NZXT Relay Headset, SwitchMix, Speakers & Relay Subwoofer Review
Peter Donnell / 2 years ago
Most brands will release a headset or two, or a set of speakers if they’re feeling fancy, but NZXT is going all-in on the audio market with their Relay series! They’ve released a complete audio setup that should help any PC user take their audio experience to the next level, actually, maybe even a few levels more than that! NZXT has already proven they can do exceptional things with audio when they released their microphones. But the Relay series fills in all the missing audio gaps, with a new headset, mixer/headphone stand, bookshelf 2.0 speakers, and a subwoofer to take that to a 2.1 setup. What’s more, they’re all aesthetically in line with other NZXT products, and come with a few unique tricks that should make them a big hit with consumers too.
Some of you may even remember that NZXT announced their new audio products way back in 2019, but they just weren’t happy with the final, or at least near-final products, and have since gone back to ensure they meet their high standards. So with that in mind, I have pretty high expectations for all of the following products.
That’s a lot of boxes, but hey, it’s extremely hot and sunny today, so why sit in the stuffy office when I can take these pictures outside? I’ll move them back indoors later for testing of course!
NZXT Relay
The NZXT Relay setup is all sold separately, so you can easily build the setup to suit your needs. However, for the sake of today’s review, NZXT treated us to the complete setup. There’s the NZXT Relay Headset with comes with Hi-Res audio support, DTS Headphone:X processing, a built-in boom microphone and a lightweight body with a closed-back ear cup design. So that’s getting a big thumbs up right away 👍
Then you have the Relay Speakers, a set of high-end bookshelf-style speakers with 3″ glass fibre drivers, 20mm silk dome tweeters, delivering 80 Watts peak power, and both 2.5mm and RCA inputs to give them excellent support for sound cards and amplifiers of your own choosing.
Then you have this big beast, the NZXT Relay Subwoofer, which features a down-firing 6.5″ speaker, and is capable of delivering 140 Watts peak power for some seriously potent low-end punch. Plus, with a sweepable crossover and phase inversion switch, it can be calibrated to larger or smaller environments too. Plus, it uses the industry standard RCA input, so you can use it as part of your own setup, not just with other NZXT products.
This is the secret sauce though, and while their products can be used standalone, the SwitchMix makes them all work together harmoniously. It features “studio-grade mixing and volume control” with a slider mechanism, there’s a powerful 24-bit/96kHz high-resolution DAC, and it features DTS 7.1 surround processing and EQ too. What’s really cool though is that you hook it up to your Relay headset and your Relay speakers, and when you pick up the headset from the built-in headphone stand, the speakers cut out and audio switches to the headphones, and vice versa… ok, that’s pretty damn cool.