NZXT Relay Headset, SwitchMix, Speakers & Relay Subwoofer Review
A Closer Look – Relay Speakers and Subwoofer
Big sound. Little footprint.
- The 20mm silk dome tweeters and 3-inch glass fibre woofers produce smooth, natural highs and rich, full-bodied lows for a balanced sound.
- Amplify your high-quality audio while maximizing your desk real estate with NZXT Relay Speakers. Get 80 watts of room-filling sound in a compact footprint.
- 3” glass fibre drivers bring out every in-game sound effect with detail and clarity.
- High dynamic range and low distortion ensure your audio is detailed whether you’re gaming, listening to music, or watching your favourite videos.
Purpose-built and Compatibility Driven
- Optimized for near-field gaming environments to deliver full-range sound and optimal stereo imaging.
- MDF-constructed cabinetry paired with the custom-tuned fibreglass woofer and silk dome tweeters make for a speaker enclosure designed to minimize distortion and negate resonance that can be found in other gaming speakers.
- Medium-density fiberboard design ensures you hear the game, not the rattling of the speaker box.
- Connect to the equipment you already own with universal 3.5mm and RCA inputs for maximum compatibility.
Embrace the Low End with the Relay Subwoofer
- Experience deep, ground-shaking bass for games, music, and movies thanks to the down-firing 6.5-inch driver and 140 watts of power.
- Fine-tune the sound with adjustable crossover and phase control knobs, allowing for precise blending and seamless integration with other speakers in the system.
- High dynamic range and low distortion provide the perfect soundscape for hearing the little details no matter what you are listening to.
The Relay Speakers are absolutely stunning to behold, with a design that makes me think of high-end Hi-Fi brands such as Monitor, B&W or Q Acoustics rather than a PC hardware brand. But I guess that’s their intention, they’re not selling just PC speakers, these are just good speakers in general, and I love that they don’t come with covers, and simply showcase those lovely drivers.
Around the back, there’s a pretty significant bass port on the back of them, which tells me it’ll be best to ensure you don’t mount them shoved against a wall or you’ll get a lot of bass reflections. But I can see six screws holding the rear panel in place, but the white housing has been painted to give the illusion of it being a single piece, which looks amazing.
There’s a built-in amplifier too, so you have master power and volume controls at the back. So you would simply set the speakers to your preferred maximum here, then use your Relay SwitchMix or PC to adjust the volume thereafter. There are some screw-down terminals, which look like they’ll support banana plugs too, there’s a Sub Output, RCA, and TRS 3.5mm. They even have a tripod screw on their base so you can use secure stands and wall mounts.
Up next, we have the Relay Subwoofer. This breaks from the largely monochrome aesthetic of the other products, going for an all-black design. It’s more a product you tuck into a corner, under your desk or off to the side, and while it’s a more understated design, it’s still a great-looking subwoofer too.
It’s a heavy unit, as you might expect of a subwoofer, but a lot of PC subs are typically quite lightweight and well… crap, this feels a little more in line with something I’d have next to my TV rather than my computer.
The controls are located on the rear, pretty much standard fair for a decent subwoofer. Here you have the master volume control, the cross over and the phase. The Crossover is simple enough, at its lowest setting the sub will only handle the lowest frequencies it can, but by turning it up, the sub will kick in higher up the spectrum. Phase, this is room dependent based on the size of the space, and a lot of the time, I find just experimenting to see what sounds best is all that’s needed.
On the bottom, there are four large feet with thick rubber anti-vibration pads, providing ample clearance to the surprisingly hefty 6.5″ downward-firing speaker… this thing should pack a punch!
