BUILD QUALITY & DESIGN
The Helium 300BT is probably the nicest looking thing I’ve had from Genesis. I’ve previously complimented their unique design aesthetic – it tends to balance military/industrial looks with clean lines, which can result in some good-looking kit. The units themselves are lightweight but sturdy, with a matte black pattern that would fit in on any desk. They aren’t loud or ostentatious, instead presenting themselves as a quiet, confident quality product.
The Helium 300BT set’s biggest weaknesses come in the smaller details. The I/O panel is inexplicably mounted on the right side of the right speaker, meaning there’s no way to elegantly organise the cables away. It really works against the slick, low profile look they’ve achieved with it. The control panel itself feels much cheaper than the rest of the set, it’s all plastic knobs and buttons. The cables that come standard with it also feel as basic as it comes, but they do the job.
This is a really sleek looking speaker set – it’s a shame the control panel is in such an inexplicably awkward place. It’s easier to fiddle with the volume dials, sure, but the same effect could have been had placing it on the left side.
FEATURES & FUNCTIONALITY
The Genesis website boasts that the Helium 300BT is the first speaker set to feature RGB control via motherboard. It’s compatible with a range of lighting software, and unfortunately we were unable to test this functionality out but it’s certainly a nice touch. If you’re not planning to sync the RBGs up to the rest of your rig, there’s still a nice set of options available – rotating colour prism, block lights, audio reactive. You can also hit the button again to “pause” the lighting on a particular colour, which is surprisingly user friendly. The audio reactive setting doesn’t seem quite right – it’s either always too many beats behind or picking up on the wrong bits of audio.
As for the audio itself, it’s surprisingly punchy. For a double speaker setup the bass does a decent job without overcrowding the mid and high ends. After listening to a range of different genres it became obvious that these speakers are much better suited for electronic music – the bass response doesn’t pick up low ends that aren’t really emphasised by the track, resulting in it sounding kind of lost in the mix for rock and metal.
This does improve slightly the louder you turn them up, but I’d already aggravated the neighbours enough at this point and didn’t want to risk any more dead rats through the letterbox.
You can pair devices to the Helium 300BT via bluetooth, which is really icing on the cake. For casual music and media consumption they’re an ideal, versatile set with a lot of visual flair.
VALUE FOR MONEY
This is always a bit of a tricky bit to cover for Genesis, as their products aren’t currently widely available in the UK. But MAXGAMING currently list the price as just under €65, which converts to £57.85. That’s a pretty fair asking price for the Helium 300BT. It’s good looking and easy to use. The audio quality itself might not please audiophiles – but then again, what does please audiophiles? – but for the money and all the extra touches of flair, you really can’t argue with it.
HELIUM 300BT OVERALL THOUGHTS
I’ll admit, I’ve been a bit wary of Genesis since reviewing their Radium 600 mic, and a part of me worried that this promising peripheral company was going down the pretentious “high end prices, low-end construction” avenue. These speakers have put my concerns to rest, and jazzed up my workspace to boot. I hope that Genesis continue to capitalise on their potential and release more kit in line with the Helium 300BT. Decent sound, fantastic looks, and a reasonable price point. Easy.