As a fan of all things loud, so loud it rattles windows and wakes babies, that sort of thing does not really fly when you have a wife and daughter that go to bed at 8 PM and then it is time to game...quietly. So of course I see a pair of headphones and my instant thought is just how loud can it be. On my way between meetings, I came across the Compuexpert booth and see the Sharkoon Xtatic digital headphones and remember reading the specs in a previous press release so I give it a go. The headset goes on and the volume goes up, the Split/Second race begins, and I get a grin from ear to ear. These black beauties send 5.1 sound to your ear holes, rather well I might add from the three laps I raced before having them pried away. My only issue was bass, but I am used to two 12 inch woofers in a hatchback so what do I know? The other thing that caught my eye was that these were compatible across multiple platforms, supporting Xbox, PlayStation, DVD, PC, and other devices.
Before I end this memory of headphone bliss, I was leaving the booth and was handed what looked like joystick condoms, which I guess are just that. The Grip-It product wraps around the top of the joystick and does exactly what it says, grips. I would not think it would make much of a difference with the joysticks being rubberized in the first place, but it does reduce sweat, and I did find myself using less pressure to accomplish the same actions, so I am hoping they last a while, as they wont be removed from my 360 controller anytime soon.
