pnosker.com

We here at pnosker.com have very specific demands of our testing equipment. When we're benchmarking computer components, what we need is a case that allows us to quickly put together a system for testing, and then equally quickly replace various parts. The order of the day here isn't decibel reduction or portability or aesthetics or cooling: rather, it's convenience. For the pnosker.com test bench, we needed a chassis that would provide easy access to all the components, but still contain them safely and securely. For that, we turned to the guys at highspeedpc.com and their Top Deck Tech Station, an open-air, build-it-yourself chassis purpose-built for quick and easy component replacement.

If you've ever flown American Airlines you likely would have seen Bose's marketing genius at work. Starting with Bose's Quiet Comfort headphones in the 1990s, First Class passengers were loaned a pair to use for the flight. This continues today with the current QC2 and QC3 models as loaners in the first class cabin. Additionally, their in flight magazine has many Bose ads. The combination of trial in-plane and good advertising has turned them into a powerhouse claiming their "Better Sound through Research" philosophy brought riches to the company. The truth is Bose products sound pretty good, have decent science behind them, but are very very expensive.

More recent innovation in the headphone industry has led to cheaper active noise canceling headphones such as those from Panasonic, Creative, and several other consumer brands. It has also led to the development of other high-end brands such as Monster Cable's Beats by Dre line of ANC (Active Noise Canceling) headphones. Still, when you get a cheaper product you are often plagued with issues regarding circuit whine which creates a high pitched annoying sound with the noise cancelation turned on, odd harmonics and unbalanced sound output, or lack of comfort. The expensive products are of course very expensive with Monster's Beats by Dre at almost $300. There really is not much in the middle of the pack in terms of cost. Below $100 and above $200 is where most of the popular products lie. That's where Able Planet's line of headphones come in.

A couple months ago, we took a look at Cooler Master's SF-19 notebook cooler, a product from Cooler Master's CM Storm line of gaming-oriented peripherals. Today, we're going over their new Sentinel Z3RO-G gaming mouse, an updated version of CM Storm's older Sentinel Advance. With all the trappings of a very serious performance mouse—a 5600-dpi twin laser sensor, adjustable weights, and 128kb of onboard memory—the Sentinel Z3RO-G looks very promising. In addition, Cooler Master is cross-promoting the mouse with Shattered Horizon, a game by famous PC benchmark software studio Futuremark, and has included a copy of the game with the Sentinel Z3RO-G. So, has Cooler Master's gaming skunkworks built a legitimate contender? Find out after the jump.

MEElectronics is one of our favorite small companies. They make a great line of value headphones that are surprisingly good sounding. With a neutral balance and some neat features such as tunable earbuds, MEElectronics is definitely a group that's innovating like American companies used to. Their product that we most recently got our hands on are their A151 earbuds powered by balanced armature drivers.