Razer Announces The Leviathan Sound Bar
by Brett Howse on October 28, 2014 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Peripherals
- Audio
- Razer
Razer has traditionally been a gaming peripheral company, which started with the Boomslang mouse in 1998. Over the years, they have expanded their portfolio to cover more of a gamer’s needs, adding keyboards, keypads, mouse mats, and headphones as well as complete systems. Today, Razer has expanded their product family again with the launch of the Razer Leviathan sound bar.
The Leviathan is able to produce 5.1 virtual surround sound using Dolby Virtual Speakers and accepts Dolby Digital and Pro Logic II multichannel audio. The bar itself contains four tuned drivers, with two 2.5” full range and two 0.74” tweeters, which are powered by a 30 watt RMS amplifier. Frequency response is quoted as 180 Hz to 20 KHz on the sound bar itself. Complementing the bar and filling in the remainder of the audio range is a 5.25” 30 watt RMS subwoofer with a downward firing driver, which has a quoted response of 20 Hz to 180 Hz.
The sound bar supports analog, optical, or Bluetooth inputs, with the Leviathan supporting any Bluetooth 4.0 device streaming over A2DP, and Razer has also made sure to include aptX audio codec support for higher quality A2DP streaming. To make the connection to the sound bar as easy as possible the Leviathan also includes NFC to configure the Bluetooth pairing. The bar also supports several tilt angles (0°, 15°, and 18°) to ensure it works well in a variety of situations.
If the idea of virtual surround sound through the use of a sound bar seems like something you might be interested in, the Razer Leviathan will be available for pre-order on razerzone.com with worldwide availability starting in November. Prices are USA: $199/EUR: €199.
Source: Razer
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coburn_c - Tuesday, October 28, 2014 - link
5.25"? 20Hz? Sounds Legit©...NZ_Cupcake - Tuesday, October 28, 2014 - link
Not only is that subwoofer never going to reach anywhere near 20hz and be audible, but crossed at 180hz it's going to sound like total ass. Though I guess that's expected from cheap junk like this.Sad thing is, some people will buy it and swear it's the best thing ever.
gilmoreisu - Tuesday, October 28, 2014 - link
A lot of comments about the subwoofer. I have to say, I question how this will sound with the low wattage and tiny size. Then I'm reminded of the first time I ever heard an 8 inch Sunfire subwoofer at Audio King like 15 years ago. I was blown away how that sucker could just kill the 12 inch Cerwin Vega I was using.Impulses - Wednesday, October 29, 2014 - link
It's all relative, but the 2.5" drivers are just as bad as the 5.25" sub, it just means the tiny sub will be over burdened trying to reproduce a lot of frequencies the bar should be able to but can't.I honestly question how much of an upgrade this would be over decent TV speakers... There's much better ways to upgrade your sound setup for $200, tho if surround effects while gaming are the priority you're probably better off with headphones.
nousir - Wednesday, October 29, 2014 - link
"There's much better ways to upgrade your sound setup for $200"For example?
meacupla - Wednesday, October 29, 2014 - link
I did find a Polk Audio IHT 3000 sound bar w/ sub (180W total) for $200Bob Todd - Wednesday, October 29, 2014 - link
Like meaculpa said, there are other sound bars for around the same price with larger drivers that will likely sound better. And as others have also pointed out, this sound bar is so narrow you will get absolute crap stereo separation.There are way too many variables to say what is the smartest buy for someone else without knowing all of the details. Available space is one. If you have enough room for more than a sound bar, you'd be better off getting the cheapest halfway decent receiver you can find, and a pair of cheap but decent bookshelf speakers. For example, without even shopping around, Newegg has a Pioneer 5.1 receiver for $162. They frequently have the Polk Monitor 30/35B bookshelf speakers on sale for $80/pair. That's only $42 more for a system that will sound better for movies/games and will sound *far better* for music, while giving you something you can grow into if you want. You can add a dedicated sub/rears/center channel as needed/wanted.
Sound bars usually sound much better than the built-in speakers in TVs (especially cheap TVs). This isn't surprising with TVs getting much thinner and needing to be fiercely price competitive in most segments. However, you can get far better sound for not much more money...provided you have room for the equipment.
Impulses - Friday, October 31, 2014 - link
Not sure if that was a serious question but I'll bite... Terrible place to ask for recommendations tho. I'd say if positional audio for gaming is a priority and you have a small space or only $200 to spend then you're better off looking at headphones, you'll get far better bang for your buck and positional cues will be easier to pick up.If we drop the pretense that the Razer bar's virtual surround is worth anything or that the sub is, well, an actual SUBwoofer, you can do much better as far as a stereo system goes for even half as much cash. Pioneer BS22 when on sale ($65/pair) + $30 T-amp is about as cheap as you can go yet it'll still stomp many low end sound bars. Micca MB42X are smaller and a decent low budget choice ($90/pair), the Pioneer are large for 4" speakers but that well built enclosure is part of what makes them sound nice.
You can get better larger speakers (I like Infinity's Primus P163 for ~$150) or a better amp (Emotiva) or a receiver if you have the desk space and want better bass management and calibration (particularly if you intend to add a sub, tho some of these probably dig deeper than Razer's "sub"). You could look at powered monitors like the JBL LSR305 if you wanna avoid extra components/amps on the desk, seen those on sale for under $250/pair.
Audioengine's A2 are decent sounding powered speakers and tiny but kinda overpriced at $200, still, if you need something diminutive it probably beats a bar with even smaller drivers, a mid woofer, and worse stereo separation.