Decent Sound, Problematic Longevity....

I am a mid-fi audiophile who dabbles mainly in ~$300 headphones. I also like to pick up used electronics at thrift stores and have auditioned a lot of multimedia speaker systems of various price ranges. In my opinion, the Klipsch ProMedia series are all pretty decent-sounding - and as far as high-powered, THX-certified multimedia speakers are concerned, they may be the best option in terms of sound quality at this time (the number of competing manufacturers have gone down. Cambridge Soundworks is no longer producing their THX GigaWorks series, and Altec Lansing's foray into this niche market was short-lived - which is a shame since their ADA995 THX system is by far the best multimedia speakers I have auditioned). Klipsch and Logitech are the only surviving players, and each have their own distinct design philosophy. Klipsch has stuck to a 2-way design (dedicated tweeters + woofers), while Logitech has stuck to high-excursion phase plug drivers. Generally speaking, Klipsch's implementation is acoustically superior, but there are some caveats and things aren't so black & white. As I aforementioned, I pick up a lot of used electronics from thrift stores. I have come across at least 3 full sets of ProMedia 2.1, one set of 4.1, one set of 5.1, and at least a dozen subwoofer units. One thing that became immediately clear to me as I started testing them was that Klipsch's seems to have cut some corners with the electronics. 3 of the subwoofer modules I picked up were defective, and almost all the control pods I tested exhibit some level of scratchiness when the volume control is turned (indicating low quality pots). I have picked up & tested just as many Logitech sets of various makes and their volume control is almost never faulty, and the rate if defective sets seem to be a lot lower. So as far as build quality & longevity is concerned, Logitech seems to have the upper hand. What about sound quality? Well, the Klipsch is significantly warmer than the Logitech counterparts (Z-2200/2300, Z623), the latter is actually tonally more neutral (yes, based on my experience with hi-fi headphones, I would say Logitech's tuning is closer to neutral). The Klipsch has a fairly forward mid-range that gives vocals and strings a lot of body. The treble by contrast is fairly neutral - even subdued compared to the Logitech - but with excellent clarity (owing to the tweeters). While whether the warm mid-range is a good thing or not is up to user preference, it is undeniable that the treble is where the Klipsch really has an upper hand against Logitech. Instrument separation and positioning is simply a notch better on the Klipsch, whereas the Logitech - while having a fair amount of treble presence - sounds a bit fuzzy and indistinct. Bass-wise, the Klipsch sub has decent volume and extension, but I find it to be somewhat boomy and loose. The Logitech offering actually sounds cleaner in this department. All in all, both the Klipsch and Logitech offerings have their pros and cons. Logitech has superior build quality and components, cleaner bass, and more neutral tuning. The Klipsch has a very warm, musical signature that is very pleasant, as well as having superior treble clarity and therefore better sound stage, instrument separation & positioning. P.S. - There are two major revisions of the ProMedia 2.1. The older units have a power switch on the sub, and detachable cables on the satellites. The newer units lack the power switch on the sub, and has fixed cables on the satellites. Internally, the revision is quite significant; the newer units transitioned to using chip amps, which means the subwoofer is now much lighter and less cramped inside. This change has a lot of users screaming about alleged inferior sound quality, but having directly compared the two revisions side-by-side, I can safely debunk these claims (modern chip amps can actually sound quite good, check some reviews on Head-Fi). If anything, the newer unit (chip amped) sounds better: the treble is more forward and clearer, and the bass is less boomy, more controlled. I have attached some photos of the two revisions, feel free to check.Read full review

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