CES 2023, like past events, was filled with purely conceptual designs and projects. Then there’s Razer’s Project Carol. This is such a simple yet very well executed idea that I hope to bring it to market later this year.
Called “the world’s first head cushion with near-field surround sound and haptics”, it does exactly that. Simply hook the cushion to your favorite gaming or office chair using the adjustable straps and connect to any PC using 2.4 GHz wireless.
We demonstrated head cushions in F9, a movie and franchise famous for featuring heavy artillery and explosions. A great movie to see for yourself what Project Carroll is capable of. That’s it.
The combination of haptic feedback and surround sound is beyond immersive, creating a whole new depth to the movie-watching experience. I could feel every bullet exiting its chamber and entering the car on screen. bottom.
price and availability
As the Razer Project Carol is still only a concept, there are currently no pricing or regional availability for the Razer Project Carol. However, Razer says it’s compatible with all gaming chairs, including his Iskur and Enki models of its own.
Hopefully this project will make it into a real product. Once in production, TechRadar will ensure that you get the latest announcements and news.
design
The Razer Project Carol looks just like any other gaming chair cushion, with the addition of two “flaps” containing surround sound speakers. The material is soft, the cushion itself is very comfortable, and the adjustable straps are compatible with all gaming chairs and some office chairs. Considering it’s a stuffed gaming chair cushion, it’s impressive how much stuff is packed into a normal size product.
Thanks to a completely wireless setup, there’s no need to connect extra cables, install audio receivers or control boxes, or install software. Just plug the USB dongle into your PC port and, according to Razer, it’s natively supported on PCs, so there are no compatibility issues either.
performance
The Razer Project Carol uses easy-to-setup 2.4 GHz wireless via a USB dongle that connects to your PC. The cushion also runs for 8 hours before needing to be recharged. So practically he gets a day’s worth of battery life before he plugs in. Even better, it charges via a Type-C charger, so swapping it out is a breeze. Project Carol not only supports all PCs with 7.1 surround sound output, but also supports all media up to 7.1 encoding.
According to Razer, the Project Carol features near-field surround sound thanks to 7.1 surround speakers positioned in the flaps of the cushions. It uses the Razer HyperSense haptic technology found in many of the company’s gaming headsets. It picks up shapes and frequencies from audio and transforms them into realistic sounds and effects. You can feel the technology in action when you test it. It brought the movies we watched to life in a way no other sound system could.
The sound quality itself holds up incredibly well, handling the punch of deep bass and big sudden noises like a champ. Despite the fact that the speakers are right next to my ears, there was no blasting sensation, and there was no residual ringing when I moved them away.
early verdict
Experience the Razer Project Carol in action. Each bullet fired, car or truck engine revs, crashes and explosions are all transformed into this rich, vivid and realistic reverb that immerses you in a scene like no other. It was like a surround sound setup, but both contained in a small space and amplified to a whole new level.
This is just a project concept, but away from the demo I couldn’t help but feel that this is a concept that could hit the market with solid price and availability. can fill a niche market for those who want a quality surround sound setup without having to buy and actually set up all the parts that come with it.
