Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Razer Project Carol head cushion builds surround sound right into your gaming chair

By Fionna Agomuoh January 5, 2023

Razer teased its Project Carol Concept design at CES 2023. It’s the world’s first head cushion design with near-field surround sound and haptics.

The concept has already won several awards at CES 2023, including the Innovation award and Best of Show award, indicating its proof of concept has at least caught some attention.

Razer

The design includes 7.1 surround sound and Razer’s HyperSense technology, in addition to real-time haptic feedback, which allows “gamers to feel everything behind them, placing them firmly in the middle of the action,” Razer said.

Recommended Videos

The cushion supports PC software and is designed to fit a wide variety of gaming chairs using the adjustable strap, including Razer’s own Razer Iskur and Enki chairs. The stretchy adjustable straps that can be fully extended from top and bottom to up to 350mm, while the location of the cushion also allows for “realistic, high-fidelity tactile feedback.” According to Razer, the idea is that it can be heard from behind the player for a more immersive experience.

It can provide up to 2.4GHz wireless gaming connectivity before it needs charging, and the cushion includes a dongle that provides up to eight hours of battery life via USB-C charging.

Razer often gives previews of forthcoming projects, including some, like Project Carol, that remain in the concept phase. However, some of these concepts, like Razer’s N95 mask Zephyr, do end up becoming real products that you can purchase. Others end up influencing future product design or technology, even if that specific product never sees the light of day.

We’ll have to wait and see which bucket Project Carol ends up being. For, Project Carol seems like a neat idea for a particularly niche audience — designed specifically for those PC gamers who aren’t satisfied with a pair of gaming speakers or a gaming headset.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Computing Writer

Fionna Agomuoh is a technology journalist with over a decade of experience writing about various consumer electronics topics…

Computing

Best deal ever? Get 80% off PureVPN and an Uber Eats voucher

Everyone should sign up to a virtual private network, so if you're looking for VPN deals, here's one that you wouldn't want to miss -- two years plus three extra months of PureVPN's Max Plan at 80% off for just $4 per month, for a total of $108 for 27 months. That's $16 in savings per month for dependable online protection, and to top it off, you'll be getting an Uber Eats voucher worth up to $30. We're not sure how much time is remaining on this offer though, so if you're interested, you're going to have to sign up for the subscription immediately.

Buy Now

Computing

Razer’s most boring product is also one of its best

Razer isn't exactly known for subtlety. This is the company that released a Bane-like RGB face mask, a headset with haptic feedback, and most recently, a mouse pad that has RGB lighting from corner to corner. The Iskur V2 chair is an exercise in subtlety, however, and a change of pace that pays off for Razer in a big way.

There's nothing special about the Iskur V2 at first glance. It's a gaming chair fit with the usual racer-style back and some green trim to let you know it's a Razer product. But there are no motors promising immersive haptic feedback, and no RGB leaving you tethered to a wall outlet (yes, Razer has done both in a chair before). The Iskur V2 is just a well-designed, comfortable chair, and that's exactly why it's so impressive.
Out of the box

Computing

Best OLED monitor deals: Get an OLED screen from just $450

Up to a couple of years ago, OLED technology only really existed in OLED TVs and very-high-end monitors that cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Luckily, the prices have come down quite substantially, even on the best OLED monitors, especially as the market gets more saturated with options. That means that if you tend to use a monitor for the majority of your content consumption, such as gaming, then you can grab an OLED monitor for a great price and experience amazing visual fidelity and reproduction.

To that end, we've gone out and scoured all the major retailers and brands to find our favorite OLED monitor deals out there and compiled them below. That said, if you haven't quite found what you're looking for, or feel you aren't ready for an OLED monitor, be sure to check out some of these other great monitor deals.
LG UltraGear 27-inch gaming monitor -- $660, was $1,000