DefBringer Posted January 11, 2001 Share Posted January 11, 2001 Well, I've heard raves about these speakers and managed to find some for $199 and bought them. I have the V.2-400. I couldn't demo them but took everybody's word on how wonderful these were and bought them without listening first (my big mistake!). Well, I have them properly configured (I believe) and I have to say that I am somewhat disappointed. There is absolutely no midrange to speak of. I have the subwoofer set to "10 o'clock" and even there it completely overpowers all the other bass information. Highs seem too tight and compressed and border on being tinny. In fact, after only listening to it for about 30 minutes I already have a headache. Voices don't sound "real" or ethereal as they should, but harsh. I could barely make it through a Radiohead song that I adore because of this. I am coming from using a set of Boston Acoustics BA635, a cheapo $69 setup with speakers and sub half the size of the Klipsch. There is no WAY that old setup should sound better than the Klipsch, but it does. This leads me to two possible conclusions. 1) I have a faulty unit 2) these speakers cater to the "Bose crowd" I have lowered my SB Live's output levels and allowed the Klipsch to do the majority of the amplification. That helped a bit. Wiring was doublechecked so I don't believe the answer lies in messing with that. If anybody has noticed these defencies in these speakers I'd love to hear about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k27-R Posted January 11, 2001 Share Posted January 11, 2001 hey deffy!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefBringer Posted January 11, 2001 Author Share Posted January 11, 2001 hahah sup man!! I guess I should post my pic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k27-R Posted January 11, 2001 Share Posted January 11, 2001 hehehe but yeah you're right. these speakers have no mid range you gotta play with the equilizer a bit. because of the horn tweeters, the highs on them are an aquired tasted and can be harsh sometimes. if you don't like it, you should just return the speakers cuz there isn't much you can do about that. *whispers* these really aren't audiophile speakers. you should look into the bostons BA4800, those will probably suit your needs better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefBringer Posted January 11, 2001 Author Share Posted January 11, 2001 Ugh. heh well thanks for the straight shootin', k27. I'm gonna see how I can live with them for the next day or two. I have 14 days to return.. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dman155 Posted January 11, 2001 Share Posted January 11, 2001 Remember, all speakers need to break in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefBringer Posted January 11, 2001 Author Share Posted January 11, 2001 I am hoping that breaking them in will help make them sound as good as everybody in the world proclaims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paragon Posted January 11, 2001 Share Posted January 11, 2001 the new 4.1 system (upgraded v.2-400) should have differen't crossovers (probably those in the 2.1 system). Not sure what it will change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seb Posted January 12, 2001 Share Posted January 12, 2001 "the bose crowd".... bose has no highs and no lows, the exact opposite of what you're saying about the pros. my interpretation is that the highs and lows are so good that they tend to overshadow the mids. just push the midrange up a bit in winamp and it should sound better. but it's true that the horn sound is acquired taste, it grows on most people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefBringer Posted January 12, 2001 Author Share Posted January 12, 2001 Hmmm. I disagree. My impression of Bose was of all boomy bass and all tinny highs... Then again, I've tried to limit my exposure to Bose as much as possible. These Klipsch certainly sound better than Bose....but they exhibit many of the same annoying features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spydweb Posted January 12, 2001 Share Posted January 12, 2001 For games they really rock, but for music don't know why people rave about them. Play with the e/q it does help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insane3D Posted January 12, 2001 Share Posted January 12, 2001 I hear this complaint about the Klipsch having no midrange or bad midrange alot on another board. I think it is best described like this. Most speaker manufacturers try to get their speakers to reproduce a sound as close to acoustically flat as possible. Klipsch has a different strategy in this area. They try to have a brighter, more full range reproduction. Many people who have had Boston Accoustics get used to the acoustically flat reproduction of the midrange, and when they hear the "brighter" midrange of the Klipsch, it sounds like bad midrange, but it's not. I think Mark over at 3dsoundsurge.com in his review comparing the Promedia's to the Videologic Crossfires described it perfectly. "You may know from our full reviews that we consider the midrange quality of both the ProMedia and Crossfire to be well above the quality offered by the average multimedia system. However, the ProMedia and Crossfire satellites produce a rather different sounding midrange. The results where that I found that the ProMedia satellites offers a midrange reproduction that I would describe as somewhat colored and bright, giving a heightened sense of detail relative to what I heard with the Sennheiser HD525s (speaker tests done with the subwoofer also active). You may note that in the full ProMedia review I dont make a similar statement. The reason is simpleI lacked another high quality system to compare against as my home unit offers rather subdued tones relative to anything decent. Compared to my home unit or any other multimedia speaker system I had heard up to that point, the ProMedias relatively crisp, bright midrange were a joy to my ears and I left it at that until now. In doing my research for this article, I came across a great quote that I will paraphrase to sum this section up - that is "one persons clarity is someone elses harshness". That is, while there clearly is right and wrong when it come to acoustic accuracy but there is no right and wrong when it comes to taste so keep your personal tastes in mind when you make your decisions and keep in mind that I have been very happy with the ProMedia as my primary system for the past several months. Its also worth mentioning that while the ProMedias are not up to the same acoustic standards as Klipschs home and professional lines, the overall Klipsch design philosophy is to create a more forward sound stage (i.e. closer to the front row of a live performance) than many other loud speaker manufacturers while striving for an acoustically flat response.." That comment about "one person's harshness" is a good point. How speakers sound is a very subjective thing. It depends on many factors including speaker placement, sound card, and most importantly, how the speakers sound to your ears. The same speakers sound different to different people for this reason, it may be that your ears are more used to the acoustically flat midrange of the Boston Acoustics. The point is the Klipsch do have good midrange reproduction, it is just different than most other speakers. Just my thought on this whole matter, sorry to run and on. Also, my Sb Live 5.1 made my Pro's sound tinny and I always had an audible hiss. I switched to the Acoustic Edge and those properties disappeared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Distec Posted January 12, 2001 Share Posted January 12, 2001 The reason why there is no midrange is because of the small 3" driver. All multimedia speakers have this problem, not just the promedias. You pretty much need 5"+ midrange drivers to get good midrange, which would probably make the promedias cost MUCH more. I've had the promedias for almost a year now, and I've noticed this problem after my initial run down. Unfortunately, my room has hardwood floors and sheetrock walls, which really screws up the frequency response. The highs and lows are amplified even more, with no midrange. They sound awful in my room, while they sound decent if I put them in a normal room (i.e. carpeted floors, cheap walls). Of course, my dissatisfaction has led to look for something better. I now hang out at www.hometheaterforum.com where they discuss "real" speakers. It's interesting looking at what others use in their homes, and gives you a new perspective, even though you may not be able to afford anything yet. Not to say that the promedias are bad; they are aimed at the budget computer market, not at high-end audiophiles. For $250, they do put out pretty good sound for games, and are very easy to set up. However, they do not compare to good $500+ speaker setups, as many rave reviewers claim. For example, you can get 4 Paradigm Atoms ( http://www.audioreview.com/reviews/Speaker/product_8134.shtml ) and a Sony SA-WM40 ( http://www.audioreview.com/reviews/Subwoofer/product_48108.shtml ) for ~$500, which would totally blow away the promedias. There are many other great combos such as this one, which many people don't even know about. That's why I wonder why people here would even consider the crossfires, when you can get much better for the same price. The advantage of the promedias is the price point, which is what makes them competitive. I'm sure if the pros were $100 more, they wouldn't get nearly as many sales as they get now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insane3D Posted January 12, 2001 Share Posted January 12, 2001 Distec:You are correct, their is no mulitmedia set up that can match a good component reciever/speaker combo, but you are comparing apples and oranges, so to speak. If you compare the Promedia's to almost any other multimedia speaker setups, they are truly on another level. You say in your post that the Promedia's have no midrange, this is incorrect. Sure a 3" driver isn't optimal when you are comparing them to home speakers, but they do a great job for their size and price. As you mentioned, these or any other speakers can sound totally different in two different locations. For speakers of their size and price, they perform very, very well, in my opinion. You mentioned a comparison to a 500+ dollar reciever/home speaker setup, which may perform better, but at twice the $$$. Just my .02. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoW_KeY Posted January 12, 2001 Share Posted January 12, 2001 Hmm well I think they rock for games and music.. if you heard a pair of Altec 885 THX I think you'd be pleased you owned a set of Klipsch. Friend has a pair of these and the sats on them are weak, but it doesn't take much to please me KC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundCritic Posted January 12, 2001 Share Posted January 12, 2001 Too bad I didn't read this earlier. I too bought a the .2-400's in hope of the great speakers all the reviews describe. I'm cursed with good ears and could not listen to these speakers because of the midrange. No warmth....such a narrow sound. I have 5 year old Audiophile brand speakers which blow these things away. I will admit that the treble and bass on these speakers are nice. I also agree that you are going to have problems finding a set of computer speakers which will appears the picky listener. I've been searching for a 4 speaker system to replace my 2 speaker system for a month now. I have tried the Boston 4800, 7500, Midiland 8200, Promedia .2-400, FPS2000, Altec Lansing ADA890, and some Polk Audio set. Any set that didn't have a separate tweeter was far to deficient in treble. The ADA890's were very close to the Promedia's and had less of a midrange problem. I'll probably end up settling for these if I can't find anything else...but I don't want to. I've heard that Klipsch may be upgrading the .2-400's. I'll hope they address the midrange that many of us can't stand. In the meantime it looks like I'm going to have to fork over the cash and try out the Sirocco Crossfire set. It's such a shame that the Audiophile company isn't around anymore. Their speakers are grand. Thank goodness for 30 day no questions asked return policies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
?Enigmus? Posted January 12, 2001 Share Posted January 12, 2001 Here's a question that always occurs to me when this topic comes up: has anyone tried setting up these kick-*** HT setups to a computer? Is it a waste of time, since (I assume) computers aren't designed to send the amount of information as a dedicated DVD player? How would such a setup work for positional audio in games? Would the $500+ "good" speaker setup Distec mentions be a viable multimedia option? Or would it be like buying a Ferrari for trips to 7-11: flashy but a waste of capability? Audio neophytes want to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted January 12, 2001 Share Posted January 12, 2001 I've had my promedias for a week now. I'll tell you this! You dont like em... send em to me. Personally, I think you're playin the wrong music on em. Every other speaker system I have goes into convulsions when i break out my Lad Zepplin II disc. Mothers Finest is the BADDEST. Rock n Roll heaven is when I put in Boston, in particular "Get Organized" from the Walk On album. Guns n Roses brings out the neighbors and the cops. If I wanted to listen to classical, maybe I'd settle down in the livin room with my Bose AM-5's, but If I wanna Rock n Funk till my ears bleed, I'm right here in front of my puter!!!! Between Winamp, its G-Force plugin, the album from Rhino called Millenium Funk Party, this puter and these Bad Mama Jama Speaks. This is party central! Clean, Loud, Proud, and BADD to the bone. Just wish I had bought the $400 system and wondering if Klipsch would sell the upgrade to that one? And while I'm thinking bout it, KLIPSCH has my business for life now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Distec Posted January 12, 2001 Share Posted January 12, 2001 ?Enigmus? - It depends on what you want to use it for. If its just for casual listening and gaming, then they're really isn't any reason to spend more money. However, if you want to set up a PC home theater, its certainly possible. You obviously wouldn't spend $5k on it, but a $500-$1000 is definitely plausible if you spend most of your time on the computer. Check out the Home Theater PC Area at http://www.hometheaterforum.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi for some ideas about this. Since most higher-end speakers don't use mini-jack inputs, you would need to do some converting(or get a Live!Drive). You may also need an amplifier to power the speakers. The sub I mentioned has an internal amplifier, although I'm not sure about the speakers. It's not as easy as setting up the promedias, but the added quality is worth it. Marauder - I would definitely suggest demoing better speakers to see what is out there. Bose is considered very low quality for the price by most audiophiles. Expand you horizon instead of blindly accepting what you have. The promedias are a great deal for the price, and are great speakers compared to other multimedias speakers, and some more expensive ones that are cheaply built. I'm not argeueing about that. My point is that the promedias are NOT worth twice their price, as many rave reviewers claim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m54 Posted January 12, 2001 Share Posted January 12, 2001 MAKE SURE THE POLARITY IS CORRECT. Not to sound elementary, but sometimes those solid and dashed lines get crossed Adjust the bass according to your taste. Start at the minimum position. And different sources have different bass levels too. So don't be surprised if you need to adjust it occasionally depending on your playback source and overall volume level. If the sub is corner loaded it will pound you. Back off the bass and the mids will come through nicely. Frequency balance is a product of so many things, the source, the room, the phase at your listening position. Experiment, and you should be quite pleased. ---Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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