glennbarn

I bought the 621 and was very disappointed after an hour of listening to it. In my opinion, the PM4.1 will still be a clear winner against the 641 in all categories you mentioned. My PM4.1 sits in my family room as my HT speakers. I managed to have the front speakers to act as the center speaker at the same time. I believe that your friend will be surprise and at the same time jealous.

Hi Everyone, I know that most of you could not even imagine buying such thing as a HT in a box, but I have a brother-in-law who enjoys movies a lot but do not want to get too technical on hooking them all up. He wants something where the receiver and DVD player comes in a box, preferably with color-coded connectors for the speakers, you know the type. He unfortunately 3 hours away by plane to me. Any suggestions for the best value unit that is around US$700 max ? I'd really appreciate your inputs.

This is rather a dumb question for most of you but I don't want to learn this lesson the hard (expensive)way. A friend of mine sold me a pair of good 8-ohm speakers. What will happen if I connect them to a Promedia 4.1 as front speakers knowing that PM4.1 expects 4-ohm speakers ?

Have you tried hooking it with your CD player or MP3 player bypassing your PC ?

I almost grabbed a Sennheiser headphones yesterday. Thanks the warning.

Which one is better ? Approximately, how much do these subs ( the 10 , 12 & 15 inch )cost ? Any feedback would be appreciated.

I'm not using my PM4.1 with a PC. I use it with my DVD player because I find it ridiculous to spend several times more on some HT setup whose sound quality is not that many times better than my PM4.1. Also, I don't like bulky speakers. I'm waiting for a value for money receiver (got my eye on a Marantz unit) and probably throw Quintet with a KSW sub. I can then move my PM4.1 back to my PC. At the moment, I'm pleased with what PM4.1 produce. I'm thinking of buying an RF headphones instead, so I can hear my music anywhere around the house !

It works well with Dolby Digital 5.1 materials too. Sade and Nickelback never sounded better on the same PM4.1 ! Its just unfortunate that my DTS DVDs will have to remain in stereo mode.

I fed the "center" channel to one of the (mono) microphone input. The mixer, a Eurorack MX 602A from Behringer ( about $100.00), then did its magic by spliting the signal for both the Left and Right speakers, thereby creating a phantom center. I did not need a spare speaker nor amp.

I've been waiting for the PM 5.1 for a long while for my DVD collection which are mostly live performances from Nickelback, Sade, Roger Waters, Sting, The Corrs etc. With all the complaints in this forum and delays of PM 5.1 getting here in Australia, I got impatient and decided to find a way to exploit my PM 4.1 for my DVD's built-in Dolby Digital & Prologic decoder. The solution came to me one very late night. I got this mixer which takes 2 microphone inputs ( 2 mono channels ) and 2 stereo inputs. I hooked the Sub & the Center channel separately to the 2 microphone (mono) inputs. The Left and Right channel was connected to one of the stereo input. The output of the mixer was connected to PM4.1's Front Left & Right speakers. Then I connected the Rear Left & Right output channels directly to PM4.1's rear speakers. I ran the THX test that came with my StarWars Episode II DVD and each channel was reproduced satisfactorily ! Of course, I do have all the necessary wiring conversion jacks handy. The opening scene of Episode II ( where Senator Amidala's big plane and escorts are approaching the planet ) and the **** bombing of Pearl Harbour never sounded better ! Even the very simple scene of Jango Fett shooting the Changer with a dart while being interrogated by Obi Wan and Anikin, suddenly is some experience ! I'll be happy to answer anyone who wish to know more about this setup.

I have seen a receiver with a 4-ohm and an 8-ohm switch for the speakers. I'm not sure which brand and what price but you might want to include this in your wishlist for your new receiver. Sorry to hear that your amp died.

Trespasser_guy, I have no idea what your problems are but I hope not to offend you by offering an advice. Here's something to think about: When someone feels sad or down, it does not come without his/her active participation. The reason is, you have to breathe in a certain manner, think of sad things or what you lost, you have to wear a sad expression on your face, sit/walk/talk/stand in a certain way to be sad. Change any of these, like look up instead of down or smile instead of frown, then it becomes hard to be sad. I once read a book years and years ago and it still helps me focus. Try reading Unlimited Power from Anthony Robbins. Here's what some readers said. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=0684845776#customerReviews KilleR, If you have not left this board yet, and you're looking for another speaker manufacturer, you might want to look at Yamaha's YST-MS55D. Its a 2.1 setup at 80 watts. Its does not have proper tweeters but the subwoofer surprisingly does a decent job. You can connect your headphones to the right speaker. I'm using the YST-MS55D for my PC and my PM4.1 was promoted to the family room to accompany my DVD/MP3 player ! If you want speakers for your PC, its tough to use separates unless you got enough room and personally, I find it awkward to have bookshelf or floor standing speakers beside my PC. You have to make sure that they are magnetically shielded too.

My unit behaved the same last year and it got so warm, I could not hold the subs backplate for more than 10 seconds. Eventually, the sub distorted and have to be replaced. Since then, I have a portable fan behind the sub cooling it when I'm using it. I have no problem of it being even just warm since then, even after 4 hours of use. I also keep the volume at 10 o'clock as a max as I find this volume level already loud enough for my neighbour to hear the music I'm playing.

Out of curiosity, approx., how much is Sunfire Signature sub ? Cheers !

I'm glad to hear that you're happy with your unit. My PM 4.1 is one of the things I look forward to listening to at the end of each busy day !

Hi Bohemian_Rhapsody, Whatever you buy between these 2 products, just make sure that there will be a good support for them. If you end up using them where there is no good support or warranty, you'll be frustrated when the problems start. My sub started to distort horribly sometime in October 2001. The dealer here in Melbourne, Australia got them replaced in 2 weeks and they worked without disappointing me since then. But to make sure that they are trouble free, I placed a small portable fan that cools the backplate of the sub everytime I use it. The sub does not even get warm and each time I finish listening to them, I switch it off and unplug them from the power outlet. Yes, you normally do not have to go through all these rituals but for me, its a small trade-off for the quality and loudness that I have been enjoying.

Hi ejosh, I was just reading what you and Justin have been discussing and I thought I'll give you my 2cents worth of idea. I bought the PM4.1 and I do have the FPS2000. The PM4.1 is way above the FPS2000 in any category of comparison. If size is an issue, you might stick with your FPS2000. In terms of quality, loudness, packaging etc., there is no contest here, PM4.1 wins hands down. I believe that a lot of reviews find the Altec641 and the Logitech Z560 are comparable to PM4.1, I can therefore conclude that there is also no contest here. Whatever speaker system you decide to buy, you might want to keep your FPS2000 handy (lets say, by your bedside) so you can fire your portable CD player or MP3 player without waiting for your computer to boot up. This is possible since I have my FPS2000 plugged for months and months and there is not over-heating or amp blowing up issues.

Hi Justin, Just a dumb question, can i use a normal RCA cable to hook up my DVD's coaxial to my receiver's coaxial digital in ? Thanks.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I'll look at System 6 more closely.

How about some audio transmitter that can be directed just like a laser beam carrying frequency, volume and XY coordinates data aimed at the appropriate embedded device within the room to reproduce the sound ? The XY coordinates data is relative to the position of the viewer to create a 3D audio positioning. Hence when someone in the movie shoots from a crawling position from the leftmost side of the screen or eyelevel directly in from, the sound is emitted by the appropriate device at the appropriate level and angle from the viewer. There is nothing in this home theater room that resembles a conventional speaker nor amplifiers of some sort. The video project hangs by the ceiling and transmits video throughtout the room whose walls are actually part of the projection screen, thereby creating a more realistic feeling of being in the movie. I don't believe that we will be crowding our home theater rooms in the future with 20 speakers and subwoofers just to recreate a more realistic audio experience. Just a thought !

Hi, I'm not that technical with these speakers stuff, though I know a thing or two about home theaters. I'm just wondering, which one is better in terms of sound quality and output power, Quintet or the System 6 ? (Of course, assuming that I have exactly the same subwoofer) Also, how would these setup compare to Promedia 5.1 ? I would appreciate any feedback especially those who heard these units in comparison.

So, thats why ! I was wondering too !

My sub became warmer and warmer sometime ago. At some point they became too hot to touch. My local dealer replaced them with a new one. Since then, I made sure that I got a little fan blowing at the metal plate behind the sub to make that it would not get too hot. Since then, I'm happily listening to it, looking forward to it at the end of everyday day.

My unit behaved the same last November 2001. They have my sub replaced but since then, I keep a small fan blowing at the back of my sub everytime I use it. I didn't hear any of those distortions anymore and I unplug my unit every time I'm done listening to it. I love these speakers a lot, I don't mind the work-around just as long as I get to hear the quality I've been used to.

I have my PM 4.1 plugged to a surge suppressor. Along with this is a small fan that is turned on whenever I use my PM 4.1. This way, the sub doesn't have a chance to become warm. When I'm done listening, I switch it to stand-by mode, and after about a minute, I turn off the power switch (there is a switch in our power outlets here in Australia) where the surge suppressor is connected. I noticed that the sub gets warm even in stand-by mode, but this does not happen when I "unplug" it. Like Justin mentioned, I don't play too much with its control pod. - I set it my subwoofer at 12 o'clock - the surrounds are in full volume - the main volume is at 10 o'clock ( I use my mixer or receiver to control the volume, this level is good enough for me and my neighbours ) My faulty sub was replaced last Novemeber and until now I no issues with it. I'm using it to view DVDs & play my MP3 & CDs for at least an hour and a half everyday. Of course during the weekends, I play them a bit longer and louder. I hope this helps.