At CES 2023, the world was introduced to Razer’s all-new Leviathan V2 Pro gaming soundbar and at first glance it’s a very convincing piece of kit – equipped with beamforming and head-tracking tech to stream 3D audio straight to your ears without the need for headphones.
With its arrival, however, Razer fans and gamers in general are likely to be left with one key question: should you go for the fancy new Leviathan, or should you stick with a more traditional sound system like Razer’s 2.1 THX-certified Nommo Pro? Well, in this article, we are here to answer that question.
We haven’t reviewed the Nommo Pro yet and the Leviathan V2 Pro will be out at the end of January this year, but based on what we know about these two products, there’s still a lot to learn. Rest assured, however, that once we get started with either one, we’ll be sure to update this page with our more developed thoughts.
So sit back, relax and let us tell you everything you need to know about Razer’s Leviathan V2 Pro soundbar and Nommo Pro 2.1 speaker system…
Razer Leviathan V2 Pro vs Nommo Pro: Price
Razer’s all-new Leviathan V2 Pro soundbar will cost $399.99 / £399.99 when it launches on 31 January, while the Nommo Pro will set you back $599.99 / £499.99. If you do the math there, you’ll see that the Nommo Pro costs quite a bit more than the Leviathan.
Of course, if price is your main concern, the Leviathan is the better choice, saving you $200 / £100. Usually soundbars are on the cheaper side than speaker systems, bundling all that speaker technology into one device, but keep in mind that in addition to the bar itself you get a dedicated subwoofer with the Leviathan V2 Pro.
Razer Leviathan V2 Pro vs Nommo Pro: Build
Razer is known for its gamer-first aesthetic filled with bright RGB lighting and garish designs. However, both the Nommo Pro and Leviathan V2 Pro are more on the minimalist side. Sure, you still get RGB out of both, at the base of the speakers in the Nommo and on the bar itself with the Leviathan, but beyond the lighting, none of these parts feel insanely gamer-minded.
The controls of the Leviathan bar are, unsurprisingly, on the bar itself, while with the Nommo Pro you get a small, round USB dongle that you can use to control your system. This gives you a little more flexibility than having to reach for the bar to adjust something, although you have less control than a wireless remote, but you need to free up space on your desk for another small gadget and another cable grommet.
As expected, the Nommo Pro’s footprint is smaller than the Leviathan’s, as you just have to find space on your desk for a pair of speakers and a subwoofer rather than a subwoofer and a fairly large bar that wants to be front and center, but that is to be expected. However, if saving space is your priority, the Nommo Pro is probably the choice here.
Razer Leviathan V2 Pro vs Nommo Pro: sound
To be fair, we haven’t reviewed any of these products yet, so you’ll have to wait for an official review from us to get details on how both actually sound and perform. However, there’s certainly a lot to be gleaned from the specs of the Razer kit at hand.
In terms of hardware on offer, the Nommo Pro has a frequency response of 35 Hz to 20 kHz, 0.8-inch silk dome tweets, 3-inch full-range drivers, and a down-firing subwoofer, while the Leviathan V2 Pro has a 40Hz up to 20KHz frequency response, five 2-inch full-range drivers and a 5.25-inch down-firing subwoofer. For a gaming setup the tech is impressive, but from our experience the sound quality will be largely determined by how they’re set up and tuned, so until we get them in we can’t sensibly comment on how the two compare.
Where it gets interesting, however, comes down to spatial audio. The Leviathan V2 Pro supports THX Spatial audio, while the Nommo Pro is limited to THX Certified Premium Audio. THX Spatial is, on paper, a competitor to more common spatial formats such as Dolby Atmos or PS5’s 3D Audio. We’ll have to test THX Spatial on the Leviathan before commenting on how well it works, but using the less common technology is interesting to say the least.
With the Leviathan V2 Pro, thanks to beamforming and dynamic head-tracking technology, the idea is that the beam can track your head’s location in real time and deliver spatial audio straight to your ears as if you were wearing headphones without actually wearing one. have to wear. That sounds great on paper, but that’s definitely a feature we’ll have to test ourselves to see how well it works.
Spatial audio is a big deal in games, and when you couple that with the Leviathan’s interesting take on delivering soundbar audio straight to your ears, that could make it a strong competitor to the more expensive Nommo Pro, but ultimately it will we need to do some testing to find out.
Razer Leviathan V2 Pro vs Nommo Pro: Features
If you like RGB, you will definitely be happy with the Leviathan. The bar comes with 30 discrete zones of Razer Chroma RGB that you can tweak and customize to your heart’s content via Razer’s Synapse program on PC. However, the Nommo Pro also comes with customizable Chroma RGB at the base of each speaker.
In terms of compatibility and IO, the Leviathan comes with Bluetooth connectivity, a 3.5mm jack and a USB audio input, while the Nommo Pro offers Bluetooth, 3.5mm and USB audio in addition to an optical connection . As you might expect, these are bits of PC kit not intended for use in a home theater/living room environment. Unless, of course, your home theater / living room is powered by a PC and not by a streamer or smart TV.
As for EQ, you can adjust that using Razer software. The Nommo Pro lets you set custom EQ profiles, even change your EQ game-to-game, and much more from the context of Razer’s Synapse application. The Leviathan V2 Pro comes with 10-band custom EQ, and while we’ll have to wait to get our hands on the Leviathan to see how it actually works, we’re expecting a similar system controlled by a Razer app. Suffice to say, if you want EQ on one of Razer’s kits, you can have it.
In terms of basic features outside of spatial audio, the Nommo and Leviathan are on a relatively equal footing.
Razer Leviathan V2 Pro vs Nommo Pro: Early Verdict
It’s too early to make any firm claims about which piece of Razer’s kit is the superior device, but there are a few takeaways.
First, the Nommo Pro is probably easier to fit into your existing desk setup without upsetting the existing balance you have too much, and if you don’t care about tons of RGB on your speakers, you’ll be happy with the Nommo Pro’s fairly limited lighting effects.
You don’t get THX Spatial built-in with the Nommo Pro, though, and if both the THX Spatial implementation and the Leviathan’s beamforming and head-tracking prove to be an effective way to listen to spatial audio without headphones, that could be for good reason are for gamers not to bother shelling out the extra cash for the Nommo Pro.
All things considered, if you’re considering Razer’s Nommo Pro as your next PC speaker set, you might want to stick with the more traditional Nommo Pro for now or wait until we have a chance to test out the admittedly exciting built-in features. the Leviathan V2 Pro.
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