NZXT Relay Speakers Review

NZXT’s first attempt at desktop, bookshelf-style speakers is a solid win. These small, near-field speakers are half the size of what I have come to expect out of bookshelf speakers but they still deliver room-shaking sound if asked.

The design philosophy of these speakers is the same as the Relay Headset, but the issues of weak bass and muddy mids found there aren’t a problem here, which is a relief. What does have a slight carryover from a design perspective is the level of bass, which still feels weak compared to the field. The bookshelf speakers also don’t output nearly any bass, so a subwoofer – NZXT’s or one you might already own – is a must. 

NZXT Relay Speakers – Design and Build

Out of the box, I was really impressed with how small the Relay Speakers are. While they are larger than the Razer Nommo V2 speakers I recently reviewed, they are a more traditional shape which makes them feel about the same size on a desk. They can hide away and be just part of your environment as well, instead of taking center stage, which many people will no doubt like quite a lot compared to the Nommo’s in-your-face aesthetic.

The sound, which as mentioned can get quite loud, is thanks to 20mm silk dome tweeters and three-inch glass fiber woofers which NZXT says were chosen for their ability to produce smooth, natural highs and full-bodied lows for a balanced overall sound profile. They also have three-inch glass fiber drivers that were selected for their ability to reproduce details and clarity in sound. 

If you’re not someone who spends a lot of time with audio, what NZXT asks you to do might force you to reference a YouTube tutorial video. Instead of a simple cable, the Relay Speakers connect to one another using speaker wire. Screwing in speaker wire is not complicated, but it isn’t straight-up plug and play either, so some people might be put off by what they would consider to be more effort than they’re used to. 

Once they are connected, the main control unit is on the left side speaker, which is where you’ll find a volume knob, power button, and both 3.5mm headphone jack and RCA connectivity along with the port for a subwoofer and the power cable. 

If you were to connect all this to NZXT’s Switch Mix, you would find yourself with a ton of cables to manage. I wrestled quite a while with the best way to deal with all these new wires that needed to be organized, so keep that in mind if you plan to hook yourself into NZXT’s full audio system. 

The Relay Subwoofer is, like the speakers, small. It features a 6.5-inch down-firing driver, and the whole unit is about two-thirds the size of the Razer Nommo V2’s subwoofer. I’ll get into this below, but you can absolutely hear the difference. 

One benefit to this system is you’re not locked into using NZXT’s subwoofer with the bookshelf speakers. The system uses a standard subwoofer cable, so if you already have a sub or want to pick up a bigger one, you can do that. 

NZXT Relay Speakers – Performance

For the longest time, I used some cheap yet surprisingly performant bookshelf speakers (specifically, the Edifier R1700BT speakers). Those speakers were able to output balanced audio without a subwoofer, and because they did so much for so little investment, they have acted as my de-facto baseline for any other bookshelf speakers I have tested in the last several years. 

NZXT has made its design intentions clear with this first run of audio equipment: the company is putting an emphasis on clarity and detail, not on lows and rumble. I am down for that ride, but I also expect balance. 

The NZXT Relay Speakers are about half the size of those Edifier speakers, and as a result, they can’t drive nearly the bass. Without an accompanying subwoofer, the audio performance is painfully hollow. Sure, the detail is there, but it is seriously lacking, and I really wish that NZXT put more emphasis on balance in its design philosophy than just hitting for clarity and detail. Sure, that is super important, but so is an enjoyable listening experience. 

I absolutely do not recommend these speakers without a subwoofer. Unlike the Edifier speakers, these require some help on the low end. To be fair, the same could be said for Razer’s last series of speaker products, so this is not an unusual situation. 

Luckily, with the support of the Relay Subwoofer, I can get the bass to a level that I am happy with. I am certain that with a larger sub, I could drive even more bass should I want it, but I’m actually pretty satisfied with the full NZXT hardware setup. 

That said, I have turned the subwoofer up as high as it will go and that’s where I’ve left it, so it’s not like my walls are rattling – it’s just good for everyday listening and for gaming. If you demand that your teeth rattle to music, movies, and gaming, then I recommend picking up a bigger one, which the speakers can support as long as it uses a standard subwoofer cable.

The speakers work really well in a gaming environment.

Once all three pieces of this audio setup are working together, the listening experience has been really nice. I am actually really surprised how loud these can get without any distortion, and the same can be said for low-volume listening. One of the trickiest factors for a speaker maker to manage is great quality listening at any volume – even Razer falters at low volumes. NZXT has no such issue, which is really great to hear, and allows these speakers to work for a range of applications. 

Because the speakers were designed with an emphasis on clarity and detail, they do work really well in a gaming environment and can deliver you a lot of pointed information with good directionality, though I will stipulate that at a certain point, there are no beating headphones. Still, sitting back and enjoying a good first-person adventure game is very much enjoyable with the Relay Speakers. 

At this point, I would typically transition to a whole section on usability and software enhancements, but NZXT doesn’t have any for these speakers – what you see (and hear) is what you get. It was never advertised as an option, but I still tried to make EQ adjustments through NZXT’s CAM app, but none of my changes did anything. It seems that the company’s software is only going to work with headphones. 

Luckily, the Relay Speakers sound great and that will never change – for better or for worse.