Best 2.1 speaker system

[Maxspeed996]

Originally posted by: gamefreakgcb
How do THESE sound? Got mine, not much in the looks department but boy, they are terrific, stack em up and you've got yourself an excellent 2.1 setup, no messy wires since you just detach the rear speakers and place on top of the front speakers, the top speakers in the tower config are side firing, comparable, maybe even better than the Klipsh Promedia's.

After seeing those THX certified , I'm thinking about buying them tonight.....how does the Sub sound?

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: Maxspeed996

Originally posted by: gamefreakgcb
How do THESE sound? Got mine, not much in the looks department but boy, they are terrific, stack em up and you've got yourself an excellent 2.1 setup, no messy wires since you just detach the rear speakers and place on top of the front speakers, the top speakers in the tower config are side firing, comparable, maybe even better than the Klipsh Promedia's.

After seeing those THX certified , I'm thinking about buying them tonight.....how does the Sub sound?

The sub is very good. It's not boomy, and it doesn't extend too high. The default bass setting in the middle is quite overexaggerated though. I tend to turn the knob down to one bar over minimum.

 

[Maxspeed996]

Right on . I'm going home and placing my order. Not bad , but I can't afford the Logitech's like I want right now. Sweeeeeet.

 

[alcoholbob]

Originally posted by: virtualgames0

Originally posted by: Astrallite

Originally posted by: Patrick Wolf
What do you expect from such small speakers? Maybe they need to burn-in?

Is it even possible to connect the IFI to a PC.. .through the X-FI for example? And the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 can be had on ebay for around $100.

*Stereo mini auxiliary input
*Stereo mini line input

Looks like they can easily be connected to the PC.

Plus, these PC satellite-sub systems tend to have a bit a of upper bass hole around 120hz. The iFi's satellite manages to extend to 113hz, so this might be one of the few that can "sort of" cross over properly with the sub (although that's really not enough, I know).

There isn't really a hole at 120Hz. However, what you do get is a very muddy and poor quality 120Hz, as the subwoofer generally covers all the way up to 150Hz.
A good 2.1 system, like my swans and velodyne sub, should ideally have the crossover at <80Hz. 150Hz is too high for music, but should be fine for movies/games.

That's quite amazing engineering really. I don't know how so many designers manage to engineer a satellite drop-off slope that's less than the iFi's 3.5" drivers with the smaller 3" and 2.5s" that everyone else uses. But I guess you know what you're talking about.

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: Astrallite

Originally posted by: virtualgames0

Originally posted by: Astrallite

Originally posted by: Patrick Wolf
What do you expect from such small speakers? Maybe they need to burn-in?

Is it even possible to connect the IFI to a PC.. .through the X-FI for example? And the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 can be had on ebay for around $100.

*Stereo mini auxiliary input
*Stereo mini line input

Looks like they can easily be connected to the PC.

Plus, these PC satellite-sub systems tend to have a bit a of upper bass hole around 120hz. The iFi's satellite manages to extend to 113hz, so this might be one of the few that can "sort of" cross over properly with the sub (although that's really not enough, I know).

There isn't really a hole at 120Hz. However, what you do get is a very muddy and poor quality 120Hz, as the subwoofer generally covers all the way up to 150Hz.
A good 2.1 system, like my swans and velodyne sub, should ideally have the crossover at <80Hz. 150Hz is too high for music, but should be fine for movies/games.

That's quite amazing engineering really. I don't know how so many designers manage to engineer a satellite drop-off slope that's less than the iFi's 3.5" drivers with the smaller 3" and 2.5s" that everyone else uses. But I guess you know what you're talking about.

I'm guessing you're being sarcastic from misunderstanding my post 😵.
Yeah the satellites to drop off at frequencies higher than the iFi with their small drivers, but the sub covers those upper bass frequencies.
Most people like exaggerated upper bass anyways. Most people don't like good, accurate sound. They like the Logitech sound.. powerful, punchy, with boomy bass. Bose and Sony has the same sound signature.

 

[Miki01z]

It may sound pretty cheap from the stats it says. But I can thankfuly say that they're amazing for 2.1 speakers. Great for music, you hace master vol. and bass vol. control, as well, so good that compared to my last speakers, I can actually hear as if I'm in a game. For example, lets say people are shooting in front of me, if I turn slightly to the side (in game) you can hear the sound moving. Its like its 3 dimensional! And even from this, I'm still using integrated audio.

 

[SolMiester]

I got the Logitech X-230 with Sub woofer 2 months ago, great for pc speakers, but not a home sound system.

I max out my ears before the max on the speakers, so I'm happy

 

[FreedomGUNDAM]

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1

 

[Ken90630]

Originally posted by: Astrallite

Originally posted by: JosephBAdams
I have two sets of Klipsch 2.1 ProMedia, one for each computer station. They are absolutely fantastic. In fact, I like the sound quality on them even more than our $5,000 Bose surround sound system in the family room...

Unfortunately with Bose, they are the exception, not the rule, when it comes to home theater speakers. Almost any other brand will trounce PC speakers.

More or less true, although I'd add Sony, Samsung, and the typical plastic-y "home theater package" fodder found at Best Buy et al. to the list of bad HT speakers. *Cringe* -- even Yamaha is selling some really cheapy plastic-y HT sets now. 🙁 Frankly, my ProMedia 2.1s blow all of those away for musicality (heh -- even though their satellites have plastic cabinets 😛 ).

But yeah, 'real' home theater speakers paired with quality components will generally trounce PC speakers.

I don't know what happened to Bose. I remember when I first got interested in audio back in the early 80s, Dr. Bose was a highly regarded speaker designer. The Direct Reflecting speakers were acclaimed, and he was considered innovative and somewhat of a guru in the speaker industry. Maybe he later decided to sell out & market junk to the clueless masses or something ... I dunno. 😕 But Bose sure gets badmouthed a lot these days.

 

[alcoholbob]

Well, HTIBs can get away with still being a good deal at their cost, because unlike plain jane computer speakers, they are often 1) stylish 2) include a receiver/amp that has multiple connectiosn and uses 3) often includes a DVD player as well. Though, they do sound a lot like transistor radios.