Corsair SP2500 2.1 Speaker System Review @ [H]

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FrgMstr

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Corsair SP2500 2.1 Speaker System Review - Corsair continues to expand its product line with products every year that are basic to the needs of the computer hardware enthusiast. After its recent foray into headsets, Corsair is entering the 2.1 speaker market with its SP2500 system.

This review will publish at 8am CST on 1/12/11.
 
I know these are premium speakers and all, but really $250+ is a bit steep for a 2.1, for me anyway. I hope they release a more mainstream version in the near future.
 
I don't know why people still buy computer speakers. You pay more for less. Get a receiver (or repurpose an old one), speaker wire, and a set of inexpensive home theater speakers and you have outstanding 5.1 gaming.
 
The company has two models: The SP2500 that you have read about here at HardOCP and the SP2200 which is indeed a smaller more economical set.
 
deepcover said:
I don't know why people still buy computer speakers. You pay more for less. Get a receiver (or repurpose an old one), speaker wire, and a set of inexpensive home theater speakers and you have outstanding 5.1 gaming.
Click to expand...

I believe it's for the usual reasons: cost, space, and applicability. If you're using an amp/passive speaker setup for your PC, it's best to get near-field monitors, which can be pricey, unless your system happens to be oriented in a large space where you can place the home theatre speakers at the proper distance. And, the desktop footprint of an amp/receiver and even a set of small monitors might not work for everybody.

The SP2500 was designed to sound great at a distance of three to six feet; in other words, it's a PC speaker system. It's designed to provide exceptional stereo imaging at a close distance, while taking minimal desktop space.
 
I'll stick with my standard position: speakers cannot be objectively reviewed in terms of sound quality. They can be compared in terms of raw specs as measured with equipment with respect to given frequency response curves but, that just doesn't "work" in terms of actual sound quality. They can also be compared in terms of raw output power, etc, but saying something like this (taken from the conclusions of the review):

You know what Joe Average. I suggest you never read a HardOCP sound review again. Problem solved. Bye. - Kyle
 
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Dylan Rhodes said:
I believe it's for the usual reasons: cost, space, and applicability. If you're using an amp/passive speaker setup for your PC, it's best to get near-field monitors, which can be pricey, unless your system happens to be oriented in a large space where you can place the home theatre speakers at the proper distance. And, the desktop footprint of an amp/receiver and even a set of small monitors might not work for everybody.

The SP2500 was designed to sound great at a distance of three to six feet; in other words, it's a PC speaker system. It's designed to provide exceptional stereo imaging at a close distance, while taking minimal desktop space.
Click to expand...

I guess this is true. I had to mount my speakers to the walls, bought a cabinet for my receiver and computer, run the speaker wires everywhere. It's the man-cave, so I'm willing.
 
I actually yanked my sound card out of my case due to my recent purchase of the Corsair HS1 headphones; would I be able to run both the headset and speakers (w/sound card) without a huge hassle and mess of drivers?
 
If you re-enable your sound card to output to the speakers, then you will simply right click your speaker icon in the system tray and choose playback devices. Then you will right click on either "speakers" which will output to your sound card or HS1 headset and choose "Set as default device"

Its very simple and we had no problems switching between the HS1 and our Titanium HD. Now granted, one is Creative software and one is C-Media so we had no conflicts.
 
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Great, thanks for the info. Moved out of an apartment in the city to a big ol' place in the burbs...can finally enjoy a set of speakers.
 
If I can find these for <$200, I'd be willing to buy them. It's a hard sell, though - I picked up my ProMedia set for $120 shipped.
 
They'd be a hard sell for me unless I needed to condense space. I'm still enjoying my Z5500 after years of use.
 
I've considered replacing my BA7900's with something newer, but this is a bit pricey and only 2.1 opposed to my current 5.1.
 
As much as I love corsair, and am still trying to get a headset from them, I do not think I will pay $250 for this 2.1 set. I am still happy with my Behringer 2.0 set that has been working just fine for me for $100.
 
RE: the connectors. Looks like the crossover is in the sub box and they're bi-amping the satellites. Which is kinda neat.

Nice review. I like subjective reviews because numbers don't cut it alone. Plus it's the [H]. Better than some audiophile snob telling me I need 100% pure copper wrapped around Tibetan pebbles mounted on platinum spikes for the optimal natural sound experience, for only $56000.

Also, the nerd rage from the Klipsch fanboys is amusing.
 
Nice, review but I have a hard time believing these are $110 better than Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 though. Yes, I own a set of the ProMedia's but I had a hard time spending $150 on those!

deepcover said:
I don't know why people still buy computer speakers. You pay more for less. Get a receiver (or repurpose an old one), speaker wire, and a set of inexpensive home theater speakers and you have outstanding 5.1 gaming.
Click to expand...

Because I don't want a f'ing receiver and large separates in my office. :rolleyes:
 
Hostile said:
Nice, review but I have a hard time believing these are $110 better than Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 though. Yes, I own a set of the ProMedia's but I had a hard time spending $150 on those!



Because I don't want a f'ing receiver and large separates in my office. :rolleyes:
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Yeah I guess I'm not alone in that thinking. I have a receiver for my HTPC in my living room where I watch movies. I surf on my computer and game on it. No need for a huge space eating receiver and speakers. ;)
 
I love the whole bookshelf + sub + receiver setups, have a nice one myself in fact, but if I had someone with a small office that requires simplicity i would probably choose something like this hands down. Less effort, cables and space required but still has some quality. Job done.
 
All these expansions corsair is doing are great! I just hope that they go into the soundcard market.

Corsair generally does an awesome job at listening to what people want, and we've all been in dire need of someone who does just that for sound cards.
 
I have a promedia 5.1 setup that I've had for about 5 years. I can't imagine doing anything different unless this set failed me. I was very disappointed when the creative hd came out and only supports 2.1
 
Very interesting review, never really thought of Corsair as a computer speaker company.

Hopefully they'll lose the proprietary speaker connectors in favor of standard speaker wire, and will release an equally impressive 5.1 setup in the future. Until then, I'll stick with the Logitech Z-5500's, they've served me well so far.
 
Honestly I'm considering getting this setup now. Been wanting a new set of speakers for a while now. Nice review, thanks for the writeup.
 
EarlKeim said:
If you re-enable your sound card to output to the speakers, then you will simply right click your speaker icon in the system tray and choose playback devices. Then you will right click on either "speakers" which will output to your sound card or HS1 headset and choose "Set as default device"

Its very simple and we had no problems switching between the HS1 and our Titanium HD. Now granted, one is Creative software and one is C-Media so we had no conflicts.
Click to expand...
I do the same thing to switch between my speakers and my headphones while gaming with internet friends. In fact I used the free AutoIT and wrote a little script to automate switching between audio output devices with 1 click!
 
Every other review I've seen is giving this speaker high grades not just [H]. Given the subjective nature of speaker reviewing, I tend not to read too much into any one in particular but I'm liking what I'm seeing. Might be the 2.1 speaker to get.

As for price, I've never seen quality speakers go for cheap...sure there are cheapo ones (and for some a pair of $100 is sufficient) but when it comes to speakers you get what you pay for - all depends how much you are willing to spend.
 
I'll stick with my ancient altec-lansing acs54s thanks. Bought em about 8 years ago and I still haven't been able to smoke em.
 
To the guy who recommends a stereo receiver and real speakers, I doubt you can get both good sounding bookshelf speakers and a good sub for only $250. I'm curious as to what you would recommend with that kind of budget -- and that's assuming you already have a spare receiver.
 
rsaotome said:
Very interesting review, never really thought of Corsair as a computer speaker company.
Click to expand...

That's understandable -- we just launched our speaker line on January 5th!

rsaotome said:
Hopefully they'll lose the proprietary speaker connectors in favor of standard speaker wire, and will release an equally impressive 5.1 setup in the future.
Click to expand...

The ATX connectors are due to the amount of power sent to the satellites; they're driven by amplifiers generating 56 watts for each satellite (40 to the midrange, 16 to the tweeter). The usual suspects -- RCA, 3.5mm, etc. -- aren't rated to safely handle that much power. We did consider using standard speaker wire, but since the satellites are bi-amplified, they would have required two paired cables per satellite. The extra installation time and the look of all that silvery speaker wire made us rule it out. ATX 12V connectors provided an elegant solution -- it's a four-wire cable with one-click connection.

We're preparing kits for extending speaker length for those customers for whom six feet from sat to sub isn't enough. I'm sorry we didn't have them ready at launch, but they'll be available soon.
 
I have the high end Logitech's. They may be ok for gaming, but for music they suck. The fixed 125hz crossover (just where do they get their audio engineer's ?) kills them for music. I hate these friggin' speakers.

The day my Klipsch ProMedia Ultra's died after 6 years was a sad, sad day.

I will not buy another computer speaker set until I know what the crossover is now.

But, I think I'm done with them anyway. I'm going to buy a new receiver this year, and I think I'll take my current Yamaha RXV-2400 and put it in the computer room and get a nice 5.1 set that's made for real music playback.

The best setup I ever had on a computer was about 2 years ago. I had dismantled and sold my Guitar Workstation (too complex, not enough time to learn) but kept the audio system. Two M-Audio BX-5a's and a KRK Rokit 10 subwoofer. I think all told it was around 500 real watts at like no distortion.

I set it up one night at around 10pm. I was listening to music until 2am. Holy shit did this sound fantastic! The performance of the BX5a monitors and the Rokit 10 sub was just amazing. And loud. The glasses in the kitchen cabinets were rattling together.

And that's why I stopped at 2am. You see, that was when the Police knocked on the door LOL

I live in a SF home with good space between houses, and apparently I had still managed to piss off the neighborhood.

I sold them on craigslist the next day. That was my plan anyway, as having $700 in speakers on a computer is a bit nuts.

But damn it was fine while it lasted.
 
Dylan,

What is the crossover frequency to the Sub?

BTW... Thanks for hopping in here. Most Vendors wouldn't have the balls :)

Dylan Rhodes said:
That's understandable -- we just launched our speaker line on January 5th!



The ATX connectors are due to the amount of power sent to the satellites; they're driven by amplifiers generating 56 watts for each satellite (40 to the midrange, 16 to the tweeter). The usual suspects -- RCA, 3.5mm, etc. -- aren't rated to safely handle that much power. We did consider using standard speaker wire, but since the satellites are bi-amplified, they would have required two paired cables per satellite. The extra installation time and the look of all that silvery speaker wire made us rule it out. ATX 12V connectors provided an elegant solution -- it's a four-wire cable with one-click connection.

We're preparing kits for extending speaker length for those customers for whom six feet from sat to sub isn't enough. I'm sorry we didn't have them ready at launch, but they'll be available soon.
Click to expand...
 
TechLarry said:
Dylan,

What is the crossover frequency to the Sub?

BTW... Thanks for hopping in here. Most Vendors wouldn't have the balls :)
Click to expand...

As you might know, the SP2500 doesn't have discrete crossovers in the traditional sense; signal filtering is performed by the DSP prior to amplification. This allows for dynamic crossover points.

In normal mode, the crossover is 140Hz. When placed into Late Night mode, the sub is muted and the crossover is lowered to 100Hz so the satellites can pick up some extra work. Late Night mode is best for gaming and movies; with music you'll miss those 808s...
 
Dylan Rhodes said:
That's understandable -- we just launched our speaker line on January 5th!



The ATX connectors are due to the amount of power sent to the satellites; they're driven by amplifiers generating 56 watts for each satellite (40 to the midrange, 16 to the tweeter). The usual suspects -- RCA, 3.5mm, etc. -- aren't rated to safely handle that much power. We did consider using standard speaker wire, but since the satellites are bi-amplified, they would have required two paired cables per satellite. The extra installation time and the look of all that silvery speaker wire made us rule it out. ATX 12V connectors provided an elegant solution -- it's a four-wire cable with one-click connection.

We're preparing kits for extending speaker length for those customers for whom six feet from sat to sub isn't enough. I'm sorry we didn't have them ready at launch, but they'll be available soon.
Click to expand...

Your participation in this thread is awesome and just keeps me wanting to buy more stuff from Corsair!
 
I don't know how I feel about buying speakers from Corsair...

I know they're quality product, but I don't think of awesome speakers when I think Corsair.
 
Quick points:

1) Corsair speakers rocks.
2) I'd love to see a 4.1 or 5.1 setup.
3) 6' is way to short for proprietary speaker wire. 12' minimum.
4) You get what you pay for.
 
If I didn't live in an apartment building these would be tempting. As it is I can't play loud noise because the walls are thin so I use headphones.
 
Forgive me for being dumb about speaker power outputs and whatnot, but do these actually pull 232 watts from the wall?
 
i can't see where molex is that proprietary for most of us. it's not that hard to rig up a male/female extension, is it?
 
Z5500 unbeaten in 6 years plain and simple , spend your money on something great this time skip corsair
 
These speakers look fantastic, I can't find anything that isn't quality about Corsair. Sure the price is steep but it's an initial investment - how long will they last for and at what quality compared to another product(s). I'd like some but my current speaker set (Logitech X-500s) are good enough, if I look for quality I'll just use my headphones for now.

However thanks Dylan Rhodes for coming about to help answer some questions - that is fantastic PR that is non-existent these days.
 
Dylan Rhodes said:
The ATX connectors are due to the amount of power sent to the satellites; they're driven by amplifiers generating 56 watts for each satellite (40 to the midrange, 16 to the tweeter). The usual suspects -- RCA, 3.5mm, etc. -- aren't rated to safely handle that much power. We did consider using standard speaker wire, but since the satellites are bi-amplified, they would have required two paired cables per satellite. The extra installation time and the look of all that silvery speaker wire made us rule it out. ATX 12V connectors provided an elegant solution -- it's a four-wire cable with one-click connection.
Click to expand...

That's fine 'n all, but wouldn't "Monoprice's 12/14/16/18AWG CL2 Rated 4-Conductor Loud Speaker Cable" do the trick as well? I'm currently using the 12AWG to bi-wire my left/right speakers on my Home Theater system, and I'm pretty sure you could use the same cable to bi-amp as well

And also, thank you for replying.
 
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