Originally posted by: Zap Brannigan
I have a Megaworks THX 550 sub and to my ears it sounds nicer than the Klipsch subwoofer. At least the 4.1 sub. It is a very nice subwoofer though.
I have the MegaWorks 550 THX also, but I'm using the standard MC-50 satellites that come with them. My brother has the Klipch ProMedia 4.1s. I can't tell the difference between their satellites (my hearing isn't great, though), but his subwoofer is more powerful. That could be because he seems to like it exaggerated a little and because he has his Audigy play music through all 4 speakers (that greatly amplifies the bass) whereas I play the music only through the front speakers (I have an Audigy 2 ZS with CMSS off).
My other brother has an Audigy 2 ZS and the Logitech Z-5300s. Those are good speakers also, but I think that the MegaWorks and the ProMedias are noticeably better (again, they're still very good speakers).
I think that the subwoofer on my MegaWorks sounds smoother, giving the MegaWorks a more balanced sound which I really enjoy. I'm not suggesting that the ProMedia's sub sounds bad, just the opposite really if you tune it to be balanced. The ProMedias also can get much louder than the MegaWorks, though. Also, while the MegaWorks sub is smooth and not boomy, it can thump and rumble the ground when it needs to (the "Blade II" DVD shows this).
Zap, how do you like those MC-300s? Do they make a huge difference in the sound quality? I don't think I'd upgrade to something quite like that as I'm very happy with my MegaWorks as they are now, but I'm just curious.
In short, I'm very happy with my MegaWorks and think that the satellites compare to those of the ProMedia 4.1s and the subwoofer is not as powerful, but is better balanced at default settings.
Also, when you get new speakers, you should break them in by starting them at a lower volume and letting them play for a few hours. Every few hours, turn them up a little bit. Repeat this process until you have them playing slightly above your normal listening level. With the MegaWorks, I noticed that the air coming from the bass reflex port was hot when I first got the set. I started the volume a little lower than default and began the breakin process. After a few hours, I'd notice that not only would the air from the subwoofer cool down, but that the speakers were louder and clearer even though I hadn't yet changed the volume. Breaking them in can help prevent blowing speakers or amps out, also.
I got my MegaWorks set from Newgg for $200US. I haven't seen them there for a while so they might have been discontinued. You can look around on PriceGrabber for them.