Hardware One - Review Printout

Planar Speaker Revisited
Just 3 weeks back, Dracon posted his mega-review on the Monsoon MM1000 speakers, delving on its strengths and weaknesses. Now, albeit slightly late, its smaller companion – the Benwin BW2000, steps into the limelight and receives a thorough scrutiny from us at Hardware-One. How does it fare against its bigger friend (also based on NXT technology)? After extensive and intense listening, I’ve finally firmed up my stance regarding its audio applicability.

The elongated packaging reflects just how small the setup actually is...

Being Flat Is SEXY?
From the advent of flat-panel NXT speakers (for an elaborate backgrounder, check out Dracon’s mini-thesis here), its designers have touted how it would revolutionize and convert the audio industry to its use. As an added justification, a search for NXT information over countless websites revealed nothing but praise regarding its technological prowess. With its modern looks and space conserving practicality, as long as its audio delivery neared conventional speaker quality, take-up rate should be high.

Admittedly, I’m a skeptic of flat-panel technology, as I just can’t imagine how a flat slab of metal could reproduce sound anywhere near its volumetric counterparts? Hence, it was with much anticipation that I hooked up the Benwins to compare with my existing Denon Hi-Fi Amp cum Phillips speaker setup …

But before exploring is audio capabilities, let’s marvel at its aesthetics:

Front View of Flat-Panel Satellite Speaker

Back View of Flat-Panel Satellite Speaker

For once, being flat-“chested” is ostensibly sexy, but you tell me??!!

Now why can’t the Sub-woofer mimic the design of its twin-satellites sisters?

Obviously, with a system as compact as this, adapting to most PC desktop environments isn’t an issue. Also the thin design certainly looks more classy and sophisticated than my cumbersome 2-way Phillips speaker system. The sub-woofer is also small enough to be non-intrusively tucked away at a corner. So really, unless you’re adverse against the contemporary look, its elegant design should please most by far…

Bundle & Features
Let’s see what’s in the bundle, together with their specifications:

Don’t expect anything more than required at its price-point…

02 x 3W (rms) Satellites Speakers:
Frequency Range: 150Hz – 20KHz
Driver: NXT Flat Panel technology
Impedance: 4 ohms
Dimensions: 5.11” x 0.86” x 6.89” (including protrusions)
Weight: 0.59 lbs. (with cable)
Power Source: 100V AC 50/60Hz
Adapter Power: 12V DC 1.5A

01 x 6W (rms) Subwoofer with built-in Amp
Frequency Range: 50 – 250Hz
Driver: 4” woofer
Impedance: 6 ohms
Dimensions: 4.72” x 4.96” x 6.69”
Weight: 2.2 lbs
01 x NewStar AC/DC NA-3000 Adaptor

This looks rather out of place. I believe it’s because the speakers weren’t designed for local usage. The US rendition should have a better matching power adaptor.

In addition, the sub-woofer has an integrated amp with the following controls – On/Off switch, Master Volume knob, Treble/Bass knob and 3D Spatializer On/Off:

No remote means bending down periodically to alter settings...

Typically, the 2 satellites connect to the back of the sub-woofer, which is in turn connected to the stereo output from your PC. Notably, the satellite connecting cables are rather short - only about 2m each. And with just a 1.5m separation between Benwin satellites on my desktop, the wiring already poses difficulty reaching the sub-woofer near my feet.

Inputs at the base of the Sub-woofer

Now, let’s immerse ourselves in the NXT audio experience…

NXT: Flattering or “Flat”-tening Audio?
As a basis for comparison, I used my existing (but obsolete) Denon Hi-fi coupled with a pair of Phillips 2-way speakers. This actually gives decent and clear sound, albeit lacking in bass, without the accompaniment of a sub-woofer.

a. Flattering Points
After an hour’s listening, my disbelief on the merits of NXT flat-panel speaker technology has been largely dispelled.

Positional Clarity: This is one area where the Benwin speaker shines, peculiarly due to NXT. Certainly, the Benwin more effectively replicates discernible audio sources than conventional speakers. For conventional speakers, “beaming” + other interferential effects marred my ability to accurately pinpoint speaker placement. With the Benwin, the originating sources are far more apparent and a less biased sound gets produced overall. But having said that, it took some time to acclimatize to its directional accuracy. Somehow, its convergent audio delivery is a tad “sharp” for my liking.
Spatializer Effects: Turning on the Spatiliazer adds tremendous ambience to film watching on the PC. Granted that it adds a slight reverberant effect to dialogue and sacrifices clarity (especially during cluttered action scenes), it certainly develops a more immersive experience with improved dynamism. Watching Backdraft on DVD produced some of the liveliest blazing fire scenes heard on a 2-speaker system. Probably, NXT technology utilizing better positioning techniques, proved more effective in projecting a larger sound stage in front of the speakers. Afterall, this is highly dependent on acuracy of time-lag signals reaching our ears. Similarly, gamers will also benefit substantially, feeling more drawn into the game from better surround effects. Playing Q3A verified this, where I really felt in the midst of the action, as a result of an extended, virtual sound stage! But conversely, Spatializer works horribly for music listening, primarily due to its pronounced “echo-y” effects…
Audio Quality: In general, the audio quality is good for such a small setup. It produces good separation, without distortion for majority of levels. The bass from the subwoofer is well balanced, commanding but not overwhelming. This was exemplified from a striking entrance of drum-rolls and beats via the sub-woofer whilst listening to "The British Grenadiers" (soundtrack of “Empire Of The Sun”). On the same track, the satellites also exhibited good definition and clear treble, playing back the lively flutes ensemble without any loss in detail.

b. “Flat”-tening Points
Contrary to popular belief, the Benwin also has its share of quirks, some of which perhaps reflecting deficiencies in NXT technology.

Not "Full-Bodied" Sound: Alas, it seems that being flat does instigate a “depthless” impression. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not that the sound lacks vibrancy or dynamism, but rather it fails to build up music to a bold crescendo nor project itself convincingly, to impress and warm the hearts of audio puritans. Somehow, the convergent delivery of audio develops an overall weaker sound stage round the listener without the use of Spatializer techniques. Turning on the Spatializer does circumvent this, but compromises musical fidelity with resounding distortion and loss in clarity. This deficiency striked me particularly whilst listening to “Suo Gan” (soundtrack from “Empire Of The Sun”). The Benwin simply failed to instill the eerie sincerity echoed from Jim’s angelic voice, and draw me into its sombre ambience with its thinly projected acoustics.
Audio Crossover: The acoustic handing over between sub-woofer and satellites is generally well done. However, it gets slightly muffled during the transition, with intermediate frequencies sounding less clear. In addition, although the satellites handle treble typically well, the higher pitches seemed rather thin. Increasing bass prominence did produce a better balance, although at the expense of clarity.
Abrupt Handling: For some reason, the notes produced on the Benwin are slightly hard, sharp and abrupt (lacking “sustenance”). Undoubtedly, the Benwin derives a sharp and clear output, but I just couldn’t relax fully to the effects of soothing music with its abrupt handling.
Clipping at High Outputs: Whilst turning the Benwin’s inbuilt amp to full-blast, the output hinted static distortion / clipping. This was especially noticeable for CDs with low recording levels, where audio breakups are apparent especially at higher frequencies.