Date: August 31st, 2002
Article by: Nathan Glentworth (Head Editor & Hardware Reviewer)
Product was donated by: Hercules

PRODUCT COMPOSITION & SETUP (cont'd)

Enough about the satellites, let's move on to the source of the BOOM!, the subwoofer.

Removing the Styrofoam top layer with the satellites, you will be introduced to the heart of the system, the subwoofer.

This is one of the biggest PC speaker subwoofers I have reviewed to date. Upon handling the unit, you will notice how solid and robust the construction is. Face it, you cannot get decent bass out of a cheap plastic box. This subwoofer does not disappoint with an EXCELLENT bass response. Even the lower frequencys could be made out easily which has been a problem with some of the more expensive units on the market. This is a very strong point about this system and I am very impressed.

Turning the unit around will show you the numerous connections and the cooling heatsink for the built in amp for the complete system.

At the bottom of the unit, you will notice the main volume control, the bass volume control and the power switch. This setup is OK if you are one of the few people that keep their subwoofer on their desk, but if you are one of the main crowd which put it on the floor where it belongs, it really becomes a pain and requires you to back out of your chair, bend all the way down to the floor and make your adjustments. Now, I know that some people out there will be saying "Hey, whatever, you lazy or something?", but if you adjust your volume for gaming allot or for music and do this four or five times every hour, it becomes a real pain in the bum. I would hope that the next unit will have the controls mounted on the right front satellite speaker, or at least put the controls on the top of the subwoofer for easier access.

The four cables shown here are the three computer connections for the front, rear and centre/subwoofer channels and if you have an AC3 system, a quick hookup cable is included to take advantage of your advanced setup. Now another beef I have is the fact that the PC connection cables are NOT colour coordinated. This in most peoples minds would not be a big deal, but with the amount of BLACK wires in this system, getting the connection right is a little confusing.

Now make all the appropriate PC connections and hook up all your speakers to the back of the unit (*Hint: The rear speakers have the longer cables*) and enjoy your surround sound system.