Microlab’s set of two floor speakers are certainly impressive; the question is how much bang for the buck do they bring to the HTPC market?
Product on Review: SOLO 7C Multimedia Speaker System
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Microlab
Street Price: £114.99 (At time of review)
We’ve had the pleasure of reviewing Microlab audio equipment not that long ago, but it’s still true that many new readers will not necessarily be familiar with the brand.
Established in 1998, Microlab began with a group of audio enthusiasts. Within two progressive years, our innovative skill and design expertise are recognized as a major professional speaker manufacturer worldwide.
Products after products, we set the trend and standards in the speaker industry. Microlab continues to lead in groundbreaking audio products with quality and performances.
These past years, we have been steadily progressing as we grew in product range, categories and strength. Today, Microlab offers a full range of home audio entertainment products. Ranging from desktop PC, notebooks, LCD TV, CD/DVD players, iPod, iPhone or game console, to wherever they are … be it in the living room, bedroom, or in the kitchen, … you will find Microlab product, a perfect match for your playback devices. Plug it in and immediately listen and feel the differences. A perfect companion to transform your playback audio device to Hi-Fi quality entertainment.
Products after products, we set the trend and standards in the speaker industry. Microlab continues to lead in groundbreaking audio products with quality and performances.
These past years, we have been steadily progressing as we grew in product range, categories and strength. Today, Microlab offers a full range of home audio entertainment products. Ranging from desktop PC, notebooks, LCD TV, CD/DVD players, iPod, iPhone or game console, to wherever they are … be it in the living room, bedroom, or in the kitchen, … you will find Microlab product, a perfect match for your playback devices. Plug it in and immediately listen and feel the differences. A perfect companion to transform your playback audio device to Hi-Fi quality entertainment.
The Microlab product range has certainly grown to be comprehensive. Complementing an extremely wide range of multimedia, home theatre and portable speakers are earphones and headsets – if you have home audio needs Microlab almost certainly have a product for you.
In our April 2.1 Speaker Grouptest we looked at the FC360’s, a compact soundsystem which is part of Microlab’s FineCone range. As you would expect it includes two satellites, a subwoofer and amplifier; the set is ideal for PCs where a 5.1 system would be impractical and we judged it to be excellent value for money.
The speakers on test today are a little different. The Microlab SOLO 7C is a set of stereo floor standing speakers tailored more for the living room space than your average PC desk, but whatever your usage scenario is intended to provide a more fully rounded audio experience than the standard PC or Television set-up.
[The Microlab SOLO7C’s are] high fidelity floor stereo speakers with beautiful wood finish. Designed with Microlab special care and audio expertise, this series is ideal for most living room setup. Listen to crystal clear and dynamic music with this stereo pair and witness the quality in its audio drivers.
Technical Specifications
Amplifier:
Output Power: 110W
– Power Distribution, W: 55W x 2
– Harmonic Distortion: <0.3% 1W 1kHz
– Frequency Response: 55 Hz – 20 kHz
– Signal/noise ratio, dB: >85dB
– Separation, dB: >55 dB
– Input Sensitivity, mV: 440 mV
– Nominal impedance, Ohm: 4 Ohm
– Power Distribution, W: 55W x 2
– Harmonic Distortion: <0.3% 1W 1kHz
– Frequency Response: 55 Hz – 20 kHz
– Signal/noise ratio, dB: >85dB
– Separation, dB: >55 dB
– Input Sensitivity, mV: 440 mV
– Nominal impedance, Ohm: 4 Ohm
Speakers:
Tweeter driver type: 1″
Tweeter rated power: 10W 6 Ohm
Bass/Mid driver type: 6.5″
Bass rated power: 30 Watt 4 Ohm
Frequency range: 55 Hz – 20 kHz
Tweeter rated power: 10W 6 Ohm
Bass/Mid driver type: 6.5″
Bass rated power: 30 Watt 4 Ohm
Frequency range: 55 Hz – 20 kHz
Interfaces:
Output: Terminals
Input: 2 RCA
Auxillary: 2 RCA
AC Power: 200 – 240V, 50Hz, Fuse
Input: 2 RCA
Auxillary: 2 RCA
AC Power: 200 – 240V, 50Hz, Fuse
Dimensions
Product Dimensions, mm: 220 x 325 x 558 (W x D x H)
Net Weight, kg: 22.40 kg
Net Weight, kg: 22.40 kg
Misc. Features:
– Beautiful wooden cabinets with excellence sound quality, powerful 3-way speaker system
– Crystal clear dynamic highs, balanced mid range and deep bass
– Reference monitor quality, driven by high quality drivers
– Each cabinet with 1″ tweeter for high notes and woofer for mid to low depths and bass. Includes wireless remote control
– Ideal for high fidelity music, movies and digital media playbacks
– Crystal clear dynamic highs, balanced mid range and deep bass
– Reference monitor quality, driven by high quality drivers
– Each cabinet with 1″ tweeter for high notes and woofer for mid to low depths and bass. Includes wireless remote control
– Ideal for high fidelity music, movies and digital media playbacks
NOTE: Specs from Official Product Manual
Packaging and Contents
The packaging for the Microlab SOLO7C is quietly unassuming: no flashy graphics or glossy full-colour exterior; instead we’re treated to a plain brown exterior which simply indicates the product inside and its technical specifications. The size of the box indicates just how large this speaker set is – no set of tiny satellites and subwoofer are these.
The front has a stylised view of the speaker set and remote control, with Microlab logo and slogan. This is mirrored on the rear.
The left and right side of the box lists product specifications in multiple languages and the packaging dimensions (excluded for brevity) respectively. The speakers are packed with solid 3cm thick polystyrene, providing a fair amount of protection and leeway for courier mishaps.
Contents*
SOLO7C Speakers: 2
Cables:
– 3.5mm stereo to 2RCA cable : 1
– Interconnect speaker cable : 1 (2.5m)
Remote Control
CR2023 Battery
User Manual
Cables:
– 3.5mm stereo to 2RCA cable : 1
– Interconnect speaker cable : 1 (2.5m)
Remote Control
CR2023 Battery
User Manual
The SOLO7C’s User Manual is as detailed as you might expect, detailing the expected contents, features, technical specifications and wiring suggestions. This set differs from many other stand-alone living room speakers through the inclusion of a remote control, which is denoted by the ‘C’ in the product SKU. Microlab also have a version of these speakers available without remote control and necessary sensor if that suits your specific needs, though the availability depends on region.
The package is comprehensive overall, with no piece needing to be bought separately to get the speakers up and running so long as your audio can be output via a 3.5mm jack. Connecting an auxuilary source, for example a TV or stereo, will necessitate the acquisition of additional cables depending on the devices connectivity. Generally speaking 2RCA – 2RCA cables will be appropriate for this role, and are most often included with the TV/DVD player.
*Contents may differ very slightly from those shown
A Closer Look
Standing 56cm tall, the looks of the SOLO7C can be best described as ‘classic’. The size alone almost certainly rule them out as a table-top speaker system unless your PC desk is particularly tall, hence the ‘floor-standing’ designation. The detachable cloth speaker grill softens the appearance somewhat, though they still have something of a monolithic dark tower quality. Although constructed of MDF the 7C’s do not by any means look cheap, and have a solid feel to them. The dark wood colouring of the speaker housing is in keeping with a wide range of living room décor’s, be they a standard family room or minimalist living room.
The cloth grill has a plastic frame and can be detached to reveal the bass/mid range speakers and small tweeter. Those seeking a more contemporary look for their front room may want to remove the grill and expose the speakers directly, which benefits from a matt surface rather than bare wood. Obviously removing the grill changes the dynamics of the emitted sound somewhat, which we will explore more momentarily, but we should also note that the finish of the front of the speakers isn’t so good that it withstands close inspection. A few small manufacturing flaws, slightly spoiling the asthetics, may mean that you choose to keep the grill on – check your own when you receive it.
If the cloth grill is removed care should be taken with long-term storage, the spindles which fix the grill frame to the speaker cabinet are vulnerable to damage.
Here you can see the various connectivity options for the SOLO7C. Most worthy of note is that the secondary speaker only inputs via a speaker interconnect cable, for all intents and purposes reinforcing the idea that these speakers work as a pair. The rear of the main speaker is where the magic happens; the bottom half is dominated by cooling fins and a bank of inputs/outputs.
Power is provided by a through a single AC power input, which utilises a lead integrated to the speaker housing. The SOLO7C’s have a true on-off switch rather than relying simply on a mute or soft-off; being energy conscious we always like to see this option, and on speakers it will have the added benefit of cutting any residual noise when the speakers are not in use. It would however have been nice to see the AC power cable as a separate 3-pin plug and socket – the length of the cable is limited and does restrict speaker placement.
The two RCA inputs are labeled ‘PC’ and AUX, indicating to some extent a potential usage scenario (though the speakers are certainly large for a standard computer desk). As analogue inputs you’ll need to ensure that you can provide two-channel analogue audio; Optical SPDIF and HDMI audio won’t do without a separate decoder. PC is noted as the preferred input, so whatever device you’re connecting should be connected here first. Switching between inputs can only be accomplished via the remote.
The rear volume dial scales volume in an identical way to the remote control, and is also reflected in the LED display. There doesn’t appear to be a means of swapping source audio or changing bass/treble balance from the rear of the speakers.
A Closer Look, Continued
Located at the bottom-right of the main speaker is a combination IR Sensor and LED display. Given the likely placement of these speakers the LED is well out of the eye line, but even so Microlab have wisely chosen red LEDs rather than the currently fashionable blue.
The display panel serves as an indicator for volume, bass and treble levels and input source, typically defaulting to volume after a few seconds inactivity. On power-up the LED displays ‘–‘ until an input source is selected; ‘PC’ is displayed upon selection of the input labelled PC on the rear, ‘AU’ representing the Auxiliary input. When muted the display flashes ‘–‘, clearing indicating that the audio is muted rather than lacking a source.
Due to the design decisions made by Microlabs the display is clear and static when inactive, hence not at all distracting in operation.
The rubber feet serve to isolate the speakers from the floor, reducing vibration. On laminate flooring, especially in terraced housing where sound can easily travel through floors and into the neighbours, this is a god-send. We should note that our SOLO7C’s don’t sit exactly level; it’s not a deal-breaker but is something Microlab’s QA could do with picking up.
Though plastic in construction the style of the remote is very much in keeping with the speakers, imitating in part a dark wood-grain look. In regards to power, the battery it uses is a button-style CR2023 rather than a more ubiquitous AAA. The nine buttons control Treble and Bass pre-set levels, audio mute, source and volume; one button is set aside to reset the adjustable values to a normalised base. With the remote you have access to all you need to take advantage of the full range of the SOLO7C’s features.
Performance – Gaming And Music
The raw technical specs of the SOLO7C’s are not outstanding by any means. An output power of 110W RMS isn’t much on paper when spread across two floor-standing speakers, with 10W tweeters leaving only 45W split between two large 6.5″ drivers. A low-end of 55Hz for frequency range is also barely average if you compare systems with discrete subwoofers, many of which reach down to 35Hz. However listed specs are not necessarily indicative of the final result, hopefully the case for the SOLO7C’s.
The Microlab SOLO7C’s are designed as an accompaniment to a Home Theatre PC, suited to those using their HTPC for far more than a spot of web browsing and the like. In assessing the quality of the sound from these speakers we put them through a range of usage scenario’s broadly representing expectations from, ‘gaming’, ‘music’ and Film/TV audio. At the same time we also investigated just how it was to live with the SOLO7C’s day-to-day in the hopes of identifying any idiosyncrasies the system has which the potential end-user would have to overcome.
Disclaimer: The quality of audio from a consumer-level speaker is always going to be somewhat subjective; what may be near-perfect for one set of ears could be just a little off for another.
Test Set-up:
CPU: Intel Sandybridge i5-2300
Motherboard: MSI Big Band Marshal B3
Memory: 8GB RAM
Audio: On-board Audio Chipset integrated by Realtek® ALC892
Graphics: AMD HD 5770 1GB Graphics
Screen:- Samsung LE32S7; also used for audio output of TV audio via 2 RCA
Output via 3.5″ Jack to 2 RCA into SOLO7C ‘PC’ Input
Motherboard: MSI Big Band Marshal B3
Memory: 8GB RAM
Audio: On-board Audio Chipset integrated by Realtek® ALC892
Graphics: AMD HD 5770 1GB Graphics
Screen:- Samsung LE32S7; also used for audio output of TV audio via 2 RCA
Output via 3.5″ Jack to 2 RCA into SOLO7C ‘PC’ Input
Gaming
Whilst a number of games were played with the SOLO7C’s as main speaker, the most time was spent with Tribes: Ascend. A free to play First Person Shooter, Tribes: Ascend mixes a strong soundtrack with bass-heavy gunfire and subtle sounds for in-game alerts. Speakers which can’t cope may exhibit distortion in the output sound in such a way as to make it inaudible even when the volume of in-game noise should still allow it to be heard. Similarly, heavy bass bias equalisation can also render mid-range frequencies inaudible.
The SOLO7C’s dealt very well with our gaming tests, in particular the more cinematic Witcher and Bastion, which rely less on surround-sound positioning for gameplay than FPSers. Tribes: Ascend performance was also good; lack of positioning information hampered gameplay somewhat but sound was crisp and clear throughout. Subtle audio indicators, such as the footsteps of the stealthy Infiltrator class, were picked up without difficulty. Bass reproduction was punchy without drowning out mid-tones, allowing the clear distinction between types of gunfire.
Whilst directionality for the SOLO7’s is about as good for stereo speakers as you’re likely to see, the lack of surround-sound may be an issue for hardcore gamers who favour first person shooters most of all. Those who lean toward RPGs and Driving Sims however should appreciate the clarity over the mixed benefit of hearing what is behind you.
Music
The gaming tests indicated a great bass response, but doesn’t tell a lot about more general playback of high-quality audio. For those who want to use the speakers for more general-use we played a number of different musical genres, from Bach’s Classical Toccata and Fugue in D-minor to some gratuitous Dub-Step, and listened for clarity at higher volumes.
The more high-frequency classical music was extremely clear in the main, though the SOLO7C’s default bias towards heavy bass output made low-frequency sound a little too punchy and aggressive. Simply turning down the bass a little via remote amply dealt with this issue, smoothing out the bass response for a much more pleasant experience overall.
More bass-oriented dance music was obviously well served by the SOLO7C, even at default settings. We found that there was no real need to change the balance during playback of this music style, though of course with personal preference your mileage my vary. The slightly impaired range on bass was noticable as a slight lack of clarity at low frequencies, but not enough to make playback any less than average to good.
Vocals on the majority of pop and rock tracks were crisp and clear so long as bass bias was turned down a little and treble up a touch. Though the default setting is servicable, this sort of on-the-fly adjustment is where the SOLO7C’s come into their own; the remote turns what could be a quite involved process through your PC’s audio output properties into a simple button-push.
As volume increased playback clarity remained good, at least up to levels which would probably deem you a neighbourhood nuisance rather than musical aficionado.
Performance – TV And Miscellaneous Observations
Television and Video
Finally, we set the speakers back to default for playback of Video and TV. As already mentioned, these speakers are analogue only; those with digitally encoded audio will need to put it through some form of decoder first.
Although generally the sound was very good, especially in playback of feature films such as Avatar and Blade Runner, it’s interesting to note that the SOLO7C’s seemed weakest in this test. It was evident that when watching voice-heavy TV actors with fairly deep intonations, for example a Morgan Freeman esq. voice – caused a slight resonance through the system at default balance levels. To become comfortable we needed to reduce the bass by two levels (from 0 to -2), the largest correction we needed to make thus far and quite unexpected from this relatively simple test.
Lack of directionality will be a concern to some who watch 5.1-surround encoded Bluray video frequently, but for the same money 5.1 speaker systems tend to be of significantly lower quality and power. Whilst you won’t get full 5.1 directionality, the sound you will get does neatly fill the room and has none of the associated tinniness you often hear from budget 5.1 set-ups.
Misc. Observations
The overall performance of the SOLO7C’s belied their 110W rating; at no point did they feel insufficient to good playback or strong base tones. Furthermore, removing the cloth grill changed the sound dynamics only slightly, to a even sharper, punchier reproduction which if anything was preferable for gaming if not DVD.
Although the inclusion of a remote control with the SOLO7C’s, operating them through the remote was not trouble-free. The 7C’s would often have trouble picking up the remote when just powered up, and does not default to any output when powered on. This initially makes getting the system to output any sound from any source frustrating, leading to mashing buttons until the speaker picks it up. When operating optimally the remote does work well, but the extra hassle means the end-user will want to avoid turning off the 7C’s when not in operation, making the rear off-switch redundant.
With a 4m range and little angular restriction, the remote is good enough for living room use. The buttons of the circular-style control at the top feel a little cheaply constructed, and doesn’t really reflect the quality of the whole system. The lack of AAA battery power rather than a button battery – the dimensions of the remote could easily accommodate one – and weaknesses outlined above make this the weak link in the SOLO7C package.
Conclusion
Lets be realistic, if you’re sporting a £150 soundcard or amplifier your speaker budget should be much higher than the more trifling £110 mark of the Microlab SOLO7C’s. However those with HTPCs who have only stretched to on-board or low-cost discrete soundcards should take a long hard look at the option of a set of these high-quality speakers.
Audio quality at a wide range of output volumes from these speakers struck us as excellent, not just for the somewhat modest cost but also compared to more expensive 2.1 and 5.1 systems on the market. Typical LCD/LED TV speakers for instance, the sort your HTPC may be using via HDMI audio output, provide a much less satisfying experience both in bass tones and overall clarity. They may not be surround-sound, but the SOLO7C’s would be tough to beat for any entry-level speakers for a home theatre set-up.
As discussed, the remote is something of a disappointment by comparison. Although it provides much-needed functionality including source-switching, it could very well prove to be a liability overall. The fact that it appears operation of the system without the remote is impossible doesn’t help matters.
Other than that, genuine complaints are few and far between. Slightly better quality control for the speaker area exposed when the grill is removed would be nice, considering the number of users likely to prefer the aesthetics of this configuration. Even though it’s perhaps more pertinent for desktop PC speakers than floor-speakers, using a 3-pin socket for power and allowing kettle-lead cables to be used would be a plus. For a speaker system in this price range, said complaints are minor indeed.
Perhaps not enough to satisfy true audiophiles and a little too large for desktop set-ups, your average HTPC user with modest budget and expectations will benefit enormously from them without the rigmarole and cost of a much more expensive 2.1 or 5.1 set-up. As such, Vortez is happy to present the Microlab SOLO7C’s both our Silver and Amazing Value Awards.
Pros
+ Price
+ Good Sound Clarity
+ Excellent Bass
+ Dual Source Input
+ Remote
Cons
– Very infrequent resonance
– Issues waking from off
– Appearance not for everyone
+ Price
+ Good Sound Clarity
+ Excellent Bass
+ Dual Source Input
+ Remote
Cons
– Very infrequent resonance
– Issues waking from off
– Appearance not for everyone
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
