Cooler Master MasterPulse Pro Bass FX Headset Review

A Closer Look

The MasterPulse Pro comes hard-wired with a flat-type rubber-coated cable, which will help ensure it stays tangle free. The cable is quite long too, so running it to a USB port behind your PC shouldn’t be an issue.

The USB header is gold-plated and comes with a protective cap for when it is not in use.

The first thing we noticed is that the headset comes with a large on-cable controller. This little hub features buttons down both sides as well as a lighting control on the front face.

A clothing clip on the back means you can put this thing right where you need it and it’ll always be within easy reach. It also stops it swinging around while you’re gaming, which would otherwise be putting the headset around on your head and no one wants that.

Down one side, you’ll find the microphone mute and 7.1 surround processing toggle, while the other side has volume up/down and EQ mode controls.

Right, onto the star of the show, the MasterPulse Pro headset its self. As we said before, the headset is hard-wired, so that lovely red cable runs from the right driver, through the headband where it’s slightly exposed for some visual flair, then out of the bottom of the left ear cup to the in-line controller. It is only USB too, so those wanting 3.5mm will want to look at the non-pro version of this headset.

The design is almost identical to that of the non-pro version, but that’s far from a bad thing as this is one very sexy looking headset. The headband is made from two strong yet flexible rails that then split apart and form a frame around the ear cups, which are then mounted to this frame using a couple of pivots to allow some over-ear angle adjustment for a closer fit.

The headband isn’t adjustable on its own, but there is a soft and very well padded inner headband, which is mounted on durable springs at either end, allowing it to auto-adjust to your head size automatically.

The leather finish on the interior looks great and there are five padded sections that help to keep the headset firmly in place without putting too much pressure on the top of your head.

Don’t worry about angle, as the headband will keep it firmly in place even if you’ve got the headband towards towards the front or back of your head, whichever feels most comfortable to you.

Built-in to the bottom of the ear cup (cable side) is an omnidirectional microphone. The pin-hole design helps keep everything looking neat and tidy looking.

On the ear cups, thick padding and large ear cups that fit around the ear, ensuring you don’t miss out on any of the action from those powerful 44mm 50 Ohm drivers.

For the most part, this headset is very similar to that of the 3.5mm equipped MasterPulse, but the MasterPulse Pro is definitely on another level in terms of performance and features. You still have the removable side panels on the drivers, which are easily my favorite feature. When they’re on the sound is super sharp, with more treble and a limited bass response that’s great for voice chat and even better for competitive FPS gaming. Take them off, and the bass thickens right up, sounding best for music, movies and action gaming. Of course, a lot of that is personal preference, but you can easily flick between the two modes. I would personally just leave them off all the time, but that’s just me.

The EQ modes on the controller are a nice addition, and they offer quite a large shift between modes. You can turn it off for a flat response, but the modes will sharpen up the bass, mids or treble, and dependent on your source material, these do come in handy.

The virtual 7.1 works great, only a few years ago I hated virtual processing, but it seems every headset hitting the market these days has got the formula nailed down rather nicely. If you’re playing games that have surround processing, such as the latest Tomb Raider, you really can pick out the sounds around you with great detail, but the built-in processing engine doesn’t do so well trying to up mix 2.0 sources, but you can turn it on and off as you need it anyway.

Everything else is as we would have expected given it’s similar in terms of design to the non-pro model. The fit is pretty snug, the headset holds well and the hidden microphone is surprisingly useful and clear for work and gaming scenarios.