All this hype about Klipsch.........What about Altec speakers???????

[divinemartyr]

<< You can't just pay for a THX symbol on your speakers (even tho you have to), they have to meet requirements, if its there its there for a reason. I've never heard another computer speaker system put out that much sheer power and clarity. Check out Anandtech's own reviews as well as Tom's Hardware. They disagree with most of you. >>



THX is 15% benchmarks, and 85% marketing, you can pay for it, and obviously Klipsch did. These speakers, particularly the V2-400's, could NOT have undergone any extensive testing and gotten THX certification if it was solely based on benchmarks. This is a marketing ploy, don't believe the hype.

As far as tom and anand reviewing and disagreeing with us, that's fine. Those guys are testing COMPUTER hardware, I'm an audiophile, chances are neither Tom nor Anand is but that's really beside the point.

End result, if you like the speakers, great! If you don't, great! It all works out the same in the end, and I can guarantee that there is no one speaker in the entire world that everyone will like.

dm

 

[Dewey]

With all the talk about the Klipsch Promedia 4.1 I am wondering where do you get them?

 

[billyjak]

I have a set of Atech Lansing right now with the subwoofer blown out, It blew out about 6 months after I got them. I had a bad experience with them and won't buy from them again.
It would have costed me more than the speakers were worth to fix.
I just ordered the 4.1's but the BA4800's sounded good to me also.
I just hope the 4.1s sound good as this is alot of money to spend on speakers.
Oh well I get a 30 day trial period, alls it cost is return postage.

 

[denon]

For the 4.1 PM you can find them 2 places online that I know of...

1. Planetminidisc
2. Klipsch.com - duh

 

[SVTContour]

Well, I have heard the Klipsch and feel the tweeters are a tad too bright for my tastes. For my current setup I have Sirocco Crossfires which I find to be a great speaker system, although extremely pricey. Check out this link. I do agree however that for the money, the Klipsch speakers offer incredible performance for the dollar. And no I don't own an Aiwa sound system for my home listening. I have a Denon 5700 with the Atlantic Technology 450e THX.

As for &quot;buying&quot; THX certification... I think LucasFilm loves the fact that they now make money not only off of cheap computer speakers, but off of every sale Dell makes of their new 8100 series. I don't think it was very hard to get old Georgey to say yes to that. I think it's sad that THX certification is now such a joke. Come on, how can you certify a COMPUTER??? Anyway, I'm getting off topic. Just my 2 cents.

 

[yo2tup]

THX certification for HT speakers and computer speakers have different specifications they have to meet..

for computer speakers the specs to meet THX are pretty disappoint. i bet almost any computer speakers out there could meet them.

i'm done with computer speakers....i've had v2-400.....loved em, sold em.......bought 4.1's....haven't gotten them, changed order to 4.2's....when i get those, gonna sell them and buy some real speakers......it's a secret, but i'll let you guys know how they are when i get them

 

[divinemartyr]

<< when i get those, gonna sell them and buy some real speakers >>



This obviously coming from a man who knows that Klipsch 4.1's and other flavors are not &quot;real&quot; speakers.. Very wise yo2tup.

dm

 

[yo2tup]

 

[zsir]

<< I did my best to listen to as many PC speakers as I could before I bought a couple of months ago. For my ears, the ATP-3's sounded best for the $$ ($75). I can crank the volume, bass and treble to max and not hear any distortion >>



I listened to the ATP-3's .... The atp-5 uses a stronger sub and when comparing the speakers one after the other the atp-5 sounded significantly better.......Personally I could settle for a 2.1 system but still I would pay extra for the atp-5's.....

I just want to hear the 4800's before I buy...

 

[denon]

Once again, we are talking about multimedia speakers, not something that is supposed to blow the roof off your house. dm, I think you can take your opinions and stick them up your ass because you just keep comparing home theater speakers to multimedia ones. There is no comparison, plain and simple. For multimedia speakers the klipsch set serves its purpose and then some. For other applications they dont. Its that easy.

 

[SVTContour]

denon-

Telling divinemartyr to shove it up his ass isn't a good way to approach a debate. He is merely stating that he thinks the Klipsch speakers to his ears sound like junk. Some people prefer the brightness of horns, other do not. I do not, he does not, you do, others in this post do. It's personal opinions!

 

[yo2tup]

i happen to like the way my promedia's sounded, and i loved them. but after hearing some mediocre HT speakers, it made me realize that the klipsch's weren't all that and a can of hamsters. i began to notice how bad the lack of mids were, how harsh the tweeters were, and how loose the bass was.

i hope i dont turn into audiophile

 

[mikef208]

Well I don't want to get into the debate, but if you guys can give me your opinions on a couple things I would love it. I have been looking at speakers for a while now. I made my aunt buy the ATP 3 cause I liked there sound, now the 5's have come out and I have listened to them in store, but I hate testing speakers in store, cause all they have is music, i want to be able to play a game, or a DVD on them too. So can someone tell me if the ATP 5's are good. I know differant people have differant tastes, but I have heard them and they sound good, just wanted more input from some others that have used them. Also I have a set of ACS 56 that I thought were pretty good speakers, but then my sub blew. I still think Altec does a good job, but that just upset me.

Thirdly, i am looking to set up a Home Theater PC around 27&quot; plus monitor. I was looking at the 4.1 Klipsch( haven't heard them yet though), but then a friend told me to look at the Quintet Microsystem, due to the center channel and more power. Does anybody have any opinions on them. Will likely be powered by a Denon 1801 unless a lot of people change my mind. I am not an audiophile. I know good sound when I hear it, but I can't tell the differance between a couple sets of good sounding speakers, so i don't need anything overkill. Just want it to sound good, will that setup be good enough, is it overkill? One other point I should Mention, I am in an apartment so I don't want anything that will get me evicted. I think what I am looking at is enough to do that, I will just have to control myself. Thanks, and happy debating.

 

[Hawki47]

Mike ... do check out the BA4800's before making a final decision. At a street price of $120 they are hard to beat for general gaming and music. I love mine.

 

[JohnnyTT]

The difference is purpose. Home Th. speakers are intended for that purpose, a theater in your home. Multimedia refers to the integration of differnt uses, audio, video, computer, games,...........

So what's the difference, each is made to work best in it's intended application. What does that boil down to.........you can't put a couple of 6' tower speakers along side your monitor, with a 500 watt 15&quot; sub under your desk. Your skull will explode. Multimedia speakers have to compromise performance for size. That's just about it.

 

[divinemartyr]

<< The difference is purpose. Home Th. speakers are intended for that purpose, a theater in your home. Multimedia refers to the integration of differnt uses, audio, video, computer, games,........... >>



Purpose yes, but bookshelf speakers are very feasible in a PC application and good ones will beat out any multimedia setup.

The main difference is that Multimedia speakers were originally designed to replace the PC speaker which as many old school people know, was extremely limited. Beeps were all they could do initially, then MOD files became more and more available and you could actually play songs through the pc speaker! I remember that, and man that was cool at the time!

Multimedia's are meant NOW to be an all-in-one solution, integrating the amp, speakers, and subwoofer into one easily affordable package. Obviously in order to do this they have to use lesser quality components than home theatre devices (speakers, cabinets, crossovers, binding posts, wires, etc) to be able to make them be all-in-one, but at the more affordable prices multimedia setups offer.

dm

 

[Zucchini]

Another thing, computer speakers are meant to fit computer setups.. meaning no large hulking 5 foot tall speaker caminets etc

 

[ikaika1]

In response to the ATP-5 question, personally, I thought they sounded pretty good for the first 30 seconds of listening to them. Then I started playing a dialogue intensive scene in a DVD, and that clinched it for me. They have decent highs and lows, but the downfiring woofer for the midrange really kills it for me. The dialogue was muddy and the midrange in the classical music I played sounded muddled. That coupled with the fact that the directional sound in games ends up being remarkably crappy: you cant get the same kind of sound out each speaker speaker if you dont have the same type of substance for them to sit on so directional sound ends up being somewhat confusing. So its a big thumbs down from me (thats not to say that you wont like them) for the ATP-5's especially since my desk is shaped like an L and the surfaces under each speaker didnt absorb sound in the same way. (especially for the speaker that was floating in midair, then sitting on a stool)

 

[knutp]

Well, if someone of you have heard the old &quot;Real&quot; altec lancing speakers you would have been blown away! Even though they are enourmous and, will not fit in an average computer room it does have the clearest sound you'll ever find! (even though they are 20 years old, but re-coned and some new parts)... they are 40watts (or so they tell), I put on a qse 3000 amp (2 X 1500w in 8ohm, and that is not home watts!! these are cooled down with fans and are used in big conserts rigs).

I didn't want to push every possible watt to the speakers, but running at -6 db from the amp, and no distortion and crystal clear sound from the altecs (and paired with some special build mid-high frequency speakers) you will not belive what you are hearing. but it's a shame that altec is now only building computer speakers, becuase they had the best engineers ever for spekers!!! I would love to have a pair at home (but well, they are around 100kg each, and that are one of the smallest one they had)

 

[Zucchini]

but well, they are around 100kg each, and that are one of the smallest one they had
haah would suck to have one of those fall over on ya

 

[knutp]

Im aware of that! I got one sub over me... (115 kg) turbosound... damn that was heavy... though if would crush every bone in my body... but luckily it didn't...

one of the biggest altec speakers were actually over 500 kg!

 

[skace]

Woo, I saw someone mention Sirocco Crossifires. Crossfires are the best computer setup I've come across. Small speakers that will fit on any desk, a nice subwoofer, a nice amp that sits by the side of my KB, and a headphone jack within arms reach. Yea they are expensive but you won't trash computer speakers again after hearing these...

 

[Boogak]

Ugh... why is it with every computer speaker thread, there's always a few guys that pipe in saying if you want the best, hook the soundcard up to a receiver and get real speakers?? I mean, NO SH!T!! But not everyone can afford top of the line Martin Logan electrostatic speakers that cost 10x more than the computer itself.

BTW, I had the ACS48's and while they served me faithfully, I think my Klipsch just sound alot cleaner.

 

[JohnnyTT]

Check out Anand's latest review. The are the follow-up to the Crossfires.

 

[pen^2]

divine, whats your take on midiland/diamond s2 4100? the general consensus is their sound quality is way above that of klipsch and a bit short of siroccos. personally i never had a chance to see the siroccos but i know they blow klipsch junk outta water.