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Ultimate Gamer Lounge: Surrounded By Sound & Sumo Edition + A Contest
The theme this week is being surrounded by awesome, whether that awesome comes from an amazing Altec Lansing speaker system or another extraordinarily comfortable hulking mass of beanbag comfort called the Sumo Sway. Oh, and in case you hadn’t caught on already, there’s a contest this week. The prize? How about that kickass professional gaming mouse from QPad?
I think the womb is to blame for the comfy delight we get when we’re surrounded. Something about us trying to recreate the feeling of the womb, or something along those lines. I never did pay attention in Psych class. In an intangible way, sound surrounds us (especially surround sound, but that’s a given) and in a slightly more touchy-feely way, massive beanbags do as well. Click that little Read More button to find out if you want to be surrounded by the Expressionist Ultra sound system and Sumo Sway, and contest details lie in wait after the jump.
When it comes to speaker systems I’ve actually only used Altec Lansing sound systems. This isn’t necessarily because I have an undying affection for their products, more because I’ve only had two computer speaker systems in my life and both were gifts.
The Expressionist Ultra is a good mix of style and quality. They’re stylish enough to make them noticeable, so if you’re like me and you like to hoard as much attention as humanly possible, the Expressionist’s pyramid and cloudy glass design makes them look more expensive then they actually are. Forget sound quality, that’s what really matters, right?
Great design only takes you so far; quality is pretty important too I hear. Luckily, I have few issues with the sound quality of this sound system. For the most part, it sounds great, and the Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound fills the room very well. If you like to come home and relax to some hardcore death metal, the massive subwoofer will give your tunes a serious kick, but hopefully your neighbors don’t mind.
But despite its slick name, the Expressionist Ultra isn’t perfect, oh no sir. There’s a noticeable low hissing that comes from the speakers all the time, and even though the hissing fades once you have something playing, it gets a little annoying. There’s also the minor issue that comes from the colossal size of the subwoofer, so that wouldn’t be good if you need a setup that works in cramped spaces.
Alright, now that the “bad” is out of the way I would like to dedicate an entire paragraph exclusively to praising the awesome wired remote. The only bad thing about it is it’s wired, but everything else is awesome. First off, it puts on a little primitive light show when it’s not in use, and the simple action of turning the giant nob (because the remote is essentially a giant wired nob) felt good. From it you can adjust the treble, bass, and of course, volume.
So if you’re in the market for a very attractive new sound system that’s compatible with many setups (I used it mainly for my Mac but it also worked great on my HDTV) the Altec Lansing Expressionist Ultra speaker system might just be the perfect choice for you. You can get it for $199.95 USD at their website.
Recently, Sumo Lounge opened my eyes to just how amazing beanbag chairs can be. I’ve reviewed their massive monolith of beany comfort known as the Sumo Gigantor, so I thought I’d try one of their smaller options, the Sumo Sway. You can check out their vast arsenal of comfortable beanbags at their website.
If the sheer size of the Gigantor turned you off a bit then the Sway takes care of that since it’s roughly 2/3 the size of its obese sibling. It comes with the guarantee that it will never go flat; this is something I can attest to since I’ve had and thoroughly abused my Gigantor for some time now and it has managed to retain its original form.
By far the coolest feature the Sway has to offer that the other options do not is its back supporting design. Not only does it’s curved shape offer amazing support for your back during long hours of gaming and/or movie marathons, it also makes the chair much more attractive. The Sway isn’t just a mound of serenity, it’s something that looks really good in a room.
The Sway feels more like a chair than the Gigantor, which expands and envelopes your entire body as soon as you lay upon it. Over the last couple months I’ve realized something about beanbag chairs, and that’s that there isn’t an elegant way to get off them. Luckily for me, the Sway solves this issue by not being so close to the ground, and also by not being so squashy. It’s more firm than the Gigantor without taking away anything from the overall comfort.
I feel this last issue is probably the most important: no matter how hard I tried (and believe me, I tried) I could not get the same power the Gigantor gave me when I used it as a small animal cannon. Something about the curved design kept my pug from reaching the serious velocity the other beanbag gave him, so that’s a little disappointing. But in the Sway’s defense, this could be user error, since my dog’s probably realized the dangers associated with the beanbags and has probably learned how to stay low to the ground when he sees me about to launch him. I think I hear PETA outside my door.
Like the Gigantor, the Sway comes in a variety of flavors so you can really personalize it to your living space, including Microsuede and Corduroy for the fabric and a variety of tasty color options as well. For the loners out there who don’t necessarily enjoy sharing their seating with others you can get the Sway Single for $249 USD, and the more touchy feely individuals can get the Sway Couple for $279 USD.
You made it this far, so I commend you. Well, I guess you could’ve just scrolled down to this part of the article so if you employed that method than shame on you.
The QPad mouse is rather incredible; in fact it’s so amazing I’ve decided to share it with one of you. All you have to do is head on over to the Sumo Lounge website, take one of their promotional pictures of the pretty people sitting on comfy beanbag chairs, and using any method you wish (whether it’s PhotoShop or MS Paint), make it funny. I don’t care if you give one of the women crazy facial hair or slap some hilarious dialogue onto the pic, I just want it to give me a hearty chuckle.
The best knee-slap-inducing picture sent to me gets the $80 QPad 5K professional gaming mouse, and all submissions must be in my inbox by Monday, August 30th.
Submit your scrumptious submissions to: adamdodd@bloody-disgusting.com.
News
One of Clive Barker’s Final Convention Appearances Will Be at New Jersey’s Monster Mania in August
We told you earlier this month that horror legend Clive Barker is leaving the convention scene behind to focus entirely on his writing, with various upcoming projects in the works.
A series of final appearances from Barker will begin at Days of the Dead Chicago this month, and we’ve learned Barker will also be coming to Monster Mania in New Jersey.
Clive Barker will be signing at Monster Mania 59 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which runs from August 2 – August 4, 2024. Stay tuned for more info from the convention.
Barker’s official statement earlier this month explained, “… it’s time to focus entirely on writing. I’m not stopping public events because I’ve lost delight in meeting you all over the years. I’m as passionate as ever about sharing my imagination with readers and moviegoers around the world. In the very room where I’m writing these words, I have the manuscripts for a very large number of projects (Thirty-one of them), some very close to completion, others still telling themselves. There are some wild projects in this collection of works, whether close to finished or done. There are also stories that you all knew I would be finishing.”
“Abarat IV and V are amongst the books at my feet,” he continued. “So is the Third and final book of The Art and the sequel to The Thief of Always. There are also return visits to characters and mythologies you may have thought I would never return to.
“I hope I am still able to surprise you in the decades ahead.”