Rant: Klipsch Promedia 2.1

[Tasty]

So after lots of deliberation, I decided to get a multimedia speaker upgrade. Them JBL Creature II speakers had decent-ish highs but absolutely no midrange- 'tinny' sound I suppose. Anyway, I finally decided on the well-regarded Klipsch Promedia 2.1 multimedia speaker system. It seems to have been reasonably well received here as being a decent speaker system (without busting my wallet).

Only problem was, that there aren't any Klipsch distributors here in Australia, or none that I could find that stocked the Promedia 2.1s at least. A little more investigation revealed those shops that DID sell Klipsch sold the lower range GMX 2.1 speakers at about twice the price of the Promedia 2.1 if I bought it online.

My choice was obvious: get it online, and have it shipped down under. Simple enough, I suppose... my brother happened to be in US for studies, so I got him to get it from NewEgg (which appeared the cheapest at that point), and have it shipped here.

Now, not only did shipping cost 57USD, it took a fine 3 and a half months to get here. And that's pretty normal for a 27lb parcel, I hear. What really pissed me off was when I tried getting the thing running.

Whoever said that the Promedia 2.1's subwoofer was good was plain LUCKY. Cause mine didn't (doesn't) produce ANY sound whatsoever. Yeah, I essentially got a dead subwoofer. The speakers work fine, and they sound pretty decent I must say. Doing a little reading on the Klipsch forum reveals that there're lots and LOTS of complaints about Promedia 2.1 owners having various parts of their sound system dying on them, some even as quick as a couple of days or weeks from purchase. Further, there seems to be a real issue with the 'control pod' of the speaker system, which tends to be faulty or give trouble after short periods of use.

And here I am, one who's gotten a speaker system which comes defective out of the box. I've checked all the cabling and whatnots, even testing the speakers on different sources in case it was just my Silverstone EB01 playing up. The only conclusion I can get, is that there are defective parts in the subwoofer, or that darn control pod thing is defective.

Has anyone else had such trouble with their Klipsch speakers? I've already fired off an unpleasant email to their tech support, but I'm still kinda fuming that such major manufacturing defects were allowed to continue in what are supposedly premium equipment. I can understand that there are bound to be some defects in electronics... but the number of complaints in this nature suggest to me that it's a little more than a couple of slip-ups on their manufacturing line.

End of rant.

 

[zhefei]

Sorry to hear about that, after going through all the trouble to get them. I have the 2.1s also, and mine have been great to me. I've seen the Klipsch forums where everyone complains about things not working, but most forums about specific manufacturers are like that. Apple computer forums are FULL of complaints. It's rare you find a forum like head-fi.

Anyway, check to see of the pins of the control pod are damaged or bent. I've bent mine a few times already.

If that's not the case, open the sub up and see whats inside? I'd love to see the insides, but decided against risking it.

Or, just save up for better speakers.

 

[Cousin Patty]

I used to have a set. They were great speakers, After about 2 years I guess, the sub died one night. At first it would just make this humming sound and then I tried fiddling with the fuse and tried opening the sub. Then the satellites got fussy depending on how the fuse was in. Now, my gf has them and the sub doesnt make any noise anymore, but it doesnt work still. The sats are still fussy about the fuse but they're working.

I should also mention that I basically left these speakers on for 2 years straight before the sub died. I still prefer the logitech z-2300's that I have now. Much more convenient having the separate control pod where you can turn the speakers on and off instead of having to get behind the sub like the Promedia's.

 

[pedxing]

My friend bought the pro media speakers from klipsch about a year ago. The quality of their speakers is rather poor. It just feels cheap. After he purchased them, I decided not to buy them unless I can like find a huge discount. Over the years of just perusing klipsch's web site, I also have noticed that many complaints are related to imbalanced left/right channels, excessive static, dead subwoofers, and blown speakers right out of the box. With so many common problems, you would think they would redesign the new models to fix those issues. Its also hard to judge quality on these forums since they are just complaints. We don't know if 1 in 1000 are bad or 999 in 1000 are bad.

If you decide to get better computer speakers down the line, you may want to look into the Swan m-200 speakers. I haven't heard or seen them, but the reviews I have read have been favorable. They don't have a subwoofer, but apparently they don't need one. Usually the subwoofer that comes with most computer speakers are usually designed to make up for the inadequacies of the lower-mid ranges of the satellites, not provide accurate LFE.

 

[rabidmoose171]

Ive got the pm2.1 also, and i like em. no problems with mine.

Of course not as nice as my paradigms/denon/dayton 12" but that stuff cant come to college with me, so back to the pm2.1

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

A few years ago a friend of mine and I both had the the amps in our PM2.1's die, within about a week of each other. His left channel died, my right and sub died. Granted when I first bought them (having listened to nothing better than a boom box) I thought they sounded amazing, but after getting some good headphones, the Klipsch sounded like ass (esp. the bass). I was glad to be rid of them once they were fixed.

 

[Asmo]

I bought the Promedia 4.1s back in like 99 or 2000 when they were first released (not the original v400 that were horrible).

Back then, they were the best thing out there, especially compared to other computer audio solutions at the time, and I not having heard much better, thought they were amazing.

Mine came dead as well, I opened up the subwoofer enclosure, and repaired it myself, was just a wire disconnected.

I feel bad for yah, check the pod and stuff again, might be something come loose durin the shipping.

 

[Bones13]

I have owned 2 sets of these speakers, and am still a great fan. If you are not wanting to have surround sound, but either play games, or watch DVDs on the computer, these are tough to beat, and very affordable too. There is a plug on the one with the volume control to plug in a portable music player too. My kids usually always have an iPod plugged in.

One of my sets did drop the right speaker though, at the amp level, as indicated above. It was a write off.

For critical music listening, I don't like the sub/satellite concept though, and replaced the 2.1 on my desk with a set of Swans M200. Bigger on the desk than a small set of satellites, but much better midrange for the vocal/jazz that I listen to while at the office.

 

[Tasty]

Well, got a reply from tech support- I must say they work pretty fast. Took them around 3 hours to get me a reply. However, their reply wasn't too uplifting. Mr Tech Wizard could only suggest that I "check the 6 pins on the DIN plug, and wiggle the connectors around a bit". Whatever happened to real technical support?

In any case, my only options are to:
1. Look for someone in my area who can look at my subwoofer and possibly "repair" it, or
2. Move to the States. Yeah, their silly warranty is valid for a year, and even if it's expired, I can ship the the system to them and have it repaired for US$40. Only catch is, that they only ship within the States! Well, there goes that.

I guess I'm coming to terms with getting a lemon. As some have pointed out, it's reasonable enough that the manufacturer website's forum be flooded with only the complaints against the product. What it does mean for me though, is that I've been positively discouraged from ever buying a Klipsch product again, and I'd strongly suggest to persons who live outside the States to reconsider purchasing one because of their shipping options (or lack of them).

Also, after sitting with the two functioning satellites for a couple of hours, I'm finding them to be decent, but not much more unfortunately. The midrange sounds fairly lush, but the highs feel compressed and withdrawn. Maybe I'm just listening to my headphones too much.

Thanks for hearing me rant. It makes the next step of visiting an audio-specialist a lot more tolerable, and reconfirms my belief that unless you've got money to burn, headphones are a far less risky choice than speakers.

 

[DrDobs]

Well, if you *really* wanted to go through the trouble of having Klipsh replace the sub, I'd be happy to forward it onto you in Austrailia. You could have them ship it to me (I'm outside of San Diego).

Honestly though, I can't imagine the time, dollars and energy would be worth it. Seems you could build yourself a sub down there cheaper.

Jon

 

[Edwood]

My old Klipsch Promedia 2.1's are still working.

Although, I don't really use them a whole lot lately.

 

[Tasty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDobs Well, if you *really* wanted to go through the trouble of having Klipsh replace the sub, I'd be happy to forward it onto you in Austrailia. You could have them ship it to me (I'm outside of San Diego). Honestly though, I can't imagine the time, dollars and energy would be worth it. Seems you could build yourself a sub down there cheaper. Jon

Thanks for the offer... much appreciated! However, as you suggested it's gonna be just another couple of months wait- and the biggest joke of all, the cost of shipping it anywhere in the States will probably settle repair costs here twice over.

I'll just look for one of those speaker-repair services I suppose... and actually, I'd rather trust them than Klipsch

Thanks again!

 

[DrDobs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tasty Thanks for the offer... much appreciated! However, as you suggested it's gonna be just another couple of months wait- and the biggest joke of all, the cost of shipping it anywhere in the States will probably settle repair costs here twice over. I'll just look for one of those speaker-repair services I suppose... and actually, I'd rather trust them than Klipsch Thanks again!

Yes, I think you're doing the right thing. I'm sure you'll get it worked out. Good luck to ya mate!