Razer Leviathan review

wwenze

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Cj62nrS.jpg


The fest continues

Also no more putting (WIP) in the thread title
 

wwenze

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First I need to review the replacement power supply.

k66TWFV.jpg


Original is a 18V 2.8A power supply. Efficiency level V, which is a requirement if this product is to be sold in the EU, or in the USA in the past - USA now requires level VI, for example the iLoud has a level VI power brick.

More info:
https://www.cui.com/efficiency-standards

The power connector is a 4.0mm outer 1.7mm inner diameter. Which is f***ing b****hyt. This is the same size connector as what PSP / PSVita uses, just to show how rare it is. Yes, I understand the need to foolproof and make it impossible for the average user to use the wrong power adapter, but this makes finding a replacement power adapter next to impossible. To prove the point, I was forced to buy those universal laptop chargers with changeable connectors and voltage.

The replacement power adapter, despite being bigger in size, weighs slightly less. Maybe there is less heatsinking needed because of more space. Maybe it doesn't have EMI filter coils or PFC. But most of the time and most likely in this case it is because it uses a cheap design with low efficiency. And when it is operating it heats up quite a bit that combined with the feeling of inadequate heatsinking feels like it is going to explode anytime. Well, it is not as hot as a laptop's or router's power adapter, but considering it is powering a low-power speaker this is way hotter than it should be, and with inadequate heatsinking I wouldn't dare to let it get even hotter. tl;dr - get another power adapter if possible, and if you can't find anything for your laptop, buy a proper branded one like from Coolermaster or something.

But then, I can't say that the original's reliability is amazing either, because it is dead, after it is used for less than 3 years.

Speaking of dead in less than 3 years, my Realan E-C3's 12V 10A power adapter just exploded. White flash in the inside visible from the outside through the plastic enclosure. It wasn't even hot or overloaded. (40W power draw from wall) These things just fail when they want to. As if they were designed to fail after a certain time.
 

wwenze

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The non-sound aspects

I use it for less than a day and I already hate the auto-off feature. Don't play anything for like 15 minutes and it turns itself off. The problem is it doesn't turn itself back on. So you need to turn it on every time you want to hear sound? And you can't even hear notifications? Jeebus.

Fortunately a firmware fix is available.
https://insider.razer.com/index.php?threads/razer-leviathan-auto-power-off-firmware-fix.21208/

It is hard to disassemble so I gave up. The front grille needs to be removed. So here is someone who managed to disassemble it and the photos he took.
https://www.reddit.com/r/fixit/comments/7zz8wh/how_can_i_open_my_razer_leviathan_to_diagnose/
https://imgur.com/a/A5IT0

The PCB is nothing out of the ordinary. Two unknown amp chips driving 3 channels, heatsinked has been removed in this photo. There is a clear separation between the amp portion and the pre-amp portion. But I don't see a DAC or ADC or DSP. It has to have one since it has all the EQ and Dolby features and stuff, so most likely it is that chip under the metal cover on the other side of the board.

Maximum sampling rate via optical is 24/96.

Each channel is a two-way with a 2.5-inch woofer and a 3/4-inch tweeter.

The tweeter is real, (as opposed to for decorative purposes only; it is hidden behind the grille anyway), but is almost inaudible except at the very high frequencies. Because the woofer is also playing way higher than what a woofer is supposed to do when there is a tweeter.

Some stuff that are good to know
https://www.reddit.com/r/razer/comments/4365fs/razer_leviathan_tips_and_tricks/

For me the best EQ is Music with Dolby enabled

Razer themselves say
Should I enable Dolby when playing music?
You can enable Dolby when playing music with the Razer Leviathan but it is not recommended. Enabling Dolby will have the sound bar process musical audio into virtual surround and that will affect the quality of your audio playback. Music is better enjoyed in stereo so we advise you to disable Dolby when doing so.

The Dolby also works with stereo sound... TBH I have never heard before what happens if you apply Pro Logic processing on a stereo signal so I dunno if that is what is happening, or is it just the standard stereo expansion or "virtual surround"

But I leave it on even with music and music EQ. Because without it, the sound sounds exactly as what you would expect - small woofers placed near the middle of the screen. You can see how close to the middle the woofers are in the photo, and since they are also producing the high frequencies they contribute to the directionality. It is honestly really bad, like what you would expect from a single-piece speaker. Which is kinda is.

Turning Dolby on makes the speaker feel larger than it is. Still not as wide as the two speakers on the sides of my screen, but close. But lots of the sound still sound like it is coming from the middle and from underneath the screen.
 

wwenze

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Some testing later...

The Dolby button enables Dolby Virtual Speaker (or at least this is what I think it is). This is the closest simple description that I can give if following Occam's Razor.

The details are a bit messy. First, the Dolby button works with analog and optical stereo signals too, so it must be some kind of post-processing.

Second, the Leviathan automatically detects whether the optical input is stereo or 5.1 so the button isn't necessary for that. Some have wrote that the button turns on/off Pro Logic processing, which kind of makes sense since there is no identification information sent in Pro Logic. But still it does not make sense, because Pro Logic is the extraction of surround channel information that is previously encoded into the front stereo channels, whether you extract the information or not should not affect how the front stereo sounds, and if there are no speakers reproducing the surround channels then the extraction doesn't do anything. This is where Virtual Speaker comes in. By creating virtual speakers, decoded Pro Logic surround channels information can be sent to them. So it kind of makes sense again, because without Virtual Speaker, Pro Logic can't work.

And a few more experiments blah blah later:

- The Leviathan is always able to receive surround sound information
- The Leviathan will also always reproduce all channels of the surround sound information
- How it reproduces the channels however, depends on whether the Dolby button is on. (Or, I prefer to call it Virtual Speaker, despite the possibility that I may be wrong.)
- Throw it a 5.1 AC-3 signal with the button off, it reproduces all channels, however the rear 2 surrounds feel weird, like not properly defined, and left surround and right surround both feel like they are coming from the same direction. Both feel distant and coming from the center.

This is the test file I used btw (11sec.ac3)
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/369908-5-1-Test-setup-file

- Play the same AC-3 file with the button on, the Leviathan works as you would expect. The surround channels are indeed different from the front channels, and more... erm... "surround-y". The sound is definitely different from trying to generate the virtual rear speakers from downmixed stereo signal. The front channels also feel wider. Still within what you would expect from a center speaker trying to generate virtual surround tho.

- So the Dolby button only decides how you want the Leviathan to playback the information, and it works for both surround and stereo material (Or, in my words, it is Virtual Speaker)
- Real surround material sounds weird with it off, while stereo material sounds better with it on and worse with it off anyway, so my recommendation is to just leave it on all the time


- Pro Logic is hard to test, so maybe next time. This feature seldom matters now anyway. You would probably find more devices supporting 5.1 AC-3, or soundcards supporting 5.1 AC-3, at least supporting bitstream if you're desperate, than things that support Pro Logic encoding. Maybe if you somehow need surround sound from a stereo 3.5mm connector, then yea.

- BTW Musiland 01 USD supports bitstreaming
 
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wwenze

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The sound

Sounds better than I expected. Still not a $300 speaker tho.

Good first impression. Sounds like a not-too-expensive speaker but one that is optimized and committed to produce a sound that the user would like. No at-first-glance glaring issue that would turn people off. Good general presentation. (As opposed to *coughR2000DBcough*)

Although that impression only lasts for a few minutes. It is obvious this thing is tuned for warmer sound and these woofers are not-too-expensive woofers trying to reproduce a lot of lower frequencies yet still trying to reproduce the higher frequencies at the same time. You get what I mean if you have heard one of those.

Vocals are good, not top-class but good enough to live with. Classical instruments sound epic enough. Mainly due to the frequency range that the speaker chose to emphasize.

How it handled the subwoofer situation is impressive. Judging from the specs sheet, the crossover happens at 180Hz. Instead of blatantly leaving a hole in the frequency response, the subwoofer takes over from there relatively smoothly and still goes down all the way to 40Hz. Relatively, because it is like a gentle upslope followed by a downslope with a few peaks (though I think that is caused by the Dolby), but nothing to scream about. In fact, this is what I believe would happen if you took a 5.25-inch 2.0 speaker, took out the 5.25-inch woofer and put it into the sub, and used 2.5-inch woofers for the satellites, and this is both good and bad depending on whether you want more deep bass or more controlled bass. The sub producing such high frequencies makes it noticeably directional tho, so be prepared to put it near the center. Also the sub producing such high frequencies means you can't increase bass output without also making the bass notes louder and giving it the whole "phat" feeling, although this can be considered an advantage / a feature to some people. Don't go overboard tho, the sub has a strong peak that makes all bass drums sound the same if you go overboard.

And here's the kicker - this is the sound if you use the music EQ. If you want other types of sound, you can test which of the EQ you like best. Be warned tho, the sub still covers a wide frequency range so you don't get to increase it until things get chest-thumpy, but again, this is a design/user choice that is both good and bad and has no absolute answer.

It has a sound that you won't complain about when you hear it for the first time. Or when you own it and listen to it. But when you listen to another speaker side-by-side, then the inadequacies become obvious. Basically stuff that I have already mentioned above - too warm, woofers sound like they are not-too-expensive woofers trying to reproduce warm and also high frequencies at the same time. A bit hollow too. Basically the sound of a not-too-expensive speaker.

Of course, if the other speaker has a sound that you are not used to, then you may dismiss the other speaker at first. Or if the other speaker's sound is just not your cup of tea, the Leviathan can still match or even beat it via overall presentation and personal preference alone. And I'm not going to lie, at first I liked it as much as R2000DB, and even preferred it, especially the vocals. Even though R2000DB clearly beats it in bass and tweeter, but end of the day it is overall performance that matters.

But here's one problem - With many speakers, the more you listen to the speakers, the more you get accustomed to the sound and the more you like it. But with the Leviathan, the more I used it, the more I found problems with the sound. Which is a problem, because I am starting to get used to the R2000DB's midrange. (And this is even before talking about the EQ I found) And I started to find the Leviathan's vocals cheap-sounding too. (Probably due to the "woofer trying to reproduce high frequencies" I mentioned too much of) To the point that I am now considering both speakers' vocal performance to be at the same level. Now a further problem is that R2000DB's issue can be rectified with more midrange EQ boost, but Leviathan already has too much volume at those frequencies.

And a bigger problem with Leviathan just hanging on based on overall presentation / personal preferences is that, yes, personal preferences are ultimately the most important. But if we're simply talking about sound that you won't hate, there are many speakers, and many cheaper speakers, that can fulfill that criteria just as well. I'm talking about sub-$100 2.1 speakers with 2-inch to 3-inch satellites that you could buy 15 years ago. (No one-inch "tweeter"-cum-fullrange driver bullsh*t please) And if both the cheaper speaker and the more-expensive speaker produce the same kind of sound, and the more-expensive speaker does not have a way of saying it is clearly better, then here is where those comments of "overpriced" and "stupid buyers" come from.

Basically the product needs to show that it is better. Like R2000DB - "The rest of me sounds the same as you, but can you go this bassy?" Or iLoud MM - "I'm not the best purely based on performance/price, but can you go this small without pure-sucking?" Or even just pure better performance, like S-520 - "I cost just NT$4800, and I am murdering speakers double my price, and AMDK are selling me at USD$500"

And the Leviathan covers some of it. On to the verdict.
 

wwenze

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Verdict
0.5 star: Complete garbage not even worth taking home even if it's free
1 star: Crap that you shouldn't be using unless absolutely necessary
2 star: Is worth <=50% its price when compared to other best-in-class products
3 star: Is worth ~75% its price when compared to other best-in-class products
4 star: A decent choice alongside other strong competition; worth 100% of its price when compared to other products
5 star: Unmatched; worth 100% of its price (and more) and you have no choice but to get this

- Good subwoofer implementation
- Generally ok and acceptable sound
- Can let you tune the sound somewhat to suit your preferences
- Dolby (Virtual Speaker) counters the problem of having speaker in the center and lets it generally sound bigger than other speakers in the same situation
- Accepts 5.1 sound and actually processes it as 5.1 (or tries its best to do that)
- But ultimately, overall sound vs price... well this is where I need my paragraphs to give my verdict

Now, one problem with giving the verdict this time, is the definition of "best-in-class products". Which other products should I be comparing the Leviathan to?

If we are talking about for-computer soundbars, the only alternative I know is Creative Katana, and that isn't even from the same price range. Shows how empty this market segment is. And I feel the reason for so is valid.

But now, the question: Do you really need to buy a for-computer soundbar?

The reason for buying a for-computer soundbar is mostly just, "it saves space". And even that I want to challenge.

Yup, when you don't have any space on the sides of your monitor, a soundbar may look like the only solution. But seriously, do you really have that much trouble generating more space somehow? What happens if you want to upgrade your screen to a bigger size next time? You can't do that either?

You can save space by putting the soundbar below the monitor. Yea. The below of my monitor can't fit a soundbar because it has this thing called the base. It is even worse when the buttons to operate the screen are on the base.

Use one of those aftermarket monitor mount that can free up the space between the screen and the table? Yes, you can fit a soundbar there now. But you can also fit a lot things underneath it, including, I dunno, other speakers with 2.5-inch woofers? And they don't have to cluster at the middle of the screen.

Use a monitor stand? Same. And the soundbar blocks you from reaching the space behind it.

Put it in front of the screen? I dunno, my Ikea table is 60cm deep and I am finding my mouse movement constrained with the soundbar. Also the soundbar blocks the monitor's buttons.

5.1 surround sound support is good. But it is virtual surround. And when I played Sudden Attack (a Counter-Strike clone) many years ago, it already supported 3D positioning sound on 2.0 speakers, and it was effective.

So, I can think of situations where you are forced to use a soundbar. But for most of us, naaaah.

In this case, the alternatives to the Leviathan become... just about any thing out there.

And if you really need to use the Leviathan, you won't be steered by this review anyway. Because there is a lack of alternatives.

Ok, the verdict, right

I would say, around $200. It would be a bit too sad to rate it lower than $150, but Swan M10 exists, and I am really interested to see how it compares. $200 is already after taking into consideration personal preferences and that you can tweak the sound to your personal preferences, which is what I consider valid performance advantage.

I bounced between giving it a favorable rating vs an unfavorable rating.

Yes, it has all the positive points mentioned above, and I can see that it is trying its best to satisfy the user, but the quality of the sound that is reproduced... is just not there. Lots of effort in design and tweaks, but the parts quality is just not there. Drivers still sound like the drivers in cheaper speakers. (As in cheaper than $300) Sound is still coming from middle of screen.

On the other hand, every time I am about to give it an unfavorable rating, I find a song that it does better than R2000DB in. But then after a while find it worse at other things. And even when it does better it is not without flaws.

And reviewing this speaker wasn't something that could be done quickly - I tested different Dolby / subwoofer settings with different songs, and my conclusion is - Each setting can perform well in some situations, but none can perform well in all situations. When it performs, it can fight with R2000DB. But when it doesn't perform... well it doesn't perform. For each setting the chance of losing seems to be higher than winning however. And each setting, needless to say, comes at a cost of another aspect which shows up in other situations.

And finally, I used a tried-and-tested testing method - Listen to speaker A, switch to speaker B, see how much I dislike the sound of speaker B. Then, listen to speaker B, switch to speaker A, see how much I dislike the sound of speaker A. The conclusion solidifies what I have always thought - Leviathan may give better first impressions, but R2000DB is better.

So, how do I rate this thing?

It is worse than the better $300 speakers, but by how much?

I almost wanted to give it a close score due to personal sonic preferences. However I remembered I also like how Bose Companion 2 sounds, and that thing is SGD$200. And I think I might like how Bose Companion 2 sounds more. See, it's the same thing - the Bose performs worse than the Leviathan in many aspects, but I like the Bose's sound more, so it wins; the Leviathan performs worse than R2000DB in many aspects, but I like Leviathan's sound more, so it wins. If that's how I do it, Leviathan would be worth less than $200. So I'm not going to do it.

I mentioned R2000DB a lot, because it was used for direct comparison. Leviathan has a few more competitors tho - M50W which is a top-class 2.1, we also have the famous Promedia 2.1. Aego M is currently SGD$299 (And it actually saves space). Even Creative's Katana is just slightly more expensive right now.

But Leviathan's concern isn't those, Leviathan's concern is cheaper speakers that may sound better. Because Leviathan is clearly a class lower than those alternatives at the same price range.

And I cannot put Leviathan's price just a bit below those alternatives because it sounds just a bit worse. Because if I find cheaper speakers that sound just a bit worse than Leviathan, do I price the cheaper speaker just a bit lower than Leviathan, or do I price Leviathan just a bit higher than the cheaper speaker? And I don't decide the price of the cheaper speaker, so...

The appropriate approach would be to price the Leviathan according to the distance it has from both better and worse frames of reference. But I don't have a best-in-class 2.1 or 2.0 $100+ speaker to do comparison with, so this is going to be a guess. So I would say $200. Which puts it at 2.5 to 3 star range. For how it handled the bass, and for the positive effects of Dolby Virtual Speaker, I'm going to round it up.

So in conclusion,
3 stars - It tries its best to satisfy the user, but is simply a class below best-in-class $300 products. Sound signature and adjustable sound signature may give it advantage when it comes to personal preferences, but when that advantage doesn't work... And anyway you should try other speakers to know what you're missing out on.

Some of the disadvantages come from the fact that it is a soundbar form factor. And it still provides usable performance if you need that particular form factor. (Includes the 5.1 support)
 
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wwenze

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Any interest in seeing it get reviewed against other alternatives?

If no I'm gonna sell it off.
 
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