Gaming
Both Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 sound truly amazing. With the 5.1 surround settings enabled every bullet, ricochet and explosion was very well placed. Positional audio will obviously never be quite as good as a true surround sound speaker setup due to the physics involved but the Sirus 5.1 comes pretty damn close. Picking up voices and footsteps was so much easier than using a traditional 2 speaker headset and made finding the enemy that much easier. There's nothing better than finding a good sniping spot and still being able to pick up the creeping foot steps behind you when needed!
The clarity of the voices was exceptional, as you would expect from a gaming headset and despite the relatively small drivers, the explosions were head shakingly realistic, so much so the headset really did feel as though it was vibrating! Voice communication was easy to configure and very clear. The LED mute button also came in handy as expected acting as a healthy reminder to keep my opinions low key!
Being new games, I 'extensively' tested the headset to the point that 8 hour gaming sessions resulted in very little discomfort thanks to the very well padded headset. I did try the leatherette cups but gave up after an hour or so as they became hot and sweaty so I would guess they are fine for short periods but cannot compete with the cloth cups for both comfort and ventilation.
All in all, the gaming experience offered by the CM Storm Sirus was nothing short of exceptional. In stereo configuration the Sennheiser HD595 did just edge the quality. However, in 5.1 surround sound the Sirus came alive and ate the Sennheisers for breakfast allowing me to pinpoint enemies’ locations that the Sennheiser could only dream of doing.
Music
The thumping bass of 'Bomb Scare' from 2 Bad Mice was great with no distortion until both the volume and bass levels were set to maximum which for all intents and purposes would have been very uncomfortable for an extended period of time anyway such is the level of volume.
'How you remind me' (Nickleback) was great with clear vocals, deep bass and great lead and bass guitar reproduction throughout.
'Ride of the Valkyries' (Wagner) again showed clarity between all of the instruments. Unfortunately for the Sirus, the Sennheiser HD595's were distinctly better in this area with much clearer definition throughout.
Movie
It has to be said that the beach landing scene from Saving Private Ryan’s is perhaps one of the most breathtaking examples of surround sound used in a movie. The audio really puts you straight in that forsaken battle and here is where the Sirus excels. The 5.1 reproduction was very good and while I must state again that the headset is no replacement for true surround sound speaker setup, the audio reproduction and surround spacing was excellent.
Overall then, the Sennheiser HD595's were clear winners in the music tests. While the Sirus performed very well they couldn't keep pace for either clarity or bass of the HD595's. The Sirus however faired far better in the movie test thanks to the 5.1 capability which the Sennheisers simply couldn't compete with. The ace up CM Storm's sleeve however was with the gaming tests. Being a 5.1 headset, the surround sound capability of the Sirus blew the HD595's out of the water. The Sennheisers are no slouch when it comes to reproducing bass and with that I mean explosions however the Sirus not only did this extremely well but thanks to the positional audio, each bullet, call for help and detonation made the gaming experience all the more enjoyable.
Let's wrap things up as I gather my thoughts in the conclusion...
