Antec Soundscience Rockus 3D 2.1 Speakers
by Dustin Sklavos on November 18, 2010 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Audio
- Antec
- Soundscience
- Rockus 3D
Wrapping it up
Unfortunately we're getting down to crunch time with Antec's Soundscience Rockus 3D 2.1 speaker system, and there's a lot to consider here.
First, sound quality can feel a little thin at the highs and mids, but this is made up for by the system's ability to render a fairly comprehensive sound. The Rockus 3D is capable of revealing nuances in music better than a cheaper system is going to, and if you can get past the slightly tinny character of the speaker set you'll find it may actually produce details in the songs you enjoyed that you haven't even heard before on lesser quality kit. Likewise, the subwoofer sounds good without producing excessive bass at even the highest settings, and there's no distortion or vibration that occurs even at high volumes. Antec's engineers set out to produce a clean, reference-quality system that works great out of the box without any tweaking and in that respect they've been largely successful.
Second, the included optical connectivity cannot be understated. We've had people post in the comments that this should be much more common and I have to agree: using an optical connection makes the speakers hassle-free and takes any interference that might have snuck in (like, for example, on the demonstration using the Toshiba laptop) out of the equation entirely.
The much-ballyhooed 3D mode actually does serve a purpose beyond being a checkmark and gimmick to flaunt all over the product packaging. If it were so amazing that it made everything better, they wouldn't have bothered to put a toggle on the remote to let you switch it on and off, but in games—where pitch-perfect sound reproduction isn't the foremost concern—it can appreciably improve the overall experience. Movies with more dynamic soundstages are also likely to benefit, and hey, if it still bothers you, you can always turn it off. For music listening, though, we really didn't feel it added anything worth having.
What we have here is an excellent 2.1 speaker system that has one crippling flaw: an onerous pricetag. Antec feels the $249 MSRP is reasonable; they're pitting the speaker system against Bose's Companion 3 and cite that in their own studies, most people preferred the sound quality of the Rockus 3D. I have no doubt that's true, but the Companion 3 is a terrible deal, and it's the wrong product to target. The 2.1 systems the Rockus 3D really has to compete with are going to be in the neighborhood of $100 cheaper. At this point, the most popular 2.1 set on NewEgg is the Logitech Z-2300. We can argue that the THX certification doesn't mean a whole lot, and the Z-2300 doesn't offer an optical connection, but you're still left asking if the Rockus 3D is $120 better. Without having Z-2300's on hand I can't say for sure, but I can say that as a consumer looking at speaker sets I'd probably err on the side of the cheaper set.
And that's really the question: is the Soundscience Rockus 3D worth $249? If sound quality does matter to you, and you're on something of a budget, and the optical connection is important to you, AND you don't have room for a 5.1 system.... At that juncture I would say yes, the Rockus 3D makes sense. There's no question it's an excellent speaker set, but the pricetag is awfully steep for a consumer 2.1 system.
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chrnochime - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
Just because the speakers sound "great" doesn't mean they're actually accurately reproducing the recording. The speakers can be overtly coloring and alter the music so that it sounds "better".Here's something to chew on, no matter how good your speakers/amp/pre-amp/DAC/player is, if the recording itself is already lossy/compromised from the moment it is captured, then placed on the media(again more info lost), everything after that is moot point. Not to mention the signal degradation/alternation that inevitably occur in the links between the recorded media and the speaker(itself is imperfect as well)...
EddyKilowatt - Monday, November 22, 2010 - link
"Only the subjective sound matters" is the siren song that led the hi-fi field to cryogenically frozen AC outlets, and enough holier-than-thou golden-eared 'experts' to turn the entire business into a laughingstock.Sure, the subjective sound matters, but the objective facts matter too, and ignoring them leads rather quickly to expensive la-la land.
That said, I agree with the sentiment that audio reviews is a high cost-of-entry business, already populated with some credible sources. I'm happy to see Anandtech diversify a bit, but they need to choose their battles.
kmmatney - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
I think the comparison to the Bose speakers is probably good enough for most readers.Graphs and specs aren't going to do much for a lot of us. My last set of speakers were purchased simply because they were on sale, and the NewEgg user-reviews were favorable.
ckryan - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
I would very much like to hear these. I made it a few paragraphs in before it sunk in that these are not Logitech units. That's a very good thing. That earns this system points before it goes anywhere else.The main problem as I see it, is the subwoofer. A switch with three settings does not an acceptable option make. It would really just need two knobs. How about this: A level control knob, and a crossover knob. Why don't they utilize these cheap, easily added extras to the sub? Put some recommended settings as hash marks or in the manual. Let the user have some kind of actual control. A semi-parametric control would be a nice extra. None of this requires any addition knowledge, but could be invaluable for for both sub placement AND my sanity.
The satellites could sound as good as a Ferrari F1 exhaust note -- but if the sub (an integral part of the satellite + sub idea) isn't versatile in terms of placement, then all is for naught. Good for Antec though. I used to love them but they fell out of favor with me for a few years. I took a chance on them again though, and have found them to be better than I remembered in their traditional case/psu area. I'm glad they are branching out. But making good sounding gear isn't easy. There isn't a good formula for it when it must be done cheaply. I hope they can pull it off.
Antec_Jessie - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
We certainly agree with the last portion of your paragraph. Making good sounding gear isn't easy. Even at $250, which many consider a "premium," there's not going to be a perfect set of speakers. There's just too much subjectivity in evaluating speakers. What we wanted to do was make the best $250 set of speakers would could.JCheng - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
> two satellites rated for 25 watts and a frequency response between 10 Hz and 20 kHz10 Hz? I think you meant 100Hz.
Stuka87 - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
I noticed this too. I highly doubt they go down to 10Hz.Spivonious - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
Yeah there's no way those satellites go down to 10Hz. I doubt the subwoofer goes that low.WhatYaWant - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
It may make a sound at 10 Hz, albeit music it is not. Not the biggest error of this junk review tho'.absx - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
$250 would also fetch a nice pair of entry-level studio monitors like a pair of Behringer B1030A's. Why bother with the wiring mess of a subwoofer or the tinny little satellites?