Customer Reviews

Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 Multimedia Speaker System, (6 Speakers, Black)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

one was the minimum. I was seriously disappointed in this speaker system. Although installation and setup were simple, there was a small glitch in the connections to my audio board in that the color coding of the 1/8" speaker connections did not match those on the board. Two of the inputs on the speaker system were switched, and I only noticed because of anomalies that were exposed by my audio system test software.

Once correctly installed, the system worked flawlessly. I played the introductory scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring which strenuously exercises a speaker system including a deep sighing bass during the Fall of Sauron. Speaker performance during this sequence was spectacular. I then played the several musical scenes from The Sound of Music. Awesome! Then....nothing. The system just quit working.

Although there was still power to the control module, the speaker system had totally failed. I confirmed that the computer was generating the proper signal and voltage on each of its outputs, but the speaker system would produce no sound. This was after just one hour's use! There was nothing that I could do to fix the problem. (I often wonder why computer audio system manufacturers provide for no user serviceability.)

After some research, I discovered that this is a common problem with the ProMedia line, and I also found that this product line has been discontinued by Klipsch. Sales continue until existing inventory has been cleared.

I bought my set of Promedias with my new computer. The sound was indeed exceptional. But, after a year of use, they failed. I went to use them and got nothing but muffled bass and clicking. Then, I went to their forums. Seems everyone has been having the exact same problems. Some are lucky enough to get a year or two, and some measured the lifespan of their promedias in minutes. To top it off, they want $60 to fix a defective product since the warranty lasts only one year. Then, after paying the $60 to fix Klipsch's own problem, many have reported that the SECOND set failed. Buyer beware. These speakers are about as shoddy as they come and Klipsch is one shady company.

I've had the Ultra 5.1 for just under a year now. Must say, the sound is terrific, when it is working, and you have the amplifier on location. You see, the amp. died on me about 7 weeks ago. Since it was still within the 1 year warranty period, I called "support" to find out what to do. They advised me to mail the amp back to them (at $25.00 cost to me)for either repair or replacement. Here I am, 7 WEEKS LATER, still without an amp. After repeated run-arounds from the "support" staff, I finally learned that the reason for the delay was because they have no amps available at the time and that the "new shipment of amps that is coming from China has been delayed...." "They will be arriving very shortly though..." 7 WEEKS and counting, still without a sound system on my computer. This is Klipschs' idea of customer support.

Let me start off by telling you that I have owned these for over two years now. The speakers are great when they work and I wouldn't trade them in for anything else. The problem is the amp. The subwoofer and the amp are all one component and the satellites as well as the sound controler is connected to it.

After about a year the speaker system died. I was only able to hear sound through the headphone jack on the control module. This told me that the problem wasn't my soundcard. I e-mailed customer support and gave them the serial number and all the other information they wanted and they gave me a ticket number.

After un-screwing what seemed like 50 million screws I took the amp out of the cabinet and sent it away to be repaired. This cost me $60.00 at the time. I understand they may be charging $90.00 now. After a couple of weeks (fast turn-around time I thought) I re-assembled everything back together and, crossing my fingers, turned them on.

Presto! I was back in action. I was in love all over again with these babies. The honeymoon lasted until last week when the exact same thing happened again. Less than a year has gone by and I have no sound. An e-mail to tech support resulted in the same response I received last time. "Send them to us for $60.00 and we will make the repairs".

Klipsch is making money by charging to repair a faulty product that they refuse to correct permanently. They know about it but I guess the repeat repair bills help keep them in business. Too bad. They are awsome when they work and they really have low lows and high highs.

Don't buy these as you will regret it when you have to send the amp back. Rest assured that it is a guarentee that you will be sending the amp back sooner or later. Some folks only get the first 45 minutes out of their amps before they crash. Go to their website forums and read the horror stories. To be fair it isn't just Klipsch who is the real culprit here. The amp is made by a company named "Bash". Their amps are junk yet Klipsch refuses to part with them so I blame them both, along with Hewlard Packard who seems to be mixed into this fray somehow.

Stay clear and go with something else. I have decided to keep the sattelite speakers and connect them to a receiver as they are really powerful. It's just too bad that the amp is junk otherwise it would be a great product.

I bought these speakers and they broke over a year into it. I went to the Klipsch forums and saw a lot of people with failures....and repeat failures after getting them repaired. They (tech support) wanted $90 dollars + shipping to repair. So I bought the Logitech Z5500's and threw away the Promedia's. Much better now!!

I just wanted to throw in my two cents. I bought this system a little over a month ago (I didn't look at any reviews because my brother has been selling audio equipment for a number of years and told me this was a great system). This system does sound great, however three and a half weeks after I bought it, the sub stopped working. That's when I looked at the reviews online. Even though it's been almost two years since other reviews stated that Klipsch was aware of the problem and had corrected it, apparently there are still some flaws. I immediately boxed my system back up and returned it.

This system does sound great, but if you are going to buy it, make sure you get an extended warranty.

What can I say. I wish I had read more online reviews before I purchased. When I received the package, I unpacked it, hooked it up, paying close attention to the wiring, and started using it. They DO sound great, but after about 40 minutes, they shut down entirely. When I called their customer service department, a Klipsch service tech said the problem was likely a blown amplifier, and I should return it. A pain, and now I'm stuck paying the shipping, I think....

I received the big dog... Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 System. Hooked them up, played around with them (trying out the aux input, playing a CD), and then watched TV at a low volume through them. Total of 90 minutes... then the sound went silent. Dead. Nada. No sound at all. Still had power, could hear a relay clicking inside, but nothing was coming out, through the main or aux input.

Exchanged them for a new set. Hooked them up. They lasted a week and a half. Same exact thing. Watching TV at a low volume, and the system just suddenly goes silent. I knew immediately that they were dead. They are currently (May 25 '05) on their way back.

Never again will I purchase another Klipsch product. I'm getting my money back on these. Disappointing, to say the least. They sounded decent (need a little more mid-range - bass and high's are excellent). The dual-woofer setup allows for some good sounding bass (though sadly I never got the chance to really crank the speakers up).

If you have them, and they're still alive, enjoy them. If you're thinking about ordering them, well, keep in mind that they might not live long, and shipping on a 62 lb box is rather expensive...

I purchased a set of 2.1 Pro Media speakers from the vaunted Klipsch between 6-7 months ago. I bought them at an Apple Store, which was my first mistake because the store is 60 miles from me.

Right out of the box the subwoofer had a rattle/buzz that was audible on some tunes I listen to (most notably Enya and other Hearts of Space artists). I decided that the expense of running back and forth between Apple was not cost effective. Besides, other than the small intermittent rattle of the sub, the speakers were great. So I decided to keep them.

I continued to enjoy them over the weeks, but the rattle worsened until about 3 months ago when it became quite pronounced. Then, this past week, the sub had a major melt-down. Now it just buzzes, more or less. It barely produces any accurate sound at all. I believe there is a tear in the woofer cone, but I cannot be certain without further testing.

I called Klipsch and voivd my concerns, whereupon the returns department promptly told me to stick it, in so many words. They said if I wanted to find a box for the sub, pack it up, drive to UPS and pay the shipping to send it to them they would gladly "repair" it. Look, it is not as if I have the time to do all of that. I think Klipsch knows this, too. I barely have the time to do this review, but it matters more to me than getting this speaker fixed at this point. So I choose to write this review instead, in hopes that it will discourage any of you from spending a dime on a Klipsch product.

I spoke to several people at Klipsch, and they all were incredibly unwilling to assist me in any way other than to offer to repair it and frankly, I don't want a repair. I want a new friggin subwoofer. After reading these reviews, I think a repair job isn't worth the paper the RA is printed on. One person (Paul) at Klipsch actually laughingly told me "it's all in the warranty" so many times I wanted to smack him. He was so arrogant and smug. His tone with me should have been my first clue that Klipsch was not a company to do business with.

Basically, Klipsch has this "it's all in the warranty" policy set up rather nicely. In fact, I would call it a racket. They must know that few of us are likely to send anything in the mail to them, so they have no real incentive to build a lasting PC-based product that will work. Why spend the extra money on developing a superb product when you will never have to stand behind it in the first place?

Instead, they build [...], knowing that when the [...] breaks, they don't have anything to worry about because the odds are that no one will go to the trouble to ship anything costing $300.00 or less back to Klipsch. It is just more money in their pockets. It's called planned obsolescence, folks, and Klipsch has it down to an art when it comes to their multimedia line.

As an aside, I have a set of Altec Lansing 2.1's that are 8 years old and they work flawlessly and they sound great and only cost $79.00. One guy I spoke with at Klipsch actually had the nerve to say that Altec Lansing was not as good as Klipsch. HAHAH That is rich. And here I sit with a Klipsch product that didnt make it past 7 months, and my brother is upstairs loving the [...] out of the AL I gave to him.

The way I see it, the Altec Lansing is 100x better than Klipsch. I wish I had kept the AL set I gave to my brother. I feel like a sucker who got the shaft at this point. Thanks Klipsch!

Don't buy anything from Klipsch. They will not stand behind your purchase, they will not stand behind their product. I would suggest you try Altec Lansing. From my experience they are building their products to last and you will have far fewer problems with them.

By the way, one poster on this page was right: Klipsch is discontinuing the Pro Media Line. Whether or not they intend to replace it with something better is something that even Klipsch cannot, or will not, tell you. The guy I spoke to told me that the whole industry is moving away from PC speaker systems because of the IPod. LOL.

Maybe he should give the folks at Creative Labs, Altec Lansing, Cambridge Soundworks, Bose et al. a call, and try to sell THEM that line of BS. Personally, I don't think the guy had a shred of an idea of what he was talking about.

Edit Jan. 06, 2006

Update from my previous review. I gave a 4-star rating and didnt know how i should feel about this system. Well I do now.

It's really ironic; the night right after i submitted my review, my speakers died on me. I emailed Klipsch the morning after and am still waiting for their response (anxious to prove one of previous reviewer's story about "friendly, highly-informed folks over at Klipsch's customer service" and their fast work on "mailing prepaid shipping form and replacement of the unit"). I think I'm selling the Klipsch after repair, though.

So here's my concluding review. I got these speakers because the reviews about the excellence of their sound quality (which is true) is just simply irresistible, and despite the numerous warning from other users regarding the sudden death. Now I am paying for my curiosity.

I have, in the spur of the disappointment, once again considered Logitech's z-5500 and am now regretting why i did not go with it in the first place. While the sound quality is somewhat comparable (reviewers' opinion vary in this regard), Z-5500 costs less, has wireless remote control, digital decoding and multiple input capability (such that it almost serves as a receiver), and more importantly, no known report of amps blowing out after only a few months of use.

So there you go. Don't flaunt your cash over Promedia in the hope of getting superior sound - it does not last. For the same price range, Z-5500 is more reliable and thus makes a more lasting investment.


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Jan 4th, 2006.

I've had these speakers for about 3 months now, and I still dont know whether to fully love it or start keeping an eye out for another model. Note that i will be comparing them a lot to my old speakers since that one was so difficult to get over (had to let them go only because i was moving to the states and couldnt take them with me).

The first time i plugged my Klipsch into my laptop's on-board Realtek AC97 soundcard, i have to say i wasnt impressed at all. My old 2.1 Altec Lansing ATP3 (not released in the US, i think) was much better in producing clear, crisp treble and highly detailed midrange. The subwoofer definitely kicks a$$ though - the first night i had these babies i also got my first noise complaints from my neighbors hehe. Oh, I have to mention that i didnt realize back then that their lack of digital decoding means they require separate inputs for each of the channels (front, center, and rear) - which my soundcard lacks. OK, so it was my fault that this baby was not tapped up to its fullest potential. So that's my first warning: You have to have a soundcard that provides digital decoding to get them working best, otherwise it's pretty much worthless.

So, that leaves me two options that both require extra expenditure: get an external soundcard, or a digital decoding receiver. I went for the former, pulling out some $87 more to buy a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy ZS soundcard. Once i fed these babies their respective inputs, I understood what everyone was talking about. I only have to crank 'em up to 30% volume to impress my neighbors, and 50-60% to upset them (detail-wise, however, i still like my old ATP3 better i think). Now we're talking...

But that didnt last very long, though. About two months into my blissful audio experience with them, i noticed that the channels started to distort (crackling, vibrating noise) over strong trebles, first barely noticeably so, then it got to the point that i couldnt take it anymore. And i was only playing Damien Rice's "The Blower's Daughter" when it really distorted. I tried checking all the connections and inputs, and nothing seemed to be wrong. After weeks of fidgeting i finally discovered that the distortion could be eliminated by turning down the volumes from the software controls to 70%-ish (on the soundcard and winamp and the likes) and using the speaker's control module instead to crank up the volume. I really don't know until now if the distortion was my fault (that i was never supposed to turn up the volume through software controls in the first place), or it's simply a sign of Promedia's weakness in durability. My old ATP3 never seemed to have that problem no matter which way i cranked up their volume.

They've been behaving their best since, though. I've only started using my laptop to watch movies lately, and i just finished watching Jet Li's Hero. Turning up the volume to 70% (neighbors are all away for winter break) literally rattled the walls and door of my dorm room. And, no distortion this time. I'm proud!

So, to sum it up:
1. they're still somewhat lacking in sound clearness and detail, but the pro is that the sound they produce isnt shrill and piercing and disturbing no matter how loud (i noticed that other speakers can really hurt your hearing)
2. turning up the volume through software controls kills these babies. Use the speaker's control module instead, and u'll be happy.
3. The subwoofer's BIG and HEAVY! While this is truly something i can boast about to my friends (imagine what a sub that size can do!) and is somewhat a testimony to the bass power it produces, on the other hand it poses a space management issue especially for dorm dwellers like myself. Forget about tucking it under the desk. I even have doubts about putting it on top of my compact fridge for fear that its sheer 40-ish lbs weigh will break my refrigerator.
4. So far i have not experienced the sudden death reported by other users (cross my fingers), but i have quiet, nagging fears that at any time they would just die on me...
5. I noticed that the price have hiked since i got 'em, so if you are a true audiophile and gets disturbed over small details like those i reported, it's probably worth trying out other models with better reviews, then (i dont really have a suggestion). U wanna be really sure before u throw out $350 on a set of speakers.

I give it 4 stars for the fact that i'm still proud of them no matter what. Telling my buddies that i got a set of Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 still gets them drooling and awe-inspired when they come over to check my speakers out ;)