The Short Version: You’ll be hard pressed to find a higher fidelity desktop audio rig than this. But the wireless capability is rather limited in its application, and the price runs a little high for a 2.1 system.

Features:

• 2 satellite speakers and 1 subwoofer
• THX certified
• 2.4 GHz wireless transmitter
• Aux in / headphone out ports
• MSRP of $199.00

Pros:

• Excellent sound quality
• Wireless is plug-and-play
• Independent volume and subwoofer control

Cons:

• Wireless is a bit useless
• Subwoofer only goes down to 31 Hz
• Wall mounting doesn’t come stock

Review: Klipsch released these speakers back in 2000. This particular model however, is new this year. The only difference being the addition of wireless capability. The sound quality out of this rig is fantastic. The frequency response on the subwoofer only drops down to 31 Hz, so you won’t get that extreme rumble on the low end of the spectrum. But you’re not running a dance club on your desk are you?

Now “wireless” is a bit of a misnomer with speaker systems. There are still wires running from the satellites to the amplifier, which is in the subwoofer enclosure. So if you were hoping to reduce the wire clutter on your desk, you’re out of luck. This rig only eliminates one line from the monstrosity of cables you probably have to deal with. That being said, the wireless system is a breeze to set up. I just plugged in the wireless USB dongle, set my audio output to the new speakers, and I was bothering my roommates in no time. The dongle is slightly oversized though, so if your USB ports are horizontally configured, prepare to lose one. Good news though, is that it’ll work when connected to an unpowered hub.

If the wireless transmission inherently compresses your audio to stream it, it wasn’t immediately apparent to me. And if you’re playing MP3s, it wont make a difference anyway.

But do you really need wireless desk speakers? If you’re keeping your computer at your desk, absolutely not. The range on the transmitter is only 30 feet, and isn’t designed to go through walls. The only other place in my room I sit with my computer is on my bed, and having a USB dongle in is a bit annoying. Plus, moving anywhere away from your desk will put out of the sweet spot of the speakers. And if you want to wall mount these, be prepared to shell out another $22.

One thing I don’t like about this system is the preamp connector Klipsch decided to use. It’s an 8-pin jack that I’m not familiar with, and doesn’t have the sturdiest feel to it. It doesn’t seem to want to sit in the connector. This is what connects the controls on the satellite to the amplifier, so if you bend a pin or something, you’re out of luck.

If you’re a serious gamer, you probably have a surround sound system of some sort, be it speakers or headphones. So this system isn’t for you. If you just want great sounding desktop speakers, go find the non-wireless version of these. They’re exactly the same and go for something like 50 bucks since they’ve been around since the original Half-Life.

Product Page: ProMedia 2.1 Wireless Speaker System

They look pretty industrial, but if they can deliver on the promises of their impressive specifications, the Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0 speakers could happily sit hidden away under the computer desk.

Short Version: You want to listen to Fergie in the kitchen. Don’t worry, I understand. Fergie and cooking eggs just go together well. If you’ll be piping Fergie off an iPhone or iPod, you’ll probably want a compatible speaker system.

Like anything in the audio world, the price tag on dedicated speaker systems for the iPhone or iPod can be surprisingly cheap ($30-40 bucks), or mind-blowingly expensive ($500+, like the Bose SoundDock 10). Most tend to work their way into a comfort zone of $129-$159.99 – and at an MSRP of $149.99, that’s exactly where you’ll find the Klipsch iGroove SXT. Originally released in 2007, the SXT has just been re-released with improved sound quality and compatibility with the latest iPhones and iPods. It’s not perfect, but with dual 2.5-inch subwoofers, it packs a good amount of boom for your buck.

Features:

• Dual 2.5-inch woofers in ported enclosure and dual 0.75-inch horn-loaded tweeters
• Features 3.5-mm auxiliary input
• Remote Control

Pros:

• The sound quality matches the price perfectly. It’s not going to blow away $200+ systems – but of any speaker I’ve heard under $150, this one takes the cake
• It looks great
• S-Video output for video/slideshow playback on compatible iPods

Cons:

• No volume indicator
• No FM radio

Review:

There I was in the kitchen, still rockin’ my pajama pants from the night before. Half a dozen eggs were left in the carton, the pan was just beginning to smoke, and the Klipsch SXT was just begging for me to hit the play button. I shot the go-ahead signal across the room with the remote control right as the first egg splashed down.

Listen up ya’ll, cause this is it. The beat that I’m banging is de-lic-ious.

Yep! I was listening to Fergie. Do I like Fergie? Oh hells nah. In fact, she drives me absolutely bat shit insane – but that’s exactly why I’d picked her for this test. If a stereo could make Fergie’s sinus-backed voice sound good, I’d give it a thumbs up. And sure enough, Fergie sounded pretty damn good. The sound was filling the room better than I’d expected out of the tiny box, with a decent amount of bass pounding out of the dual 2.5″ subs.

I dug around for a few speaker systems for the sake of comparison, and, from a sound quality standpoint, the Klipsch SXT seems to fit exactly where they’ve priced it. It blows away the $80-$90 iHome clock radios we had laying around the office, and sounds quite a bit better than the almost identically priced JBL On Stage 200ID. It fell a bit short against the JBL On Stage 400 series — but considering that that 400 series costs nearly $100 more, that’s pretty much what was expected.

Dedicated iPod speakers tend to be ugly chunks of black plastic, but that’s not the case here. The SXT is essentially one big glorious speaker grill, accented with a bit of silver plastic around the edges. It manages to be color neutral without looking cheap, so it ought to fit well in just about any room you throw it in.

Snap back to the kitchen – pajama pants, eggs, etc. No one was home (and thus, no one was around to make fun of my music selection) – might as well crank it up, right? I hit the volume up button – it got louder. I hit it again – it got louder again. So far, so good. The volume level was hurts-so-good loud at this point, but there wasn’t even a hint of distortion yet. I hit the button again and… nothing. I’d capped out the volume, but had no way of knowing as there isn’t any sort of volume indicator.

There also isn’t any FM radio. Considering that most people would presumably use this in rooms where they don’t otherwise have an audio system — and that it’s almost standard amongst lower-end systems — this is a bit disappointing. Alas, FM radio almost always gets abandoned once the price tag goes up, presumably because FM radio is the last thing you want (besides AM radio) when you want to be pushing quality sound.

If you’re looking for an iPod/iPhone speaker set that smokes the sub-$100 sets and the majority of stuff available around the same $150 price tag, the Klipsch iGroove SXT ought to fit the bill.

Product Page

The Audiophiliac with a high-end Klipsch speaker.

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

Originally posted at The Audiophiliac