TekNMotion is not the most well-known brand as far as gaming peripherals are concerned, but they’ve got some pretty compelling products showing at CES this year.
I met with president Brian Cortright and director of product development Jason Williams, and one thing that became immediately clear was that these were not stuffy PR types–these were guys like us: gamers who care about the quality and performance of the peripherals they use.
I looked at the PulseWave V2–the new iteration of the original Pulsewave gaming headset. The most immediately “wow” feature of the PulseWave is the vibrate feature whenever low frequencies are detected. I put on the (terrifically comfortable) headset, and Jason fired up a game of Modern Warfare 2. Instantly, every gunshot and explosion sent a vibration through the earpieces and I actually found myself doing that rare and coveted “wow” thing that is what tech writers spend months searching for.
The other cool bit about the PulseWave is that they are the only headset on the market to offer both USB and mini-jack analog audio connectors. If you prefer to use your computer’s sound card, no problem. Don’t feel like bothering, or messing with front panel audio jack settings? Use the USB instead. One bonus of connecting via USB? You get the benefit of their virtual 7.1 surround sound tech.
The removable mic resides on a flexible boom that can be bent and configured any way you choose. They admit that manufacturing issues with the V1 of the PulseWave made them go back to the drawing board to perfect the mic design and the V2 is the result of this. They were frank about it: they released a slightly shoddy product, they’ve fixed it, and have learned a lesson.
While the sound quality, dual connectors, and vibration feature are nice, the real killer app here is the price. This is a $60 headset, folks. I wasn’t quite sure I heard them correctly; having just gone headset shopping recently, I knew that headsets of this caliber are usually found in the $90+ section of the aisle, a section I tend to avoid.
While I was clarifying the price, Brian showed me their even more incredibly priced “Yapster” headset; while not as feature-rich as the PulseWave, they feature the same comfortable ear cups, 40mm drivers, and an incredible price point of $20. Hearing this, my teeth clenched in a bit of rage as I remembered the last headset I purchased for one of my kids: A low quality piece of junk from a popular brand’s “budget” line that ran me $40 and rewarded me by having a broken boom three months after I purchased it.
TekNMotion is definitely a company to consider the next time you’re shopping for a headset. It’s not often I’m this impressed by a smaller company, but based on my experience with their products today, it’s not a bad thing to be pleasantly surprised once in a while.
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