Product Listing

Krator Neso 02 N2-21030 - Geared for Bass

By Hurrairah bin Sohail - 12 Apr 2011

The Performance & Report Card

The Performance

With emphasis on bass performance along with specifications and features to theoretically back up its claims, the low registers are a natural place to begin our evaluation. The Neso N2 delivers low frequencies well and the bass notes are deep with a pleasant, mild attack that is impactful but not jarring. On bass heavy dance tracks like Tiesto’s Elements of Life you can feel the subwoofer working overtime to pump the low notes out.

The subwoofer is at the heart of the Krator Neso N2's audio performance, delivering low frequency notes with great fidelity - at least it sounds great for speakers of its value.

The speaker’s bass also shines on sound effect heavy tracks like the Apollo 13 Lift Off Scene where the rumble of take-off sounds from the rocket sounded grand, while the Tyrannosaurus Rex Sound Effects from Jurassic Park were sufficiently menacing and foreboding. Its deep bass makes it suited for movies from the action-adventure genre or suspense-thriller films that depend on the musical score to create mood and atmosphere.

Explosions and gunshots from Battlefield 2: Bad Company, performing well in a gaming usage scenario and chalking up some more marks for versatility. However, besides providing acceptable audio quality, the speakers did not magically transform us into professional gamers. Dedicated and costlier gaming speakers manipulate the sound mix to emphasize important details (such as footsteps for first person shooter games) while suppressing other sounds (such as ambient noise in the scene) to make them more subtle, thus mimicking real-life ambience. We did not find any evidence of these capabilities with the Krator but we weren't alarmed since it's a general purpose speaker set.

Like most long throw bass drivers, the Neso N2 suffers from problems with its transient response. This was most obvious in our listening of Hotel California by The Eagles, where the bongos had lost their distinct timbre. In general, we found that alternate percussion sounded boxy and caged, perhaps due to the MDF used in construction of the speaker. This is most definitely not the speaker for bossa nova lovers. But overall, it is safe to say that the speaker's low frequency performance is notable for its entry to mid-range class of 2.1-speaker systems

Good bass does not always equate to good sound though. With this in mind, the people at Krator have fitted the Neso N2 with performance crossover, which allows the smaller drivers on the satellites handle the mid-range and treble. They shine on Adele’s Melt My Heart To Stone rendering a warm, pleasant tone with only the faintest tinge of muddying on the guitar phasor effects. On Sail on Soothsayer by Buckethead, the accuracy and natural voicing for the harmonics is a pleasant surprise.

A more rigorous test of the speakers mid and high range capabilities was provided by the orchestral tracks Fanfare for Louis and the Theme from Cutthroat Island. The flowing melodies were rendered pleasantly and horn instruments retained their piquant flavor which confirmed that the Neso N2 performs well across a wide range of audio frequencies. The 'movement' inherent in these tracks was also dutifully reproduced.

Performance crossover features mean that these satellites are responsible for reproducing the mid and high range frequencies dutifully.

Finally, when tested with the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Starting Sequence), the dialogue was clear and crisp. The soundstage is accurate with good depth and span. This is displayed to full effect on the Swordfish (Starting Sequence), where the panning of sound is tested out with shrapnel being sprayed. The sound moves between channels to good effect. The speakers also impressed us with their imaging on the live track Hotel California, in a slight moment of redemption, where the audience applause sounded very lifelike and it felt like we were actually seated in the theater.

But the soundstage is not perfect as heard on the Pod Racing Scene from Phantom Menace. Compared to other speakers in or near the Neso N2's product category and price, we found the soundstage to lack width, which detract from the enjoyment of the scene. It seems that the speakers falter slightly when it comes to handling scores with intensive sound effects.

The full result sheet of our scoring of individual tracks are as follows:-

Krator Neso 02 N2-21030 Report Card
CD Testing Score
Pod Race Scene from The Phantom Menace  7.5
T-Rex SFX  8.5
Theme from Jurassic Park  8.0
Apollo 13 SFX  8.5
Theme from Cutthroat Island  8.0
Fanfare for Louis  8.0
MP3 Testing Score
Hotel California - The Eagles  7.0
Sail on Soothsayer - Buckethead  8.0
Melt My Heart to Stone - Adele  7.5
Elements of Life - Tiesto  8.5
Movies Testing Score
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Starting Sequence)  7.5
Swordfish (Starting Sequence)  8.0
Game Testing Score
Battlefield 2: Bad Company  7.5

 

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8.0
  • Design 8.5
  • Performance 8
  • Features 8.5
  • Value 8
The Good
Good build quality
Paper wool mix speaker cone
5.25-inch Long Throw Driver
Appeals to budget bassheads
The Bad
Design and performance does not please a wide audience
Delayed transient response
Sound is boxy in some instances
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