Razer Mako

[Rob Williams]

http://www.razerzone.com/Products/Gaming-Audio/Razer-Mako-2.1-Advanced-Desktop-Audio/

Ok first off, Greg and I saw these at CES a few weeks ago and were equally impressed. I can't say that I was expecting it though. Not that Razer produces poor products (they don't), it's that normally when companies release something out of the ordinary, it's sub-par. It sure didn't seem that way from the listening tests.

Rory will be getting some of these in to review when samples are available, but what are peoples thoughts surrounding them? It looks like a killer 2.1 set, really. They will retail for $300, but it appears to have the power and sound quality to back that up.

[Rory Buszka]

This is a review I'm genuinely looking forward to. If I can, I'll take these things apart and offer a look at what's inside them in my article. The fact that THX was involved in the very design of these speakers gives me reason to expect great things from them, and the fact that they're from Razer doesn't hurt either. The problem with a lot of these unique designs is that they don't always function well. THX, however, is not known for being gimmicky, and they aren't likely to bestow their certification on an unworthy product in any case.

[Greg King]

Like Rob said, for $300 dollars, these sounded like winners to us. However, we were in a small room so I would like to see how these sound in a large room or a decent sized office. I would have liked to see them designed a bit differently but they certainly will stand out and the sound was incredible in the Razer booth. I look forward to your review!

[JacKz5o]

I can't wait to see this review.

I really wonder if these $300 2.1 speakers are any better then some of Logitech's THX certified 2.1s like the Z-2300.

[Rob Williams]

They seem to have more power, as far as I remember. If they prove to be as good as they said, then they should be some great competition to even some 5.1 sets.

[JacKz5o]

They seem to have more power, as far as I remember. If they prove to be as good as they said, then they should be some great competition to even some 5.1 sets.

Any word yet on when you might get a sample for review?

[Rob Williams]

Hopefully sometime during February. We do not know for sure, simply because Razer doesn't know for sure, hehe.

[JacKz5o]

Heh, for $300 they better be really good. Most people, or maybe just me, would probably rather get a set of Z-5500s.

[Greg King]

Brother, believe you me, they sound incredable. I would much rather have something like this instead of having to run speakers everywhere with their wires hanging everywhere. I am looking forward, as well as everyone else, to Tater's review of them.

[g-sixty]

Ya, these speakers sound great. I have probably spent the most time listening to these things out of anyone else. I am excited to see what happens with them.

[Rory Buszka]

As a prelude to this review, I'll be reviewing Razer's Barracuda AC-1 sound card as well. The Razer speakers will then be tested with Razer's own sound card.

[g-sixty]

As a prelude to this review, I'll be reviewing Razer's Barracuda AC-1 sound card as well. The Razer speakers will then be tested with Razer's own sound card.

You probably won't see these until April or May. These speakers would be fine with any sound card though, so be reviewing the speakers, not the speaker/soundcard combination.

[Greg King]

I don't think that this is a viable concern with Tater reviewing the speakers.

[Rory Buszka]

In the sound card review, I'll be testing it with my home stereo, which is much more revealing than any set of computer speakers. I'll test it against my first-gen Audigy LS card and against onboard audio, using an audio CD in the drive as a source, in digital mode (letting the only D/A conversion be the sound card itself). I'll also test the Razer card's optical digital output against the one on my CD changer, listening through my stereo system. The Razer card's positional audio and DSP features will also be tested, probably in a gaming situation as well as with a DVD.

For the speakers, I'll probably hook them directly into my CD changer, like I did with the Altec PT6021 speakers -- I want to eliminate the quality of the source audio as a concern, so I'll do most speaker testing straight from the discrete source components in my home theater system. With movie testing, I also hooked the PT6021 speakers directly into the DVD player. But I'd also like to test them with Razer's own sound card, to be able to report my results with an all-Razer audio solution. Rest assured, though -- that won't be the main event in this review.

I'm not sure I want to discuss anything more about this specific review until it gets published, just because I'm not sure how appropriate it is to discuss a review in detail before it hits. I'll be pretty much sticking with the same format as the PT6021 review, so look to that one for clues about what this one will look like, but I'll do a bit of testing in some popular games as well.

[g-sixty]

When you review these speakers, I suggest making sure that these speakers are placed on a plane. These speakers work on the idea that they will be used on a desk. They are equalized with that in mind. Good luck on your test!

[Rob Williams]

When you review these speakers, I suggest making sure that these speakers are placed on a plane.

I seriously doubt these will be audible over a jet engine.

:-/

Yes, I am -that- lame.

[Rory Buszka]

Don't worry, I've thought of that. Testing the speakers on a flat desk-like surface will be essential to achieving a smooth frequency response that doesn't drop off in the midbass due to full-space radiation instead of half-space radiation.

[g-sixty]

Sweet,

When a speaker is placed on a flat surface, it is generally called ground plane. When a speaker is placed in a wall (think in-wall speakers) it is called 2pi, and full space is called 4pi in the industry. The fall-off actually occurs in the upper frequencies (above 10k)

[Rory Buszka]

yeah -- there's essentially no baffle-step with in-wall speakers, so there's a lot of lift through the midbass. Take them out of the wall and put them in a freestanding enclosure that simulates an infinite baffle, and there will still be a depressed low end as the power radiation transitions to 4-pi space, because there won't be any baffle-step compensation built into the crossover network. That's the phenomenon I'm thinking of. I'm not sure about the effect it would have on the very highest frequencies, though.

I suppose alternately, I could just shuffle things around on my computer desk so the monitor is exactly in the middle with the speakers on both sides of the monitor, like the speakers would likely be used.

[g-sixty]

Right,
But these are slot loaded speakers, they behave differently.

[Rory Buszka]

Rest assured, I'll test these speakers in a variety of placements and boundary conditions, and report on any performance differences that I notice.

[g-sixty]

I have to say Taterworks, you do pay attention to detail. That is an excellent quality to have.

[Sp00ks]

Hey all, new to the forums, but good stuff from what I've read so far. I am into the razer periphs, so glad I found this post. I have the headset and I'm looking to get the AC-1 card. The problem I foresee is having both the headset and the new mako 2.1 system...will I have to unplug the headset to use the speakers (and vice versa)? I didn't see any info that the 2.1's will have an optical out, just looks like standard 3.5. if this is the case, with no optical, why on earth would they do that? I don't want to have to remove the headset and plug in an HD-DAI converter, just to listen on the speakers...any input? basically, it just seems as though they designed these speakers, banking on the fact that nobody would have the AC-1 sound card.

[Greg King]

g-sixty might be able to confirm or deny the use of an optical connection. As sad as it is to admit, I didn't notice at CES.

[Rory Buszka]

The present word from Razer on the Mako is that they'll be debuting as part of a multi-city touring event during the month of September. We expect we'll have a set by then, and if not, then we'll get one ultra-soon.

[Rory Buszka]

Well, we're looking at the second week of October now, and no news is definitely bad news for this hotly anticipated product.

[Rob Williams]

Yeah, Razer is not being that clear about this. It seems like samples will be available "very soon", but there still doesn't seem to be a solid release date.

[wilam]

Hi,
does anyone have any news on the Mako?
It is middle of October at still no news all over the internet.

[Rob Williams]

Hi,
does anyone have any news on the Mako?

I'll shoot of an e-mail to Razer and hope for a solid reply.

[wilam]

It is me again.
I know I am being boring now with the same question. I know that you would probably write something if you knew. However I read somewhere that speakers should hit the stores in December (I have no idea how reliable the source is).
If it is true however they should be available for testing for you any day now. Any news on that?

[THUMPer]

looks like that Microsoft Habu. Made by Razer of course. haha

[Rory Buszka]

It is me again.
I know I am being boring now with the same question. I know that you would probably write something if you knew. However I read somewhere that speakers should hit the stores in December (I have no idea how reliable the source is).
If it is true however they should be available for testing for you any day now. Any news on that?

Honestly, we've been working on it. Razer informed us that review samples will be 'very limited', which we suspect is Razer's way of politely informing us that in the world of audio hardware reviews, they don't think we matter very much. Still, we're keeping in touch on the off-chance that we've managed to make their short list. We'll be bringing you a review of these speakers as soon as we're able to get our hands on them, if at all.

[Rob Williams]

Razer keeps giving me the same answer over and over, so I would not be the least bit surprised if it is delayed until the new year. We were supposed to see it months ago, and I had figured we would see it for sure last month, but that never happened. December, I think, would be a minimum.

[aprofromindia]

Hey guys can I interest you guys into this! (http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.aspx?sku=341157)

[Rob Williams]

Hmm, nice find. £177 equates to around $370USD, so it's good to finally know a possible price. I assume it will be a little lower in the US, so $349USD sounds reasonable. Too bad that site doesn't have any in stock yet... will be worth keeping an eye on.

Welcome to the forums :-)

[aprofromindia]

I think its hitting the online stores in December. Check this out! (http://asia.cnet.com/crave/2007/09/05/the-razer-mako-is-no-geisha/)

[Rob Williams]

I think its hitting the online stores in December. Check this out! (http://asia.cnet.com/crave/2007/09/05/the-razer-mako-is-no-geisha/)

That's still about eight months longer than I think most people expected to have to wait ;-)

[aprofromindia]

any1 getting1 cant wait for the review?

[aprofromindia]

Komplett Uk have now stopped offering it, any latest news on the Mako. I am going crazy for some bi amplified sound :)

[Rob Williams]

Razer has kept mum on the entire situation. Lame, really. I guess we'll learn more at CES.

[aprofromindia]

I couldnt wait any more; bought an audioengine 5 for now atleast :) Though I seriously doubt Mako could beat them. I have to say I am not at all happy the way Razer mishandled the publicity of Mako, not really expected from razer. I guess they are too busy making mouses. Anyone care to comment on the Audioengine 5 :)

[Rory Buszka]

I'm glad to hear you decided to go with the Audioengine monitors - they're definitely making some waves in the high-end PC sound market, and they're more of a known quantity, with plenty of quality reviews floating around out there. I agree - Razer has definitely handled Mako badly. Almost a year after they were first shown at CES 2007, we've still seen neither hide nor hair of a shipping product. The latest photos of the product show that some of the 'eye candy' has been lost - I hope this won't be another case where Razer's compulsive drive to skimp out on materials results in a product that doesn't come close to living up to its hype, or at least feels decidedly cheap. However, perhaps the fact that they chose to eliminate eye candy should be a heartening sign that they may have their priorities straight this time.

Razer's track record in audio is, frankly, not the best - though the Razer Barracuda AC-1 sound card performed well in our testing, being based on a proven audio chipset and reference design, I found their companion Barracuda HP-1 headphones were only good at vibrating my head, and having channels of the in-line amplifier die randomly, rendering the whole headset useless and necessitating replacement. There are significantly more areas to "cheap out" in the design of headphones and speakers than there are in sound cards.

[aprofromindia]

Whoever gets to review these speakers, I would really appreciate if you can compare them with the Audioengine's 5 as I think they are virtually the benchmark for quality computer speakers with a similar price tag.

[aprofromindia]

any1 heard the mako at ces 2008? Anyways would love a comparison with the Audioengine 5 but my two cents would be on the engines though. they are beautiful.

[Rob Williams]

The Makos have just been received by the US branch and should be available to retailers really soon. Hopefully we can get a review sample within the next two weeks.

[aprofromindia]

there are some reviews on the net and they more or less say the same things, good speakers but remote doesnt function properly. If you really wat good sound from your pc get an audioengine 5. You wont regret it. Mako's might bebetter for some movies though.