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
Testing the Rockus 3D
I'll go ahead and preface again in saying this testing is largely subjective, and with a $249 speaker set that admittedly becomes a little harder to excuse. That said, if this is going to bother you, I strongly recommend curling up with your studio monitors, because at the end of the day this is still a consumer product. A moderately expensive one, but a consumer product.
The first big point that needs to be made is the difference between the Music and 3D modes for the Rockus 3D. The Music mode could probably be more accurately referred to as "reference mode:" the Rockus 3D simply tries to produce as clean and accurate a sound as possible and functions as a basic albeit high quality 2.1 speaker system.
Switching to 3D mode invokes what Antec calls "3Dsst," a sound processing algorithm designed to simulate a larger space. This should be fairly familiar to most users, as even many sound cards include some way to try and simulate surround sound using only two speakers (i.e. the HS1 we reviewed recently had a similar mode it could operate in). I'll tell you right now, 3D mode isn't going to produce accurate sound, but its value depends entirely on how you're using the speakers at a given time. The rep was very proud of 3Dsst; I personally tend to be skeptical of simulated surround environments and haven't yet heard one that felt convincing.
I'll also point out that I tested the Rockus 3D using three different connections: I used the optical connection plugged into my ASUS Xonar DX, tried it again with the TOSLINK port on my motherboard (Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R), and then used an analog connection with the Xonar. I actually asked the rep via e-mail which connection he felt would present the Rockus 3D in the best light, and he suggested using the analog connection with the Xonar. Color me surprised when I found that the digital connection seemed best overall, regardless of whether I used the motherboard sound or the Xonar DX. In fact, the Xonar's equalizer wouldn't affect the sound quality at all, while the equalizer in my motherboard's Realtek ALC889 drivers was able to manipulate the digital signal just fine.
I also frequently double-blinded my existing Bose Companion II speakers connected to the Xonar against the digitally connected Rockus 3D. It's not entirely fair, but close enough: the speakers and sound card together cost about $200, just $50 shy of the Rockus 3D.
With all that said, I did the majority of my testing with the Rockus 3D connected optically to my motherboard, and before getting into any of the nitty-gritty of it, I feel it prudent to note that unless you have a more expensive sound card, an optical connection is probably going to be the way to go. Analog quality is for the most part comparable, but the digital just works, requires very little calibration, and operates independent of the quality of analog components used by the audio hardware itself.
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Agamemnon_71 - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
The GigaWorks T3 is in the same pricerange as these ($249 at Amazon). I own them and (in my subjective way) love them. From what I've read here I cant see in what way the Rockus can compete with them.I personally hate optical connections, not because of the cost or quality of the cables, but the often low quality of the circuits encoding/decoding the signal. In my ears it sounds tinny, just as this review points out.
I will always prefer a good analog source and connection, and the Xonar being a proven quality soundcard should be just that.
To me it looks like Antecs stab at good 2.1 system falls somewhat short of its pricetag.
SilthDraeth - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
Anand, Jared, Dustin, I would like that you continue the audio reviews. You even have a huge section on the forums dedicated to audiophiles and they argue as much or more than than the politics and news crew.I find reviews like this one helpful. I have some tone deafness, and wouldn't know properly reproduced sound if I heard it. Heck real life sound I miss out on a lot of anyways. What I like to know is, can I turn the volume up loud and not have it get all statically. Can I possibly lower the explosions in movies, so I can better hear the talking... though, I guess that is why I use subtitles.
I think, however, as I stated in my first paragraph, that you should continue the audio reviews if you are able to perhaps invest some resources into the tools and equipment needed to test said devices. Also, dissecting the devices, as a poster or two mentioned, so people know what drivers are in a speaker, would help out a lot.
In the end Jared, you might be right though, it might be worth just ending the audio reviews, either that or just flat out ignoring all the audiophiles with sticks up there asses. Since they will never be satisfied.
WhatYaWant - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
Com'on...it has nothing to do with audiophile. It has to do with doing a proper review. No audiophile would even waste time reading a review of a 250$ speaker./the non-audiophile looking for a nice review
sonci - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
I also have fun reading these articles on anandtech, the problem is that a lot of people are going to buy this crap based on the article..They cannot dissect drivers because it will reveal cheapy chinese noname speakers
I think they should have stoped doing audio when Anand claimed for the SQ of ipod touch "it cant be better than this" or smth like that,
speakers review are always subjective, but thats doesn't mean superficial,
as a good RMAA doesn't mean a damn thing for the SQ of a soundcard..
phaxmohdem - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
I am the (very) happy owner of a pair of Audio Engine A5's... and besides the obligatory shoutout to the awesomeness of the things since this is an audio article, I wanted to comment on the artifacting issue.When I first hooked up the A5's to my computer, and fired up Winamp, I was appalled. Sure it was loud, but it sounded like crap. The problem... 128k MP3. (CD quality my arse) I had never noticed how bad lower bit rate MP3 compression actually was until I had speakers clear enough to play what they were told with out the 'muddiness' you spoke of.
That said, if you get away from the YouTubes, and crappily ripped MP3 files, and bump some FLAC, CD, DVD, or BluRay audio through them and it is an almost religious experience.
In my personal opinion, if you listen to internet streaming audio, or MP3's @ less than 192Kbps, stay away from high end speakers. But if you are willing to take the time (and have the space) to convert your music collection to VBR, or 320K MP3's, or better yet, FLAC, then go ahead and take the plunge. Otherwise, you will be wondering what you just dropped a crapload of money on.
Agamemnon_71 - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
Agreed.Living in Sweden gives me access to Spotify and the bandwith needed for "quality" streaming at 320 kbps. It makes all the diffrence.
And my T3's runs circles around your A5's ;)
warisz00r - Saturday, November 20, 2010 - link
Creative speakers? Unless you are being sarcastic, there are a lot of brands out there that can outdo Creative speakers in their respective price points.Before moving back to my home country I used to own a pair of Audioengine 2s (the smaller brother of the 5s) while studying in Australia. Then and now, these are the best sets of speakers I have ever owned. It was just all-around better than the Logitech Z2300 (which I used to own, too) except if you value the amount of bass that a subwoofer can pump out.
From then on, I realized that any built-for-the-purpose, active or passive set of bookshelfs and monitors are always superior to any computer-oriented 2.1 systems.
Agamemnon_71 - Sunday, November 21, 2010 - link
I wasn't being sarcastic...just messing with you. The blinksmiley should have tipped you off :)I came very close to buying a pair of A5s instead of the T3s. What put me off was a few user reviews that talked about dead speakers and strange hissings in them.
The T3s are nothing like earlier Creative sets and Logitech has nothing like them. They are what these Rockus claim to be.
bji - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
Reading this articule and its responses make me happy that I am not an audiophile. I am so pleased that a pair of $90 Creative computer speakers are all that I need/want in terms of audio. Didn't even get a system with a subwoofer because I just find them annoying (to myself and to those in the next room as well).Sometimes it's quite blissful to be ignorant. I can't imagine the pain that I'd experience if I cared about audio and had to read articles about it and torture myself over how terrible any speakers that cost less than $1000 sound.
Probably I'm lucky that I spent my formative music years listening to cassette tapes which sound crappy no matter what, but still managed to enjoy the hell out of them because I cared more about the content than the perfect reproduction thereof. Everything since cassettes has sounded GREAT to my ears.
sonci - Friday, November 19, 2010 - link
Lucky you're not audiophile....but I just have to post this, buy a vintage deck like Nakamichi or Marantz and please try your cassette tapes...
they can beat the hell out of every compressed mp3 you have in your library..