Is it really a gaming chair if it doesn’t include a 7.1 audio system with haptic feedback? For Razer and its Project Carol presented at CES 2023, the answer is no.
It’s become a tradition now: at the Consumer Electronic Show, Razer’s Research and Development team got us used to getting out of the hat with some crazy concepts. Some end up as real products, like the Razer Hazel smart mask, while others remain at the concept stage. ad vitam aeternam, like his smartphone that can be transformed into a laptopwhich exist only to inspire the builder’s troops.
For this CES 2023, the manufacturer “For Gamers By Gamers” has decided to take ever more advantage of its takeover of THX and its audio orientation to offer a rather… surprising concept. But maybe not totally uninteresting. Have you ever thought that gaming chairs were all starting to look alike ? They were certainly missing a major feature from the start: big spitting sound.
Project Carol, the chair speaker that vibrates
Razer’s new concept product for this edition is Project Carol, which can’t be better described than this intertitle: it’s, roughly speaking, a vibrating chair speaker. More specifically, it isa kind of pillow integrating a sound system to attach to your gaming chair. From then on, you will be able to enjoy 7.1 surround sound directly in the hollow of your ears.
But that’s obviously not all. Since Razer is also the great creator of HyperSense technology, he took the opportunity to also integrate it into this product. Thus, the pillow is able to vibrate to produce haptic feedback, a technology already seen in particular on the Razer Kraken V3 or the Razer Nari Ultimate. The idea is to have a better impression of the position of your opponents in your game through small localized vibrations: the technology automatically detects, without modification from the developers, the frequencies used by these small audio feedbacks to transform them.
The vibration intensity can of course be adjusted, and the Project Carol is directly compatible with the PC platform since this technology is already in place there. As for the “speaker cushion”, know that it is not reserved for chairs designed by Razer: a system of elastics and adjustable straps allows you tofit any gaming chair. You can also freely move the two main side speakers closer or further apart, for better comfort. Project Carol connects through a 2.4 GHz wireless connectionand promises up to 8 hours of battery life before needing to be recharged.
That’s a lot of information for a product that’s supposed to be a Proof of concept, is not it ? Fun as it is to add big sound to a gaming chair just because it’s possible to do so, it would not be surprising if the product itself found its audience. Automatic massagers (because hey, it looks like it, let’s be honest) are increasingly popular in Asian territories, where Razer is a must-have brand, and these kinds of products could be excellent for a specialized clientele; in internet cafes, for instance. We wanted to laugh about it, and finally… We start to be curious.
