Razer Nommo Pro 2.1 Speakers Review

Rating: 8.0.

Back in June we took a look at Razer's first set of desktop speakers – the Nommo Chroma. The 2.1 speaker system we are looking at today, however – the Nommo Pro – makes the Nommo Chroma pale in comparison. Not only does it boast an absolute massive subwoofer, but each satellite sports an additional tweeter and there are plenty of input options offered to the user. At £499, these don't come cheap – but are they worth it?

Not only does the Razer Nommo Pro boast those two drivers per satellite – with the subwoofer – but they are also THX Certified, support Dolby Virtual Surround Sound and (of course) feature Razer's Chroma RGB lighting. They're probably the most feature-packed speakers I've ever seen, but I am certain the price will have many people reeling.

Without further ado, let's see just how good these things are.

Specification

• 2 x 0.8 inch silk dome tweeters (1 x per speaker)
• 2 x 3 inch full range drivers (1 x per speaker)
• 1 x downward firing subwoofer
• Frequency response: 35 – 20,000hz
• USB connection
• Bluetooth 4.2 connection
• Optical connection
• 3.5mm connection
• Control pod featuring power, volume, mute, pairing and source control functions
• Razer Chroma™ enabled

The Nommo Pro ships in a large cardboard box, with a large drawing of the 2.1 speaker system taking pride of place on the front of the box.

A wealth of accessories comes included, with the first extras being a quick start guide and power cable.

On top of that, three cables come included. The first is a simple 3.5mm to 3.5mm aux cable – beautifully braided, I might add – while the second is a USB cable to connect the speakers to your PC. The last included cable is a TOSLINK (optical) connector, so that totals three different input options Razer provides for you out of the box – while Bluetooth is supported as well.

The last extra is a small control pod that connects to the subwoofer and gives you on the fly control over volume, selection of audio inputs and power. The idea is that this can sit on your desktop within easy reach (I have mine just below my monitor stand), while it also provides two 3.5mm inputs – one for the aux in, and one for headphones.

As we have mentioned, the Nommo Pro is a 2.1 speaker system, meaning it is comprised of two satellite speakers and a subwoofer (as above). Below we take you through each aspect of the Nommo Pro.

Starting with the subwoofer, there's no two ways about it – it is absolutely mammoth. I couldn't find official dimensions for it, but I measured it at 39cm tall and 27cm across. Its exterior is aluminium, too, so it's a very heavy bit of kit – once it's down, there's no easy way of moving it again.

Still, I think it looks fantastic. It uses Razer's signature matte black finish, with a subtle logo in the middle – although you're unlikely to see this with it under your desk. On the back of the unit, we find all the various inputs – including connections for the left and right satellites, the USB and optical inputs, as well as power and the control pod connectors.

The sub itself is downward-firing, but there is a bass port on the top of the unit, while the underside of the sub is covered in some anti-slip rubber.

Moving onto the satellites, these looks similar to the Nommo Chroma speakers but are in fact larger, and obviously sport the extra tweeter on top. Each one has its own non-removable cable that connects to the subwoofer, and the Razer logo is printed on the outside edge of each satellite.

Where the Nommo Chroma speakers were made from plastic, though, these are again made with an aluminium exterior – giving them both a classy look and feel.

In terms of the speakers themselves, the primary drivers are 3-inch units coated with Kevlar fibre, while the smaller drivers on top are 0.8-inch silk woven tweeters. The frequency response of the Nommo Pro is rated at 35 – 20,000Hz.

The base of each satellite is fitted with more anti-slip rubber, while you can just about make out of the small translucent ring that goes around the edge of the stand – this is where the Chroma RGB lighting shines through, but more on that on the next page.Software

Starting with a look at Razer Synapse 3.0, the control for the Nommo Pro is split over two tabs – sound and lighting.

The sound tab lets you adjust volume and bass boost, while you can also choose between the four different input options. There are also a number of audio enhancement options – including the THX mode and Dolby Virtual Surround Sound – while you can also configure your own EQ.

In terms of lighting control, this is the same as with the Nommo Chroma – meaning you can choose between static, spectrum cycling and wave effects, while there is also brightness control and the option to create your own Chroma effect using the advanced studio.

Overall, it's simple but effective – it gives you control over the key areas you'd want for a speaker system, and it's very easy to use. Nothing to complain about here.

Lighting

As for the Chroma lighting. as mentioned this comes from the base of each satellite – the subwoofer sadly does not have any RGB bling. It looks exactly the same as with the Nommo Chroma, and I think it's cool but not really a major selling point for a £500 speaker system. Still, it's not hurting anyone and you can always turn it off if it annoys you.

Sound

Now, onto what we're all here for – the sound quality.

Diving straight in, I have to say when I first set up the Nommo Pro and hit ‘play' on Owl City's latest album, ‘Cinematic', I was very disappointed. Everything just sounded very muffled, with no real clarity to the vocals or any energy in the treble.

I tried a different album – Train of Thought by Dream Theatre – thinking it could just be a bad mix on the first CD I tried. But unfortunately, I still felt the overall sound was veiled and like I was listening through a puddle of treacle. My opinion of the Nommo Pro was going downhill fast.

At this point, I decided to dive into Synapse and explore the settings for the first time – and this is where I discovered the root of the problem. By default, the ‘THX' mode is enabled for the speakers – and this was causing the muffled audio I was experiencing. I have no idea why Razer thought it was a good idea to have this mode turned on as the default option, but there were are.

Switching to the EQ mode, and enabling a flat curve in the custom settings, made a huge difference – all of a sudden, I was amazed at how clear and crisp the sound had become. Vocals in particular, sounded like they were coming from right in front of me. The tinkle of cymbals and hi-hats also sounded very immediate and lucid.

Safe to say I did the rest of my listening with no additional effects or EQ adjustments – a flat curve sounded the best to my ear, by quite a distance. So, with that said, I have to say even when compared with some excellent headphones like the Sennheiser HD 660 S (incidentally, a similar price to this speaker setup) my favourite aspect of the Nommo Pro's sound is that really wonderful clarity.

It does mean vocals and acoustics don't sound overly warm or inviting – instead, the sound is more clean and clear. That does work better for videos and games though, as speech is just so transparent and uncoloured you won't miss any in-game audio cues or anything like that.

I have no doubt the tweeter helps in this regard, as the Nommo Chroma is certainly nowhere near as resolving as the Nommo Pro. It's not a fatiguing or sharp sound at all, so if you are treble sensitive I wouldn't worry – but there is no doubt the overall sound is just so clean and transparent.

Obviously as the Nommo Pro has a physically huge subwoofer, I did have high hopes for the bass as well. There's no denying that the bass can get absolutely massive and take over tracks – if you crank the bass to 100% in Synapse, I guarantee you will have some angry knocks on the door.

That being said, the more I listened to the Nommo Pro, the more I tuned down the bass setting until I only had it on 15% – which is where it has been for the past two weeks. The reason is that I just found the bass to be a little bloated and loose with the setting tuned any higher, and for me that interfered with the clean and clear sound that the satellites provide.

With the bass tuned down, the Nommo Pro still gave me a bit of low-end energy and kick, so music and games didn't sound flat, but it doesn't completely take over which is not the kind of sound that I like.

I do have to say that this is aspect is a slight disappointment – the subwoofer is not only physically enormous, but also one of the key features of the Nommo Pro, so to have to limit its output quite significantly in order to preserve the overall detail of the satellites is not ideal for a £500 speaker set. For me, I think taking the two satellite units from the Nommo Pro, adding bass ports to the back and ditching the subwoofer, would be the perfect solution – you could charge less for them, still get the excellent clarity and clean sound from the satellites but with hopefully a tighter bass response as well. But that's just a wish.

Elsewhere, it is worth touching on the Dolby Virtual Surround Sound. I didn't have high hopes for this mode – I typically find virtual 7.1 sounds quite poor with a gaming headset, so from a speaker setup I thought it would be even worse – but I was pleasantly surprised. Essentially, it sounds like the virtual surround mode pans in-game audio even further to the left and right, giving it a semi-believable effect that the audio is coming from around you.

It's not perfect – with speakers positioned in front of you, there's only so much that a mode like this can do – but you do get what feels like a wider soundstage. Vocals don't sound as close or immediate, though, and I also feel that layer separation isn't as good with virtual surround turned on – it sounds a bit like the background noises from PUBG, for instance, all blended into one. For me, I'd rather game without it, but if you do like gaming with speakers it is definitely worth giving it a try.

On the whole, I certainly like a lot about the Nommo Pro. They get really loud – loud enough I didn't want to crank them past 50% both for the sake of my ears and for my neighbours downstairs – but retain a very clean sound which really made music and games standout. The bass isn't bad at all, but I did find it a slight shame I had to dial it down quite significantly so it wouldn't overwhelm the rest of the music.

That is just my preference, mind – I prefer clarity to booming bass, but you could well be reading this and thinking the Nommo Pro is exactly what you want. Horses for courses.Having reviewed the Nommo Chroma and now the Nommo Pro, I have to say I am impressed with both of Razer's first desktop speaker offerings.

The Nommo Pro is clearly the superior product – both in terms of sound, build quality and input options – but then again it is £350 more expensive, so I would certainly hope so.

Still, even compared to other pricier speaker systems I have used – including the AirPulse A200 – the Nommo Pro holds it own.

For starters, it is very well built with Razer's signature matte black aluminium construction on both the satellite units and the huge subwoofer. You also get Chroma lighting on the satellite units if that interests you at all.

I also appreciate the fact there are a total of four different input options when it comes to your audio source – USB, analog (3.5mm), optical (TOSLINK), and Bluetooth 4.2. You can easily change between all four inputs on the fly by using the bundled control pod, too, while this also acts as a volume wheel.

As for the sound, once you turn off the THX mode everything sounds very clear and crisp, and I have to say the sound is hugely enjoyable. If you upgrade to the Nommo Pro from a £50 speaker set you've had for the last few years, I guarantee you will be hearing details in your favourite songs that you've not heard before. It's not what I was expecting from the Nommo Pro but it is certainly my favourite aspect of the sound.

I did have the dial the bass down to prevent it from overwhelming the music and sounding too bloated, but with the bass boost setting at 15% I had a very happy mix that worked for music, videos and some gaming sessions when I didn't want to reach for my headset.

I do feel that the subwoofer could be better tuned, though, as it feels slightly wasteful to turn the bass down so far as to not let it interfere with the clarity of the satellites, and I actually think these satellites on their own, with added bass ports, would sound fantastic.

On the whole, though, the Razer Nommo Pro is a quality piece of kit. It's obviously not cheap at £499, but for me I'd say it is a price worth paying thanks to that impressive clarity, solid build quality and user-friendly controls.

You can buy the Nommo Pro directly from Razer for £499 HERE.

Pros

• Clean and clear sound – once THX mode has been disabled, that is!
• Well built.
• Plenty of input options.
• Control pod makes on the fly adjustments easy.
• Three included cables.

Cons

• Turing bass boost down is required to prevent the bass sounding loose and bloated.
• A lot of money for desktop speakers.

KitGuru says: While I'd advise you to tune the bass boost down a fair whack, the Nommo Pro provides a very clear listening experience that is really quite enjoyable.

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