Benwin BW2000 - Mark Muschett - Last updated February 13, 2000

Installation:

After my last speaker review (MS Digital Sound System 80) this installation is an absolute no brainer!  The speakers do come with a clear 11 page manual but this is definitely one of those cases where its not required and much of the manual is dedicated to describing different methods of mounting the speakers.  The most important thing in the manual IMO is a warning to never touch the surface of the flat panel speakers.

The speakers are not magnetically shielded since there is no magnet as I noted in the background.  However, there is a warning that the speakers could distort the monitor if played at a loud volume and a suggestion that the speakers be turned up to their maximum planned usage when determining placement of the satellites.  I noted no distortion with the speakers placed on either side of my monitor.

Each of the satellites connects to the sub-woofer via a six foot cable with a mini-jack.  The sub-woofer connects to the soundcard  also via a six foot cable with a mini-.jack

Performance:

A limitation of flat panel speaker technology is the ability to produce a solid low end with panels that are a reasonable size.  In the case of the Benwin BW2000 this equates to the incredibly thin satellites bottoming out at 150Hz.    However, the Benwin BW2000's despite what you may read elsewhere, are not targeted at gamers.  The BW2000  was designed as a new look in speaker systems for use as a business tool with personal computers in offices. With the addition of the optional carrying case, it is now also targeted at salespeople  on the road to use in enhancing their PC presentations (we all know what laptop speakers sound like!).    This explains the poor performance of the BW-2000's subwoofer from an entertainment perspective.  But first let look at the good points of the BW2000 which, no surprise, is the pair of Flat Panel satellites designed by NXT and tuned by Authentic.

The Satellites

These are what this system is all about and they certainly stand out in a positive way sitting on your desktop.  People visiting me during the review were immediately attracted to their incredibly thin profile.  But looks just can't factor into what makes a good speaker.  From a gamer's perspective, what makes a good speaker, aside from volume, clarity and bass, is 3D imaging.    3D audio with two speakers depends on Head Related Transfer Functions and Cross Talk Cancellation.  Frequencies exhibit a wide variation in directivity with higher frequencies being more directional.  This is why you can place a good subwoofer anywhere in a room without it affecting the quality of your 3D audio.  The frequencies produced by a subwoofer are not directional.   At the high end frequencies become very directional.  If we listened to sound in anechoic environments this would be exactly what we want.  (Definition: Anechoic - An extremely dead acoustical condition in which reverberation is non-existent. Specially designed rooms called anechoic chambers lacking acoustical signature have been developed for critical audio testing.). To oversimplify, we could point our satellites at each ear (just like headphones) and let the cross talk cancellation take out any unwanted cross over and we would have perfect HRTF based 2 speaker 3D audio.  Having said that, the room where I use my computer is a far cry from an anechoic chamber!  This is where the problems can in theory come in and where the flat panel speaker technology theoretically shines.  In a typical listening environment, the sound playing from your standard satellites can (and will) bounce (reflect) off your desktop, the side of your monitor, etc. before reaching your ears.  These bounces add random delays to the signals which in turn, interferes with the precisely delayed signal generated for crosstalk cancellation, thus reducing its effectiveness. The NXT designed panels confound expectations here because, while maintaining a wide radiation pattern, their diffusivity helps reduce destructive boundary interactions (such as desktops, monitors, etc). According to NXT, stereo imaging in typical domestic surroundings is at least as well defined and stable as with conventional directional loudspeakers listened to from the stereo 'sweet spot'. Again, their research shows that outside this small area of optimum stereo the NXT panel is much superior because of its better maintained off-axis performance and the reduced interaction of objects within the room. My testing supports this as I found moving around in a room has less impact on what you are hearing than what you experience with a conventional loudspeaker. Conversely, its this same wide radiation pattern that in theory should make the NXT flat panels less than ideal for 3d gaming as the lack of directivity will have a negative impact on the HRTFs noted above.

Many other reviews have noted that 3d audio suffers with these speakers for that very reason.  Overall,  I found that while it was not the best 3D imaging I had ever hear on PC speakers,  it was certainly as good many cone based PC speaker systems and not something that stands out as an issue.  Moving beyond 3D audio, music imaging was good, with bright mid and high frequencies.  Volume on the satellites is reasonable with more than enough volume at the high end to fill a small room with sound and would be more than adequate in their targeted role performing in corporate boardrooms.   They do distort when pushed a little bit beyond 80 percent on the volume control.

The "Subwoofer"

Benwin does not provide a solo shot of the diminutive (4.72" x 4.96" x 6.69" - 2.2 lb. (1KG)) subwoofer but you can see from the left hand image that it could easily hide behind the pair of flat panels.   As I noted, these speakers are not targeted at gamers and this is where their corporate targeting really shows up.   I will be the first to admit that size does not matter when it comes to well designed subwoofers.   Just look at the small (9 1/4" x 6" x 6 3/8") sub-woofer that comes with the Cambridge SoundWorks FourPoint Surrounds.  I picked that subwoofer for comparison purposes as the 4pt surround retails for around the same price as the BW2000 and they kick out a lot of bass for a speaker in that price range.

The same is not the case for BW2000's subwoofer.  This little unit is rated down to 50 Hz but my testing using a hi-fi test CD found that 70 or 80 Hz might be a more appropriate rating.  Its not that it did not produce sound at 50 Hz, its just that the sound coming from the subwoofer at 50 Hz sounds nothing at all like the same frequency coming from the subwoofer on the 4pt surrounds (which was tested with the BW2000 satellites).  The performance of the subwoofer in this regard can have a negative impact on 3D audio because the frequencies produced just might be high enough to be directional.  This would disrupt the effectiveness of the HRTFs used to produce 3D audio.  The subwoofer does come with its own volume control but to get anything even close to passable I had to run it full volume.  

I decided at this point to try a little mix and matching.  To do this I set the Diamond Monster Sound MX300 to 2x mode where the same signal comes out of the rear and front channels and hooked the Cambridge Soundworks FourPoint Surround subwoofer to the rear channel.  I set the volume on the 4pt surround sub to 3/4 which is my normal setting for those speakers and I turned the volume on the BW2000's subwoofer right down to zero.   I can't emphasize enough what a difference this made!    This is what the BW2000s would need to sound like if they were to serve as entry level gaming speakers.  The excellent flat panel performance with good subwoofer response right down to 45 Hz!.   Looking again at the BW2000's subwoofer, we see that the power-switch and volume control are on the sub-woofer, thereby preventing you from putting it in a location that might help its bass response a little.   This is more evidence that the BW2000 was never intended as a gamer's system as the button placement really would not have a detrimental impact when the subwoofer sitting right beside a laptop for a PowerPoint presentation. 

The early models of the BW2000  sported a headphone jack.    This is a nice feature that more manufacturers should remember to include.   Performance was fairly good with just a small amount of audible hiss with the volume on the subwoofer turned up beyond 80 percent and no applications playing.    At those volumes during music or game play you are simply not going to notice it.   However, when you target a speaker at corporate markets, headphone jacks I guess are not too important and on newer models,  Benwin has replaced the headphone jack with a "3d sound" button which is really just a simple stereo expander.   According to feedback I have received from some other users,  its probably not nearly as effective as Qsound's UltraQ expander device that we recently reviewed. 

As you know, 3DsoundSurge focuses on entertainment when we evaluate performance.  As such, these scores are reflective of looking at the BW2000s from a gaming and not a corporate office perspective.  If we had evaluated the BW2000 as an enhancement tool for laptop presentations then the overall performance rating would most definitely have been higher but we will leave that role to business sites.

Flat panel score: 95/100
Subwoofer score: 55/100
Overall Performance: 75/100

Price/Performance Ratio:

With a suggested list price of $89.00 gamers should look for speakers with better subwoofer performance.  Its not an unreasonable expectation because I have heard it from other brands in the same range.    The costs to Benwin in this system must be heavily weighted to the satellites.  In my opinion, Benwin would have been better off hitting the $125 price point and packaging them with a decent subwoofer so they could have more effectively blurred the line between a corporate presentation system and a good entry level gaming system.

score: 65/100

Summary:

Cool looks don't make a great speaker and with lots of competition in the sub $100 market there are many other options that will better suit the needs of an avid gamer looking for an entry level speaker system.   On the other hand, if you have a nice spare subwoofer laying around you just might want to give the BW2000 flat panels a try.  The same can be said if you are a mobile gamer, who is frequently relegated to listening to Half-Life's cool sound effects though pathetic lap-top speakers.  As I noted before, this is where Benwin has targeted the BW2000s and is even offering a free (until June 30th - a $19.95 retail value) carrying case that will fit the satellites and sub-woofer so you can take them on your next road trip! 

So is this a damming report on Bewnin and flat panel speaker technology?  Most definately not!   With a better subwoofer design Benwin can be very competitive in the gaming market and that just what they plan on doing.   At  this years E3, Benwin introducted their new EX-4 model and apparently it sparked tremendous interest from E3 attendees. 

The EX-4 (see left image) is Benwin's first flat panel speaker made specifically for gamers and should be available later this summer.   Staff at Benwin have told us that their engineering department is so excited about the NXT flat panel technology, that they are working around the clock developing many new flat panel speaker products!  If the new EX-4 model perfoms the way they plan then Benwin is sure to become a widely recognized name within the gaming world by the end of the year. 

Overall score: 70/100 

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