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6EQUJ5
459
Jan 16, 2017
Great speakers though the mids get drowned out by the insanely loud bass. I would recommend buying a pair used on eBay if you're trying to penny pinch and then replacing the stock satellites with Tang Band W3-881SJ to bring out the mids and enhance crispness/resolution/vocal/musical clarity. The stock Klipsch sub-woofer is fine and can also be replaced by a Tang Band sub-woofer but it will be quite expensive around $90 and it will not be tuned 100% to the original Klipsch subwoofer box. I have not swapped out my stock Klispch sub-woofer for the Tang Band but from what I have read it is very much more boomier than the stock sub-woofer and can almost be pretty much directly dropped into the sub-woofer box. That will be a decision you will have to decide if it's worth it. My decision was that the stock sub-woofer is already good enough and there is no reason to spend $90 for an upgrade into an un-tuned box for that sub-woofer.
The Tang Band W3-881SJ satellite upgrade is worth it IMO. I paid about $1 65 total as I caught the Klipsch 2.1 @$119.99 and Tang Band W3-881SJ on sale @$18 each. Overall I'm still happy with my Klipsch 2.1 system with upgraded satellites over the Swan M10s. The Logitech Z623 IMO is not worth looking at as the Swan M10s and Klipsch are a much better choice with the Swan M10s lacking in bass but much better clarity and resolution than the stock Klipsch 2.1 system. The Klipsch 2.1 system has better bass so if you listen to bass heavy music you will not be impressed with the Swans.
If I had to do it all over again I would still choose the Klipsch 2.1 with upgraded Tang Band satellites. It just doesn't get any better than this under $200. The Swan M10s are nice but I hated when the bass did not thump when playing through my bass test play list on Spotify. I'm sure others will point out that there are bookshelf speaker setups that are cheaper than this but they take up more space. I guess that's something you'll have to consider as you go to bookshelf speakers, more expensive subwoofers, and near field setups it'll cost you even more money it's out of the scope of this offering.
And then there's the criticism from others that the older 2007 models and before were way better. From what others have said there isn't that much of a difference in sound quality and that the older model might have a little more boom to it. And then there's the detachable cables not currently offered on the newer model which can be modified yourself with a little work.
My comparison of the Klipsch 2.1 and Swan M10 copy and pasted from the Swan M10 discussion: Klipsch Promedia 2.1 Pros: - Excellent bass, you can adjust to how much bass you want to shake your room (I keep mine at 9-10 o'clock position) - 2 x 3.5mm side jacks on satellite for connecting portable audio player or connecting headphones - THX Certified (if that matters) - Overall good sound quality - Good build quality Cons: - Slightly less clarity than M10 - Some piano acoustics seem muffled or lower volume in some songs (maybe due to bad recording), tested on Adele's Hello track in FLAC format and had to turn the music up a tiny bit so I can hear the piano in the beginning - Guitar picking in some songs not as crisp as it would come through a headphone like SHP-9500 - BestBuy's display model had static crackling when adjusting the volume knob, mine had no static problems when tested (they actually sell a replacement control pod made by SummitLink if your pod eventually breaks) - Mostly limited to distribution to BestBuy only, buying online would cost much more
Swan M10 Pros: - Good clarity and crispness - Nice mid and highs - Optional color scheme with white with the metal shiny flakes - Looks good Cons: - Very weak bass compared to the Promedia - Satellite cables are not shielded so they are prone to radio signal interference - Poor quality control (my left satellite has 3 pits in it, the excess plastic was not shaven off properly off around the speaker area) - Blue LED lighting on the volume knob is annoying to some people - No connections to connect a portable media player or connect headphones to - Plastic housing for M10 satellites felt cheap and they were very light
Modification Resources: Tang Band W3-881SJ satellite replacement http://www.parts-express.com/tang-band-w3-881sj-3-cast-frame-neodymium-driver--264-812
Satellite Jack https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/718145-REG/Comprehensive_MJS_CM_MJS_CM_Stereo_3_5mm_Female.html
Neutrik NYS226BG 2-Pole Mono 3.5mm Plug https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/907896-REG/neutrik_nys226bg_2_pole_mono_3_5mm.html
Choice™ Series 16AWG Oxygen-Free Pure Bare Copper Speaker Wire, 50ft https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023903&p_id=2749&seq=1&format=2