Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400

No matter where you go, be it an online hardware review site, or sites like Epinions where people rate products, the reviews on these speakers glow. While it is true that these are a very nice set of speakers, they are far from perfect. Following is an unbiased review of these speakers having spent a month and a half with them on my primary system at home.

First of all, the basics. What do you get for you $250 investment? The Klipsch Promedia 400's consist of 4 satelite speakers and a subwoofer. Although billed as 400 watt speakers, you need to be aware that this is 400 watts RMS. The subwoofer is capable of handling 160 watts, and each of the satelite speakers is capable of handling 60 watts. When added together ( 4 x 60 ) + 160, you get your 400 watts of power.

In addition to being relatively powerful for computer speakers, the Klipsch Promedia's were the first computer speakers to acheive THX certification. This is a stamp of quality in audio products. As both an audiophile and a computer nut, my honest opinion is that the THX certirication spec must have been relaxed for the PC market. Although these speakers are nice, they are far and away from the industrial strength quality consumers have come to expect from THX certified home audio gear. From looking at the pictures on various sites on the web, I expected the satellites to be larger than they actually are. They are approximately 9" tall, and weigh about 2 lbs. apiece. For a PC system, the subwoofer is very large, and also very powerful, but it does pale in comparison to the subwoofers on my home theater system. As can be expected, the subwoofer is relatively hefty and somewhere close to 20 lbs.

The thing I find most surprising about this system isn't the speakers themselves, but the speaker wire. Klipsch erred in choosing such CHEAP wire. Although I didn't expected gold-plated connectors at this price point, I DID expect something higher in quality than what I got. For those interested in a little do-it-yourself work to overcome this oversite, be aware than the wire ends use mini-audio jacks as opposed to accepting naked wire via connectors.

Now for the part that really matters, sound quality. Overall, these are an excellent set of PC speakers. There are times where I don't reroute MP3's to my home theater, and listen to music straight off the PC. The sound is better than most low-end home audio systems, but will not be confused with a nice home system. I would rate the sound quality as definetly acceptable, but it won't be confused with a home audio replacement. Of note also is that Klipsch Promedia are a 4:1 solution. Therefore, you won't be able to get true Dolby AC-3, or DTS reproduction through these speakers. This should not be of major concern though, because the population that watches movies on their PC's is relatively small. It is also worth noting that these speakers are analog, not digital.

One annoying problem that many people have experienced with these speakers is hiss. I have read several reports of people experiencing an annoying hiss from the speakers when nothing is running through them. Although I personally do not experience this problem unless the speakers are at full volume with no audio input, it is something to be aware of should you experience it with speaker usage at lower volumes. The manual provided with the system covers the hiss problem. If your speakers experience hiss at normal volumes, contact Klipsch for a replacement.

For a gaming PC, these speakers are truly superb. The subwoofer moves large amounts of air in 3D FPS games such as Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament. The surround sound out of soundcards such as the SoundBlaster Live adds to the sense of emersion when playing games.

Now for some negatives not related to the product itself. The biggest one in my opinion is customer service. The customer service department does not understand the mission of customer service - i.e. serving people. When I ordered my speakers in December, I did not receive them when the Klipsch website told me I should receive them when I ordered. After having them be more than 1 week late, I was concerned and contact customer service. They told me I already received them. When I had them do a UPS check, they "claimed" that UPS delivered the speakers to the wrong address and that they would send a replacement set out by next day air. 3 days and 2 calls to customer service later, I was tired of the run-around I was getting, so I got in touch with a manager. It turns out that the speakers were sent out next day air, but not until 4 days after the intial mistake was discovered. It also turns out that I was lied to about the nature of the mistake. Klipsch mislabled the shipment. It was not UPS's fault. I was also lied to about the speakers already having been shipped. To put it bluntly, I do not expect to be lied to in this manner when trying to resolve a problem. Noone can expect perfect service, but a lot of how you perceive the quality of a company is related to how they act when a mistake is discovered. I can not conceive of a worse way of handling the situation.