated pair of headphones for gaming but I WOULD have these as a backup pair, for LAN events or even for your daily drivers (pun intended).
It all comes down to the simple fact for me that you should never wholly rely on a set of in-ear headphones and that fact for me means that really you shouldn't spent that much on a pair of them. To be exact I would say spend around 40% MAX on a pair of in-ear headphones that you would on a proper set of headphones that are your primary pair. I think that with this, Cooler Master have got the price of these headphones perfect, have created an awesome pair within this price range and have due to this marketed them as a CM Storm gaming headset because that is really their premium line that the Pitch's comfortably fit into.
We have chosen to give the CM Storm Pitch in-ear gaming headphones a 7.5 out of 10 for its overall rating regardless of price. for a pair of headphones that retail for this price many people might question how it could possible receive a 7.5 in a market that goes way over ten times the price of these. I personally feel that the 10/10 drop off point for the rating system of headphones we do is not the the complete top end of the market but at point in the market where from that point onwards for 99.99% of people, you will not notice or gain any benefit from buying above. That is why we have chose to give it a 7.5 for its rating and a 10/10 for value. With 17.5 out of 20 the CM Storm Pitch headphones receive our SILVER AWARD and are so so close to receiving our GOLD but just fell short due to tiny issues we had.
Taking into account the fact they are in-ear headphones and that ebcause of this I expected the soundstage to be quite small, the CM Storm Pitch's provide in my eyes the best package for price, portability and every day use that you can really get from a gaming headphone. By saying this what I mean is that no I would not have these as a dedicated pair of headphones for gaming but I WOULD have these as a backup pair, for LAN events or even for your daily drivers (pun intended).
It all comes down to the simple fact for me that you should never wholly rely on a set of in-ear headphones and that fact for me means that really you shouldn't spent that much on a pair of them. To be exact I would say spend around 40% MAX on a pair of in-ear headphones that you would on a proper set of headphones that are your primary pair. I think that with this, Cooler Master have got the price of these headphones perfect, have created an awesome pair within this price range and have due to this marketed them as a CM Storm gaming headset because that is really their premium line that the Pitch's comfortably fit into.
We have chosen to give the CM Storm Pitch in-ear gaming headphones a 7.5 out of 10 for its overall rating regardless of price. for a pair of headphones that retail for this price many people might question how it could possible receive a 7.5 in a market that goes way over ten times the price of these. I personally feel that the 10/10 drop off point for the rating system of headphones we do is not the the complete top end of the market but at point in the market where from that point onwards for 99.99% of people, you will not notice or gain any benefit from buying above. That is why we have chose to give it a 7.5 for its rating and a 10/10 for value. With 17.5 out of 20 the CM Storm Pitch headphones receive our SILVER AWARD and are so so close to receiving our GOLD but just fell short due to tiny issues we had.
Verdict:
Rating: 7.5/10
Value: 10/10
Value: 10/10