SonicGear has stepped up its audio game with the new Reference Series speakers, comprising the StudioBox 2-HD and StudioPods V-HD, they feature a premium design while offering high fidelity audio and features that are only available on more expensive speakers, but which one should you go for? Here’s what you need to know about them.
SonicGear StudioBox 2-HD
The StudioBox 2-HD is a bookshelf speaker that comes with a wooden body and fabric speaker mesh, which can add a nice rustic feel to your room when placed on a table or bookshelf, there’s also two unique handcrafted wood options to choose from – Walnut and Mahogany.
In terms of sound performance, the Studiobox 2-HD houses two tweeters and a full-range driver that delivers a total power of 70W RMS, it has two RCAs and one optical audio input for high quality audio input, while you can also stream wireless audio over Bluetooth 5.0.
A built-in DSP is responsible for delivering rich and detailed audio from the output device, while the speaker has classic knob controls for controlling bass and treble levels.
In our tests, the StudioBox 2-HD sounds generally good when playing pop and classical music, as the drivers of the StudioBox 2-HD has excellent sound separation and a warm sound that’s all thanks to the use of the wooden body, the soundstage is wide and can easily fill a living room with just 60% of volume.
We recommend the StudioBox 2-HD if you have a limited desk space for external speakers, as it doesn’t take up too much space with a measurement of 28.7cm (L) x 17.8cm (W) x 15.6cm (H).
The SonicGear StudioBox 2-HD retails for RM499, but for a limited time, you can grab one from Good Deals by KLGG at just RM479.
SonicGear StudioPod V-HD
If you prefer to brighten up your desk with a pair of colorful yet good sounding speakers, the SonicGear StudioPod V-HD comes in five attractive colors of Black, Mint, Pink, Red and White, comprising of an active and passive speaker, they are great choices if you prefer to hear sound from two audio channels.
Each side of the StudioPod V-HD is fitted with a tweeter and one full-range driver, which gives it a total power output of 80W RMS, making it slightly more powerful than the StudioBox 2-HD, while it has a built-in DSP that processes high fidelity audio, you get to switch between three EQ profiles – dialogue, movies and music.
In addition, the StudioPod V-HD comes with a remote control which will offer better convenience for controlling music playback.
Similar to the StudioBox 2-HD, the StudioPod V-HD comes with two RCAs and one optical audio input and supports Bluetooth 5.0 wireless audio streaming. Sound signature is rather similar to the StudioBox 2-HD but it has better stereo sound since each speaker processes a dedicated audio channel, but you will need to deal with an extra cable for connecting to the passive speaker, which can ultimately make your desk a little messy.
The SonicGear StudioPod V-HD retails for RM599, but for a limited time, you can grab one at Good Deals by KLGG for RM579.
SonicGear StudioBox 2-HD vs StudioPod V-HD, which one is better?
Ultimately, it really depends on the type of speaker setup you want, both speakers can deliver very good sound and are easily the best that SonicGear has ever made.
For playing audio in a room or space, the StudioBox 2-HD is recommended due to its straightforward setup and driver placement for a wide soundstage, while the StudioPod V-HD is more suitable for close-up listening and can be placed between a PC monitor or TV for a better stereo sound effect.