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The Rockus 3D speaker system is split into 3 parts. The subwoofer, satellites and control pod. The satellites immediately caught our attention as the design is extremely dazzling. Whether you like the chrome style outer ‘hood' will be down to personal taste. I think they look great, especially the dark textured matt finish on the circular circumference.
Each satellite is made of anodised aluminum and has a 2.5 inch driver inside – with a honeycomb design clearly seen from the front. The design is cylindrical rather than rectangular which can add both negative and positive attributes to the final sound imaging quality, more on this later.
Each speaker can deliver 25W of power, which is higher than many other units in this market, including the highly regarded Gigaworks T40 Series II speakers.
Each satellite is connected to the subwoofer via a phono to wire style connector cable.
The subwoofer is heavy, but relatively compact. It contains a 6 inch speaker and uses passive radiator technology. This passive radiator creates a forced low frequency response with the goal of producing deep bass from the compact design (down to 10hz according to Antec, which is impressive if true). Antec claim this eliminates the need for a physically larger subwoofer. It is a plain design which is rather elegant and will fit well into the majority of bedrooms, offices or living rooms.
The 2.1 configuration helps to keep cable clutter to a minimum and at 351mm x 196mm x 270mm it won't consume a lot of real estate either.
Above, is the rear of the subwoofer. Our image shows both satellites and pod controller connected. Analog in has both 3.5mm and RCA inputs. This is also a switch here which allows for bass levels to be adjusted, 1=weakest, 2=medium setting, 3=strong setting. The output of the subwoofer is very impressive as it is capable of delivering 100 watts.
The control module fits perfectly with the design ethic of the rest of the setup. The top silver area of the pod can be rotated to adjust the volume and if you press down on the top it will mute the sound. On one side of the control pod there are 4 indicator LEDs and a button. The button switches the system between music and 3D mode (gaming and movies basically).
The pod is connected to the subwoofer directly via a single cable, seen above.
Exceptionally well written Zardon. I like these. seem a bit above the normal, especially the design class.
Great review man. I love the appearance of the satellites. those are stunning. Might pick these up next pay day. my old creative speakers are on their last legs
Wow I must have missed the announcement that these were even released. Look good to me. bit expensive, but quality always is.
WOw I have to pick these up, the design is beautiful. sound will be more than enough for me.
Just ordered a pair, almost went for the creative gigaworks, but I know ill miss the subwoofer. these seem spot on. bit more than I wanted to pay, but ill pay the credit card later.
Hexus didnt seem to like these at all. but others seem to be extremely positive. good review. might pick them up later but id like to hear them myself 🙁
Man I love Antec, ive an antec case, antec PSU and I have to get these, when they are back in stock on newegg.
The subwoofer is quite boring looking, but those satellites are seriously sexy. very unusual design ethic. love them.
Hey, did they hire the harley davidson work force to make them ? :p
Is the sub really rated to 100W? thats very powerful for a desktop speaker system
The review text makes them sound a lot worse than 8.5 /10 tbh. It looks like an attempt to go aftr Boze and the like. The design looks nice, but it’s gimmicky and they seem way overpriced too. Corsair’s SP2500 seems to blow these out of the water from reviews i’ve seen so far.
I think the problem is Zardon is used to 10-20k systems, so he picks holes in all the areas, then realises later than they only cost £170.
Seems a fair price to me. and ive heard the corsair speakers in a local store here, wasnt that impressed, unless the setup was wrong on some level.
I don’t think the design is gimmicky at all. This shape has been proven to create very good focused sound quality, it’s a half way house to a full horn shape speaker which b@w have used before. They look really good to me and the output volume is fantastic. Tight bass is what I like
They look really different and the reviewer explained the weaknesses and strengths well. I might buy them.
Not sure they appeal to me. Design is a little over the top.
I wonder if Antec will bring more of these out, I’d like to see a 5.1 set
Pretty cool they are able to make these themselves. Its like corsair now making their own hardware.
I dont know what the dude earlier was on about the corsair ones ‘blowing these out of the water’. ive heard the corsair speakers and they sounded good, but not great. I heard this antec speakers around CES time and they sounded much better. most reviews of these speakers online are really positive. certainly the ones ive read are anyway.
Its all down to personal preference. like my buddy has a sennheiser headset he raves about and I dont have the heart to tell him they sound harsh to me. What id like he would probably thinks sucks. audio is very personal taste.
You can’t listen to speakers in a store and get any kinda sense for how they really sound. But from this review and other reviews i just get the impression they are good but not great, unlike the corsair speakers, which have generally been raved about. But it is all personal preference i guess.
the corsair speakers are so crap. i picked up a set of these and they blow the corsair ones out of the water. the corsair speakers make me think of the sound that you hear when you see an old honda civic with a 16inch such rattling the license plate driving down the street. the corsair speakers just sound cheap and loud. my friend agrees but he paid 250$ for them and can’t get rid of it. sucks for him.