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A pretty technical (but short) question on the ProMedia 2.1 for speaker experts


TwoCables

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This about the older ProMedia 2.1s that have the plug-in satellites.

 

Would the subwoofer produce tighter and deeper bass by using better speaker wires for the satellites? I'm specifically talking about using high-end Monster 16 AWG speaker wires with high-quality plugs and Silver solder on the bare ends. If the subwoofer would produce tighter and deeper bass after upgrading to these wires, then how is it possible? I mean, I wouldn't understand how because the wires are just for the satellites, and so I'd like to understand how it's possible if it would happen. If it WOULDN'T happen, then that's what I thought.

Edited by TwoCables
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As a placebo possibly..

 

Either that, or maybe it has something to do with the way I perceive low end (or just sound in general) after being awake for several hours. When I listened to this music this morning, I had only been awake for an hour or so. By the time I listened to it again with the new wires, I had been awake for about 9 hours. I tried doing some research on this, but I came up empty because all I found were people talking about the air temperature, and my room has been the same temperature all day.

 

So, if it's technically impossible to affect the ProMedia 2.1's subwoofer performance by upgrading the satellite speaker wires, then I'll either blame the placebo effect or some other phenomena.

Edited by TwoCables
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Maybe different media?

 

Nope, it's the same media.

 

You're right that I am talking about speaker wires that I just bought and my experience so far. They replaced some other premium 16 AWG speaker wires because I couldn't rest until I compared the two. The Monster wires look very superior to these other 16 AWG wires, and the bare ends are nearly twice as thick as well; they almost don't fit in the amp's wire connectors, while the other 16 AWG speaker wires fit very easily with room to spare. The winding of the Monster wires is quite superior, with clockwise winding for the negative wire and counter-clockwise for the positive (the other wires have clockwise winding for both the negative and positive). The winding itself is superior too (tighter and denser). Overall, the Monster wires are heavier in weight and thicker and feel like a vastly superior product in my hands and look vastly superior to my eyes as well.

 

The music I chose as a test was the same music that I played when I woke up this morning. When I played it this morning, it was the first time that I have ever listened to it on the ProMedia 2.1s, and I found myself wanting my subwoofer to be louder than I usually have it for everything else. I don't know why either. It's the first time so far that I wanted to go above the 10 o'clock position! I didn't want to change the tone of my low-end, I just wanted the subwoofer itself to be louder, and I ended up at about the 12 or 1 o'clock position, or somewhere in there. Maybe 12:30. hehe It had a fantastic sound, and being that this was my first time hearing this music on this speaker system, I was having a great time. lol

 

The next time I played it was with the new wires, over 9 hours after I woke up. I had the subwoofer back down to the 10 o'clock position by this point and I was surprised to find myself feeling that the 10 o'clock position was now PERFECT. I thought that maybe it was the speaker wires somehow, but I was like, "but that's impossible. Or is it? I need to ask". So, I made this thread.

 

The only thing that's different between now and this morning is, the subwoofer's level is now at the 10 o'clock position instead of being higher at like the 12 or 1, yet I'm not feeling that I want to increase it this time. Of course, the other thing that's different is, I've been awake for over 9 hours. So, I don't know what to think. lol I'm hoping that someone can confirm that it is indeed technically impossible to improve the sound of the ProMedia 2.1s by simply upgrading to superior speaker wires for the satellites. However, if someone comes along and says that it IS possible, then I'd love to learn how it's possible.

Edited by TwoCables
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You weren't listening to something online were you? I've been running into situations recently where I'll start a song on the laptop and while it is buffering it is highly compressed, but after a certain point it takes off and gets much more full. Same song but depending on download speed and how much it has buffered the bass will either be sucky or awesome. Soemtimes it's one or the other but sometimes it will open up halfway through a song which is super annoying.

Edited by MetropolisLakeOutfitters
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It was a retail CD. I was using the exact same volume level and everything (same tracks too because I listened to it from beginning to end both times). Really, there were only 2 differences other than the satellite's speaker wires: the first difference was, the subwoofer's level was back down to the 10 o'clock position from the 12 or 1 o'clock position (which satisfied me far more than the 10 o'clock position this morning for this CD), and the 2nd difference was that I had been awake for over 9 hours when I listened to the CD again to test the new wires.

 

So, if it is technically impossible for superior speaker wires for the satellites to improve the sound that the subwoofer produces, then it's either the Placebo Effect, my imagination, the length of time that I've been awake (maybe our hearing works differently after being awake for a while?), or maybe the satellites really are able to produce a superior sound with these new wires and it's giving the illusion that the low-end is tighter and deeper - or perhaps "cleaner". Something like that.

Edited by TwoCables
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A couple of questions:

 

Was your listening position the same both times?  Moving around when there is a single sub it is likely you could have moved into a null position, where bass was subdued.

 

Second question, did you listen both times when the AVR was first turned on, as opposed to one was just turned on, the other time being that the AVR was playing for a while.  My thinking is that cold amp will produce more power than one that is warmed up.  Think back to when your car radio blasts you in the morning, when it wasn't that loud the night before when you turned it off.  B)

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I had the same listening position as before: seated comfortably at my computer (same temporary dents on my chair mat too lol It was a lazy Friday today). Believe me though, I know full-well that listening from different locations (even subtle differences) can have noticeable changes in the low-end.

 

As for it being due to a cold amp vs. a warm one, you might be on to something (but kind of in a reverse sense in terms of power output), but not because of it being off all night. I mean, I never turn my ProMedia 2.1's off because they're not designed to be turned on and off every day (that can cause a premature failure). The only time they should be turned off is if you go on vacation or something (when they won't be used for like a week or more). Like I said though, you might be on to something. I mean, I would bet that the amp was a little colder in the morning because it was the first thing I listened to. By the time the wires came in, I had my room up to nearly 80 degrees (I hadn't eaten all day, I wasn't moving at all, so I was kinda cold). I'm sure the amp was warmer because of the near-80 degree room temp, and also because I had been watching two different episodes of Good Mythical Morning back to back, which I always follow up with the Good Mythical More. Typically, that's about 30 minutes per 2-show episode, and I was by myself and so I had it at a nice loud but comfortable volume. The wires were delivered before I finished today's episode of Good Mythical Morning. I still had a couple minutes left before I began the Good Mythical More video. So, I put the last couple minutes and the entire Good Mythical More video on the new wires, plus an immediate switch to that retail CD that I listened to first thing this morning. I mean, there was maybe a break of 5-10 minutes for the wire upgrade, and then I resumed with that video (as well as the Good Mythical More video of course) followed immediately by the CD.

 

So, yeah, you might be on to something with the temperature of the amp, but I also don't have a clue how much its temperature changes when it's idling vs. me listening to stuff. That's just interesting right there! That might explain why I felt like increasing the subwoofer's volume. Maybe the ProMedia 2.1 performs better after the amp has warmed up a bit - even if it's on 24/7 but was just idling all night.

Edited by TwoCables
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  • 3 weeks later...

This about the older ProMedia 2.1s that have the plug-in satellites.

 

Would the subwoofer produce tighter and deeper bass by using better speaker wires for the satellites? I'm specifically talking about using high-end Monster 16 AWG speaker wires with high-quality plugs and Silver solder on the bare ends. If the subwoofer would produce tighter and deeper bass after upgrading to these wires, then how is it possible? I mean, I wouldn't understand how because the wires are just for the satellites, and so I'd like to understand how it's possible if it would happen. If it WOULDN'T happen, then that's what I thought.

It seems against the electrical principle, if subwoofer is powered on it's own and all you're providing is the signal (active subwoofer versus passive) to it.

 

Now, the biggest question is that "are you sure that it's the subwoofer which is producing the sound that you're hearing?", or "is it mains or satellite producing sound in matrix sound or like wise?"

 

The RC-64 II in my set up produces unbeliveble and tight bass up to 60Hz. During some passages, I couldn't believe that it's RC-64 II producing tight bass.

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This about the older ProMedia 2.1s that have the plug-in satellites.

 

Would the subwoofer produce tighter and deeper bass by using better speaker wires for the satellites? I'm specifically talking about using high-end Monster 16 AWG speaker wires with high-quality plugs and Silver solder on the bare ends. If the subwoofer would produce tighter and deeper bass after upgrading to these wires, then how is it possible? I mean, I wouldn't understand how because the wires are just for the satellites, and so I'd like to understand how it's possible if it would happen. If it WOULDN'T happen, then that's what I thought.

It seems against the electrical principle, if subwoofer is powered on it's own and all you're providing is the signal (active subwoofer versus passive) to it.

 

Now, the biggest question is that "are you sure that it's the subwoofer which is producing the sound that you're hearing?", or "is it mains or satellite producing sound in matrix sound or like wise?"

 

The RC-64 II in my set up produces unbeliveble and tight bass up to 60Hz. During some passages, I couldn't believe that it's RC-64 II producing tight bass.

 

 

Of course it's the subwoofer. Like I said in the post that you quoted here, this is the ProMedia 2.1 that we're talking about. The woofers in its satellite speakers are only 3", and there's absolutely no way that these little 3" woofers in plastic cabinets are going to produce the low-end that I'm hearing (not only that, but I isolated the satellites just for fun once to see what they're capable of, and their low-end is very weak and cheap-sounding, as expected). The RC-64 II's woofers are 6.5", which is the same size as the ProMedia 2.1's subwoofer.

 

Anyway, I'm actually way past this thread now because I've since learned that it's just an illusion due to a higher quality sound coming out of the satellites.

Edited by TwoCables
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