Product Listing

Sony SRS-GD50iP 2.1 PC Speaker System - Have Dock, Will Travel

By Kenny Yeo - 18 Jun 2010

Test Setup

Test Setup

Since the Sony SRS-GD50iP PC speaker system streams music via USB, there's no need for the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude soundcard that we usually use for our tests. Nevertheless, we will still be using the same Shuttle XPC SD37P2 (Intel 975X) as our test system.

Testing would be done across four categories: CD, MP3, movies and games. We'll be testing the Sony SRS-GD50iP across a wide variety of tracks to gauge its performance.

To fully and accurately ascertain the performance of the speakers, we subjected them to four main tests. First, they were tested for their abilities in playing music, and this was broken down further into two sub-categories: CD and MP3. Next, were movies, and lastly, games.

For music, we played a variety of different tracks to see how the speakers would perform across different genres such as acoustic, jazz, orchestral and trance. In movies, we were interested in the overall experience. Was dialogue clear? Were the sound effects apparent? And does it feel like a cinematic experience? Likewise in games, we were interested to find out if the speakers were capable of enhancing the gaming experience. Did it immerse us into the game atmosphere, and did we feel like we were 'experiencing' the game, instead of merely playing. In short, what were interested in was how the speakers made us, for lack of a better word, 'feel' while we were playing the test materials.

Of course, different people have different musical and sonic tastes. Some are bassheads while others are treble freaks, so your preferences with speakers may vary.

The complete list of testing material is as follows:

CD Testing:

  • Pod Race Scene from Phantom Menance
  • Tyrannosaurus Rex Sound Effects from Jurassic Park
  • Theme from Jurassic Park
  • Apollo 13 Lift-off Sound Effects
  • Theme from Cutthroat Island
  • Fanfare for Louis, performed by the Dallas Wind Symphony

MP3 Testing:

  • Hotel California - Eagles
  • Sail on Soothsayer - Buckethead
  • Melt My Heart to Stone - Adele
  • Elements of Life - Tiesto

DVD Testing:

  • Lord of the Rings - (Starting sequence, Balin's Tomb & Bridge of Khazad-dum)
  • Swordfish (Starting sequence)

Game Testing:

  • Far Cry 2
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8.5
  • Design 7
  • Performance 8.5
  • Features 9.5
  • Value 9
The Good
Integrated iPod/iPhone Dock
Above average audio performance
The Bad
Dull, uninspired looks
Wires easily clutter up desks
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