Jump to content

iFi vs. Promedia Ultra 5.1 for stereo format


shimman

Recommended Posts

i am using promedia ultra 5.1, and i bought ifi for my dad; because i don't use 5.1 much, i think i would go for ifi if ifi can provide me better stereo sound than ultra 5.1

your 2c is appreciated ;)

Well this is a close call and sure to get a few opinions! I like the iFi system over the Ultra 5.1 because I just wanted a really good looking/sounding 2.1 system to work with my computer. Personally I think the iFi has very clean natural sound and no hiss when used to play music or DVD movies from a computer. The iF is a more modern speaker system (appearance wise) compared to the Ultra 5.1, but hey you are comparing Promedia speakers to Reference speakers. There has been requests for the iFi to come in Black also.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No doubt the ifi satellites (modified rsx-3) are better than the ultras. They are smoother in crossover, though as I stated in a prior post, not as in your face though.

The ifi sub is more neutral and less boomy. The ifi sub sounds weaker than the ultra but that may be due to less distortion as the ifi has one sub in 75% of the ultra box which the ultra has two which means that the q is raised so the speaker cannot go as deep. Andy a klipsch engineer would not elaborate but said something along the lines that the ifi has "something more"

For strictly music the ifi hands down, for movies the ultras hands down though the ifi is no slouch. But for me neither has stopped the urge to upgrade hence I kinda went from Klipsch bottom multimedia speakers to now proud purchaser of the flagship model reference line rf83!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks larry1 & jay481985 ;-)

@jay481985, your rf83 must be really good ;-)...do you need a subwoofer with that speakers, or can rf83 produce subwoofer range sound?

it seems like small speakers cannot produce natural mid-range sound.

i like to get rsx-5, but i cannot find one other than one from ebay where one seller is asking 300usd for a pair.

if i remember correctly, i think i saw rsx-5 pair were sold for around 200usd.

what about rb-25 or rb-35? are they considerably better than rsx-5?

if i have enough space, i might buy polk r50 which are often sold for less than 100usd in pair from outpost.com/fry's electronics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do not have then yet [;)]

they are rated +- 29-20000 so they have subwoofer power

The same authorized dealer I can get a pair of rsx5 as the said ebay price with full warantee and authorized of course

200 is hard to find

the rb are bigger beasts. Look at the specs and size first because the rb 35 is a huge monster even compared to the rsx5 which is huge itself

polk ewh [:P]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do not have then yet [;)]

they are rated +- 29-20000 so they have subwoofer power

The same authorized dealer I can get a pair of rsx5 as the said ebay price with full warantee and authorized of course

200 is hard to find

the rb are bigger beasts. Look at the specs and size first because the rb 35 is a huge monster even compared to the rsx5 which is huge itself

polk ewh [:P]

My RSX-5s were 200USD a pair new on ebay. Guess I was lucky.

picture0089ao.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@jay481985, thank for your help ;) i hope you enjoy your flagship speakers

how about a pic or two when you get the speaker ;)

since you did not like the polk, i went to circuitcity to find out how polk r50 sounds, and it lacked little bit of details that i could hear from klipsch, but the sound coverage area is more. for klipsch speakers (at least promedia & ifi), the directions of speakers are more important than polk, but polk seems lacking in high tone details....the horn must be the one that makes difference.

btw, my friend told me that his friend bought a pair of new rb-35 from ebay for 250usd...so i guess i will be waiting for the deal to pop up ;)

@voxr3m, thanks your pic, that looks nice, but how are you driving your rsx-5 speakers? are they powered by ifi/promedia or a stereo receiver? would you share detailed your setup...perhaps with some pics?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

oh I have my sony T1 5 megapixel camera waiting and charged

Yes direction is more important due to the horn directional property of dispersion, the polk I believe use just a regular dome tweeter hence giving up detail for coverage

check the klipsch store that sells the refurbished stuff that Klipsch has on ebay look for the direct from klipsch logo

He is driving them from his ultras

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

The iFi no doubt.

The iFi sats play a major role in this choice,simply a full class better than any ProMedia sats.

ProMedia sats have very audible colorations where the iFi sats have fewer and are more detailed to boot.

The sub,yes the 5.1Ultra sub uses two 8" woofer opposes to a single 8" in the iFi. The advantage lies in max output mostly.As both are very close in depth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As described by Andy W from Klipsch, the subwoofers on each are near

identical. He explained it on another post. But the single 8 would go

deeper due to the bigger enclosure for a single drive.

I would say that due to the port on the ifi the promedia speakers emit

less distortion due to the acoustic spring. The ifi at near full volume

happens to have alot thd due to the port noise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

oh yeah I had both of them right next to me, well at least as of a few weeks ago. My roommmate has the ifi's and i had the promedias. I ran a few tests and this is what I came up with. When I ran the ifi's on my sub, they sounded really close. I didn't try putting the promedia speakers on the ifi's, but I'm sure it would sound pretty good. When they are on their respective sub then you can hear a difference. The ifi's sound quite a bit better than my promedias. I got pissed because of this because I dropped $350 on these quite a while ago and my roommate dropped $200 for refurbs from ebay. So I went and bought reference speakers, and I won LOL. (just kidding about that part, but I do have reference speakers now).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...