Tag Archives: Surround Sound

Accessories, Consumer Electronics, Lifestyle, News

Sony Releases the HT-S2000 Soundbar with 3.1 Channel Dolby Atmos 

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If you ask us about buying a soundbar, we will always recommend a Sony soundbar first. They are one of the foremost brands in home entertainment currently, They also sell all soundbars and home theatre audio systems that fits all kinds of budget. You have the HT-A series, if you want top-of-the-line home theatre experience. You also have the HT-S series, that caters to the value seekers. That is the HT-S400, a 2.1 channel soundbar set that will set you back MYR 1,099. There is also the HT-S40R that is a 5.1 channel surround sound set. 

What if you want a budget friendlt soundbar that that is better than the HT-S400? What if you want something less clunky than the 5.1 channel HT-S40R? You have the HT-S2000 3.1 channel soundbar. 

The Sony HT-S2000 

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The new soundbar, as mentioned, offers 3.1 channel surround sound audio. It does this without an accompanying subwoofer though. Sony has started offering their subwoofers separately, we think it is in a bid to make their soundbars more affordable and more attractive to high-density residence homeowners.  

Still, that should not be too much of an issue with Sony’s HT-S2000 soundbar. It is still programmed with a powerful but small woofer module built into the soundbar itself. If you do wish to get an accompanying subwoofer, you can pair it with Sony’s existing SA-SW3 or SA-SW5 subwoofers.  

Even without the subwoofer, the HT-S2000 offers Dolby Atmos surround sound experience for rich and immersive movies. It also offers DTS: X audio algorithm for clear and crisp audio experience. Sony has also fitted the soundbar with a Vertical Sound Engine and S-Force PRO technology. Both the technology combines and offers a rich, three-dimensional audio experience, even if you are playing contents with stereo audio.  

Within the HT-S2000 soundbar, you can find Sony’s highly acclaimed X-balanced speaker units that offer soundstage like no other. You get clear trebles and mids with the speaker units. That also means that dialogues in movies are much cleaner and clearer than before. The driver units are also engineered to work with higher pressures for more punchy, detailed low-end sounds, even without a subwoofer. That means more boom without crackles.  

You want your soundbar to be easy to work with. With Sony’s Home Entertainment Connect app, the HT-S2000 is easier than ever to work with. The app takes you through the entire set up process without a fuss wirelessly. You can even control the soundbar completely with the app. The app offers full volume control, sound fields, and even the equaliser for you to fully customise your sound experience with the soundbar. Of coures, you can update your soundbar’s firmware via the app as well. 

Price and Availability

The Sony HT-S2000 will be available in Malaysia June 2023 onward. There are no colour options for the soundbar, as usual. It will set you back MYR 2,199 when it is available. For more information on the HT-S2000 soundbar, you can visit their website.  

Accessories, Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

Razer’s Leviathan V2 PC Soundbar Takes Immersive Gaming to a Whole New Level for MYR 1,399

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Yesterday we said it is a good time to build a gaming PC. Specifically, we pointed out that building a budget gaming PC at this time is quite perfect. Thing is, it is not just budget PC parts that are being launched left and right, there are some high-end ones too like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, making it also the perfect time to build a high-end PC.

If you are looking to build a high-performance entertainment powerhouse though, you do not want to forget to kit it out with the best possible audio gear. While it is plenty overlooked, audio is an important component in not just gaming, but for general entertainment. It can enhance and even break your experience. Even in video calls, you tend to want to prioritise a clear and stable voice communication over video, because that is where a large portion of the communications happen.

Most of the time, when you build a high-end PC and decides on the audio solution, you do not want to stay with the built-in speakers your display comes with. Most users tend to buy a pair of headphones to work with in this case. But headphones tend to be a little restrictive, and uncomfortable in extended periods of gaming. What if you also want your audio gear to be your main listening tool for movies and music without being too restrictive?

You get a sound bar of course. Yes, just like the one you see for televisions (TV). Not just any sound bar though, you get a Razer gaming soundbar made specifically to fit your crowded gaming desk set up, look good on it, and sound stellar in gaming conditions.

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Source: Razer

Welcome to the Razer Leviathan V2, the follow-up to the highly acclaimed Razer Leviathan launched about seven years ago now. Like it predecessor, it also comes with a subwoofer box in the box. You might be fine without the subwoofer box though.

Compact, Powerful, Immersive

It packs two full range drivers to drive everything from the mid-range frequencies to the higher end ones. To give better clarity and detail on the higher-end frequencies though, Razer has also fitted two tweeters to accompany the full range drivers. To ensure that audio sounds full, especially in gaming, you must have big booms. For that, you get two down-firing subwoofers that brings some rumble to your desk when you need it.

You might think that having the speaker in front of you might take out some of its immersive feel. True, you do not have rear firing speakers to feed some spatial awareness into your ears. This soundbar comes with THX Spatial Audio technology though and is activated when you connect it to a PC. That also means that you get a virtual surround sound experience like no other on your gaming PC.

Visually Stunning and Versatile

To add to the visual drama, Razer fitted this soundbar with 18 lighting zones powered by Razer Chroma RGB. You can match the light works with your other Razer gear via Synapse, or even make your games for immersive by matching the lights to whatever you see on your screen.

It is also a rather versatile piece of kit to have on your desk. Like the older Leviathan, the V2 is also a wireless speaker when you want it to be. It is Bluetooth 5.2 enabled so that you can connect your smartphone to it for when you just want to listen to music without your PC. Bluetooth 5.2 also ensures that the connection between your smartphone and speakers stay stellar. Just to fine tune the speakers to your liking, Razer also made the feet on the speakers detachable and replaceable for differing angles.

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Source: Razer
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Source: Razer

Availability and Price

The Razer Leviathan V2 is now available on Razer.com and its authorised retailers across the nation. It will set you back MYR 1,399, which is about the same price as most decent all-in-one soundbar these days. More information on the Razer Leviathan V2 can be found on their website.

iOS, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

More Apple Spatial Audio! This Time on Clubhouse!

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Apple’s Spatial Audio is sure making its rounds. In the previous weeks, the excellent virtual surround sound audio technology makes its way into Netflix apps for the iPhone and iPad. You can now use your Apple AirPods Pro and AirPods Max with Spatial Audio when watching Netflix on your iPhone or iPad. It does make sense too, in a sense. You get more immersive experience from your pocket devices.

Spatial Audio is nothing new though. Apple has implemented their own 360 virtual audio technology in they own apps. Apple’s Music app has embraced the surround sound technology since the beginning. Even Apple’s Apple TV+ has integrated the technology for a while now. The feature will be coming to other apps like Spotify eventually, of course you do have to wait for the clever developers to tinker with the technology and its algorithms a bit more.

There is one other app that just got Spatial Audio for their app though. That app in question is Clubhouse. They announced this milestone on their Twitter page, very much like any respected app organisation on Social Media platforms. Now is the time you start asking; “why?”

Again, surround sound technology is not exactly new. The technology does add a bit more in terms of realism in films. In Music, it adds a sort of depth perception of a recording studio, or stage. The technology puts your right in the middle of the action. In the case of Clubhouse, while you might argue that the reason the developers added Spatial Audio feature to the app on Apple devices is “because they can”, it is a bit more than that.

Yes, over the internet, you are getting high-quality voice calls from Clubhouse itself. It is the next best thing to hanging out with a bunch of people physically. At the same time, you are connecting with so many people from all over the world. You can just sit in a ‘club’ with hundreds of people all from different regions of the world practically.

While that is already impressive enough, there is a way to make it better. Yes, the answer to that is surround sound. Again, surround sound is more than just an entertainment technology. It can add a perception of space and depth around you with the right headphones. That is exactly what Clubhouse is trying to achieve here. They wat to add that sense of perception, that sense of realism.

The addition will also mean that Clubhouse is realty now the next best thing in terms of hanging out with your friends in this trying times. It may not make you choose clubhouse over other similar platforms at this time. It does add some sense of intimacy with other clubhouse users and friends on the platform though. You would really feel like you are talking to the person next to you.

The update is now rolling out for the Clubhouse app on iOS. There are still limitations to its implementation which also means you might not hear that much in difference when you get on the app, especially on Bluetooth audio. Clubhouse, on their Twitter post is also saying that Android will get its fair share of Spatial Audio soon. Clubhouse is now available for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Accessories, iOS, Lifestyle, Mobile

Netflix Now Supports Spatial Audio on Apple iPhone and iPad

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Spatial audio for Apple devices was announced back in 2020. It is Apple’s idea of a sort of 3D audio on Dolby Atmos. 3D audio was not really a new concept either at this point. Major electronic vendors like Sony have started experimenting with their own version of 3D audio with their 360 Reality Audio technology and their very own 3D Audio on the PlayStation 5. In a sense, if you want to describe Spatial Audio, it is like a virtual surround sound.

There is a sort of hardware limitation to the technology though. Not every audio hardware can support the technology at this time. That said, Apple’s latest TWS headphones line up like the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max supports the technology. Then you have a problem with the software side of things, not every software supports the technology yet. Why would you launch a technology that is not supported by any contents then?

There are no straight answers here. One of the answers is simply because they can. At the same time though, the announcement is a sort of signal to all the developers that are developing on the iOS platform. A sort of notice to tell people that Apple has the technology and developers can take advantage of the technology on their apps, with the right support of course.

Spatial Audio is not just beneficial for music or the illusion of live music though. It has the potential to really elevate your audio experience without spending thousands upon thousands of top dollars on top of what you already have. It is, in a sense, a cheap way to get immersive audio. Of course, the audio quality really depends on your audio hardware itself, and its tuning; you cannot defy the law of physics still.

This opens up the avenue for immersive entertainment experience on the go too. You can bring the cinema experience in your pockets. You can watch a movie on your Apple iPhone, for example, and feel like you are in the theatres while you are flying from Johannesburg to London.

Now, you can watch Netflix on iPhone and iPad with Spatial Audio. The first app that supported Apple’s Spatial Audio was Apple’s very own Music app in 2021. The support for Spatial Audio then extends to the Apple TV 4K as well at the same time.

Weirdly, Netflix is not the first third party app that received Spatial Audio treatment. Instead, apps like Disney Plus, and HBO Max are the first third party apps to receive the support. Of course, Apple would have equipped their Apple TV Plus app with Spatial Audio capabilities early on. In that sense, the support for Spatial Audio for Netflix is a long time coming. That is not to say that the update is not a welcome update though.

Users should expect to see the update rolling into their Apple iPad and Apple iPhone devices in the coming days. If you do not have Netflix, you can always try Apple’s Spatial Audio technology via Apple TV Plus app. Just make sure you have an Apple AirPods Pro or AirPods Max to go with your Apple iPhone and iPad. For Netflix users, you can turn on Spatial Audio from Netflix’s settings menu. If you do not see the option yet, you might want to check if your app is updated or wait for the latest app update from the Apple App Store.