Review: GTEK Odin Gaming 2.1CH Soundbar with 2 RGB light bars — a lot of sound for a low price

GTEK makes some sneaky-good gaming products—not only are they usually good value for money, but they are actually really good products. The new GTEK Odin Gaming 2.1CH Soundbar with 2 RGB light bars (yes, that is a mouthful) delivered everything it promised and more—probably more than I needed, but that isn’t a bad thing.

Read on to hear my thoughts on the new $199 RRP gaming soundbar from GTEK.

Design and Hardware

The Odin gaming soundbar offers 2.1-channel sound, which is nothing groundbreaking. However, it is a very small package with decent connectivity.

The entire package includes the soundbar, a subwoofer, a couple of RGB light bars and a remote control.

The soundbar includes a simple LCD display on the front, in the middle of the two front-firing speakers. The rear houses the ports for each speaker and two mounting brackets, should you wish to mount the soundbar on the wall.

As you would expect, the rear of the soundbar also houses the input/output ports.  These include the SUB output port, the left and right RGB light ports and the port port.  Also included are a USB HUB port for connecting a keyboard, mouse, headphones, gaming controller and/or other accessories, a USB input port from your PC, a USB port to plug in a USB flash drive for media playback, an HDMI (ARC) port and a coaxial AUX input.

That is a lot of input ports, and to be honest, I don’t think you will use many of them, if any. Of course, I used all of them for the review, but if you use this as a gaming soundbar or as part of a wider gaming setup, you will most likely use the USB-A input port from your PC or the simple Bluetooth connection.

I have the subwoofer sitting under my desk, and it is actually a decent subwoofer. It is a ported subwoofer and a lot bigger than I expected it to be. It really packs a decent punch.

The RGB light bars are something many gaming accessory manufacturers are selling now and I’m not entirely convinced why you need them.  Maybe you may want them for added ambience if you are streaming your gaming session – I don’t have any need for them but they are there if you do.

The RGB light bars operate in several colour effects which are cycled through using the remote control.  You can also switch the lights to operate dynamically based on the sound coming from the soundbar.  Whatever floats your boat, you have the option to do it.

Sound quality

First things first, the soundbar and subwoofer really pack a punch. If you like your music loud, these fit the bill. At high levels of loudness, though, the sound does become muddy, but that is fairly loud by then. You can trim this up with less bass and a bit of clipping of the treble, but it still isn’t perfect—but you shouldn’t expect that from a sub-0 soundbar setup.

The sound quality, at normal, non-ear-bleeding levels is good though.  It is crisp and accurate – in both USB and Bluetooth connectivity options.  Although not as pure as the sound from my Astell&Kern ACRO BE100 (as you would expect from an audiophile 0 speaker) it is still decent.

I’d say that, given what is included in the box, it well outperforms its price.  The mids and lows are decent and while the subwoofer is big and can be LOUD, it doesn’t quite have the crispness we hear on more expensive soundbars.

It is perfect as a PC gaming soundbar, though, mostly for gaming and generic PC sounds. You do not need high-end speakers for this sort of thing—even for gaming. I would use it mostly for generic PC sounds and some casual music or gaming, but I dare say most folks will have decent gaming headsets that offer lower latency and better-quality sound.

Who buys this?

This is not a soundbar you should be buying if you are a high-end gamer or someone who loves audiophile-quality music. The GTEK Odin Gaming 2.1CH Soundbar with 2 RGB light bars is for those who want an entry to mid-level gaming and PC setup and like decent music and sounds without breaking the bank.

If you are setting up a PC environment for your sub-15-year-old child, then this is for you. If you want great value for money with the occasional music and gaming sounds, then this is also for you. The GTEK Odin Gaming 2.1CH Soundbar with 2 RGB light bars offers a fun, colourful setup for the new gamer at a decent price.

The GTek Gaming 2.1CH RGB Soundbar with subwoofer is available now at JB Hi-Fi for 9 and offers decent music and gaming sounds with various inputs and outputs without breaking the bank.