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Klipsch ProMedia GMX A-2.1 Personal Audio System

Klipsch ProMedia GMX A-2.1 Personal Audio System

List Price: $149.99
Your Price: $149.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ANALOG. There is no DSP, therefore no DSP hiss problem
Review: 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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 5 STARS... despite some complaints
Review: 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.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Great but possible problems
Review: First, these speakers sound great! I was expecting pretty good sound from all the reviews here, but they surpassed my expectations. Very crisp, clean sound with just the amount of bass you want to add.

But...I have been through 3 pairs of these now. Everytime I set them up, they go for about an hour and then I start getting a loud static hiss from the left channel. The last time I tried new speakers, I hooked them up directly to an iPod to try them out. Sure enough the static starts. I finally emailed Klipsch and they told me to trade them in again.

One other thing, I have a Dual G4 Mac with a 23" Cinema Display and these are the only decent speakers that match how cool my system looks. Excellent design.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: klipsch rocks!
Review: 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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Yes they are loud enough
Review: Great speakers. I use them with my laptop, and as my sole stereo system. I originally purchased some smaller nicer looking ones by Altec (or something like that - can't remember name) but had to return them b/c they weren't loud enough. These are definitely loud enough to fill a one bedroom apt (and bother the neighbors), while maintaining sound quality. In fact I've never needed to turn them up all the way.

The only bad thing is that even when you turn them off by way of the control knobs, they still give off that "on" sound - like a kind of low vibrational noise. The only way to really turn them off is to flip the switch in the back of the subwoofer, which can be inconvenient.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Can't get past the hiss
Review: I actually have the 5.1 version of these speakers but the DSP in the 2.1 is the same, and that is the cause of the hiss. The speakers themselves have a nice retro look and actually produce very good sound quality...

But they require a digital connection and as such there is usually a connection stream from the appliance (normally a PC or console game machine)--and if there is a stream these speakers hiss like an air leak.

Klipsch is aware of the issue (and in fact, they begin their FAQ about these speakers with the topic). Their response? All speakers hiss. That is just not the truth, but it is true that all of THESE speakers hiss.

I have since ditched the controller puck (where the DSP lives) and voila! the hiss is gone. Now I run the speakers through a regular receiver and they are pretty good performers. I just can't give better than 3 stars because of that consarn DSP.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Huge sound!!
Review: I am amazed at the sound of this system! The balance between mids and highs is wonderful, and the subwoofer... all I can say is WOW! This purchase was a shot in the dark for me. The system I originally wanted was discontinued. I was browsing for alternatives and thankfully, I stumbled on this system by Klipsch, a brand I had never heard of. I could only find 3 reviews on the GMX A-2.1, but all were EXTREMELY positive, so I decided to give it a try. I couldn't be happier!! The sound is truly unbelieveable...worth every penny.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rulingest Kit Ever!!!
Review: I bought these to play my iPod through at work. OHHHHH MAN!!! Let's just say my cubicle is SLAMMIN' right now. And to the guy who was talking about the slight hum, I only hear it if I have the speaker pointed right at my face, which is not really how I like to spend the workday. BUY THESE SPEAKERS AND ROCK YOUR BOSS!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Deserves 6 Stars
Review: I cannot say enough about this system-- it blows me away (almost literally). The first day it came I just had to test its limits, and it does not have any-- at just over 1/3 of the total volume, I was afraid of getting noise complaints from my neighbors across the road! The quality did not waver for a second in time. And as for the looks of the speakers--an image is worth a thousand words, and unfortunately there IS a word limit here. Well, that is all that I wanted to say-- the speakers will say the rest once they're in your possession.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great sound, looks, and convenience!
Review: 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.


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