Customer Reviews

Klipsch ProMedia GMX D-5.1 Digital Speaker System

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Folks, these are great sounding speakers. They truly are. But these speakers are ALL digital and play TRUE digital sound. Even though they may sound great, these speakers only play 2.1 sound unless you have a DIRECT digital connection. Not even your Audigy 2 can play with all five channels going on here. Even if they are plugged into the D-IN on your Audigy 2, they will only play 2.1 sound, and no more. If you have an nForce motherboard such as the ASUS deluxe edition, then these speakers are great because on that specific motherboard you can play true-to-life digital sound, including direct Dolby Digital. The decoding on the Audigy 2 soundcard is way different. These speakers are meant generally for consoles and can only be used to the fullest on computers containing an ASUS Deluxe nForce2 motherboard. To those users out there: You are VERY lucky people. For the rest of us with KT400s or etc., you should go and buy an all-analog system or a digital speaker system made specifically for the Audigy 2 if you want digital. These are not the option.

I just bought these and have them hooked up to my Sound Blaster Audigy Sound card.

I set it up to go to 5.1 channel, Digital Output only. Audio played from the speakers, but when I ran the Test, the one that goes "Front Left"... "Center"... "Front Right" ... "Rear Left" ... "Rear Right" ... I only heard it say "Front Left" and "Front Right", meaning that it didn't output correctly. I thought maybe the speakers were defective or my sound card wasn't setup right.

I decided to run some other tests.

I used Creative Playcenter to play some of the sample AC3 files, and they played beautifully! Played in 5.1 surround sound, I was immersed in sound. Close your eyes and you feel like you're really there.

I played a DVD and it was awesome! Words aren't enough, great bang for the buck, awesome sound quality reproduction.

Bass is phenomenal. I live on the 2nd floor of an apartment and I'm pretty sure my neighbor downstairs is going to get upset.

Even playing 2 channel MP3s sounds great too. I noticed that it separates some of the frequencies. For example, all the bass to the subwoofer, of course, but also, the rear speakers seem to only play the highs, the center speaker plays the mids, and the front speakers seem to cover a much wider spectrum. This gives a nice illusion of surround sound. Even listening to 2 channel stereo sounds nice.

I've read some of the complaints that the Audigy only plays 2.1, but this is not true. The Audigy is capable of playing 5.1 through these speakers, but it won't reflect that if you try using the Test that comes with the Surround Mixer.

Make sure your DVD software is setup for SPDIF output, and any other audio app is set for SPDIF output.

These speakers sound absolutely fantastic! The highs are crisp, and the bass is solid. I use these for my Xbox, and they greatly enhance the gaming experience. These double for home theater speakers when I play DVDs through the Xbox. You can also use these on a PC.

These aren't for everyone. They seem to be designed mainly for video game consoles, and hence don't have analog 5.1 inputs. (You get stereo RCA inputs, optical Toslink digital input, and RCA coax digital input.) One other minor complaint, the control center takes a large footprint.

I still rate these a 5. They are a great investment.

Had the system for a week now. For a gaming system it sounds pretty good, but for music and DVD soundtracks it doesn't bowl me over. Can't say why, it just is not as impressive as I would expect. Lack of dynamic response and low frequency reproduction are to blame.

One of the reasons could be the subwoofer. The sub will not play very low notes. Here is a test you can try on your system to confirm. Get a copy of the Beatles "Abbey Road" and put on the second track, "Something" by George Harrison. Listen to McCartney's bass 58 seconds into the song, he plays a low "e" on his bass which is 41.2Hz. This system doesn't not play the fundamental, just the overtone an octave up at 82.4Hz.

Now, this lack of ultra-low frequency reproduction is not uncommon, but my JVC mini-system totally nails this song. Good bass reproduction is critical, and there is not enough in the Klipsch to be satisfying for music.

I'm not sure what the bad reviews are all about. I bought this for my sister and decided to try it out before I gave it to her. Right now they're setup in my living room and I don't want to give them up. I don't have home theatre because my room is too small for a "real" home theatre system, but this system was awesome.

The reviews that say it won't play deep bass aren't accurate. Maybe they've imporved the system since those reviews, but I sat in my living room with a sound level meter and ran through some test tones. From 200Hz down to 30Hz the meter registered 70db absolutely flat down to 30Hz and the volume trailed off between 30Hz and 25Hz or so. It was amazing to see the meter reading unchanged through the crossover and remain steady even though my ears could no longer hear it. I watched a couple of movies this weekend and the system had my floor and couch vibrating exactly the way it should have.

I used the system to play movies in Dolby Pro Logic II using the stereo analog inputs and Dolby Digital using the TOSLINK hookup. Both performed incredibly. It's like going from a mono TV with the speaker on one side to a stereo TV.

The downside to this system is that I have wires strung all around my living room which I couldn't live with in perpetuity. In truth though, this is NOT home theatre system, that's just the way I chose to test it out. It's designed to be placed around you on the floor when you play games and be cleaned up when you're done.

I'd like to start by asking why some of you have given this system bad reviews because you couldn't hook your computer or whatever up correctly. Don't punish the product because of a lack of research on your part! Download the manual or read the product description - it clearly states that "The control module features a standard analog stereo audio input and two digital audio inputs--one coaxial and one Toslink optical." There's no mention of multichannel analog inputs, so if you don't have optical or coaxial digital outputs, don't buy it!

Or, do what I did...purchase a Creative SoundBlaster MP3+. This little device attaches to your computer via USB and allows output (and input) of a pure optical digital stream. Hook an optical cable between it and the Klipsch's disk and voila, Dolby Digital from your computer. The external SoundBlaster Live!, SoundBlaster Audigy 2, and Philips Aurilium also will work.

On to the system itself. I also have a Creative T5400, but I wanted something with a Dolby Digital decoder so I could hook them up to my laptop as a cheap home theatre setup. I bought this Klipsch on sale for $130, and it fits the bill.

Some complain about hiss - I'm experiencing noise too, but it's more of a whine with a slight bit of hiss, more pronounced when I'm using the analog input. It might be due to the electrical quality, too...my Creatives never hissed at school, but in my new apartment, I get noise through them. Noisy electrical power from the outlets can cause problems.

I think the sound is pretty good. Nothing spectacular, but about what I expected. Clear with good off-axis sound...mine are about ten feet away, and I get a better soundstage without tip-in. The sub does a really good job for being so small - I put mine in a corner, and it'll move the couch. I find it to be too much for music usually, so I turn it down to 0, and up to +4 for movies. The system could use more power for my application (a decent sized room), but that's not really what it's made for. So I'll forgive the system for that.

I like the assortment of processing - native format (DD 5.1 or 2.1 channel stereo), 5.1 stereo, and two types of Dolby Pro Logic II, which I'm a fan of. The latter gives a good 5.1 sound from a stereo source, without being too overbearing. The range of adjustment for the center, surrounds, and sub is nice, too.

One thing I really wished the system had is a remote control. It couldn't have been expensive to incorporate, and would have been a nice touch. I know I could put the control disk on my table, but I don't want the cord running across the floor.

Bottom line, if you're going to purchase this, be realistic. It's not going to be the best system in the world, but it is a decent, cheap way to get Dolby Digital or Pro Logic II decoding from a computer, game console, or a stereo source. Make sure you can connect to it before purchase, and you'll be ok.

I'll give it four stars for being somewhat noisy, a lack of a remote, and the fact that I don't think it should cost $300 retail.

First of all, these are quality speakers. The sound is crystal clear, and easily worth the $99 amazon is selling them for.

The bad. Sub seems way underpowered. I have smaller, way cheaper subs on 2.1 systems that put out more bass than this. For how heavy it is you'd think you could crank it up. The overall sound level is really limited also.

There is always a loud humming sound coming from the bass while the control is set to analog/rca mode. Sounds almost like a large noisy fan, though it doesn't make the sound in digital modes. Sounds like another reviewer has the same exact problem. I may return them for an exchange.

conclusion. Hard to get a better value on quality speakers such as these for $100, buy em.

I just bought a pair of these speakers and I have to warn everyone to avoid them at all costs. They produce an unbelievable hiss, even when turned all the way down (the hiss is louder than my entire computer). I contacted Klipsch support and they acknowledged that there were known quality control issues with them and that's why they don't make them anymore. I'm still waiting to find out if they'll even replace them. In the meantime, I'm going to contact Amazon about returning them, even if I have to take a considerable hit for restocking an opened item. These things are terrible at the low price of $100. I can't even begin to imagine paying $300 for them.

This is a great surround sound setup for a console system or a computer, if you do your research beforehand. While it is not true, as some other reviews state, that you must have a specific motherboard for true 5.1 speaker surround sound on your computer, this system lacks analog inputs for each speaker, which is the primary method that computers use to connect to a 5.1 system. If you have a computer with digital S/PDIF or TOSLink (optical) outputs, you should be able to connect your computer to this stereo for true surround sound.

For those of us with this option, these are really great speakers. They fill my (small) room with clear, crisp, accurate sound and the subwoofer, even though it's smaller than some other offerings, provides plenty of bass for my room. While they have a somewhat unusual style, it grew on me quickly. I can fully recommend these speakers to anyone who wants a high quality surround system for a computer or console system in a smaller room, and who has researched their connection options fully.

I got this on special from Amazon ($99 +free shipping), which is the only reason I purchased it. Klipsch is, I think, a little crazy in their expectation that this system is worth $299.

Why do I think this? Well, in terms of bang for the buck, this system falls short - especially when you consider that unless you have a digital source this is essentially a 2.1 system. In the 2.1 realm, you can find many systems with higher per channel wattage than this for far less cost. And if the cost is okay, you can certainly find more feature packed systems for the price. Any number of well-equipped bookshelf systems come to mind, including some excellent offerings from Onkyo and Denon. I can't comment on the 5.1 capabilities.

If you don't need features, and prefer quality to volume, then read on. Audio performance is the redeeming factor, as there the GMX D-5.1 holds its own against traditional audio systems, and trounces most other computer audio products. With a 3" main driver in the satellite, this system has a reasonable chance at midrange performance. The midrange, while admirable, still sounds anemic by comparison to my reference speakers due to falloff in the mid-bass frequencies. The satellites rely on the sub for help here, which of course leads to muddy imaging particularly noticeable in male vocals. The tweeter blends well with the midrange and gives good high frequency definition without being too directional, though it might be too prominent at frequencies above 8kHz for some listeners. The sub gives exceptional performance for an audiophile, provided you aren't the kind of person who accepts nothing less than a pair of 12's in your car. Notes are distinct and completely lack the rumbling or booming quality ubiquitous in low priced .1 components. Extension is admirable for a 6.5" driver, though output is limited south of 40Hz. The system claims 108db SPL, and while I'm sure that is possible, anything above 102db and it starts losing its charm. This is undoubtedly due to the 1% THD found at the 10 Wpc rated output. The 2%THD for the sub is much less noticeable.

Fit and finish are exceptional, particularly on the subwoofer. The satellites have a distinct "Ikea-new-age-lamp" feel about them, but the sub is a very traditional matte black with solid construction. I don't have any problems with the overgrown hockey puck control panel. It fits nicely on my desk, though it isn't ideal for a small workspace. It does fit atop the sub, should you choose to place that in an accessible area.

For $100, this system performs exceptionally, with overall sound quality far better than most comparably featured systems. That advantage diminishes at the regular price, and the GMX D-5.1 melds into the pack.