HWM (Singapore)

Quality speakers that perform well in a variety of scenarios; built-in DAC could be better though.

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are digital, the stepping is smooth so volume swells and bass adjustment­s aren’t jerky. The LED lights double up as an indicator to show the level of volume and bass selected; the left speaker shows the bass levels while the right speaker shows volume. It’s a pretty elegant and visual way to see what adjustment­s you’ve made, even out of the corner of your eye.

Considerin­g how clean it looks, the Nommo Chroma that if you place them on a monitor stand, but it seems like an extra purchase that you don’t necessaril­y need.

So how� does� it sound? There’s actually two parts to this answer. With the Nommo Chroma, you can either use the built-in DAC or the aux-in as the source. The obvious choice is that you should use the USB connection for the best possible experience, no? Well yes, and, no.

With the USB connection, the Nommo handles most genres of music, as well as environmen­tally engaging games like� PUBG �well, but it’s also not the best representa­tion of what the speakers can do. The builtin DAC is a limiting factor, especially when it comes to music. I really am nit-picking here, but the separation could be better, and there’s a slight hint of brittlenes­s in places. If you’re primarily gaming then I don’t really see any issues.

You can improve things sound-wise if you use a good source and the aux-in input instead of taking the USB route. A competent DAC, amplifier, or sound card will give you a far fuller sound that is also authoritat­ive in the higher frequencie­s, letting the speakers truly come alive.

Likewise, while it’s a nice touch to have a headphone jack built-in, rather powerhungr­y headphones like the Sennheiser HD 650 can’t really take advantage of it as the built-in amplifier isn’t powerful enough. Most gaming headphones should be ne, though.

As these speakers were designed to support Razer Synapse 3.0, its lights will sync with your keyboard and mouse and is compatible with all of the lighting effects. The lights are on the subtle side, so that may be good or bad depending on what you had in mind. It’s a nice touch if you’re already balls deep in Razer’s ecosystem. At the moment, Mac users have to make do without Synapse, which means that lighting effects are limited to tasks like volume adjustment or bass level indication.

For $229, the Razer Nommo Chroma is on the pricier side for fairly basic speakers. Essentiall­y, you’re paying for the sleek, compact form factor and it’s ability to sound big and boomy without needing a large subwoofer added to the clutter. You can also save some money by going the non-Chroma route, which knocks a cool $60 off the price to forgo the lights and built-in DAC.

 ??  ?? Speakers re directly forward, which means they sound best at ear level.
Speakers re directly forward, which means they sound best at ear level.
 ??  ?? These minimalist speakers have only two physical knobs for controllin­g volume and bass.
These minimalist speakers have only two physical knobs for controllin­g volume and bass.
 ??  ?? Read more at .com
Read more at .com

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