deciding between 2 speakers

*Sorry to rant*

1. You DO NOT want "heavy bass" on speakers- it changes how the music should sound, distorts it AND it is harder to get the high notes... (basically it sounds crap).

2. The second is said to have excellent sound quality, and where that is probably relatively true for computers speakers you can find MUCH better quality speakers elsewhere...

3. You ONLY need a subwoofer for watching films at the cinema (where a RUMBLE is needed), and it WILL NOT make your music sound better, maybe a few games though (where there is a rumbling).

Out of those 2 though, the second seems the best option...

Altough I prefer to hook my PC in my Leak Amplifier (or one of the ones my grandpa made) which can then go into some high quality speakers...
 
Lozzy_Ozzy:
Point 1: Agreed, for the most part. The Klipsch Ultras have a much flatter frequency response than the Z-5500 though, with a deeper sub (dual 8" versus one 10") and tweeters on the satellites.

Point 2: Yes, you can find "much" better quality speakers elsewhere, which will also cost much more. The Promedia Ultras are priced proportionately to the rest of Klipsch's high-end home theatre stuff in in the Reference and Heritage lines.

Point 3: No, for any multimedia system, you need a subwoofer. If you want to spend a couple thousand dollars per full range speaker, yes, music does sound fine without a subwoofer, but any sub-$1000 system will sound like crap without a subwoofer. (Actually, I think most computer speakers other than the Klipsch Ultra and Creative S750 sound like crap, but anyway...)

The subwoofer isn't meant for "rumbling" in music, but to play lower frequency instruments.


Dida:

The Klipsch speakers are better quality, get those unless you need the decoder on the Logitech speakers if you want to hook them up to a console or such. If you're just using them with your computer, the Klipsch's are the best.
 
one additonal question:
do you think my sound card can support and power the klipsch speakers adaquately
 
Here are my opinions:

1. Many small speakers at low volume produce louder sound than one powerful speaker. When you have 5, 6 or 7 such satellites with energy split between them, their maximum output is not important - unless there is something spectacular about the size of your room!

2. Satellite speakers positioned at head-height (consider sitting positing) deliver the least distortion. A retail package with stands may seem able to deliver this, but I mount mine on the wall for optimal effect. If that isn't possible then think about the stands.

3. All budget solutions have cut corners but which detail matters? The most common piece for a company to remove the (often single) mid-range speaker. In such cases, the "quality brands" suffer from being unable to produce mid-range frequencies (they do high & low only). In contrast the "value brands", which always fail at the extreme frequencies, perform really well in the middle frequencies which is actually better for producing voice. So if you are on a budget, avoid the "quality" products and look for those which try to deliver value for money.

4. Relying on the sound card to produce high quality sound effects reduces overall cost. Getting the same result from the amplifier is more expensive, and is the same result anyway.

5. The sub-woofer is the part most worthy of extra investment as it's effects cannot be reproduced by other means - although mounting any sub woofer on nails sticking out of the floor can help to reduce muffle.
 
Dida said:
one additonal question:
do you think my sound card can support and power the klipsch speakers adaquately

Yup, I've got the same soundcard, and it works great, with the volume maxed on both soundcard and speakers, there's only a *very* soft buzz that I can only hear by putting my ear right up to the speakers. (You won't be running these things at full volume when you're at your computer btw, unless you're interested in damaging your hearing)



stormbind said:
Here are my opinions:

1. Many small speakers at low volume produce louder sound than one powerful speaker. When you have 5, 6 or 7 such satellites with energy split between them, their maximum output is not important - unless there is something spectacular about the size of your room!

2. Satellite speakers positioned at head-height (consider sitting positing) deliver the least distortion. A retail package with stands may seem able to deliver this, but I mount mine on the wall for optimal effect. If that isn't possible then think about the stands.

3. All budget solutions have cut corners but which detail matters? The most common piece for a company to remove the (often single) mid-range speaker. In such cases, the "quality brands" suffer from being unable to produce mid-range frequencies (they do high & low only). In contrast the "value brands", which always fail at the extreme frequencies, perform really well in the middle frequencies which is actually better for producing voice. So if you are on a budget, avoid the "quality" products and look for those which try to deliver value for money.

4. Relying on the sound card to produce high quality sound effects reduces overall cost. Getting the same result from the amplifier is more expensive, and is the same result anyway.

5. The sub-woofer is the part most worthy of extra investment as it's effects cannot be reproduced by other means - although mounting any sub woofer on nails sticking out of the floor can help to reduce muffle.

And here are my opinions on your opinions and such ;):

1. If you're looking for music fidelity, cds are only stereo, and should be played as such. However, solutions like the Klipsch setup are more than adequate to play at an acceptable volume level with only 2 speakers, unless, like you said, you're room is very large.

2. I don't think the Klipsch satellites are easily wall mountable, but generic speaker stands will fit them. I just have mine on various pieces of furniture that I've rearranged to hold my speakers up.

3. I can't really agree with this... if something has dropped mid-range quality for better highs and lows, it's not really "quality", is it? The Klipsch speakers best the Logitech at all frequencies, and the Creative S750 have slightly better mids due to larger midrange drivers, but a weaker subwoofer.

4. I'm not following here... do you mean reciever rather than amplifier? The Klipsch speakers have an amp built into the sub enclosure, but all it does is power the speakers, you need a soundcard to supply sound to the speakers. (Well, you can hook up stereo sources to the speakers without a soundcard, but the amp is still just powering the speakers, it doesn't do anything with the sound)

5. The Klipsch sub is the best of any computer speaker system... it's drivers also happen to be side-fireing, so raising it from the floor would have little effect. (It also has a sub plugin on it, so you can plug in expensive self-powered home theatre subs to it...)
 
so the Klipsch sub can hook up another sub to the system? making it a dual-sub audio system?
 
Dida said:
so the Klipsch sub can hook up another sub to the system? making it a dual-sub audio system?

Yes, that's correct, it's just a single channel RCA output, so you just need to plug any powered subwoofer into that.
The sub already has 2 8" drivers btw.

It also uses bare speaker wire, so you can easily substitute higher end satellites and/or bookshelves in place of the stock satellites, and the amp will power most of them just fine.
 
@Zelig, I was talking about generic speaker purchase - not about any specific product. It has been some time since I was an IT Journalist reporting on these topics, so my knowledge of specific products currently on the shelves is outmoded - but the principles of "what to look for" never change.

3. You are right, when that happens it is not a good product. The effect, however, is a common manifestation of quality names attempting to break into the value market - it is therefore an issue to be aware of. They may have the best sub, and the best tweeters (giving wonderful statistical results) but woeful performance when you play back songs or movies ;)

4. Yes, you did understand me. Additionally, the volume controls on a "value" amp are a cheap variable resistor which has greatest effect at low volumes. This is why 90%, 95% and 100% volume on a cheap amp is pretty much the same but 5% and 10% are hugely different volumes. An expensive variable resistor has a different structure and spreads resistance equally throughout, giving greater control of the volume. When using "value" amps, depending exclusively on the sound card volume control can be technically more accurate.

5. Orientation may help. What I was referring to is possible movement in the sub housing which represents lost energy. For optimal results, the sub housing should not move, wobble or vibrate. This is more of concern with very powerful products, but even so, sometimes you find yourself carried away and just want to crank whatever you have to it's maximum setting ;)
 
Like I said, the actual current products are not known to me. I would not know what components are in the Klipshe, and I made no comment on that product.

I was bringing up generic pointers on what to consider when looking for a set of speakers.

Anyway, most people do not bother to setup their speakers properly, and are missing out on a lot :(
 
Top Bottom