Thonet & Vander Rätsel BT Speakers provide a life-changing experience.
The first thing I do when I walk in the house after a long day at work is put on some music so I can get about my menial chores before I relax. One of the biggest frustrations of this is that I don’t get the sound quality that I really want. With most sound systems now I get too much bass. While I see the importance of bass, I want a full, rich spectrum of sound. I don’t know if I will be listening to Punk, Motown, Jazz, or Metal on any given day and I can’t get the full effect of a wide range of different music styles with just run a of the mill sound system. I have a minimalist outlook on everything in my house and I don’t want anything huge or bulky taking up space that doesn’t live up to the expectations that I have for it. I have gotten used to either using my sound bar from my television or a portable Bluetooth speaker for my audio needs. I like the fact that my sound bar is already there, and that the portable speaker is small and doesn’t take up much space. They both serve a purpose, but just don’t quite meet my needs.
Thonet & Vander read my mind when they built the Rätsel BT speakers. It’s as if they created this set to my exact specifications. I like and need all things in my life as small and powerful as they can possibly be while still retaining an aesthetic beauty. As soon as I cracked the seal on the box and looked in, I had a giddiness like I had just found what I had been searching for. All of the different pieces were small and felt very sturdy.
After my initial child-like awe, I carefully unwrapped everything and quickly removed my now dead-to-me sound bar from my TV set-up. Installation was a breeze and very straightforward – two satellites, a subwoofer, and a control box. Wiring from each speaker is much like most home speakers, a red and black wire goes straight in to the control box. The hardest part about setting the Rätsel BT up is deciding where to set the speakers. I chose to put the satellite speakers at the far end of my entertainment center and the subwoofer and control box in the center for symmetry. The control box has two RCA jacks on the back, one for a PC and one auxiliary port. On the front there are two 3.5 mm jacks, one for head phones and a second auxiliary port. There are three knobs on the front to help fine tune your audio.There is one for treble, bass/pairing, and volume/input. There is a mute button that blends in very well, and really who would want to mute this system?
The RCA inputs have a function that I haven’t seen before. The first RCA is for smartphones, tablets, and MP3 players that have a weaker output. The second RCA is for TVs, DVDs, and anything with a stronger output. Knowing that we all have a multitude of devices, Thonet & Vander gives us the amplification that we need for everything that we have, while giving us impeccable sound quality. The most impressive feature to me of the control box is the Bluetooth connectivity. Along with Bluetooth, NFC is supported as well. This was a bit of a shock to me. I haven’t really ever used NFC for this purpose, but the idea that I now have that option to is cool. The remote control for the control box is very straightforward. It includes volume control, playback, input, mute, treble, bass, and power. The Rätsel BT comes with one remote, but for some reason I received two. It was like somebody at the factory knew that I would misplace one and had me covered.
The two satellites each contain a 3-inch midrange speaker and a tweeter in a tall, slender package. They are both surprisingly heavy. The black metal face perfectly matches the rest with the rest of the body giving it a smooth look. The 6.5-inch subwoofer has the same look except that the front metal mesh contours to the actual speaker. In my opinion, it makes it look mean and ready to take on the bigger subwoofers out on the market. Spoiler alert: it does.
After the initial placement and connecting all the essential wires and devices, I couldn’t wait to crank it up. I decided that since I am a gamer at heart I would run it through its paces. Right from the jump I could tell that this was the sound quality that I was lacking all these years. With most new games, there are ambient sounds that we take for granted. I wasn’t previously getting this and playing a game I have played many times was like playing it for the first time again. I appreciated the small little noises and effects that were previously lost on me before. This also gave me a better advantage at knocking out a few missions that I was having trouble with.
The night I set up the system, I spent too much time playing games and had to go to bed before I could try anything else out. But, true to form, I continued my ritual of playing music as soon I came home from work the next day. I had been waiting for this moment all day at work. I had set-up my Bluetooth connection the previous night, so as soon as I pulled into the driveway, my phone connected and I decided to start playing music before I made it through the door just to see what the neighbors get to hear. All 72 watts of sounds were playing at full force and I could hear every note and lyric as if I was sitting In my recliner. Opening the door and hearing The Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter was incredible enough that I just sat in my recliner and jammed out until the song was over. Even though I cranked up the volume, I never lost sound quality or heard any distortions. After completing my chores, it was time to watch some Netflix. At first, I was put off by the sound, but after a few seconds, I realized that I was used to hearing sub par sound from my old sound bar.
The Rätsel BT is only 2.1 and puts quite a few 5.1 systems to shame. I haven’t every really been a fan of 5.1 and up, so this was quite an initial shock of the overall sound. The fact that I fit the whole system on the bottom shelf of my entertainment center and that I have hardwood floors make the rich sound pour thru my entire house as if I’m still in the same room. As I have been writing this review, I’ve been listening to music and have gotten caught up in the music several times due to the new level of enjoyment of the sound from this amazing system.
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