Corsair SP2500 2.1 Speaker System Review @ [H]

RishiGuru said:
I believe SP2500 also follows the same route and have 232W @ 10%THD but under 75% volume have acceptable THD levels for normal listening.
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You are correct that the FTC spec allows for a maximum of 10% THD at rated power. That was the typical gate back when more vendors followed the FTC spec. But, we could not even get the SP2500 to generate 10% THD during our tests. At maximum volume, the tweeter generates < 5% THD, and the subwoofer and midrange generate < 1% THD.

Making this happen is simple: use high-quality drivers that can handle the full power output of the amps. This may sound straightforward, but as you've pointed out, some of the products you've tested start breaking up (ie. massive distortion) at around the 75% volume level. That's because the drivers they've chosen simply can't handle more than that.

That is one of my answers when asked why the SP2500 costs $250.

RishiGuru said:
Anyway, I want to thank Dylan Rhodes & his team for this formidable effort. I know as an engineer how hard it is to delve into a different unknown segment with no prior experience & come out with a product that straight away challenges the top established 2.1 PC speakers head to head.
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Thanks, but that's a popular misconception. I came to Corsair to launch audio products; my CV includes many years of audio at Logitech and Creative. Our lead audio engineer has a couple of decades of experience, most recently at Avid/Digidesign/M-Audio -- that is, designing pro gear. We're not messing around here; the goal was to to build the next reference standard in PC audio and, frankly, we hit that goal.
 
NeonFlak said:
The single review for these on Newegg is a slap in the face compared to all the "pro" reviews, lol. Sometimes when I'm bored I just sit on Newegg and read the reviews for various products, it is extremely humorous....
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The "first e-store review is bad" phenomenon is pretty common in the industry. Note that he's not a verified owner; but even when our competitors do purchase their samples from a particular store, the temptation is still great to leave inaccurate reviews where they can. I've no idea if that applies to this fellow (and until I hear otherwise, I'll assume it does not), but this seems to happen with most of our major product launches.
 
boogiem0nst3r said:
btw most people are easily impressed by bass...and think bass as a measurement of good speaker performance...which is why logitech is so popular...its muddy bass...
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Bass is indeed an important measurement of speaker performance, particularly if you do a lot of gaming. But it's important that it's clean, detailed, accurate bass. It's easy to build a big, loud fuzzbox; doing it right is the formidable challenge.

I share your opinion about the bass output of the Logitech units; "muddy" is a good way to put it. Not only does it have a lack of detail in the LFEs; the crossover points are often so high that they detract from positional audio. It's probably perfectly fine for many people, but it irked the heck out of us. That's why getting the bass right was one of the huge tasks we gave ourselves.
 
Hmmmm...I own Corsair RAM + Power supply and happy with both...Thinking about taking the plunge as i do need some speakers.. Anyone else taking the plunge? Just weary of a company (from experience) that dabbles into too many things without proper research and what not. However, what you're saying and approach, definitely jives with me, Dylan!
 
Just picked up the SP2500 from Fry's (CA Bay Area store). Price was $280. According to their computers they have no plans to carry the 2200s. At this price point the M-Audio BX5a ($300) would be a better comparison than the AV40 ($150). Will report back with subjective comparison to Klipsch 2.1.

Edit: To clarify, all prices listed above are before tax, so yes that means Fry's is marking the speakers up by a full $30.
 
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@Dylan Rhodes - If you need a non-review person, I'd gladly test a set for you and post reviews on Newegg and Amazon! ;)

@booiem0nst3r I will be taking the plunge on these, I was going to get the logitech z623 system but after I bought my corsair ram and PSU (Which, in a velvet bag? Um super impressed!) and they announced these at CES I've been drooling over them. My problem is trying to explain the price to my wife.. she just doesn't understand electronics! I just picked up the Blackwidow Ultimate keyboard too so I am going to have to wait and ask for them for my birthday from the family. Boo!

@Psoriac - Why didn't you pick them up on Newegg? They are only 250 and come with free shipping!
 
Bravo to Corsair, really awesome. The last time I was excited for a 2.1 speakers was back when z-2300 got released and there was nothing competitive ever since. I hope the SP2500 fixed all the issues I had with the z-2300, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they do against Logitech, which is another brand I trust. I'm not 100% with its appearance though, that doesnt matter, performance is what counts. I find it cute though using the 4-pin connectors for speakers. One thing missing, how come it doesnt come with that THX certified logo? I always wondered why some speakers get THX'ed and others dont.
 
dioxholster said:
One thing missing, how come it doesnt come with that THX certified logo? I always wondered why some speakers get THX'ed and others dont.
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From what I have heard, getting that little logo on a product doesn't come cheap. Some companies are willing to pay for the testing and certification, others are not. This doesn't mean that sets without the logo are necessarily inferior.
 
@Dextar Because I'm impatient and newegg doesn't offer same-day saturday shipping. :D
 
these look pretty nice, and Corsair makes good stuff.

Like the others we need a competent 5.1 system, with both optical and hdmi inputs would be nice!

How LOUD do these get at the LP at say 75% max volume?
 
Man, if I were in the market for a new speaker system, I'd be looking close at these. As it is, I have so many extra speakers that I don't have enough amps for, I ended up kludging together a 2.0 system for my PC from a Harmon/Kardon AVR 430 receiver and a pair of JBL HLS810s. They do the job nicely =D

All the same, I'm glad to see something new in this segment that can beat the standard Logitech set. I'm one of those people that haven't looked at PC speakers in years because nothing 'new' ever came along. My last were two sets of Logitech x-230s, which I thought were great at the time. Now there's something out there considerably better, albeit a tad expensive for the 'average' consumer.

One thing I'd love to see (that I love about my receiver) is a digital input. I'm sure if you do a 5.1 set, that'll be there. I love getting the decoding out of my computer case because it gets rid of all that noise. It takes my crappy integrated soundcard and makes it sound good (Or rather, gets the processing out of the hands of said crappy card).

I'd love to hear what these sound like, though, all the same. Good work, Corsair, and awesome on you for participating in the forums!
 
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I want to get this set without hearing it from the reviews and knowing the Corsair quality but I'm having a hard time with the price. I bought the G930 headset when it came out which was expensive but the wireless was the main selling point and made it worth the extra money. What makes this set worth 100-150 more than the Logitech/Klipsch systems? Please help me sleep better about the purchase!
 
Dextar, I'm wrapping up my listening tests tonight - I plan to have a pretty detailed comparison between these and the Klipsch 2.1 written up in the next day or two. :)
 
Psoriac said:
Dextar, I'm wrapping up my listening tests tonight - I plan to have a pretty detailed comparison between these and the Klipsch 2.1 written up in the next day or two. :)
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It will be very nice of you Psoriac to provide a detailed review of SP2500. We nowadays hardly get detailed reviews. At least in forums. Since you have the set in your home you can do a more detailed review. Will love the comparison with Klipsch 2.1. I am brand neutral. It is sound quality that matters to me.

Looking for the reply soon!!! Don't make us wait man.
 
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I don't know why i tripped on this review, especially as it's a 2.1 system.

I had the original Creative Four point surround system by Cambridge Soundworks in the late nineties. I only just left them behind this last year and that was only because they were UK speakers and i now live in the USA.

Several times over the years, i'd considered changing them out, but their quality and clarity meant i had no need to do so.

Anyway, as i sit here with my friends Altec 2.0 speakers, the kind you get free with a packet of cereal, i'm *seriously* considering this new offering from Corsair, Kyles review ticked all the right boxes with him mentioning specific things about the sound.
When you know what to notice in a "sound field" then you know what things need mentioning when they're giving their opinions on a system.


In short, Corsair appearing here consistently in this thread, answering questions and talking non marketing BS has impressed me. When the time is right (post employment) i think a set of these will be exactly what i need.
 
[F2C]MaDMaXX;1036715233 said:
I had the original Creative Four point surround system by Cambridge Soundworks in the late nineties. [...]
Several times over the years, i'd considered changing them out, but their quality and clarity meant i had no need to do so.
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You will be interested to know, then, that I'm upgrading from my set of Cambridge Soundworks FPS2000 4.1 speakers (of which I only use the fronts in a 2.1 setup), which still work and sound good after almost 10 years of continuous use. I only just got the Klipsch 2.1 last Tuesday and the Corsairs this past Saturday.
 
I forgot to say i was looking forward to your review.

Interestingly, the original four point surround set IMHO was better quality that the subsequent FPS1000 and 2000 sets, but having heard the Klipsch speakers Valve used on a testing machine, i know where you're coming from.


Question to Corsair though; I'm only aware of speaker ratings using the RMS and PMPO scales, which does this set take their ratings from?
 
[F2C]MaDMaXX;1036716248 said:
Question to Corsair though; I'm only aware of speaker ratings using the RMS and PMPO scales, which does this set take their ratings from?
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The FTC has a set of guidelines for testing and quoting PC speaker power; part of the guideline is that you must quote continuous average (typically via the RMS method) power output rather than "peak" power output. There are other guidelines such as the THD threshold, the method for warming up the gear before testing, and so on. It's 16 CFR part 432, if anybody would like to google it.

Continuous average output measurement is part of the FTC spec, but, of course, it's easy to do RMS averaging on your output while ignoring the other critical parts of the FTC test spec. If you see a PC speaker system with stated wattage that notes RMS averaging but without a note that the full FTC method is being used, it's probably smart to assume that it's not.
 
Gmok Bonecrusha said:
Five Guys makes the best burgers.
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They do make a damn good burger! :)
They just recently opened one in Naperville, IL near where I used to live. Made me very happy.

Then I had to move :(

[F2C]MaDMaXX;1036715233 said:
...Kyles review ticked all the right boxes...
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Also: Guys, Kyle doesn't review everything on this site by himself, give Earl some credit too! ;)

Review said:
Author:Earl KeimEditor:Kyle Bennett
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Thanks Dylan, that's useful information and certainly better than how it used to be put out.

I remember when everything was marked with the PMPO ratings, anyone who knows them will know they're massive numbers that look great on a box.

And yes, i admit i didn't pay enough attention to the reviewer as it was from memory after someones comment :}
 
Dylan, I would like to point out some issues that I experienced in the course of my evaluation. Quoting from my thread:
The first, which I'm very surprised wasn't mentioned in the review, is that the volume settings are discrete, meaning that you can step between two volume levels but not anywhere in between. This contrasts with the Klipsch, which have true analog volume knobs which let you fine tune the volume however you like. Some people may not care, but I like to fine tune my volume level.

The other issue I encountered is that the dial on the control pod is VERY inconsistent. Sometimes a rotation of a quarter turn will only budge the volume by 1 bar, while other times just barely touching it will change it by as much as 2 bars. Even going up one bar and back down one bar can require different amounts of rotation right then left. Maybe I have a bad sensor, or maybe this can be fixed in firmware, but the end result is that you can never be sure how much you will change the volume by when turning the knob, which makes it impossible to intuitively change the volume with a twist.

Another issue I noticed with the Corsairs is that even with the volume turned completely down to 0 bars, and even muted, there is a light hiss from the speakers, though granted you have to be pretty close and in a quiet room to hear it. The Klipsch have no audible hiss until almost 90% of full volume. I can't help but think that this may be contributing to what I hear as the "weird resonance" in my listening.
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NeonFlak said:
The single review for these on Newegg is a slap in the face compared to all the "pro" reviews, lol. Sometimes when I'm bored I just sit on Newegg and read the reviews for various products, it is extremely humorous....
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Well if the guy didn't like em, he didn't like em. It's entirely possible he has heard much better sound out of an $80 speaker.
 
Drawn by natural curiosity I went to the Corsair SP2500 webpage: Corsair SP2500

The Heading was: "Corsair Gaming Audio Series&#8482; SP2500 High-power 2.1 PC Speaker System"

From the heading it seemed that the marketing aim of SP2500 is to excel in gaming experience. This by no means proves though that this set will only be good for games and not for music & movies. Actually from my previous experiences, I have seen movies & games go side by side. Listening music though is a little bit different from the former two.

I am seriously impressed about Corsair in that they provided the true specs of SP2500 in a transparent way. No hiding, no passive 8 inch driver just pure power drivers to provide good listening experience. Going to the review tab of SP2500 in their webpage, I found reviews from HardOCP, Maximum PC, GameSpot UK, HardwareHeaven,GameSpot UK, Engadget,TechRadar.

All the above reviews where subjective reviews of the product with no direct comparison with the other top 2.1 PC Speakers in the market. It is not to imply that the reviews from the above mentioned websites were not upto the mark, actually it was quite the opposite. I found the reviews done by HardOCP & HardwareHeaven to be quite indepth & exhaustive. But the problem is when you read discrete reviews, you may come to know that the system have good performance or not but you have no idea as to how good/ bad it is in comparison to its competitors.

Amazingly though, the biggest review of them all at Tom'sHardware was missing in the review page of Corsair website[I personally do not know why]. Looking at the price($260) & stated performance of the SP2500, I had the feeling that it will decimate its opposition. From the hardware specs & performance quotes at least it seems so. And the best way to prove that is to do a direct head-to-head comparison of SP2500 with the other top 2.1 PC speakers. Tom'sHardware did just that.

Tom'sHardware link : 2.1-Channel Speaker Roundup

The difference between Tom'sHardware & the other reviews website is in that they provided not only the subjective view of all five speakers under comparison, but in that they also did objective reports/ analysis of the sets under comparison. No other review website other than Tom'sHarware seemed to have the instruments required to do this objective analysis.

Tom'sHardware quote: "Most PC speaker reviews are limited to subjective opinions. While those are quite useful, this is Tom&#8217;s Hardware. We&#8217;re going to try to go a little deeper than that with some objective measurements, too. Our measurements are taken with a calibrated Apex 220 measurement microphone that has a phantom power supplied by TubeMP preamp. The measurement software we use is TrueRTA audio-spectrum analyzer level 4, found at www.trueaudio.com. Testing is done in a 25&#8217;x15&#8217; room with the microphone pointed upward 30&#8221; from the satellites and subwoofer .................................. Nevertheless, since the speakers were meticulously placed and aimed in the same manner as the other test subjects, we have to consider these dips and pay extra attention when we test the speakers subjectively."

The audio frequency graph as published by Tom'sHarware told a different story about SP2500. In the graph at least, SP2500 did not prove to have better audio quality than its opposition. But again objective analysis of sound quality cannot provide the full picture, it can atmost help to a certain extent, so here the subjective analysis of the audio product comes to play. It is the summation of both that provides a clear picture of the actual performance of a speaker set. Unfortunately, their objective analysis about SP2500 was not fully positive and mimicked the frequency graph to a certain extent.

You will find a thread realted to this topic : Five 2.1 Speaker Roundup

Amazingly, what Tom'sHardware told objectively & subjectively about SP2500 matched toe to toe with my own & Psoriac subjective views regarding SP2500.

Psoriac Review

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I am highly impressed with Dylan Rhodes though. Apart from his work, he takes the time to answer all our questions. He is a true example of how a company executive should handle his customers. I have never seen another executive of a multinational company coming so close to us ever before.

He told me that he is talking to Tom'sHardware about the the sound quality drop out as below:

Dylan Rhodes said:
Tom's notwithstanding, this isn't a belief generally shared by people who have heard both. I believe the dropout was due to an EQ setting issue during testing; we're talking to Tom about that.
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I hope this problem get solved through EQ settings. I am not certain though. I will buy the Corsair SP2500 only if it can prove itself to be the best, in terms of performance of course. I have always been a big fan of Corsairs, but for performance RAM & power modules. It remains to be seen if Corsair can attain the same amount of success in the PC Speaker field as well. I am with them. But I am also brand neutral.

And it seems it is better to wait for few more months before buying. The performance picture of SP2500 will be much more clearer by then. If some other opposition of SP2500 proves to have better performance [As in the case of Tom'sHarware Review] within this few months, then I will go for that.
 
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Dylan,

I'm likely going to be ordering this system sometime this weekend and I was wondering if the RCA cables included are shielded or not?
 
I've been running these for a few days now, and I'm pleased with them. I normally wouldn't consider anything this small or cheap, but I wanted speakers with a small footprint for my VPN machine. I couldn't be bothered to research this stuff to death this time, I just wanted something quick and cheap. The biamplification and bandpass configuration sold me.

What I'm most pleased with is that there is finally an affordable pair of speakers that are marketed to the down-to-earth demographic that aren't saturated with too much midbass and low mids. You can actually achieve a rather clean sound out of the gate without doing anything fancy. I don't know why its so hard to find such a voicing in low-end speakers, but its nice that its finally arrived.
 
Dextar said:
Dylan,

I'm likely going to be ordering this system sometime this weekend and I was wondering if the RCA cables included are shielded or not?
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Two audio cables are included: a 3.5mm male to dual-RCA male for connecting to a PC (the primary "PC" input on the subwoofer is dual RCA), and a 3.5mm male-to-male for connecting smartphones and similar devices. Since connecting devices with only dual-RCA output is an edge condition, a standard dual-RCA cable is not included.

To answer your question: the 3.5mm male to dual-RCA male cable is your garden variety cable used for PC applications; it's not a home-audio style shielded cable.
 
Just a quick question, would these Corsairs, or any of the similar 2.1 systems be an upgrade over my Logitech z5300's. They (my speakers) sound muddy to me, so I'm thinking they would be. If they are, are they substantially better. I mostly game on the pc, I have a home theatre system for movies etc.
 
Dylan, I know you probably can't speak for products as yet un-announced or possibly even only thought of, but I currently have the old Logitech Z-680s and they are getting a bit long in the tooth, they are a 5.1 set with a control pod (on mine the LCD displays back lighting is dieing, how does an LED die anyways as it shouldn't be driven very had in this application, and the power button doesn't work any longer) that can handle both a Toslink and S/PDIF inputs and 6 channel analog. I would be willing to replace it with this system if not for the fact that I like gaming in surround sound and watching movies and cranking music from all sides, so my question to you is there a 5.1 set using the same speakers as this 2.1 set going to be in the works? is it a thought? or are you guys just going to focus on the 2.1 market?
 
Judd Sandage said:
Dylan, I know you probably can't speak for products as yet un-announced or possibly even only thought of...
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I appreciate your asking, but your suspicion is correct that I can't talk about unannounced products. At CES we announced the SP2500, the SP2200 ($99 2.1 baby brother to the SP2500), and the HS1A headset, which is the analog version of the HS1 we launched late last year. We have not announced a 5.1 system.
 
Dylan,

Do you guys plan to update the DSP with the ability to run custom EQ's (and additional EQ settings)?

Last but not least, I see some of the main complaints about the system are for the actual DSP unit and the screen having a terrible viewing angle and the cord being quite stiff, does Corsair have an "upgrade" system where early adopters can trade in their dsp + some $$ to get an upgraded one if you guys do upgrades?

I'm a little hesitant to jump on this (I really, really need new PC speakers) but don't want to get stiffed with buying a first run and next year's model getting an upgraded DSP (I doubt you guys will change much with the speakers as those seem pretty solid just a few problems with the DSP it seems).
 
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Dextar said:
Dylan,

Do you guys plan to update the DSP with the ability to run custom EQ's (and additional EQ settings)?
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We haven't yet announced a firmware update or the features that would be in it, and I'd like to avoid conjecture in case our plans change. We do already have a list of ideas for a potential update, but I look forward to getting feedback from customers over the next several weeks. My suspicion is that our customers will have a lot of ideas that we haven't even thought of yet.

Dextar said:
Last but not least, I see some of the main complaints about the system are for the actual DSP unit and the screen having a terrible viewing angle and the cord being quite stiff, does Corsair have an "upgrade" system where early adopters can trade in their dsp + some $$ to get an upgraded one if you guys do upgrades?
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To clarify the nomenclature, that's the desktop controller. The DSP silicon itself is actually found in the subwoofer.

The comments about the display are of the sort that I would classify as relatively minor nitpicks. Reviewers are correct that the TFT display has a shallower viewing angle than some other devices, but this is because of the intended application. The usage model is much like that of the Logitech Squeezebox Controller (and those who have viewed the on-screen credits of same will understand that this is no coincidence); that is, it's designed to be viewed by one person, up close. Compare this to devices that are designed to be read from far away (such as a smart thermostat controller) where it's more worthwhile for the manufacturer to invest in a large display with a wide viewing angle.

The cable from the desktop controller is relatively stiff because it's a 15-pin VGA cable, vs. the simpler controllers on other speaker systems which offer just power and volume and thus need just a few conductors. For what it's worth, the cable is hard-wired at the back of the controller and terminates in a 15-pin at the subwoofer. It can be extended with most any SVGA cable; we'll be putting details into a FAQ on our site.
 
I think one of these systems is on the cards for me, but i can't see it happening until it drops to $200 at e-tailers.

Incidentally, what makes this system better than the Bose Companion 3 system at the same price?
 
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