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Heavy Gear November 2003 • Vol.3 Issue 11 Page(s) 17-20 in print issue |
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Speaking Speakers We Tune In & Test Out |
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Speaker reviews are tricky. I can't present you with a phalanx of benchmarks and say, "Ah, you see, this one scored five points higher than that one." The process is much more subjective—a bit like reviewing wines or furniture, but with one big difference: With a wine, quality can vary widely between tasters. With speakers, my objective was realism. Good source material played through good speakers should make you feel like you're there. And given that performance speakers are likely to play to the ears of discerning audio and video enthusiasts, not to mention gamers looking for the immersive experience, "being there" was my chief criterion. To test, I selected a range of audio and video material. For audio, I selected "Money" from Pink Floyd's live "Pulse" album, several tracks from Enigma's "MCMXC a.D.," and Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" on DVD-Audio. For video, I used "U-571's" depth-charging scene, the pod race finale in "Star Wars: Episode I," and the perennial must-have lobby-shooting spree in "The Matrix." For a sound card, I used Creative's Audigy 2 Platinum for up to 6.1-channel support and extremely low noise. As you read this, the 7.1-capable Audigy 2 ZS will be out, but we were unable to grab one in time for this roundup.
 Altec Lansing 5100 After spending a half hour with the 5100 set I kept thinking, "If I lived in an apartment, these speakers would be perfect." That's because in an apartment you can't go nuts with a subwoofer. The 5100 does deliver passable bass. On a studio album, such as "Rumours," the sound was excellent. Altec does the listener proud with extremely crisp highs that make strings and high percussion snap. I didn't notice a bass fall-off until I changed to Enigma's dance beats, and then it became obvious on Pink Floyd's live album, which sounded good but didn't create that essential "being there" illusion. At full volume, the low ranges can get muddy on deep beats. If anything, the highs from the twin neodynium drivers might have been too good because in quiet segments I could pick out a fair bit of hiss I didn't notice with other sets. This may be the 5100's relatively low 70dB SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) at work. Overall, the set gives a response from 32Hz to 20KHz. The sub features a rear port (hollow acoustic tube for better reverberation) and two front-firing 4-inch drivers. This approach of 4 inches plus 4 inches doesn't equal 8-inch bass. The enclosure is wood, but it feels like plastic in the hands and ears. In the movie tests, the lack of authoritative bass became even more telling. Depth charging in "U-571" was fair but not terrorizing, and the awe-inspiring "thud, thud, thud" of "Episode I's" pod was entirely absent. And when the security guard gives his expletive response to Neo's strapped-on arsenal, a strong woofer rumbling as all that metal is revealed should have your heart pounding with anticipation. I missed that with the Altecs. During the shootout I noticed the 5100 did a good job of separating left and right channels, but a fairly poor job of separating front from rear. That said, the set is attractive and well suited to tight quarters. Satellites are 7W per channel, 22W on the center, and 23W on the sub. This is fine for a desktop environment if you have to keep the volume down. The wired remote slips into a buffed-metal cradle; it controls the mode (stereo x2, 4.1, and 5.1) and has a Power button and a knob with LED indicators for adjusting volume, bass/center, and treble/rear. Speaker jacks are mini (at the sound card) to RCA, which is a step up from mini and a step down from bare-wire spring clips, such as those Klipsch uses. If your speaker budget tops out at $200, you won't regret buying the 5100s. You will, however, still dream about moving to a place where you can take advantage of a nicer speaker set.
Creative MegaWorks THX 6.1 650D The 650 was the last set I reviewed, and I may have already been prejudiced by the Klipsch and Logitech systems. A few negative impressions as I unpacked the 650 further aided this bias. The 70W satellites are feather light and feel like hollow plastic, even after screwing on their rubberized stands. The center stand, which swings the speaker up and down, was so flimsy a slight nudge collapsed the speaker to its lowest position. The 150W subwoofer, with its 8-inch bottom-firing driver, is sturdy and labeled well, but it's noticeably lighter than the Klipsch and Logitech subs. Other small details also bugged me. For example, Creative uses a thicker-gauge speaker wire (perhaps for better shielding), but thicker wires are harder to bundle. In addition, the exposed copper wire ends were frayed rather than being tightly twisted. This is nitpicking, as the proof of quality comes when you close your eyes. The Enigma CD in 2.1 proved surprisingly good. The highs were brilliant without being too sharp, the mid-range felt full, and the bass, although not as thunderous as the other $400 sets, was strong. During a "Matrix" shooting spree, the exceptional front-rear separation (the best of any set here) dazzled me. This is undoubtedly the work of the extra rear-center channel, although the improvement is most likely from having more sound in the back because "The Matrix" is encoded in 5.1. "Episode I," however, supports Dolby EX, but the only difference I found from 5.1 was the rear channels felt too strong. I quickly used the wired remote to throttle back on the rear feed. Perhaps more than any test, the pod race exposed the 650's chief weakness: its sub. Bass response was good—the unit reproduces down to 25Hz—but it never felt as clean as the Klipsch and Logitech subs. There's a point in the pod race where the contestants drop off a cliff and bang into the earth below. The Logitech set smacks you in the chest here. The effect was less dramatic with the 650. In "U-571," the depth-charge splashes lack the extra degree of realism that makes you want to grab for your rain slicker; the explosions are big and strong but not dangerous. When I bumped up the bass level, it only made the entire scene too deep and muddy. Moreover, I noticed in several tests that as I lowered the volume, the bass needed increased, which I didn't notice with Klipsch or Logitech. Chances are, if you don't hear a Klipsch or Logitech set right before listening to the MegaWorks 650, you'll think you've died and gone to heaven. This is a THX-certified set, after all, and the sound is extraordinary, even if it isn't perfect. I did find that after using Creative's button-only wired remote that I definitely prefer knob controls. The remote does feature a headphone jack, and there's a line-in mini plug on the sub. In the end, it appears the 650 evolved as a way to promote Audigy 2 sales and vice versa. When filling a big living room, there may be a distinct advantage in having that rear center, but it seems unnecessary on the desktop. I'd rather see Creative save the cost of the extra channel and use it to attain the same quality levels as its competitors at the same $400 price.
Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 Reviewing ProMedia speakers is like reviewing "Raiders of the Lost Ark." How can you do it without resorting to hyperbolic words such as "absolutely," "incredible," "stunning,"and "OHMIGOD!" Well, I'll try. The Ultra 5.1 set is good—very, very insanely good. ProMedia devotees will find the subwoofer in this new flagship revamped such that the old front-oriented, round-acoustic port is now an oval slashed across the bottom of the rear wall. Two side-firing 8-inch fiber composite drivers deliver 170W of bone-rattling bass, and it sounds even better than the last Klipsch sub, if that's possible. You can also add a secondary Klipsch SWS sub if you need even more bass, perhaps for testing the reliability of your walls. The 60W-per-channel satellites meld 0.75-inch metal polymer dome tweeters with MicroTractix horns. The highs were clear, if not crystalline. I expected the sound of loud, breaking glass to set my eardrums crackling. They didn't, and this is my only quibble with this set. This ever-so-slight difference in high-range execution is what gives Logitech its winning lead. With a 25Hz to 20KHz range, the precision of reproduction was excellent. When the Germans start dropping depth charges in "U-571," my first impulse was to draw back for fear of getting wet; it sounds that realistic. You can hear individual droplets "spat, spat" onto the deck. Case shells in "The Matrix's" lobby-shooting spree tinkle all around you. Pink Floyd's "Money" feels like you're watching the sax solo from about the 10th row. On "Rumours," you can clearly hear the acoustic guitar strings rattle on the fretboard. At first, I was leery of the "control tower" that is Klipsch's wired remote; it actually lies flat on your desk. With a numeric LED readout and a dial knob big enough to curl your fist around, the remote lets you independently control levels for the rear, center, and sub channels. This proved quite handy depending on the listening material. The remote's front also features a mini-plug headphone jack and a line-in port for portable music players. Knowing that most MP3 devices are sadly underpowered, Klipsch applied a 10dB boost on this line. With 500W of total peak power, I didn't come close to pushing the volume envelope on this set. The maximum output at the listener's location is rated at 115dB, which is literally louder than a jet fighter screaming 1,000 feet above your head. Whether quiet or cranked, I have nothing but superlatives to laud upon this masterpiece of sonic engineering. Klipsch does it again.
Logitech Z-680 After the Klipsch set, I expected a let down. After all, Logitech is known for its mice and keyboards. However, as soon as I dropped in Floyd's "Money," I knew Klipsch had met its match. When I switched to "U-571," I was sold on Logitech's shock-and-awe subwoofer. But during "The Matrix's" lobby-shooting spree I realized all preceding speakers, Klipsch included, had never quite captured the convincing sound of gunfire. The Z-680s seized that extra bit of snap at the high end, relayed every nuance at the mid-ranges, and hit right between the eyes with a palpable "thwap" of recoil in the bass. I kept thinking, "This is unbelievable. These are the best. Everyone must buy these." Then I listened more closely, trying to forget the brilliant fidelity, and concentrated on sound separation. And I made an incredible discovery: There was no sound coming from the rear speakers. I had given myself over to half a speaker set. A check at Logitech's support site revealed the answer. The control module (it's far too big to call a "remote") contains a Dolby Digital and DTS decoder.When used with an Audigy 2, you must disable the Audigy's onboard decoding. You can't decode a decoded signal. Then you have to run either a coax or optical cable from the sound card to the back of the control module. I installed an optical cable and darn near fell out of my chair. When ancient writers struggled to convey the divinely perfect "music of the heavenly spheres," this is what they must have meant. The complete effect of Dolby Digital surround on a near-field, perfect speaker set, such as the Z-680, defies description. Let me qualify that: The Z-680 is a mammoth 505W RMS system (1,000W total power). The 188W subwoofer uses an 8-inch driver with a 3-inch, U-shaped port tube for superior resonance. A formidable heatsink adorns the sub's rear panel to keep the internal magnets cooler and decrease electrical resistance. As with great subs, I noticed almost no difference in sound when I moved or rotated the unit. Excellent bass is omnipresent. The 62W-per-channel satellites and 67W center are crystalline and flawless. Whereas sets such as Altec's 5100 or the Philips AF 610 can sound shrill with the treble turned up, the Z-680 sounds pure. Only at maximum treble do they sound a tad too bright. Speaking of maximums, this set can crank out 114dB, to which I came nowhere near during testing. However, more than any other set, the entire sonic range stayed clear from the quietest whisper and until my ears started to hurt from the extreme volume. Cosmetically, Logitech comes off well enough. You won't find any chrome trim or other cheap, distracting features. If you care to risk a little dust, the protective screens pull away easily and reveal very smart, almost industrial-looking cones. The center speaker is a bit large, which wouldn't be a problem if its stand didn't force the unit to fire up at a slight angle. On a desk, this is perfect for firing into your face. On a monitor, though, the sound buzzes high over your head. I'm less crazy about the control module. On one hand, having Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby Pro Logic II decoding independent of the sound adapter is a huge plus for those shackled with integrated motherboard audio. Like Klipsch's, the module includes headphone and line-in jacks. The two-line, blue-backlit LCD display is an excellent touch, but I found the five buttons awkward to manage. If the module can inform you that there's no optical input present, it should be smart enough to simply select the input that's present. The module should also be half its present size, and I wouldn't mind a USB connection that lets you fine-tune the options from a System Tray-based applet. Furthermore, the wireless remote, while effective, feels flimsy. These are cosmetic issues, which I care as much about as the set being THX-certified. (Interestingly, Klipsch's earlier ProMedia models were sanctioned by THX while the 5.1 Ultra isn't. The only party that seems to have lost anything in that move is Lucasfilm.) The Z-680 will rock any PC system, but the set really belongs in a living room with a 50-inch plasma screen to match its own grandeur. If you're an audiophile, save your lunch money and buy this system.
M-Audio LX4 Speakers I was on pins and needles waiting for the just-released LX4s to arrive because this is M-Audio's first foray into PC speakers. The company has kicked butt in professional studios for years, but what about on the desktop? For starters, here's the good news: The LX 2.1 set with optional rear/center extension pack is amazing. Once I finished tweaking the Audigy equalizer settings, I was stunned at M-Audio's presence and clarity. "The Matrix's" lobby shooting spree and "U-571" in particular showcased how in your face these superior satellites can sound. The treble isn't as bright as Logitech's, but the mids are probably the best of any set in our roundup. Never once did I feel this was achieved by inflating the levels on the center channel. This quality was also more than obvious on my Fleetwood Mac CD, which has a tendency to sound remote on most speaker sets but was just "right there," like the band was 10 feet in front of me. If I had to pick one surround set for gaming, this would be it. The subtlety and realism is phenomenal. Where M-Audio loses to Logitech is its sub-woofer, which surprised me. While M-Audio's sub scales very well from low to high volumes and retains the same level of clarity found in the LX4 satellites, the sub lacks thunder. If I can skirt on the edge of blasphemy here, the LX4 hits you like being healed at a Baptist revival, but Logitech's Z-680 knocks you flat like the voice of God yelling your name. Explosions hit hard with the LX4s, but I had to crank the sub up nearly to its maximum. Perhaps this is M-Audio's studio roots showing again. The speakers excel in performance but not power. That said, I also found that the LX4's strong points become more obvious in 5.1 than 2.1, most likely owing to the dominance of the satellites over the sub. In my regular test music, the LX4s were again good but not great. I confirmed my suspicions about the set's strengths when I popped in Creative's DVD-Audio sampler. The LX4 satellites soared brilliantly on strings and high percussion, and everything that was optimized for 5.1 was incredible. Only my bias toward bass-heavy dance and rock shows displays any sign of weakness. Mind you, this is all a matter of nitpicking. Any audiophile should be proud to have this quality of sound on her desk. The LX4s only have two real drawbacks. First, the center is the same speaker as the satellites, and the satellites are honkin' huge for PC desktop speakers. At the corners of your desk, this size is less important, but sitting above or below your monitor, the center is very inconveniently large unless you're going to mount it to the wall. More importantly, the LX4 sub connects to the center and satellites via bare, heavy gauge speaker wire, but it connects to the PC via quarter-inch cables—the same type that plugs into electric guitars and studio mixers. When I first unpacked the LX4 set, I called M-Audio in a panic, wondering how I was going to connect this to a Sound Blaster or even, oh, M-Audio's Revolution. While the company pondered whether the necessary adapters ought to be included in the box for PC users, I went and blew more than $50 at Radio Shack on the necessary adapters and cables—twice. The first time, I tried starting with eighth-inch male to quarter-inch female adapters, only to find when I got back to the test PC that the adapters were too thick to fit side-by-side into the sound card. Finally, I started with eighth-inch to RCA splitters, which just barely fit, and then converted to quarter-inch. If M-Audio wants to move these speakers in quantity to PC users, an out-of-the-box cabling solution will be essential. If the size and cabling don't bother you, you'll find the LX4s are an undeniable treat to your ears. The only question you have left to ask is whether the list price of nearly $600 (after Radio Shack) is a fair deal for your audio needs.
MidiLand MX-5 Being the "value" item in any performance product roundup is a tough position to be in. Inevitably, the low-price leader comes off as a would-be contender never able to measure up. So I will start off by saying that I originally requested MidiLand's 8200 v2.0 system, which is the company's DDS/DTS home theater flagship and is now bumped into MidiLand's gaming products group. MidiLand instead wanted to send its new seven-piece MX-5. The 8200 looks like so many black cubes, while the MX-5 has a much sleeker, hi-tech image. The svelte, black-and-silver design punctuated by mirrored neodynium drivers is striking, and they feel weighty and solid, as high-quality speakers should. However, there's still that $150 price, a blatant appeal to the mid-range enthusiast who might be drawn in by the high-end cosmetics. Does the MX-5 deliver high-end sound for a bargain? Unfortunately, no. For $150 speakers, they're reasonably good, but compared to the Logitech and Klipsch titans in this roundup, the MX-5 comes across as hollow and floundering. The best part of this package is the 40W, 5.25-inch sub-woofer. With a wood enclosure and side tube, the sub reaches down to 40Hz, which is decent, if not impressive. Bass stays clear up until just shy of maximum volume, where a bit of muddiness creeps in. The lows are solid but not in your face; they were most impressive in the "Episode I" pod race, but their lack of clarity was most telling in the "U-571" depth-charging scene. Those explosions should, as Matthew McConaughey's character points out, snap your spine. Instead, they come off as just a succession of "thuds." In fact, clarity is this set's chief failing. Pink Floyd's "Money" sounded much like it did when I saw the band play from nosebleed seats, and that's not a compliment. Like most speakers, the satellites and center cover up to 20KHz, but they fail to sparkle in the highs, and the mid-ranges feel hollow. "The Matrix's" shooting spree and the surround tracks on my "Last Waltz" DVD should dazzle with surround elements, but I could hardly distinguish the difference between true Dolby Digital and the simulated SRS in M-Audio's Revolution card. Moreover, with a SNR of 80dB, it's no wonder MidiLand pulls its power punches here. Each satellite is 10W and the sub only 40W. I could crank the system up to maximum volume and still be left wanting for more. If you only have $150 to spend on speakers, the MX-5s will serve well enough in a casual office setting, especially with that handy wired remote, but they're no theater or gaming solution.
Philips Acoustic Fusion 610 I was excited to get a set of flat-panel 5.1 speakers into this roundup. My experiences with flat technology have hitherto been typified by flat, tinny sound that vendors sought to fill in with a subwoofer sporting a relatively high crossover point. The main flat-panel technology in use today was developed by NXT (www.nxt.co.uk), but Philips sought to improve on this with its Acoustic Fusion products. The results are definitely better than previous flat-panel sets, but the sonic quality can't quite match Altec's 5100. And when you get down to it, Philips' satellites are cheaper looking, costlier, and larger—so what's the advantage of going with a flat technology? I've never been a proponent of paying extra for novelty. The AF 610 isn't a wash. Far from it. The 100W subwoofer with its 8-inch side-firing driver is this set's saving grace. The bass from it, while not up to Klipsch's or Logitech's level, is definitely the best of the sub-$200 category. Explosions don't smack you in the forehead like Logitech's monstrous sub does, but they're loud, clean, and surprisingly rich up through even moderate volume levels. Like the Altec 5100, high ranges produce very well here. The satellites and center are 20W each, although I noticed the set seems to put a lot of extra weight on the center that needs toning down in the sound driver configuration. The AF 610 has one big drawback, and it comes as no surprise: the mid-ranges still stink. With DVD-Audio, "Money," and even "The Matrix," there's a pervasive hollow feeling that always strikes me as being what it would sound like if good speakers were played from inside a beer can. Twiddling with the bass and treble sliders in the software driver helps this a bit, but there's still a gaping hole where the mid-range should be. Quality suffers elsewhere, too. The set Philips sent me had obviously been out of the box at least once before. One of the four feet on the sub was snapped off, and the rear-left channel was completely dead. This made it impossible to accurately judge front-to-rear surround clarity, but judging by half of the rear channel, I'd say surround elements come off reasonably well, particularly in high ranges that play to the flat technology's strengths. One increasingly annoying problem, though, was the little pop that would play every time I skipped to a different audio or video track. The Acoustic Fusion 610 comes with a wireless remote with controls for volume, fade, bass, treble, and mode (Game, Movie, and Music). I wish there had been two more buttons for center adjustment. The IR receiver is built into the stand for the center speaker, which is a clever conservation of space. Also thoughtful is that Philips uses a single cable for DIN at the sub out to three mini plugs at the sound card. All five speakers attach to the sub via mini plug. Philips is probably too invested in flat technology to turn back now. If the company can make one more substantial leap in quality above this generation, it may be onto something significant, although I'd almost expect to see it manifest more as a wall-hanging product than a stand-mounted product for desktops. Cone-based technology is simply too good and too inexpensive vs. flat panel to give Philips an opening in the performance PC audio space. To muscle in even on the likes of Altec Lansing, Philips will have to do better than just OK.  by William Van Winkle |
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