WARM Klipsch Promedia 2.1 $124.99 Best Buy

Disposed

Disposed

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
5,211
Not the cheapest they have ever been but may be the last sale before they are all gone since they seem to be discontinued.
 
I have these speakers and so far they are great.

Keep in mind that the speakers do hiss if you have the volume dial high enough. I keep it at one quarter from mute and they are silent. I control volume via software and never touch the physical dials anymore.
 
I too am running a set of them and theyre worth every penny. Id gladly pay $150 again for mine. $125 is a very solid price on these things. Highly recommended.
 
I'm still using a set of Promedia 4.1's that are probably about a decade old by now. I love them, and have dreaded the day mine stop working ever since they stopped producing them (years of abuse probably haven't helped, but they still have some life in them yet).

Definitely sad if the 2.1's are being discontinued now as well.
 
These are absolutely fantastic speakers. I've had my set for years and back in the day they were super premium 2.1 speakers...always had the best reviews.

They sound fantastic, definitely a great buy. These things get VERY loud but with no distortion, you can definitely piss your neighbors off with these.
 
Just keep in mind, these ARE NOT the same as the original Promedia 2.1's that they sold 10 years ago. At some point, Klipsch decided to reduce the cost (and the quality) of the package. Here are the differences between the two sets:

1. Original has a power switch on the sub, cost-reduced does not. The only way to actually turn the new speakers off, is to pull the plug.
2. Original has has an (arguably) higher-quality amplifier, but was prone to overheating.
3. Original has removable speaker wire, and Klipsch sells upgraded speaker wire for the original set. The speaker wires cannot be removed / replaced on the cost-reduced version.

They're not bad, but they're not what they used to be. I'd personally wait until these hit the $99 price-point before biting.
 
Unknown-One said:
Just keep in mind, these ARE NOT the same as the original Promedia 2.1's that they sold 10 years ago. At some point, Klipsch decided to reduce the cost (and the quality) of the package. Here are the differences between the two sets:

1. Original has a power switch on the sub, cost-reduced does not. The only way to actually turn the new speakers off, is to pull the plug.
2. Original has has an (arguably) higher-quality amplifier, but was prone to overheating.
3. Original has removable speaker wire, and Klipsch sells upgraded speaker wire for the original set. The speaker wires cannot be removed / replaced on the cost-reduced version.

They're not bad, but they're not what they used to be. I'd personally wait until these hit the $99 price-point before biting.
Click to expand...

That's why i marked the deal as warm. Keep in mind though that these are not in stock except for a few places so it does look like they are discontinued and even given the fact that they where changed to reduce cost you're just not going to find a better 2.1 set at this price point.
 
I have had mine for over a year now (and according to unknown-One, mine are the newer cheaper version).

I love them.

They sound terrific and are very deep to me.

I bought mine at $159 at Best Buy, these are worth it for $125.
 
Disposed said:
That's why i marked the deal as warm. Keep in mind though that these are not in stock except for a few places so it does look like they are discontinued and even given the fact that they where changed to reduce cost you're just not going to find a better 2.1 set at this price point.
Click to expand...
Is there even anything significantly better out there, as far as traditional computer speakers go? I never liked how even the higher end Creative and Logitech speakers sounded.

The only thing I ever experimented with in terms of trying to upgrade from my Promedias was getting a set of Klipsch Quintet speakers, but the Panasonic SA-XR55 full-digital receiver I had lying around and was planning to use sounded pretty bad hooked up to the Promedias and had trouble driving them at higher volumes (which was curious because it didn't have that problem when I was using it in my home theater ages ago). Oh well.
 
I've had these at work for about 2 months now, bought them for $80 shipped (used but like new) on eBay.

I haven't experience and hissing at loud levels like someone else said in this thread, but I assume that's a source issue.

I love them, the only problem I have, is that they are WAY too loud. Let me explain, I turn it to 1/16 max volume, and it's already being heard at the other end of the house, if I turn it up to 1/8 of max, my ears hurt from the tweeters. It's the single loudest set I've ever owned.

TL;DR - They weren't lying about the sensitivity of these drivers.
 
Still using my original 2.1s I bought 7 years ago.
 
Thanks. I logged on this morning to ask for 2.1 speaker recommendations in the audio forum. Looks like everyone here is pleased with them so I'll bite.
 
my dad still bumps the promedia 2.1s I bought him almost 10 years ago (bought frmo klipsh directly from thier refurb). great set of speakers (back then). disappointed to hear they had to cut some costs but it doesnt seem like the overall audio quaility suffered much (if at all).
 
Had two sets of the original version and loved them. They sound great for a set of "PC speakers," despite what the snobs in the audio subforum say (been a while since I've posted in there since anything besides bookshelf speakers was viewed as crap and not worth having).

For comparison, I have a set of Audioengine 5s, a set of Rokit 6's, and a pair of old school CV floorstanding speakers w/15" woofers that I sometimes use, and I still thought the ProMedias sounded great for the price.
 
i'm still using a set of 5.1 pro medias ultras - i love these little things. they are the same quality as the hd500's i believe. even compared to my home theatre setup (supernova 8's with a rw12d), my klipsch still sound terrific.
 
I used to own the promedia 5.1 ultra and the Altec Lansing 251.
My GMX 5.1 is collecting dust. I now enjoy the Corsair SP2500.
I think the SP2500 has better lows than the new promedia. That's to be expected since it has twice the size of a subwoofer and costs twice as much.
I've leaned towards using surround headphones. I recommend the ATH-A700 for music and gaming. Unbelievable compared to all my old USB headsets.
 
tzhu07 said:
I have these speakers and so far they are great.

Keep in mind that the speakers do hiss if you have the volume dial high enough. I keep it at one quarter from mute and they are silent. I control volume via software and never touch the physical dials anymore.
Click to expand...

Are you using a dedicated soundcard? If not there's a good chance onboard sound is the source of the hiss. Never had any hiss from my GMX-A 2.1s that wasn't traced back to a dirty source signal or loose cable.
 
silent-circuit said:
Are you using a dedicated soundcard? If not there's a good chance onboard sound is the source of the hiss. Never had any hiss from my GMX-A 2.1s that wasn't traced back to a dirty source signal or loose cable.
Click to expand...
It's not the quality of the source, it's a hiss generated by the amplifier itself. It's only a problem if you REALLY crank them volume knob up, but it happens even if they're not actually plugged into an audio source.
 
I bought a pair from best buy last time they were on sale, I think it was in March. $95.
I was impressed, sounds just as good and as loud as my pioneer avr and book shelves.
 
Unknown-One said:
It's not the quality of the source, it's a hiss generated by the amplifier itself. It's only a problem if you REALLY crank them volume knob up, but it happens even if they're not actually plugged into an audio source.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this is a complaint about these thats been around for ages and only seems to affect some of the sets. Mine dont have it, i can crank it to max volume and hear no hiss.
 
bcracer220 said:
how do these compare to logitech x-540s?
Click to expand...

Sound is much warmer and clearer, with about 10x more bass (I turn mine almost all the way down on the Klipschs).

They outclass them in everything including stereo imaging, but you lose rear channel audio, which is a preference thing.
 
bcracer220 said:
how do these compare to logitech x-540s?
Click to expand...

X-540 is what i used before and for music it blows them away. A lot more power cleaner highs and mids and a better sub.

With the 540 though you can keep your center and surrounds and use the promedia set for fronts. Hook up the promedias like normal and hook up everything to the 540 system besides the fronts, then hook up the promedias to the front jack on sound card and the 540s to sub/center and rear jacks.

You'll have to have both subs hooked up though but i just turn the 540 sub all the way down. Not the prettiest setup with one sub stacked on the other and having to match volume between fronts and surround but its a good way to get MUCH better music quality and not sacrifice your surround setup.

EDIT: That is of course assuming you're asking because thats what you own. Just comparing the 2 sets its pretty simple, do you want 5.1 or 2.1 more. Music or surround. Hard to go wrong with either set really, both are pretty much the best of the best in their respective price ranges, you're not going to find a better 5.1 set for $85 and you wont find a better 2.1 set for $125.
 
Last edited:
ya thanks for the replies, i have had the x-540s for about 5 years and i have always been interested in the klipsch 2.1s. i could never really justify spending 150 more though considering i had speakers already, so i just never bought them. but i have a gift card and on top of this deal id be paying 100. sounds like it would be a worthwhile upgrade, for 100 would it be worth biting?

in addition im not using the 540s for surround, i just have the two side speakers for left and right sitting next to each other
 
bcracer220 said:
ya thanks for the replies, i have had the x-540s for about 5 years and i have always been interested in the klipsch 2.1s. i could never really justify spending 150 more though considering i had speakers already, so i just never bought them. but i have a gift card and on top of this deal id be paying 100. sounds like it would be a worthwhile upgrade, for 100 would it be worth biting?

in addition im not using the 540s for surround, i just have the two side speakers for left and right sitting next to each other
Click to expand...

Yes, because good refurbs on eBay without a proper warranty go for $100'ish~

EDIT: I should note that I got both of my sets used/refurb from eBay around Christmas 2010 and they work perfect still. :)

I had 5.1's and they died, seemed to be a common problem with those. My buddy's 5.1's also died, but the 2.1's keep on chugging along. :D
 
bcracer220 said:
how do these compare to logitech x-540s?
Click to expand...
You'll be very happy with the upgrade. The Logitech audio line is actually very poor in comparison to any speaker setup that is actually designed with sound quality in mind. With these probably the first thing you'll notice is how much tighter the bass is, compared to a muddy sounding Logitech sub. Also the speakers will give you a much better sound since they have dedicated mid range drivers and separate tweeters, compared to Logitech's all in one phase plug drivers. You're probably also looking at a much better amp. Over all if you get these you'll probably never want to use another set of Logitech speakers again other than for like some cheap TV speakers.
 
I'd agree that it's a great deal and you won't beat them at this price point. That being said, mine just died recently (popping from the sub/amp) but they were over 10 years old. The only upgrade I could settle on for a reasonable cost was going with studio monitors and a separate sub, which ran me just over 200 bucks. However, my studio monitor + sub setup makes the promedia's pale by comparison.
 
hegulator said:
I'd agree that it's a great deal and you won't beat them at this price point. That being said, mine just died recently (popping from the sub/amp) but they were over 10 years old. The only upgrade I could settle on for a reasonable cost was going with studio monitors and a separate sub, which ran me just over 200 bucks. However, my studio monitor + sub setup makes the promedia's pale by comparison.
Click to expand...

Nice. What did you end up going with?
 
bcracer220 said:
how do these compare to logitech x-540s?
Click to expand...

The Klipsch smokes em hands down & I will tell you this now the subs pounds hard. When I mean hard I cant even use my sub in my apartment at all even at 25% sub volume my neighbors still moan n groan.

I love em :)
 
Well I pulled the trigger on these tonight. My Logitech Z2300's were dying after I jacked one of the plugs. They are pretty decent speakers. Comparatively, the satellites are much larger than the Logitech's, but the main adds a mic in and 3.5mm out, plus you don't have a stupid separate volume knob dongle to continuously toss behind your desk by accident.
They also use standard speaker wire, with clip-style plugs in the back of the sub, so I suppose you COULD use your own speaker, though I'm not sure how the volume would work. Speaking of the sub, it is maybe 1/2 the size, in volume, of the logitech.

As far as sound goes, they are definitely a step up. The mids are about the same, but the highs are much more pronounced, in a good way (not tinny). And as mentioned above, the bass is MUCH stronger. On the Z's I would usually peg the sub at 50%. This Klipsch sub, at 50% is WAY too high. It's sitting around 15% right now. I don't really see this as a positive, though. I mean, what's the point of all that power if you aren't going to use it? It just makes adjustments to the power a little finicky.


But for $125, they are a nice upgrade. Thanks, OP.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top