Customer Reviews

Klipsch GMX A 2.1 Personal Audio System (3 Speakers, Black & Silver)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Could someone remove that review that gave these speakers only 3 stars because the guy owns other speakers and its DSP has hiss? These speakers are the A-2.1's and not the D-5.1's ... A vs D ... ANALOG vs. DIGITAL! The guy says these 2.1s have the same DSP, he's full of it. There is NO DSP in these speakers, thus there is no DSP-related hiss. So all of you folks who are listening really hard to detect hiss, you won't find it unless it comes from your own misconfigured or noisy sound card.

Now then, what will you find? GREAT sounding speakers.

Overall these are very efficient and natural sounding with prominent highs, plenty of bass, and very minimal coloring of the mids.

Pluses ...

Very efficient, nice at low levels if you want something in the background
Good bass response and extension. I leave the sub on at 1/3
It definitely has the high end ... very bright. Real tweeters!
LOUD ... plenty loud for my needs
Sub level control is right on the control puck

Headphone jack

Minuses...

Lower mids are not quite as prominent
Very bright, maybe too bright if you aim them right towards your face
Bass can be a bit overpowering, turn the sub down
Headphone level too low ... have to turn volume up, then back down when unplugging headphones

These minuses are all minor. Overall these speakers are fantastic. I had a set of Logitech Z-640's and they didn't have anything near the kind of presence these have. These are speakers that cause you to you forget about the speakers and listen to the music and all the interesting sounds in the original recording. I listened to a lot of speakers before choosing these and these make you say "WOW"! They really stand out from the others.

I was very close to purchasing these speakers from reading just the reviews on Amazon and on the brand reputation of Klipsch. I wanted to see if I could upgrade from my Bose MediaMate speakers for just a little more money. But I have firmly decided against the Klipsch. Read on for my personal reasoning.

PROS:
- Great sound
- Plenty of input options
- Convenient control module

CONS:
- Continuous buzzing/hissing noise
- Love it or hate it looks

PERFORMANCE
From every specification I've read and every review I've read, these speakers DO sound amazing. 1/3 of the volume limit is about what most people max out at before they begin to wonder whether they'll upset their neighbors or cause their picture frames to go flying off the walls. This aspect of these speakers are what brought me to seriously consider them and I have no doubt that they are probably some of the best sounding 2.1 speakers you can buy, and at a semi-reasonable amount of money.

FEATURES
Wow, inputs galore and a very attractive looking control module, unlike those from Creative Labs and Logitech. Should you desire, you can also purchase matching speaker stands for the GMX line. A very flexible set of speakers for use with your PC, game system, or portable audio device.

AESTHETICS
Arguably, the ugliest speakers I've ever seen. I think some people really appreciate the industrial look of these speakers, but I prefer something more elegant and simple.

INTANGIBLES
So here is why I decided not to spend my hard earned dollars. There is a constant HISS that resonates from the speakers that you cannot get rid of. This hiss exists also in the 5.1 version of the GMX and if you do some more research, you'll read plenty of people who have purchased this set and that is their primary complaint. I don't want my speakers to hiss/buzz. I only want to hear Eddie Van Halen's amazing guitar work, Freddie Mercury's tremendous vocal range, DJ Tiesto's bouncing beats, and my MONSTER KILLS on Unreal Tournament.

SUMMARY
I thought Amazon shoppers might appreciate the research I've done with these speakers and get a devil's advocate review. I for one, always like to read the reviews of those who didn't like a product more, because it's the picky people who will tell you something about a product you won't know from reading a feature list on the box. I gave the speakers 3 stars, which means I think they are "OK." I am much happier with the value of my Logitech Z-2300's. The average rating on both sets are 4.5, but the Logitech's have 816 customer reviews, while the Klipsch have only 53. The masses have spoken.

I have a rather strong background in home theater, of which I will spare you the details of to say, "It has been a while." A lot of people seem to have different ideas of just what $100-$150 buys when it comes to speaker systems. I must admit I find the reviewers that seem to hold this particular system to the standard of world class audio components are also going to have a hard time dealing with the fact that a Nissan cannot hold it's own on the track against a Ferrari. If you are looking for the ultimate in a musical or soundtrack reproduction experience, look else where. By that I mean do not look to a 2.1 speaker setup. These speakers are excellent, are very easy to setup and adjust to suit your tastes, and do just about as good a job with sound reproduction as one could expect when dealing with a setup this size with "out-of-the-box" cables. The hiss issue I read so much about is absent, but I run my computer with a grounded outlet and voltage regulator. I am happy Klipsch has a few offerings that fall below the $190 mark. They are accurate, convenient, and most strongly recommended as a COMPUTER SPEAKER setup. Oh yes, and I am very happy with what my $100 buys.

Let's start with the flaws. Firstly, as one reviewer stated before there is a slight hiss which comes from the speakers, possibly this has to do with individual electrical outlets, power strips, or interference. Nevertheless it is quite minor in my opinion. Secondly, at VERY low volumes one speaker is louder than the other. Again, to many this may not be even noticeable, and at normal listening levels, the problem appears not to be present.
OKAY, now for the positives, which I must stress strongly outweigh the negatives. The sound of the system is startling, honestly I was shocked when hearing it for the first time, considering the price especially. What has to be considered is that there may be some minor flaws in system which has this type of power and sound quality at this price point, but I repeat that the positives strongly outweigh the negatives. Lastly, the system build is very nice, heavy nice material, can be installed in a matter of minutes. I highly recommend this product, I am not sure what else you can get out there given the price/performance ratio.

I'm a fifty-ish woman who got an IPod for Christmas and suddenly realized I needed to upgrade my computer speakers. Certainly not a techie or audiophile! A friend recommended Klipsch so this is what I bought. They're pretty easy to set up--the instructions are clear--and I think they sound great! To get what amounts to a new sound system at this price seems like a good deal to me.

At first I heard no trace of the dreaded hiss or hum--and my ears are pretty sharp. But after a few days I realized that when the computer is completely shut down I could hear the barest trace of a hiss coming from the speakers. But when the computer is on the slight noise is completely drowned out by the normal hum of the computer and monitor. And when the computer is completely shut off I'm usually not close enough to hear the hiss at all.

How one figures out in advance if it's going to bother you or not I don't know. But for me these speakers are a 5 so far.

I just got my 2.1's in the mail about 4 hours ago and have been blasting them with everything that I can. From music, movies, to games. In every area these speakers rock the house.

The high's are tight and crisp, the mids are reproduced to a "T", and the bass is very deep and responsive. The little volume adjuster pod is great for handily adjusting the volume and sub volume at a seconds notice.

These speakers play very very loud without distortion which is what I like the most, I like to listen to everything LOUD.

Here is my one and only complaint: These speakers have a slight hiss, and it is pretty annoying when you aren't listening to anything. Now I don't know if the hiss could possibly be due to the craptastic factory sound card from this old computer I currently have them hooked too, or if they just hiss because that's what they do. I am hoping that the hissing goes away when I get a chance to hook them to my laptop.

Overall I gave these speakers a 4 star rating. Great sound, looks, and convenience, but I docked one star for the hiss. Klipsch has a winner with the GMX A-2.1's.

First, the good news. I was actually stunned by how GREAT these speakers sound. The more I use them (CD's, iTunes, GarageBand, DVD's) the more I love them.

Now , the complaints.
1. The pod is handy for volume control but when I plug in head phones the volume has to be turned WAY up to scary levels. (The speakers are LOUD at halfway, the head phones are not.)
2. When I turn the volume knob all the way down it clicks, and the green light turns red, but isn't actually doing anything else. I still have to crawl under my desk on my hands and knees to grope blindly for the "real" on/off switch.
3. At very low levels the balance shifts over to the right speaker.

Regarding the "hiss"...It is only audible if I stick the speaker 3 inches from my ear while nothing is playing. I installed some new isolated/grounded outlets when I upgraded my computer recently and I wonder if the amount of hiss is related to old or bad or overloaded electrical outlets.

THE SOLUTION: Turn it on and turn it up! You're gonna be amazed.

These speakers are just wow. The sound is amazin and they look great next to a G5. I was a bit skeptical at first just like everyone is but this product is truly amazing. The bass is perfect the control commander thing is not as big as it looks, its actually very handy and small. If you have the money just buy this and get it over with. Trust me you will not regret it.

These speakers are great. I did a lot of research before purchasing speakers, and these came out on top. They are by far, the most powerful 2.1 speakers on the market. They are more expensive then the rest, but its worth it. And as for the hissing sound, Ive been using these daily for 5 months and never ran into that problem. Im a freshmen at Drexel University, and these blow away everyone else's computer speakers and home audio in the dorm. People actually peek in and cant believe such small speakers and woofer can be heard across the building. I would strongly suggest buying this pair of Klipsch speakers.

Forget 5.1, get this system for your pc. I love the volume control with bass & master plus a headphone jack and an additional input for my MP3 minidisc player.