Razer/THX Mako 2.1-Channel Speaker System

[PAGETITLE=Introduction] Razer began its gambit for domination of the lucrative gaming peripheral market in the late 1990s, building a line of innovative mice and keyboards which blended groundbreaking performance features with incredible styling and tactile appeal. As time has passed, Razer has branched into other product categories targeted especially at gamers, including high-quality headphones and a companion 3D positional-audio sound card, which combined to form the Barracuda gaming audio system. As with their previous efforts, the Barracuda system met broad acclaim from the gaming press, and proved that Razer could be a formidable market player in any product category, not only input devices but in audio hardware as well. At CES 2007, Razer and THX co-launched launched Razer's next salvo in the gaming audio market - a powerful 2.1-channel loudspeaker system called Mako. The Mako system is an eye-catcher, with its combination of glossy curvaceous and mirror-finished flat surfaces, and the apertures through which the speaker drivers fire into the room, which rim the bottom edge of each satellite speaker. The down-firing subwoofer is endowed with a broader aperture, but matches the satellite speakers in its bizarre styling, which is evocative of grainy UFO home videos. The otherworldly styling of the Mako satellite speakers is made possible by two technologies developed by THX, Ltd., which develops performance standards for audio-visual systems in the theater, the home, the car, and for the PC. THX is more than just the furious blast of vacuum-cleaner noise at the beginning of a movie - their raison d'etre is to advance the state of the art in audio systems. If an A/V system component is capable of meeting the criteria for THX Certification in its product category, consumers can rest assured that the product they're considering is able to deliver the best audio/visual performance that can be expected from a product in its category. THX Certification is a distinction that only the finest audio-visual gear can receive. THX functions as an independent laboratory in this sense, evaluating products submitted to it for certification, and producing thick reports documenting multifarious facets of the system's performance, from frequency response to impulse response to total harmonic distortion. THX then bestows its coveted certification mark on the product, or offers its own suggestions for improving the product so that it can meet THX performance standards. More recently, THX has begun to develop audio technologies to advance the state of the art, placing it in a similar category as two other companies, SRS Labs and Dolby Laboratories, though not all of THX's technologies are DSP-based. Two of these new, patented THX technologies are present in the Razer Mako system: Ground Plane technology, and Slot Speaker technology, which we'll discuss from a technical standpoint later on. Does the Razer/THX Mako's bizarre design and compliment of technologies add up to spectacular sound, as we'd expect from a company like Razer (or THX, for that matter)? Techgage's own Rob and Greg were impressed when they first heard the Mako 2.1 at CES 2007. However, nearly a year and a half after their CES introduction, after repeated delays in the Mako's launch, and with one additional potential competitor already on shelves, we're only just now seeing a review sample. Were these strange-looking newcomers worth the long wait? [PAGEBREAK] [PAGETITLE=First Impressions] The Razer/THX Mako speakers come in some classy packaging, as we've already come to expect from Razer. The box is trimmed in typical Razer fashion, with some additional commentary from Robert Krakoff about how the Razer/THX Mako speakers promise to "redefine the state of the art" in loudspeaker systems, and information about how technologies like "Ground Plane" and "Slot Speaker" contribute to an improved listening experience. Sweet; we can't wait. Opening the top of the box, you'll see that the included accessories and cabling are nestled in the upper Styrofoam shell, along with the control pod and instruction manual. In addition to the Mako satellites and subwoofer, you get two speaker cables with RJ-45 terminations, the control pod (which connects via a VGA-style connector, hence the warning to NOT connect it to your PC's VGA port, and likewise the warning NOT to connect the speaker cables to RJ-45 network jacks), a two-prong power cable, and a rather unremarkable 35mm stereo miniplug cable for connecting the speakers to your sound card or your motherboard's onboard line-out jack. The Razer/THX Mako satellite speakers and subwoofer are packed between the two Styrofoam shells, in closed-cell foam bags. Despite the fact that the enclosures are made of plastic instead of the pressed-wood or fiberboard enclosures we've grown accustomed to in high-end PC speaker systems, all three speakers have a bit of heft to them, which tip us off to two things - that the speakers use ferrite magnets, most likely, and big ones at that. Despite the fact that the enclosures are made of plastic, they don't seem flimsy or cheap. The base of each speaker is rimmed with a perforated steel mesh grille. The Razer web site's 'technical specifications' page reads like a features/benefits chart, and doesn't give much in the way of numeric quantization of the Mako system's performance characteristics, besides some wattage and system frequency response numbers. So here's what I was able to pull out of the product literature, as well as what I was able to determine on my own. Specifications Type: 2.1 Channel (two satellite speakers, one subwoofer) Input: Analog 2-Channel, Stereo. System Inputs: Main, Line1, Line2. Subwoofer Configuration: Sealed, Self-Amplified. Subwoofer Driver: 8" Long-Excursion, Poly Cone with Rubber Surround. Subwoofer Power: 100W, DSP-processed (Electronically assisted sealed design) Satellite Configuration: Sealed, THX Ground Plane design, Passive 2-way Crossover. Satellite Drivers: 3" Poly Cone Midbass with Rubber Surround, 1" Aluminum Dome Tweeter on THX Slot Speaker aperture. Satellite Power: 100W/channel, DSP-Processed (Equalization, limiting) System Frequency Response: 25-20,000Hz (40-18,000Hz +/-2.5dB) System Power Output: ClassHD, 300W RMS. Host System Requirements: 3.5mm or stereo RCA output. Beyond their radical styling and THX-developed acoustic technologies, the Razer/THX Mako 2.1 speakers aren't functionally much different from your typical high-end 2.1-channel PC speaker system. It's the THX 'secret sauce' of advanced technologies and meticulous tweaking that's expected to make the difference here, so let's next look at the technologies of the Mako speakers in detail. [PAGEBREAK] [PAGETITLE=Features Overview] The Razer/THX Mako 2.1 speaker system represents a departure from your typical PC speaker system, and from typical 'box' loudspeakers in general, with THX, Ltd. bringing their considerable engineering might and audio experience to bear on every stage of their conception, development, and tuning. What Razer and THX ended up with, however, speaks for itself with its fusion of Razer's striking design and THX-certified audio performance. (No pun intended.) Let's look at how the various advanced audio technologies come together in the Mako speakers to make them a serious contender for the top spot on audio-loving PC enthusiasts' lists. The first thing the Razer Mako speakers confront you with is their styling, which I've already described as 'otherworldly.' Their physical forms resemble upturned Japanese rice bowls, and a large overturned mixing bowl. They're surprisingly compact, but weighty - there's no danger of these pods sliding around on your desktop or floor. While the original Mako speakers displayed at the 2007 CES featured prominent blue-LED illumination in the top of the satellite speakers, that design feature was (thankfully) dropped in favor of a much more subtle (and far less garish) silkscreened Razer logo on top of each speaker. No, Razer, you do not need to put a blue LED in everything. Bass - we all crave it, even the most uptight audiophiles among us. And if the Razer/THX Mako system falls flat in the bass department, most ordinary listeners will likely dismiss the system out-of-hand. Making sure that doesn't happen is one of the beefiest subwoofers I've seen in a PC audio system. Though its enclosure is plastic, this sub is heavy, suggestive of a monstrous magnet on the woofer driver (though the review sample had to be returned, so I didn't take the liberty of disassembly.) Amplification circuitry for all speakers is built into the bottom of the sub, instead of being located inside the woofer's air chamber. The Razer Mako's subwoofer is anchored by a beastly bass driver with a polypropylene cone, a 3/4"-thick rubber half-roll surround, and a sturdy stamped frame. It's cinched tightly into a sealed pressure vessel, which is uncommon in PC speaker systems. This sub is capable of moving quite a bit of air, mechanically speaking. In the past, bass-reflex subwoofers have been the norm, using a mass of air suspended in the port and bouncing on the internal air volume of the box to augment low-frequency output. However, if there's information in the audio signal that's deeper than the enclosure's tuning frequency, the woofer will sometimes unload and 'bottom out', as its voice coil bumps up against the back of the magnetic structure. The Razer Mako's subwoofer takes a different approach, using a small sealed enclosure and DSP processing to force the woofer driver to provide deep bass extension from the small enclosure by boosting the amplifier drive level at a rate that compensates for the sealed box's natural 'rolloff' at the low end of its response curve. This design won't run into overexcursion issues at low frequencies, but you won't be left wondering where the beef is. Check out the testing section to see what I thought of this sub. Go on, peek...

Razer/THX Mako 2.1-Channel Speaker System

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