Introduction
Remember back in the day when one of the first video game accessories hit the market? Until then, it was just your standard game box, some cords, and the controller. Then slowly over the years, the market evolved as consumer demand grew until such time, naturally, as accessories are being viewed more as essential hardware vice extemporaneous enhancements. We've had almost everything from hand-held "zapper" guns to 3-D simulation goggles, piling up in the corner of the living room next to the TV stand. The entire purpose of this essential hardware (or as your mother would probably call it, extemporaneous "junk") is to be able to bring the consumer out of the world of reality and into the world of virtual gaming. So, it is only reasonable to believe that the next logical step is to somehow "encase" the gamer by exploiting one of our two major senses ...sound.
Introducing the Pyramat S2000 Sound Rocker.
Pyramat (pronounced peer-rah-mat) has introduced a unique line of furniture expressly designed for and focused upon the video game consumer. Their slogan, as advertised on their website, is "Get off the couch and into the game", and Pyramat does just that. The S2000 Sound Rocker is a video game chair that sits on the floor and utilizes speakers built right into the chair itself to provide a pseudo-surround sound experience for all your audio needs, and it's not just for video gaming.
Installation and Setup
I'm not for sure if I really need to cover the installation of the S2000; however, knowing some of the n00bs that I tend to frag on occasion, it might need some explaining. Installation of the S2000 is a breeze...you simply have to unfold the chair. Yep, you heard me right. Simply unfold the chair.
The S2000 conveniently folds up for easy storage although in my opinion, I just don't quite see how much space is saved. When folded, the chair's height is reduced but not by much. Certainly not enough to slide under a coffee table. The idea of a folding chair is sound (no pun intended...well, maybe); however, it can make moving the S2000 around a little bit more difficult. I typically tend to grab by the top of the chair to move it, and without a mechanism to lock the chair into the open position, moving the chair tends to be more difficult.
For the less technologically inclined out there, Pyramat comes flying in to the rescue much like a caped superhero with the inclusion of an easy to understand owner's manual (with pictures included...yay!). The manual goes about as in-depth as possible while not obviously insulting to the slightly confused which is how I believe every owner's manual should be written. I've grown pretty tired of the manuals that either require an engineering degree or go so far as to actually show you a diagram on how to plug a product into a wall socket. Pyramat has that happy medium that will satisfy anyone.
Setup is pretty simple. Use the included 12V AC power adapter, plug one end into the power strip and the other into the labeled port on the side of the S2000. Next, take your included RCA cables, plug one set into the color matching ports on the chair and the other set into the hardware in which you wish to export the sound from (whether it is a game console, television, stereo, or computer speakers). In case the hardware doesn't have RCA output ports, Pyramat has gone so far as to include a couple of mini male adapters (more so for the computer than anything, I imagine). Sit down in the chair, reach down and turn the chair on, and wallah!
Before I begin to get into the good stuff, let's take a look at what the S2000 Sound Rocker offers to the purchaser:
• 3” Full Range ARX™
• Speakers
• 5.5” Powersub™ Subwoofer
• iPod™/MP3/PSP™ Input and Holster
• RCA Audio Inputs
• Headphone Jack
• Volume and Bass Controls
• RCA Multi-player Audio Outputs
• Breathable Poly-stretch Fabric
• Illuminating speakers
• Folds for Storage
Compatible with: PS2™, PS3™, XBox™, XBox360™, Game Cube™, Nintendo DS™, PSP™, iPod™, TV, VCR, DVD and MP3 players.
