 "Ixa Vira 2.1 Speakers - Tiny Little Loudmouth")
The Ixa Vira 2.1 speaker set has been lying ignored in the corner of our A/V room for a while now and I was constantly postponing writing the inevitable review, as I wasn’t too sure about how a small, cheap set of 2.1 speakers would sound. But now I’m actually glad I finally checked these speakers out.
Smooth looking 2.1 speaker set
Design and Features
This set of speakers looks quite nice. They’re pretty much like any other 2.1 system, with a boxy, ported 5-watt subwoofer (facing downwards) and two small 2-watt satellite speakers. The subwoofer has this cool blue line in the center of the front side that lights up when you turn the system on and the satellite speakers have nice, rounded corners that make them look pretty sleek.
The company claims that these speakers provide a ‘High Definition Home Theatre Experience’, but the truth is that they work on regular component cables, so they’re not really high definition. The only connectors at the back of the subwoofer are stereo inputs and outputs for the speakers. The input comes with a ‘Y’ cable that has a regular 3.5 mm jack at the other end for plugging into your iPod, PMP Laptop or other portable device. So if you want to connect these speakers to your TV, you’ll probably have to buy another set of component audio cables.
Inbuilt FM radio for the win!
One good thing about the Ixa Vira is that it also has built in FM radio. Obviously, they’ve provided a cable that serves as the antenna, and it works pretty well, as it automatically scans the airwaves for radio stations. It also has a reset button.
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Performance
For a speaker set that is so small, the Ixa Vira sure does pack quite a punch. I connected it to a number of devices such as an iPod Touch, a Macbook and a Nokia N97 phone. All of them sounded pretty good. My only issue was that the left speaker crackled quite a bit at high volume, but this could very well be a problem with the piece that was given to me.
2.1 Surround sound with these inputs? I think not!
I first tried listening to some music off my iPod and it sounded pretty good, although I had to add a little EQ to the mix, by raising the mid frequencies a little as well as reducing some highs. I felt the overall sound was a lot better after making these changes.
I also tested the Ixa Vira with movies, and they fared pretty well here too. What gets my goat, though, is the fact that they’ve mentioned that these speakers have ‘2.1 Surround Sound’, which is absolute rubbish. I’m actually considering cutting half a star just because of this stupid claim, as I really hate it when companies try to fool consumers by using fancy words like these.
The blue light gives it an edgy look
I also used a couple of test discs to determine the sound subjectively and I found that they were pretty good here as well. The subwoofer actually started responding to frequencies as low as 63 Hz, and although the sound was intermittent, this is quite an achievement for a speaker set this small and inexpensive.
Verdict
I’ll have to admit that the sound from these speakers is quite good, but like I mentioned before, there was quite an amount of crackling from the left speaker, so if I were you, I’d personally check out the pair before I bought them. They also tend to distort at high levels, which is not uncommon for speakers that are so cheap. And speaking of price, these speakers cost just Rs. 1,100, which I think is quite a bargain.
I give these speakers 4 stars, and I’ve cut a star for the crackle in the left speaker as well as the stupid claim of producing ‘2.1 surround sound’. Also, the fact that I had to EQ it a bit does make a difference, as not everyone knows about how to improve sound with the help of audio equalization and such. But all in all, the Ixa Vira will give you great value for your money, and I’d recommend them to anyone who wants in on a set of entry level 2.1 speakers.
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