While there’s a host of great gaming headsets and sound bars to get the best from your PC or console, but what about an immersive speaker you wear around the neck?
That’s what Panasonic is touting with its brand new SC-GN01 Wearable Immersive Gaming Speaker System, revealed at Gamescom 2021. It sits around the shoulders and promises to deliver big sound, minus the hot ears from extended headset use.
If wearing the £159.99 4W speaker around your neck sounds equally arduous, it’s only 244g so it shouldn’t bother you too much during extended sessions.
Panasonic has teamed up with Final Fantasy developer Square Enix on the product, which has 4 channel full-range speakers. The audio giant says the speaker can even replicate 5.1 channel sound.
The SC-GN01, which is out at the end of September 2021, also includes special mode for role-playing games, and is optimised for FFXIV Online. Panasonic tells us the idea is to create a sense of reality and intensity.
There’s also an FPS mode designed to provide accurate audio locations, so you can literally hear the footsteps of would be assailants creeping up on you. The Voice Mode, meanwhile is better for adventure games and plot-heavy games where clear dialogue is your friend.
Away from the gaming element, there’s also cinema and music modes on board for this wearable speaker, which connects to PC, PS4/PS5 and Nintendo Switch TV mode via a USB cable. Connection is also possible with an audio cable on Xbox consoles as well as the others. Unfortunately, there’s no wireless connectivity via Bluetooth.
In a press release, Panasonic writes: “The GN01 is designed to be worn on your shoulders, and features optimal speaker placement and signal processing technology, which all help to deliver a rich and powerful sound experience. The shoulder-worn design allows you to enjoy gameplay for a long period of time, without the sensation of pinching or overheating your ears that you get from a gaming headset.”
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The SC-GN01 Wearable Immersive Gaming Speaker System is out in late September, exclusively at Amazon. This is something we’re intrigued to try as the proof of the pudding will definitely be in the wearing.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
