[geepondy]

Ok, I coming from owning a Altec Lansing 4100 system which consists of four sats and one subwoofer. I was never really impressed with the system in the first place as I thought the subwoofer was very boomy, not that accurate, near the size of a computer itself, and drowned out the satellites. But now I've moved into community living (condo) where my computer desk is adjacent to a neighbors bedroom, I do not want a boomy subwoofer and would prefer a "clean" sound.

Anyhow I have been looking at a smaller footprint 2.1 or just plain 2 speaker system for hopefully not more then a hundred dollars. I look at see what's available at local Compusa and then read Amazon reviews. One speaker system is the Logitech X-230 for $50 at Compusa. At first I thought the price was too low to really be any good but Amazon reviews are very favorable. Another I found intriguing was the Bose Companian 2 for a hundred dollars. Certainly has a small enough footprint but I read very mixed reviews at Amazon, some very positive, some very negative. Plus I've heard, perhaps not warranted that "friends don't let friends buy Bose".

P.S. Did some more looking. Should I also consider Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0?

Anyhow any opinions on above two mentioned speaker systems or other recommendations? To reiterate I'm looking for accurate clean sound with a small footprint as opposed to boomy bass and hopefully less then a hundred although I would spend a bit more if blown away but a certain speaker set. Thanks for any input.

 

[Veniogenesis]

I once made a thread asking about speakers for under $100. Two of the more favorable answers that I received were the Klipsch Promedia Ultra 2.0 and the Logitech Z-2300. The Klipsch Promedia Ultra 2.0 sounds rather nice throughout the frequencies, but you might want to consider the 2.1 if you're inclined to have a sub. I ended up not buying one and spent the money on some non-audio related merchandise.

If you're looking for some of the best computer speakers around though, the Swans M200 is your sure choice. Though they cost $190, they're amazingly good.

 

[ayso78]

People here don't seem to refer to the M-Audio StudioPro series much. Being monitors, the clarity is excellent, but like the Swans lack a sub.

 

[saturnine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veniogenesis If you're looking for some of the best computer speakers around though, the Swans M200 is your sure choice. Though they cost $190, they're amazingly good.

Totally agreed. Worth saving up for, much better than any powered "multimedia" speakers in the pricerange. They don't have much bass out of the box, but with some burn-in they sound absolutely amazing! Very good sound positioning for gaming too. Do yourself a favor & save a bit more.

Otherwise, the Klipsch Promedia 2.1 is decent for the price. Better than the M200 if you like the standard consumer M shaped frequency response (lots of bass, lots of highs, sucked out mids, with very little extension).

 

[episiarch]

I really love the Swans M200 too. But if footprint is an issue, these may not be right for you. They're hefty.

In the small-footprint category I really like the Sony SRS-Z1, a compact little system that sounds a whole lot bigger than it looks.

 

[warpdriver]

I have the Klipsch Promedia 2.0 and it's fine for the price. The response is actually quite flat down to about 90Hz (+/-dB) where it starts to roll off. I just like the fact that they don't take up much space. My serious listening is done with headphones

If you can spend a bit more, I'd recommend a set of compact bookshelf speakers like Energy C-50 (less than $150) and an T-amp.
Or get a cheap integrated like the Teac A1-D.

 

[geepondy]

Thanks for the opinions thus far. I should add that music sound is far more important then game sound which is why I would prefer clean sound to boomy bass.

 

[angler31337]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver I have the Klipsch Promedia 2.0 and it's fine for the price.

It's pretty hard to top the old ProMedia systems. The 5.1 is still absolutely killer; with a Monster cable upgrade they shine. Or if you're more into movies, you could try to get your hands on a 4.2. That much bass from a PC is phenomenal. One other thing, Klipsch support is absurdly good. (No, I don't own stock.)

-Angler

 

[geepondy]

I bought these today at Best Buy and thus far I am a bit underwhelmed. It seems really flat to me. You are right, in my case my HD497 headphones which I know is not very high end for people of this forum, blows these speakers away. I actually wish I had my old original Cambridge Soundworks speakers as they sounded pretty decent and had a small footprint satellite.

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver I have the Klipsch Promedia 2.0 and it's fine for the price. The response is actually quite flat down to about 90Hz (+/-dB) where it starts to roll off. I just like the fact that they don't take up much space. My serious listening is done with headphones If you can spend a bit more, I'd recommend a set of compact bookshelf speakers like Energy C-50 (less than $150) and an T-amp. Or get a cheap integrated like the Teac A1-D.

 

[warpdriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geepondy I bought these today at Best Buy and thus far I am a bit underwhelmed. It seems really flat to me. You are right, in my case my HD497 headphones which I know is not very high end for people of this forum, blows these speakers away. I actually wish I had my old original Cambridge Soundworks speakers as they sounded pretty decent and had a small footprint satellite.

You can easily return the 2.0's to Best Buy and try something else.

What about it doesn't sound good to you. The clarity and definition of the Promedia is pretty good. It actually has highs that sound like highs, and mids that aren't sucked out. It's just that the bass is very limited and too tight, and the dynamics are limited. Coming from the 497's I think I can understand why you wouldn't like the 2.0. If it sounds too bass shy, go for the 2.1 Promedia.

 

[warpdriver]

dup

 

[geepondy]

In a technical sense, yes I would say the dynamic range is disappointing. Also there doesn't seem to be much separation between the speakers. To me, it's not the lack of bass as much as the lack of treble that bothers me or is it that I am not used to accurate speakers? But they are growing on me a little bit. If I sit right in front of them with the speakers exactly evenly spaced from my head, they don't sound too bad. Also if I increase the bass a little bit and the treble a bit more still, it sounds better to me. I wonder if they will sound better when burnt in a little. I almost went for the promedia's 2.1 but the satellite although not huge is a bit big for me. I want to be able to put it on my computer shelf, not the floor so I will not annoy the people below me.

I wonder how tough Best Buy's return policy is? I believe these were already returned as the tape was broken and there was no manual with them. Will I get charged a restocking fee?

 

[Aman]

Don't buy computer speakers. They all suck. End of discussion.

Powered monitors are a different story. M-Audio makes some nice monitors when you start climbing their high-end list. I would absolutely positively go against any recommendation to get anything with a subwoofer - a subwoofer will muddy up your sound. Good subwoofers cost hundreds among hundreds of dollars. Anything less will only make your mains sound worse than they really are. Either live with a speaker that will faithfully reproduce one or two ranges of the audio spectrum, or buy speakers that are good enough to go as low as a subwoofer can.

In your case, you'll want to go with the former option, since you could only be looking at computer speakers if your budget was on the lower side.

 

[geepondy]

I am also finding that the choice in music makes a big difference with these Promedia 2 speakers. Jazz and similar types of music sounds much better then rock.

As far as expensive audio, I think my next foray will be a better pair of headphones and a headphone amp. Seems for like maybe $250, I could get both that would be a big improvement over my HD497s (maybe HD580s?), not that they sound horrible. If I keep these Promedia 2 speakers, I wonder if I could plug a headphone amp into the headphone output of these speakers? The headphone output of these speakers doesn't drive my current HD497s especially loud.

 

[Veniogenesis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geepondy If I keep these Promedia 2 speakers, I wonder if I could plug a headphone amp into the headphone output of these speakers? The headphone output of these speakers doesn't drive my current HD497s especially loud.

Hmm, if you're not satisfied with the Promedia 2.0's, my suggestion would be to return them. I would strongly advise against externally amping the headphone out of the speakers. The headphone out already has an internal amp... a poor one at best. Amping it would only decrease the sound quality even more. Getting a nice soundcard can do wonders to your system both ways (you'll want a nice soundcard if you go the headphone upgrade path or the speakers path). What soundcard are you currently using?