Five 2.1 Speaker Set Comparison

RishiGuru

Broken In
Digging the net if found a comprehensive review & comparison available in the Tom'sHardware website regarding five 2.1 speaker sets.

1) Corsair SP2500
2) Creative Gigaworks T3
3) Klipsch Promedia 2.1
4) Logitech Z623
5) Soundscience Rockus 3D

Tom'sHardware link : 2.1-Channel Speaker Roundup

Corsair SP2500
*www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/e3a2444ea6.jpg

Klipsch Promedia
*www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/96a4393b7d.jpg

Logitech Z-623
*www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/394b7a4007.jpg

I really liked the SP2500. Points to note though:

1) SP2500 have 232W while Z-623 has 200W
2) SP2500 costs $260 while Z-623 costs $140 (amazon.com).
3) Z-623 have THX certification

According to Tom'sHardware sound quality wise SP2500 & Z-623 are identical. Both have the same sonic feel & character in their sound. SP2500 have more options in the wired remote that Z-623 lacks. On the other hand Z-623 is a good $120 cheaper.

Say, I will get the the Z-623 for sure since it gives me same sound quality & sonic feel of SP2500 at $120 less. Or I can spend $20 over SP2500 to get two Z-623. Now I have 400W instead of SP2500's 232W. Just Kidding!!!!!!!!!

Tom'sHarware comments on:

SP2500: "The Corsair SP2500 sounds good to my ear, whether playing back hard-hitting games or all sorts of music. I did notice a kind of hollowness in the mid-range—with vocals particularly—and this does reflect the valley we saw in the frequency response at 3.5 kHz."

Klipsch Promedia : "It rarely shows the highest or lowest response in our tests, and has no obvious weaknesses except a drop-off in the 10 kHz+ range, which is a little surprising when you consider that these speakers are equipped with dedicated tweeters."

Z-623 : "Logitech’s Z-2300 has been the product to beat for years, and the new Z623 has taken its place as Logitech’s premier 2.1-channel offering with THX certification. Without a Z-2300 on hand, I can’t compare these systems to each other, but compared to the rest of the current playing field, the Logitech Z623 certainly holds its own. It boasts a flat frequency response with gobs of bass available for games and music at your command. There’s even a bit of brilliance on the high end."

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It seems having separate midrange drivers & tweeters as in SP2500 & Promedia does not always gives you excellent top end in the frequency spectrum as a single aluminium phase plug full range driver of Z-623 does a much better job.

The audio frequency graph of the five speaker sets:
*www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/e09a53c4a5.png

Note that SP2500 with a separate midrange driver & tweeter takes a dip at 500Hz and also creates a valley between 2-5kHz range where cows can graze. Z-623 with a single full range driver have much better frequency response that SP2500 between 200Hz to 20kHz hands down.

Also after looking at the above graph I cannot find a single place where the Promedia's with separate midrange & tweeters had an advantage over Z-623 in high frequencies. Can anybody help me here?

After looking at the graph it gives me some relief as the Z-623 & its predecessor Z-2300 is not that bad after all. And also that THX have some dent on the sound quality of the product it adorns. I can live with the Z-623 having 32W less power at the top & also without the options in the control pod of SP2500.

Comments & discussions on this subject will be highly appreciated.

Regards, RishiGuru
 
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