Introduction
Not long ago, my good buddy Wilfred lugged a huge 15kg (or so) box to my place and dumped it at my doorstep. At first I thought it was just another review of one of those branded computers that get all nicely wrapped in a colourful box. However, to my sweet surprise, it turned out to be Aztech’s latest innovation in audio technology – a multi-channel 5.1 speaker system!!

Now, this was what I had been waiting for in ages, as I already had a DVD-ROM setup (with a substantial amount of DVDs) but no decent home-theatre system to test it with as the Creative DTT 2500 is simply out of my range. In addition, I had a SBLive!! Deluxe that was begging for more optimal usage in terms of its SPDIF connectors – so I thought…

Oooh, impressive piece of art, tell me more…


Bundled Package
When I unwrapped the box with my trembling hands, I thought about how anything this big and heavy must be good enough to warrant any distributor to produce it.

Just hope that dust & dirt don’t affect these speakers that look just so pure and white..

Let’s see what you get in the package:

• 01 x Remote Controller powered by 02 x AAA batteries.
  

This remote interfaces via infra-red to the Digital Control Unit (DCU) and possesses a whole host of functions that allows full control over the settings of the speaker system, including:

1. Specifying any speaker and altering its bass / treble / volume through the remote
   
2. Switching between preset equalizer modes (ie. Rock, Cinema, Jazz, Game, Pop, Night – to dampen dynamic output)
   
3. Muting any speaker or the entire system
   
4. Powering on / off the speaker system
   
5. Switching between audio resampling modes / mixing (ie. 2 to 5.1 speaker, 4 to 5.1 speakers, Normal or stereo mode)
   
6. Pre-program or save any preferred settings and configurations in the DCU
   
   
   • 01 x Micro-processor based Digital Control Unit (about 2-3m cable length)
     
   
   
   
   This set-top box should typically be placed above or near the monitor where it can be easily “seen” by the remote. As you can see from the picture, it has a few LEDs (indicating its current setting or sampling mode) and a power / standby LED, together with a control knob that is primarily used for volume control. In addition, pushing this knob also cycles between various modes and allows tweaking of settings by rotating it. This is similar to most knob-dials in home-entertainment systems. However, in retrospect, I never did use much of the DCU for control as the same (and more) can be achieved via the remote itself. The DCU also interfaces and controls the rest of the speakers via a min-DIN connector to the back of the sub-woofer. See below for more details…
   
   • 01 x 23W RMS Sub-woofer housed in a solid 5.25” wooden cabinet
     
   
   
   This is probably the best component of the lot! This sub-woofer is huge and stolidly built – approximately 2.3 to 3 times the size of my old Cambridge sub-woofer that came with the FPS bundle. Just look at the photograph above and you can see how it compares to the satellites…
   
   It comes with its own dedicated power supply to drive it and is the central component where all the other speakers + DCU connect to (as seen in the picture below) via its back housing.
   
   
   • 03 x 7W RMS magnetically shielded satellite front or center speakers (with 3m cable length) + 02 x 7W RMS magnetically shielded satellite rear speakers (with 5m cable length)
     
   
   
   
   In comparison with my old Creative FPS satellites, these speakers are definitely sturdier + heavier, with a more solid construction. You would also notice that the speakers come with metallic bronze latches at the rear, that allow mounting on walls if you so desire. Unlike the Creative FPS bundle, these speakers do not have any accompanying stands to elevate them. However, I never was inclined to use stands for elevation anyway as these look too odd and non-aesthetical in one’s room…
   
   

   
   Looking awesome, but tell me how it sounds…
   
   
   Sounding Good?
   Okay, let’s see how it sounds. As with any audio quality tests, a lot of this is subjective and relative, as I don’t possess any audio metering equipment to measure the frequency response curves of the speakers. Although, Aztech did bundle in a good brochure with technical evaluation results of the system (indicating frequency response stats, etc), I was not inclined to refer to these to remain as objective as possible. Ultimately, I believe it is what you hear that counts.
   
   What I did was compare it to my old Cambridge FPS speaker system and also to my existing unorthodox setup of an old Denon Hi-Fi amp (about 10 years old) paired with 02 x front JVC 2-way speakers + 02 x rear Sony SRS-88 active-speakers. I actually preferred my existing setup to Cambridge setup, because it gave much more depth without sacrificing clarity (owing to the clear treble from my Denon Hi-Fi amp). However, I did recognize my existing setup fares badly with a sub-standard bass.
   
   I must also qualify that I use my machine mainly for games (especially Q3Test) and surfing the net. Occasionally, I also do listen to various MP3s and play DVDs in my room (if my TV in the living room is unavailable) and place higher priority on clarity of sound rather than a strong 'bassy' effect.
   
   When I first powered on the Aztech 5.1 speakers, it issues a small but deep “pop” sound from the sub-woofer beneath my PC. I then suspected that perhaps such a relatively high-powered output system may be susceptible to introduce unwanted Gaussian noise or static to the audio. Hence, I performed a crude test by turning the volume settings all the way up, but was pleased to note that I could virtually not hear any hissing at all.
   
   Secondly, I launched Gamespy in attempt to test with my favourite multi-player Q3Test game. I was immediately struck by the power of the bass when the “Welcome to Gamespy” voice message was output. The bass is exceptionally stronger than what I was ever accustomed to. Undaunted, I launched Q3 on my system and nearly reeled back when the sound of the first rocket blast hit me!! Man, my whole desktop was rumbling (like Godzilla had just passed the building) as the immensely powered sub-woofer was just placed under my feet, above my computer!! I am truly impressed with what this sub-woofer can output and have no qualms getting the system for this sub-woofer alone!! Truly, it you’re typically into heavy rock / fragging and long for a rumbling experience in the PC environment, this sub-woofer delivers above expectations. However, in the end I had to tone down both the bass and volume on the sub-woofer as it typically over-shadowed the other satellites.
   
   But sub-woofer aside, I did find the Aztech satellites slightly lacking in clarity. I found that the satellites are typically strong in the mid-range but do not offer as pure a treble as the Cambridge FPS ones. However, overall I still preferred the Aztech satellites over the Cambridge, as the sound does sound fuller but still a tad mellow compared to my unorthodox setup of the Denon + JVC + Sony. This was all done in the normal stereo mode to allow a fair and pure basis for comparison.
   
   Thirdly, I then cycled between all the various resampling modes to note their effects on the sound output. It was then that I noted that the Aztech AMS doesn’t support Dolby Digital decoding in its amp, although it was built as a 5.1 speaker system!! This was a main gripe that I had and I felt was a cardinal overlook in my opinion. Granted that Dolby is rather sticky in issuing its certification for such a feature, however I just felt any 5.1 speaker system wouldn’t be complete without having hardware-based DD decoding. Hence, in order to really hear true discrete 5.1 Dolby Digital sound from all their DVDs, you’ll have to depend on software decoding such as Win-DVD coupled with a sound-card like the Skywell Magic 5.1 that offers a 5-speaker break-out cable. Thus, I still can’t test my SPDIF output via my SBLive!! Deluxe…
   
   However, I did find that the 2-5.1 or 4-5.1 (utilizing Aztech’s Advanced Theatre Surround Processing technology) resampling mode does offer a better surround feel than normal stereo / 4-speaker mode whilst watching DVD movies and playing games. But it definitely isn’t a mode for music lovers, as it tends to muffle the sound slightly to achieve its surround effect. The various equalizer modes also work decently and offer distinctive audio ambience.
   
   In summary, I did find the audio quality good but tends to be a bit lacking in clarity in my opinion (despite boosting the treble). However, I must admit that once I reverted to my existing 4-speaker system, it was immediately apparent that my sound had lost nearly all its bass owing to the lack of a powerful sub-woofer like the Aztech’s. Like I said, Aztech’s sub-woofer adds so much more to the gaming / home-theatre experience that I would have easily bought it separately for my use…
   
   

   
   Wow, anything else to add??
   
   
   Other Niggly Points
   Okay, having said so much about the sound, I must add that the controls were a bit less intuitive than I initially expected from a remote. I guess this just takes some getting used to, but I did have problems setting up the sound system for proper use via the remote.
   
   Perhaps I’m asking too much, but there isn’t any indicator at all on the DCU (or remote) that feedbacks on the setting levels for the various components. Meaning that one sets the treble / bass / volume of each speaker rather blindly by adjusting the up/down arrows on the remote, manually listening to each speaker to tune it. This is rather cumbersome in my opinion, perhaps they could have a LED indicator that simply shows the current setting (say +5, etc). In any case, one the initial settings are done, the other functions are pretty accessible and easy to operate. However, certain settings like programming functions, are still rather cryptic in my opinion and involve more fiddling to get accustomed to.
   
   Conclusion
   Well, I would rate the entire speaker system as a good performer offering decent and a balanced sound reproduction. However, the sub-woofer is where it really shines and offers the most for what its worth. I don’t have a DTT 2500 to compare it so can’t really make any final verdict on it quality as a PC Gaming cum Home-theatre system. However, its most apparent shortfall IMHO, seems to be the lack of Dolby Digital decoding which the DTT 2500 has. I guess this would be something anybody would first consider in purchasing a so-called Home-Theatre PC based system, even though granted that the price of the Aztech may be undoubtedly lower…