Replacing Promedia 2.1 Satellite Speakers

[PeterTWJ]

Hi all

As my new set of Promedia 2.1 Satellite Speakers.

1. Is it ok if I bought a pair of old Promedia 2.1 Satellite Speakers and use a better cable to connect to the sub unit?

2. If yes on 1., what types of cable do you recommend? As I would like to get the best out of my unit.

3. Would the sub / amp overheat and affect sound quality if operate for long hours? I have seen online of people modding a fan in Promedia 5.1 in order to cool down the unit and longevity.

Please advise
Thank You
Peter

[TwoCables]

I'm very surprised that no one has replied yet. I hope you're still looking for answers, because I have some!

 

Hi all

As my new set of Promedia 2.1 Satellite Speakers.
 
1. Is it ok if I bought a pair of old Promedia 2.1 Satellite Speakers and use a better cable to connect to the sub unit?

 
I believe so, unless the older satellites have a different power requirement for some reason (like, a different OHMs rating or something). I don't have a clue about this though, so all I can recommend is that you do some research and also ask on here. Also, if you like having the control pod attached to one of your satellites, then I also recommend looking into seeing if the pod slot on the bottom of the satellites is the same. It should be, I see no reason why they would have changed it, but it's better to be safe than sorry!
 
I'd like to be able to expand on the stuff about the power requirements, but that is the extent of my knowledge.

 

2. If yes on 1., what types of cable do you recommend? As I would like to get the best out of my unit.

I recommend getting this one from eBay: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Premium Gold 16ga Speaker wires, Cables, Professional, Pair (perform a search on eBay for it. I don't want to link to it because I don't want to look like I'm advertising). There's another seller selling some Monster-branded wires, but they are a little more expensive, and there's nothing in the description that says they're Oxygen-Free or that the wire ends are soldered with Silver (the part that goes into the amplifier). In other words, the Monster wires seem to be a bit more plain than the ones I'm recommending. I own the ones that I'm recommending, and they are definitely very high-quality in construction, and they definitely improved the audio quality: the mids and highs are clearer and crisper, and the sound stage is superior as well.
 
It seems to me that the two different speaker wires that I mentioned here are really the only ones that are available these days. The Monster wires are probably the same ones that Klipsch was selling back when they were still manufacturing the plug-in style satellites, but I've never liked Monster's products because they're overpriced and you can usually get equal or better products for less. Go ahead and compare for yourself; search eBay for Klipsch ProMedia 2.1, Premium Monster Cable Speaker Wires, Custom Made Pair 10'. Have both wires up in two different tabs: one for these wires and one for the others, and switch back and forth to compare the photos and the Description, and the price. You might see for yourself why I went with the other ones!
 
 

3. Would the sub / amp overheat and affect sound quality if operate for long hours? I have seen online of people modding a fan in Promedia 5.1 in order to cool down the unit and longevity.

I would think that it's perfectly safe, as long as you're not exceeding a constant power draw of 17.5W per satellite and 65W for the subwoofer because 17.5W and 65W are exactly 50% of the total output capacity that the amplifier has per channel (I'll explain why I said this in a moment). To be clear, as long as the constant power draw doesn't exceed these wattages (per channel), then I would say that it's perfectly safe. Fortunately, the workload of any speaker is constantly changing in normal use (like while playing music, watching movies, YouTube videos, or playing a video game). I mean, the only way to have a purely constant power draw is to play something like pure sine waves while never adjusting the volume. Of course, even a sine wave isn't truly constant, but it's as close as you'll get.
 
My reason for saying "50%" is based on my extensive knowledge of power supplies for computers. At least with computer power supplies ("PSUs"), if the computer is being used in such a way where the power draw is constant, such as "Folding", then it's extremely important to make sure that this constant power draw doesn't exceed about 50% of the PSU's capacity - especially if it's going to be pulling that power 24/7 for several weeks or months without ever stopping. Even the very best PSU could fail if the continuous power consumption is too high. After all, the closer the power consumption is to the PSU's maximum capacity, the higher the temperatures are. From what I can tell, a speaker amplifier is really just a power supply. If that's true, then what's true for a computer PSU would be the same for a speaker amplifier. If not, then I would love to be educated ASAP.
 
If you're just wondering if it's safe to leave this system on for several hours per day even if it's not being used, then the answer is a definite 'Yes' because it's designed to be on 24/7. That's why the switch is in an inconvenient location for daily access: you only need to access the switch on your first day of ownership while setting the system up, and then you leave it on 24/7. After all, you have to access the amplifier side of the subwoofer cabinet in order to insert the speaker wires and also the DIN cable, so this is when you'd turn the amplifier on. I've seen complaints on the internet about the location of switch (like on Amazon.com in the reviews and even on here), but it doesn't need to be turned off when it's not in use, unless it's going to be left unused for like a week or longer. Y'know? Switching the amp on and off every single day will shorten its life much faster than just leaving it on. A daily on/off cycle could be the source of some of the common problems that the ProMedia 2.1 system has. At least, that's what I would think.
 
In conclusion, I think that as long as you're not using the ProMedia 2.1 system at steady very high volumes every single day for several hours per day (i.e. as long as you're using this system for a computer, while you are AT the computer rather than for your entire house or apartment), then it should last a very long time without ever overheating or dying prematurely on you, or giving you other problems.

 

So actually, this makes me wonder: how exactly are you using this system? What is the primary use when you're using it "for long hours"?

Edited March 2, 2015 by TwoCables