[Review] Looking for A Really Good Speaker System for Your Mac?

[Anthony Bouchard]

The Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Speaker System is one of the best I've heard.

Many professional audio and video editors use a Mac by choice. Macs come with many kinds of editing software from Apple themselves such as Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and more. Adobe also takes the stand by offering Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Soundbooth, and Adobe Audition which all give you power over video and audio. But what good is having all of that power if you can barely hear everything that's going on in the sound? Sound is easily one the most important parts of any video or audio track. It's one of our five senses that we rely heavily on and with the dinky little speaker inside of your Mac you won't hear any of the really low frequency tones in your sound. You are really missing a lot.

The Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Speaker System has to be the best speaker system that I've ever used for audio and video editing. It's also a pleasure to have when I'm listening to music or playing video games. It's a three-piece speaker system that has a subwoofer and two speakers. It comes in two versions; wireless and wired. The wireless version costs an arm and a leg more than the wired one. The wireless version uses a USB dongle to send sound to the speaker system. If you're a MacBook Air/Pro user, you'll see that the dongle is actually quite large and could prove to be a problem because of the spacing between the USB jacks in the computer. If you don't use any other USB devices, then you'll probably be fine. I went ahead and bought the wired one because of the cheaper price. Plus, I get to keep my USB jacks and use only the 3.5mm headphone jack.

The wired speaker system costs $149.99 and delivers the best sound you've ever heard - complete with bass lows and tweet highs. The three piece speaker system is connected to the computer (or other 3.5mm headphone jack device) by a 3.5mm headphone jack wire and nothing else. The rest of the wires go to the speakers themselves. There's of course a power cord which comes out of the back of the subwoofer, and there are 4 wired connectors between the speakers and the subwoofer (two each). One is a power wire, the other is a sound wire. There is one extra wire from the right speaker that plugs into the subwoofer and it's a voice cord because the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Speaker System supports voice input.

The bass from these speakers will make your windows shake. The bass is omnidirectional and it's about as powerful as any subwoofer system you can find out there. Your whole house will shake and if you turn the volume to the max, you can hear it from so far away you will feel like you can't escape it. This is an audiophile's speaker system, carrying a frequency response of 31Hz - 20kHz. The subwoofer is a one side-firing 6.5" (16.51cm) long-throw fiber composite cone and the tweeter; 0.75" Poly compression driver. This speaker system only comes in black and includes headphone outputs as well as microphone inputs. The speakers are refereed to as satellites - here are the dimensions: Satellite: 8.5" (21.59cm) x 4.2" (10.67cm) x 5.67" (14.4cm); Subwoofer: 9.5" (24.13cm) x 9.8" (24.9cm) x 10.2" (25.9cm). They're not that big - for a system with this sound quality, it's pretty portable with the satellites weighing 2.1 pounds each and the subwoofer weighing 11 pounds.

I love this speaker system. I can listen to music like I've never heard it before - or I can play battlefield and feel like a bomb shell just exploded next to my ear drum. This system is a recommendation by me because the quality it delivers is great for the price you pay. I recommend the wired version over the wireless version simply because it's cheaper and more manageable. If you want the wireless version, be prepared to pay an arm and a leg for it and also to have interference from other wireless devices. This system gets five stars from me and as a bonus you get the good name of Klipsch. Will you think about buying this system? Share in the comments.

Sources: Klipsch

[fleurya]

I went through 2sets of these a few years back. They must have had faulty internal wiring or something because they would never work right. Then I read a lot of negative reviews on the web saying a lot of people had issues and I decided to stay away from them from then on.

Now I'm using a set of M-Audio monitors. They're just a 2 speaker set, but no booming base, but they are far and away the best sounding speakers I've ever owned, including these and Bose sets.

[Anthony Bouchard]

Where did you find those bad reviews? I have 4 and 5 star ratings on them with every site I visit.

[cloudxvii]

They're great speakers...I owned them for a brief moment...the sub was too big to fit under my desk and I had no space on top. The speakers are actually somewhat larger than I expected (perhaps not to others...but for me they were). They sounded great though...wish I could have kept them, but given the way my room is set up (including my two monitors on my desk) it just wasn't going to fit...

[KraXik]

On a slightly unrelated note. My Image S4's arrived today and I'm very impressed.

Thank you very much for the tip Anthony!

[f3nd3rmus1c]

Really?

I mean... really?

[Dranon]

Really?

I mean... really?

So what do YOU really mean by REALLY? The Klipsch are $150 and so are the Logitechs that you linked to but they are discounted $22, so if you are talking about a deal OK save $22 great! They both have 200 watts RMS and the Logitechs are THX certified if that means something to you, BUT for some reason I'm thinking you mean something else...

[KraXik]

So what do YOU really mean by REALLY? The Klipsch are $150 and so are the Logitechs that you linked to but they are discounted $22, so if you are talking about a deal OK save $22 great! They both have 200 watts RMS and the Logitechs are THX certified if that means something to you, BUT for some reason I'm thinking you mean something else...

Those logitechs are £150 not $150 so technically more.

[jfreezy]

I too owned two sets of these and like comment above - the wiring and connections are poor. I even bought the after-market monster cable and still had issues. Ended up giving them away and bought the Bose. Love the Bose.

[*T*]

BEATS AUDIO

Dr Dre

[Silverado1987]

Weird. We already own this exact one for many years. Still a great sound. Bass is epic

[sziklassy]

I have the pro-media 5.1's (which they don't make anymore, not sure why) and they are phenomenal. Their warranty policy is also amazing. If you have any issues just take them into Best Buy (yes, even if you didn't buy them there) and they will get the replaced so long as they have that specific item in stock.

[broncosi]

BEATS AUDIO

Dr Dre

owned the over ear, most expensive headphones and hated them. However I also own the speakers above and LOVE them. I produce music and they work great!

[Madman604x]

Klipsch, great stuff. mine are still going strong after years of use.

[Dranon]

Those logitechs are £150 not $150 so technically more.

No they are $150 USD!! On sale for $127.49 USD which his link takes you to exactly!!

[f3nd3rmus1c]

So what do YOU really mean by REALLY? The Klipsch are $150 and so are the Logitechs that you linked to but they are discounted $22, so if you are talking about a deal OK save $22 great! They both have 200 watts RMS and the Logitechs are THX certified if that means something to you, BUT for some reason I'm thinking you mean something else...

I'm guessing no one is going to check this news post at this point, but yes... REALLY. I wish I could say this more often when I'm arguing about something: I've had both. The Klipsch is severely underpowered and the Logitech has superior sound quality.

That's pretty much the gist of it.

P.S.: I didn't really make it clear it had nothing to do with the price - my bad

[cuzz501]

Those logitechs are £150 not $150 so technically more.

Not for long...