Feel the sound with the Pyramat PM300
By Shoshana Berger
Business 2.0
Editor's note: Gizmos Weekly is produced by Business 2.0 and features gadget reviews and gift ideas
(Business 2.0) -- For any serious button-masher, the Pyramat may be the must-have accessory of the year. Like a yoga pad for gamers, this lounge's cushy foam backrest has a 50-watt, three-speaker boom box trapped inside with a 4-inch subwoofer that ports out against the player's back. What does all that ampage amount to? A surround-sound experience, complete with a feel-my-pain bass tremor in your back every time you punch, crash, or kill.
The first time I got horizontal on the Pyramat was last week at the Consumer Electronics Show, where the game of choice was -- surprise! -- a first-person shooter. (The company founder, who looked like he just graduated from UCLA, spared me the "Are you sure, little lady?" look when I said I wanted to play; maybe Gen Y really is different!) I liked the immersiveness of the bass shakes in my upper back, but the sound was compromised by the showroom prattle.
Then I hooked it up to our Nintendo GameCube at home and, after a few rounds myself, had two of my more dedicated thumb-twitching friends try it out. Running a sports game, they didn't think it added much adrenaline. Also, both of them wished it had real motion feedback from the action (as many joysticks and controllers do) rather than just a faint rumble of bass. Still, they played on the thing for hours and racked up high scores.
But don't write the Pyramat off as a gamers-only purchase. This comfy loafer enhances the experience of watching a DVD or sporting event, or just unwinding to a CD after work. Other perks: It folds up into a portable bundle, has adjustable bass-boost, comes with a handheld volume stick, and can be used as a chair when folded halfway.
I know what you're thinking -- do we really need electronics embedded in the cushions of our chairs too? Evolve or die: In a year or two, it may be hard to find furniture that doesn't talk back.
Pyramat Interactive, $150; www.pyramat.com.
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