If there’s one single gadget out there that I’ve been longing to review this year it’s the 2.1 speaker system from Razer. We caught a glimpse of them at last year’s CES and then there were teases that it would be out towards the end of last year, which never came about, but we’re getting much closer. You can pre-order now on Amazon and I’ve heard whispers that it’ll be another three weeks or so before they ship. Enough rambling, let’s get on with the review.
Setup on the Mako system was a breeze and took about five minutes. The two downward firing mushrooms plug into the sub via CAT-5 cables. A stereo mini-jack connects to the sub and then your PC/Mac/MP3 player and you’re almost ready to rock out. To activate the system you need to hold down the Razer logo on the touch wheel until the dial lights up. From here you can flip between volume, bass, line 1 and line 2 or you can mute the system. The touch wheel includes a line-in and headphone ports.
I’ll start with the negatives as there are very few. My biggest gripe with the system is the touch-sensitive LED control wheel. When I first set it up, I was either blasting music full throttle or it was dead silent. Maybe my hands were clammy or dry, I’m not sure, but I couldn’t get a proper level. After some trial and error, I found that you need a soft touch and adjusting levels just below the LEDs yielded much better results. So, really, it’s not a problem anymore. Just keep those two things in mind: soft touch and below the LEDs.
The only other thing I wasn’t too fond of was the low-end. It wasn’t quite thumpy enough for me even with the bass turned all the way up, which is a stark contrast, obviously, when the volume is cranked up a tad. But then again, when are you really going to be playing your music or gaming with the volume at 1 or 2? So, really, my two nitpicks don’t really account for anything other than observations. Take them for what they’re worth, I suppose.
On to the goodies. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, these are some BOMBASS speakers. I got a taste for what they were capable of at CES and was impressed, to say the least. THX had a heavy hand in making these speakers as great as they are. What makes these such great speakers is the omni-directional expanded soundstage combined with THX’s Ground Plane and Slot Speaker design. The downward-firing design creates a full 360 degrees of sound that isn’t rivaled in the market today. You get a range of sound that can be heard from anywhere in the room and eliminates that pesky desk bounce thing.
What makes the Mako stand out is the ClassHD digital amplifier technology. This particular technology basically provides the amplifier with varying amounts of power only when the amplifier needs it, which results in lower distortion levels since the amplifier will have enough power for the louder portions of whatever track you’re listening to. It reduces power consumption during lower levels as well.
Overall, I’m thoroughly impressed by the THX’s first foray into the speaker business and Razer is a perfect match to bring the highest quality 2.1 speaker system to market. It’s loud, sounds great, thumps hard and looks badass. I can’t wait to use these for an upcoming party. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra coin on this system. You won’t regret it.