In its first-ever E3 appearance last year, Baltimore-based Polk Audio crashed the party with three new products that signaled the company’s entry into the gaming industry. Now, exactly one year later, Polk is continuing its push into the gaming audio market with the reveal of its $90 audiophile gaming headset dubbed “Striker.” Polk has aimed to balance affordability with dynamic sound to make the headset both accessible and technologically advanced.
Integrated into the headset is Polk’s proprietary Dynamic Balance driver technology, which the company says is designed to reveal a “wider and more impressive frequency range with sharp details and no hints of strain or resonances.” The Striker has another of Polk’s exclusive features, the ProFit Comfort system, which essentially consists of a lightweight, cushioned headband and plush, pivoting ear cups. Each headset also comes bundled with a wireless adapter for Xbox One gameplay, developed exclusively by Polk and boasting improved sound and chat performance.
Also included is a built-in boom mic which Polk claims delivers crisp and clear chat functionality – the mic has a 7-cm. flexible extension that conforms to gamers’ chat preferences and retracts seamlessly into the ear cup while not in use. Finally, located at the ear cup, Polk has integrated a strain-relief cable connector that works to keep the 46-inch cable simultaneously connected and out of the gamer’s way for a tangle- and snag-free experience.
Two of the three devices Polk dropped at last year’s E3 were designed specifically for the then-unreleased Xbox One: its $160 4 Shot gaming headset (which has a near-field microphone and can connect to the Xbox One controller) and N1 gaming sound bar (39 inches, Bluetooth-enabled, and with “gaming EQ settings”) – Polk also dropped the $200 Melee headset for Xbox 360.
Polk has slated the headset for an early October release and will offer it in three different colors: black, grey/blue, and white/orange.
