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Mark Muschett puts Klipsch's new THX certified 4.1 speaker system to the test |
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Performance (continued): They don’t stop at volume in terms of impressing though and that is very important as with the new gain modified preamp they are not the loudest system on the market, and for that matter you won't usually play a system that loud anyway. There is a tendency for people to associate quality with volume and in fact louder often does sound better. However, to compare systems of differing power, you should do you best to compare at the same or similar volumes. Testing in this manner showed that the Promedia’s exhibit good frequency response right across the full 29-20,000 Hz range when played back at volumes that other multimedia speakers can attain. The subwoofer is simply awesome and the satellites do a great job of bringing out the high end. Certainly a noticeable jump in high end clarity over tweeterless systems. In fact, they actually have better frequency response than my home stereo system! (which can use an upgrade). With the original preamp, the satellites could take about 75 -80 percent of full power before they started sound harsh, then distort. Note that is likely that the distortion is in the drivers and not the amplifier. Its also worth noting here that with the new gain modified preamp that all new ProMedia systems ship with, the maximum output is around the original 75 percent level so the system is better matched. Between the satellites good high end response and the gain on the ProMedia amplifier, the system can and will expose noise in your system. As an experiment I exchanged the satellites with another leading brand and the difference was amazing. The Micro Tractrix horn mounted dome tweeter produces incredible high end. This really brings something to light. A look at most multimedia speakers will show that most claim to go to 20,000 Hz. What the specs do not show is at what sound level and how clear that high end will be. The Promedia’s really show how big a difference there can be when looking at some, but not all systems. This revealing nature makes placement of the sound card all the more important so be sure that you have the soundcard with a good s/n ratio (that basically all the second generation cards listed below) placed in a "quiet" PCI slot. Having said that, signal to noise ratio simply not going to be a big factor with most sound cards on the market. It worth noting that in addition to any hiss that might come from within your system, the ProMedias themselves generate a hiss that is a result of combining a high-gain preamplifier with high-efficiency tweeters. This hiss will be there regardless of what source is connected to the ProMedia's. If you check the Klipsch forum you may see that there have been many posts on this hiss. First I want to note that happy people usually don't bother seeking out support forums so you usually find the pros swamped by the cons in support forums. Having said that, my guess is a lot of people who are bothered by the hiss have the rear speakers (where the hiss is stronger) closer than how I and others probably test and use them. That leads to another possible reason some are happy and some are not. That is, perhaps many of the complaints are coming from people who sleep in the room where they have their PC. As noted earlier, the ProMedias don't have a power switch so when all is quiet the hiss could become an issue for some. If you have one of the original ProMedia's and find the hiss to be an issue, then just contact Klipsch tech support as a gain modified pre-amplifier is available and it definitely reduces hiss to a level where those who had an issue will generally no longer have that issue. Originally Klipsch was not going to make the new preamp a default change on all new systems but they have since reconsidered and if you buy a ProMedia and are reading this sentence then you should end up with one of the new gain modified preamps. As I noted above, the usable performance from the system has not changed as a result of the change in preamp. Again, for more details on the performance of the new preamp you can check out our ProMedia vs. Videologic Sirocco Crossfire article. Personally, using the original preamp, I had no issues with hiss at volumes of up to 50 percent with no sounds playing. This is important as when watching movies there will be times when there will be silence. Beyond 50 percent you will as noted definitely notice some hiss but given the incredible volume and amazing high frequency response from the sounds that are playing it should not be an issue for most people. For your information, I tested the Promedia’s with several sound cards which in no particular order are listed below:
All of these cards have good to excellent signal to noise ratios and while there was some variation between the top and the bottom its not very significant (probably less than 1 dB difference) with the YMF 744 boards, Vortex 2 boards and the SB Live leading the pack. Note this in not an exclusive list of cards that will work with the ProMedia, its just what I tested with. Music I found the ProMedias to be better for music than many other multimedia systems on the market but their music reproduction has flaws and as such won't be for everyone. The systems strengths in this regard will dictate whether or not is right for you when it comes to listening to music. As noted, the ProMedia sub is an excellent performer. At the default level it delivers tight deep bass and beyond the default is offers an ability to exaggerate bass levels beyond any multimedia subwoofer I have heard. Of course the more the levels are exaggerated, the more boomy the bass becomes, as the sub was tuned for optimum performance at the default level. High frequency details is also great thanks to the Micro Tractrix horn mounted dome tweeter. Where I find the system falters is in midrange quality where I find it falls behind the less expensive Boston Acoustics BA4800 and the more expensive Videologic Sirocco Crossfire, both of which offer a more neutral overall sound to go with the better quality midrange. Neither of those systems can outright exaggerate bass to the extent of the ProMedia and the BA4800 does not use a separate tweeter so the high end definition, in itself, is not at the same level as the ProMedia. In doing my research for our ProMedia - Crossfire article, I came across a great quote that I will paraphrase to sum this section up - that is "one persons clarity is someone else’s harshness". That is, while there clearly is right and wrong when it come to acoustic accuracy but there is no right and wrong when it comes to taste so keep your personal tastes in mind when you make your decisions and keep in mind that I have been very happy with the ProMedia as my primary system for the past several months. Its also worth mentioning that while the ProMedias are not up to the same acoustic standards as Klipsch’s home and professional lines, the overall Klipsch design philosophy is to create a more forward sound stage (i.e. closer to the front row of a live performance) than many other loud speaker manufacturers while striving for an acoustically flat response. Games For games imaging is excellent and other than for the effects of above and below, you simply can not beat the 3d audio experience of a four speaker system with a single two speaker system. The imaging quality of the speakers will benefit 3D audio technology that uses head related transfer functions (HRTFs) on the front two speakers (e.g. Vortex 2 based cards like the MX300, Storm Platinum and Quadzilla) and 3D audio technology that uses HRTFs on front and rear speakers (Creative’s 10K1 based SB Live with Live!Ware 2.x) and cards using Yamaha‘s 744 chip (e.g. Hoontech Sound Track YMF 744 Digital XG) or ESS’s Canyon3D chip (e.g. Terratec’s Sound System DMX) which utilize Sensaura’s Multidrive technology). When it comes to games its very close as the quality of sound effects is not of a level that would expose flaws in the midrange of the system and the ProMedia’s heightened sense of detail, and sense of energy might even be consider as an positive for gaming by many. Its not that all I said about music is not still true, it's that it does not have as big an impact as in music and strong bass is that much more important in gaming. When it comes to the subwoofer I prefer to play some games (e.g. death matching) with the bass levels turned up a fair bit and for that reason I prefer the room shaking ProMedia sub over any other sub I have heard to date. The impact that the subwoofer has on your gaming experience will vary depending on the genre of game you play (are there lots of bass heavy sound effects in the games you play?) so keep that in mind when you evaluating different systems. DVD playback One thing worth doing here is restating the obvious since some people may confuse THX certification with Dolby digital support and the two are completely different. The Promedia is a 4.1 system and not a 5.1 system. This means there is no center channel and it also does not have a built in digital decoder. Klipsch has noted that while it would have been possible to put a decoder into these speakers it would have driven the cost into the $400 range. Instead they have chosen to put their resources into amplifier and speaker performance and rely on the growing support in soft DVD players for AC3 decoding and 4 speaker down mixing where the center channel is "phantom-ized". By phantom-ized I mean that the signal meant for the center channel is placed into the left and right channels, so that an actual center channel speaker is not required. Owners of the Sound Blaster Live and Creative Dxr3 DVD decoder card have an added bonus as the latest Dxr3 drivers support 4 speaker down mixing on the Sound Blaster Live! line of cards. The typical close proximity of the listener for PC DVD playback allows this center channel virtualization to be effective and there is a virtual Dolby certification process to ensure quality of the down mixing. How effective is down mixing compared to true 5.1 decoding? Our testing shows that 4-speaker down-mixing of DD 5.1 using WinDVD, PowerDVD 2.5 or Dxr3 (only with Live) is much better than Dolby Prologic but not as good as on hardware decoder. It's not the phantom center channel that's the problem, at least not when you have the two front satellites not too far away from each other. In terms of center what is lost with downmixing is the ability to separately adjust center channel volume and perhaps delay. In terms of quality we find that it's more the front - rear transition that's much more effective and seamless when using a hardware decoder. The jury is also still out on just how effectively different software DVD players handle mixing the LFE channel. What each person will have to decide on their own is what’s more important. Is it overall sound quality and dynamic range as delivered by the ProMedia or is it the superior AC3 decoding delivered by the hardware decoders? In the coming months that line will blur as new soundcards hit the market with hardware based four speaker downmixing, which based on our early taste using Yamaha's now cancelled XG-Movie 5.1 can be of very high quality.Getting back to the Promedia’s, I found their DVD performance to be excellent using both the SB Live/Dxr3 and Skywell Magic Sound Live/winDVD combinations that I tested with. As I noted before, Klipsch decided to put their muscle into the speaker and amplifier performance instead of decoding and the results are startling. DVD playback is a great test of the dynamic range of a system and the Promedia’s excel in this regard. The Promedia’s have more than enough power to completely fill an above average size computer room or small living room with loud, clean crisp sound with the high end sparkling and explosions thundering! This is not surprising given the systems Multimedia THX speaker certification but it was nice to hear that they lived up to advance billing. score: 99/100 Value:With a suggested list price of $250 (which will be firm price since the speakers are only available from Klipsch or Compaq) these speakers rocketed to the top of the market upon their release and remain one of the top 4.1 systems on the market. score: 100/100 Summary:
Overall score: 99.5/100 Related Information:
Have comments or questions on this feature?
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With a competitive price and fantastic sound
for gaming and great sound for DVD movies Klipsch’s Promedia v.2-400 raised the bar
for 4.1 multimedia speaker systems to new heights at the $250 price point. With Lucas
Films anointing these speakers with their new Multimedia Speaker THX certification we
should not have been surprised but there was a lot of build up to these speakers and they
most definitely did not let down. When it comes to gaming, the only real flaw
for some people was the hiss, and that has been addressed with the gain modified preamp
shipping with all new units. Some may also see the lack of a headphone jack and the lack of digital
connectivity as detriments, but they are common to most 4.1
systems. Midrange quality is the systems biggest shortcoming and in that respect,
its all relative to what you compare it against and what you use it for. As I
have noted, there are other 4.1 systems now on the market that can do a better job in that
respect, as well as overall. But all things considered the timing of the ProMedia was right and the issues were
simply not big enough issues if we focussed on the ProMedia as primarily as gaming and DVD
systems. That's just what we did when awarding our highest score at 3DsoundSurge to
go along with our Surge of Approval award.
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