Speakers Reviews

I have 5 full range speaker cabinets (5.1 config less the sub) in a 12x18 room and was getting pretty good low frequency response even without a sub, but I'd been keeping my eye out for a low priced sub to "fill in the missing piece" of my Home Theater setup. Found exactly what I was looking for in this Yamaha. Been using it for only a week and have to say I'm extremely satisfied and the sub has made a noticeable improvement to my HT sound.

Reference DVD(s):

Star Wars II: Attack Of The Clones
Reign Of Fire

This sub handled the above two "special effects heavy" DVD's well. The bass response in Reign Of Fire was above average for a sub this size. On my system, I found that setting the output to about 3/4 was optimal, w/ the HF cut set about half way (100hz). If I cranked the output to max, the sub seemed a bit stressed, especially if I opened up the HF cut to let in the higher frequencies. The higher frequencies made the sound much too "busy". Fortunately, the performance at less than maximum levels was more than sufficient for my setup.

Recommended for small to moderate sized Home Theater setups. Not recommended if you want your entire neighborhood to shake when you turn it on.

After much search for a decent, yet affordable subwoofer, I just about gave up and declared a subwoofer not important. Well, I found this one and have been greatly impressed at all that it adds to our home theater experience.

I've had my set for a week and they are great. Sound quality is par with the Klipsch set, but the price is well below. That was one qualifying factor that made me jump on these. My friends have the Klipschs and I cannot tell the difference in sound.

Another great feature that logitech includes is the reversible stands. They easily become wall mountable with the included allen wrench. However, you cannot change the angle the speakers point. Klipsch makes a "proprietary" mounts that you have to purchase from them.

Klipsch sets use a 'stereo' type plug on the back of their speakers, so you if you want longer cords, you'll have to buy from them. The speaker wires that are included with Logitech set may be a bit short, but there are no plugs so you can use any speaker wire including various gauges.

The separate control pod is very useful so you can even mount the front speakers out of reach (unlike klipsch where sound control is built on a front speaker).

These speakers sound EXTREMELY great, they are much cheaper, and you will not likely have to dump more money into them. Even my friend said he wish he could switch and get the Z560's. Don't make his mistake.

These speakers aren't for everyone, but if you are an audiophille, then these speakers will work wonders for you. At [$$$], you could easily pick up two of these for the price of one set of Klipch 5.1 surrounds and you won't even notice the missing center channel. These speakers can be cranked and have very little distortion even at high volumes. The M3D feature makes stereo input into "surroud sound" (basically the rear speakers just emulate what the fronts are doing). This is nice when you hook them up to a CD player or other stereo device so all four speakers pump out sound instead of just two, but if you have a surround sound card, you won't need it. There's a built in headphone jack which works whether or not the unit is powered on. My only real gripe is that the subwoofer seems to pump out too much bass, often drowning out the treble produced by the other speakers. This is easily remedied by lowering the bass setting on your computer (or CD player, etc). All and All, a very solid, well built surround sound setup.

I bought these speakers in December 2003 as an early Christmas present to myself. I was intending to buy a cheap 2.0 speaker setup for my Sony CD walkman. I went to CompUSA(But didn't buy from them) to check prices, power, frequency responses, and other criteria. The store had many speaker systems set up for availiable testing. I, being intrigued with the speakers on display(and their high prices) tested them out. the setups on display included the Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 system(hailed by many as the best), many Harmann Kardon systems, and the Logitech Z-640 and a 2.1 system(this was before the Z-680, Z-5300, Z-2200, and other more recent Logitech Z-series came out.) of all these systems I tested(the audio track the store had looping was of a variety of genres, jazz, classical, rock, techno, and others), the Z-560's were the best by far I tested. I tried the M3D setting, and it worked quite well. I adjusted the bass, fade, both with and without M3D and the speakers were distortion free up until a very high volume. The top-of-the-line klipsch speakers I tried did not sound very good to me, and the Harman Kardon ones did not sound nearly as good to me. I was so impressed with the Z-560s that I knew I had to have them. (...). As soon as I got the money, I bought them and use them everyday. They sound phenomenal, even playing multiple genres of music, DVDs, and games(since buying them I have put them on my computer, after buying one with a working soundcard). I am also very glad there is no hiss while idle as has been reported with other Logitech speakers. The sattelite speakers can also use any type of speaker wire(non RCA type) so I have been able to put the speakers around the computer way beyond the length of the supplied cord. All in all, these are the best speakers I have heard, especially for the price. Oh, did I mention that it is also THX certified? this means that the distortion levels are much lower for the speakers causing them to sound better. It also means that the speakers have a wide frequency range with high-quality audio from the speakers at all frequencies. I am very impressed with them and would recommend them in a heartbeat to anybody.

By the way, the speakers do not have to be very loud to be powerful(400watts RMS means 400 watts flowing throughout the system at any volume.) I have never taken the speakers past 1/2 volume as they get painfully loud, still without distortion.

The first set I bought on 02-02-07 started going funny after 8 months and then I would'nt dare turn it off in case it would not come back to life and then it died 2 weeks before the end of the warranty. The dealer acknowledged that there was a unreparable problem with the unit and replaced the whole thing brand new and no charge...no wonder. As of today, 04-06-21, the replacement unit just died again and without warning this time. Alas, since the sound of this unit is so incredibly beautiful, I will buy another one but I will gladly pay the extra for a long term warranty since I will have to change the unit every year or so. By the way, the day you don't hear the zipper sound out of the satellites when you turn off the unit, it's shot! Enjoy.

I'm to lazy to register so I used the kid's review form. Haha!

So let's get started. These are the only computer speakers I've ever bought so I have no comparison to anything else. The speakers actually sound like speakers, average speakers though. The subwoofer is a tad boomy and s l o w and it still sounds unnatural even with the subwoofer know turned ALL THE WAY DOWN, but it's all right because these are computer speakers. These are more suitable for hip hop or rock, the dialogue sounds unnatural and piano music sounds like MIDI (lol). Some may not like the horn tweeters, as they tend to sound too hot. I usually avoid horns but I don't hear anything overly extreme.

This system is very powerful. It played clean up to the highest levels (except for the subwoofer which had port noise). It effortlessly filled by medium-sized room with sound.

Don't be mislead by the THX logo on it, though. The requirements for computer speakers aren't as strict as the ones for theater equipment. In other words, you're not going to watch Star Wars on this thing.

So it all comes together. This is a great 3-piece speaker system for a computer, and it's worth every penny. Audiophiles though wouldn't bother with such mediocre equipment (so bug off) and GO LISTEN TO THEIR MUSIC SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot! I broke this in for more than 400 hours, not continuously or course.

The Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers are quite possibly the loudest speakers I have ever had the pleasure of owning/listening to. This includes mini home theaters as well as computer speakers. Before this, I was completely content with my Midiland MLi-490 4.1 speaker set, which I purchased two years ago for $70. But the new 2.1 system has proven to be unbeatable.
The sheer volume of the Promedia system is unbelievable; rarely do I ever turn the volume up more than a quarter of the way up. Even then, the sound englufs my entire room, and the bass can be heard and felt around the entire house. Music from CDs and high-quality MP3s are a pleasure to listen to, and old games have a new edge to them because of the amazing sound.
There are drawbacks, however. I highly recommend having a seperate PCI sound card, such as the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, because onboard audio that comes standard with some motherboards cannot adequately feed the speakers the highest quality sound possible. In addition, lower quality MP3s (<128kbps) cannot be listened to, because the speakers reproduce every flaw in the song extremely clearly. The power button for the speakers are also located on the back of the subwoofer, which is usually placed on the floor, and is a hassle to get at when turning the computer on and off (leaving the speakers on should not be an option, considering the immense amount of power required to run this speaker system).
At $150, this speaker system is a bargain for the amount and quality of sound that it produces. However, it is certainly not for the average home user. But if music, games and movies are your thing, do not pass up on this amazing product.

The first set I bought on 02-02-07 started going funny after 8 months and then I would'nt dare turn it off in case it would not come back to life and then it died 2 weeks before the end of the warranty. The dealer acknowledged that there was a unreparable problem with the unit and replaced the whole thing brand new and no charge...no wonder. As of today, 04-06-21, the replacement unit just died again and without warning this time. Alas, since the sound of this unit is so incredibly beautiful, I will buy another one but I will gladly pay the extra for a long term warranty since I will have to change the unit every year or so. By the way, the day you don't hear the zipper sound out of the satellites when you turn off the unit, it's shot! Enjoy.

I'm to lazy to register so I used the kid's review form. Haha!

So let's get started. These are the only computer speakers I've ever bought so I have no comparison to anything else. The speakers actually sound like speakers, average speakers though. The subwoofer is a tad boomy and s l o w and it still sounds unnatural even with the subwoofer know turned ALL THE WAY DOWN, but it's all right because these are computer speakers. These are more suitable for hip hop or rock, the dialogue sounds unnatural and piano music sounds like MIDI (lol). Some may not like the horn tweeters, as they tend to sound too hot. I usually avoid horns but I don't hear anything overly extreme.

This system is very powerful. It played clean up to the highest levels (except for the subwoofer which had port noise). It effortlessly filled by medium-sized room with sound.

Don't be mislead by the THX logo on it, though. The requirements for computer speakers aren't as strict as the ones for theater equipment. In other words, you're not going to watch Star Wars on this thing.

So it all comes together. This is a great 3-piece speaker system for a computer, and it's worth every penny. Audiophiles though wouldn't bother with such mediocre equipment (so bug off) and GO LISTEN TO THEIR MUSIC SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot! I broke this in for more than 400 hours, not continuously or course.

The Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers are quite possibly the loudest speakers I have ever had the pleasure of owning/listening to. This includes mini home theaters as well as computer speakers. Before this, I was completely content with my Midiland MLi-490 4.1 speaker set, which I purchased two years ago for $70. But the new 2.1 system has proven to be unbeatable.
The sheer volume of the Promedia system is unbelievable; rarely do I ever turn the volume up more than a quarter of the way up. Even then, the sound englufs my entire room, and the bass can be heard and felt around the entire house. Music from CDs and high-quality MP3s are a pleasure to listen to, and old games have a new edge to them because of the amazing sound.
There are drawbacks, however. I highly recommend having a seperate PCI sound card, such as the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, because onboard audio that comes standard with some motherboards cannot adequately feed the speakers the highest quality sound possible. In addition, lower quality MP3s (<128kbps) cannot be listened to, because the speakers reproduce every flaw in the song extremely clearly. The power button for the speakers are also located on the back of the subwoofer, which is usually placed on the floor, and is a hassle to get at when turning the computer on and off (leaving the speakers on should not be an option, considering the immense amount of power required to run this speaker system).
At $150, this speaker system is a bargain for the amount and quality of sound that it produces. However, it is certainly not for the average home user. But if music, games and movies are your thing, do not pass up on this amazing product.

The first set I bought on 02-02-07 started going funny after 8 months and then I would'nt dare turn it off in case it would not come back to life and then it died 2 weeks before the end of the warranty. The dealer acknowledged that there was a unreparable problem with the unit and replaced the whole thing brand new and no charge...no wonder. As of today, 04-06-21, the replacement unit just died again and without warning this time. Alas, since the sound of this unit is so incredibly beautiful, I will buy another one but I will gladly pay the extra for a long term warranty since I will have to change the unit every year or so. By the way, the day you don't hear the zipper sound out of the satellites when you turn off the unit, it's shot! Enjoy.

I'm to lazy to register so I used the kid's review form. Haha!

So let's get started. These are the only computer speakers I've ever bought so I have no comparison to anything else. The speakers actually sound like speakers, average speakers though. The subwoofer is a tad boomy and s l o w and it still sounds unnatural even with the subwoofer know turned ALL THE WAY DOWN, but it's all right because these are computer speakers. These are more suitable for hip hop or rock, the dialogue sounds unnatural and piano music sounds like MIDI (lol). Some may not like the horn tweeters, as they tend to sound too hot. I usually avoid horns but I don't hear anything overly extreme.

This system is very powerful. It played clean up to the highest levels (except for the subwoofer which had port noise). It effortlessly filled by medium-sized room with sound.

Don't be mislead by the THX logo on it, though. The requirements for computer speakers aren't as strict as the ones for theater equipment. In other words, you're not going to watch Star Wars on this thing.

So it all comes together. This is a great 3-piece speaker system for a computer, and it's worth every penny. Audiophiles though wouldn't bother with such mediocre equipment (so bug off) and GO LISTEN TO THEIR MUSIC SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot! I broke this in for more than 400 hours, not continuously or course.

The Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers are quite possibly the loudest speakers I have ever had the pleasure of owning/listening to. This includes mini home theaters as well as computer speakers. Before this, I was completely content with my Midiland MLi-490 4.1 speaker set, which I purchased two years ago for $70. But the new 2.1 system has proven to be unbeatable.
The sheer volume of the Promedia system is unbelievable; rarely do I ever turn the volume up more than a quarter of the way up. Even then, the sound englufs my entire room, and the bass can be heard and felt around the entire house. Music from CDs and high-quality MP3s are a pleasure to listen to, and old games have a new edge to them because of the amazing sound.
There are drawbacks, however. I highly recommend having a seperate PCI sound card, such as the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, because onboard audio that comes standard with some motherboards cannot adequately feed the speakers the highest quality sound possible. In addition, lower quality MP3s (<128kbps) cannot be listened to, because the speakers reproduce every flaw in the song extremely clearly. The power button for the speakers are also located on the back of the subwoofer, which is usually placed on the floor, and is a hassle to get at when turning the computer on and off (leaving the speakers on should not be an option, considering the immense amount of power required to run this speaker system).
At $150, this speaker system is a bargain for the amount and quality of sound that it produces. However, it is certainly not for the average home user. But if music, games and movies are your thing, do not pass up on this amazing product.

Sounded great for a short while. Fuses keep blowing so something is very wrong. Hoping Amazon takes care of this one ... we'll see. Depressing to have something that should work yet won't ... I never cranked it up or drove it hard.

Stay away from Audiosource.

I was on the email list awaiting amazon to stock this item. I grew impatient since i have been on this list since the beginning of 2002. I ordered from an online competitor since i did not know of any retail stores in Atlanta that would carry this model of sub. I paid almost 50 dollars more per sub (I bought two). I still think that they were worth the price. I just wish i could have gotten them for Amazon's price.

I have a huge stereo with 3 reciever/amplifiers daisy chained together to supply 5 pairs of loudspeakers and one passive sub. One sub just wouldn't do, no matter what it's size. Boy was i wrong. One SW-15 could have done the job quite well. But i have two of them and the house shakes from foundation to roof. I have to check and see if my neighbors are home or not to see if i can turn these subs up or not.

I want to address a couple of issues from other reviewers. No banana clip connectors, wah wah wah, if you have them on your speaker cables, just clip and strip to get bare wire, problem solved.

The speakers plunge deep and unrestrained. The lowest of lows is as forceful as those in the upper register of sub frequencies.

Yes, these speakers did sound "tubby", but since i had two of them, i put one on left channel, and one on right channel which eliminated a lot of the tubbiness from playing both right/left channels through one speaker. I am also planning to add more polyfill to these cabinets (which another reviewer suggested) which should provide more definition.

Finally let me address the issue of price, the reason it is much cheaper is because Audio Source isn't as prevailant in the market as Pioneer, Sony, Cerwin Vega, etc. But that's just it, you aren't paying for the name. You are paying for the product only. Which is what makes this one of the best subs on the market. I am completely happy with my subs and turn them up every chance i get.

If you are planning on buying one of these, go right ahead, you won't be upset. If amazon is stocking them, buy it right away, they sell out fast. If you should be like me and decide to buy them elsewhere for a bit more, you still wouldn't be wasting your money.

As many others were before me, I too was skeptical of a 15" sub at such a low price. But I figured, what the heck, if it sucks, I can always return it. After a couple days, I decided it was a keeper.

Out of the box, it is indeed tubby. The really low end was there, but at a much diminished volume. It had issues with definition. The raw power though, my god man! This sub will bring out the harmonics of an entire house. Play something with a bass sweep in it and you will understand what I mean. It gets seriously boomy and muddy at anything over 100hz. The power switch is upside down by normal conventions (up is off, down is on).

Off to the store we go to get some polyfill. I bought 2 pillows that were on sale, ones with polyester filling. Upon arrival at home, I cut the pillows open and pulled the stuffing out. Then, I unscrewed the subwoofer, pulled it out and began stuffing the inside of the box. I put about four inches if not more of polyfill on every wooden surface inside that box. I made sure to cover the ports as thats the way it came. I put everything back together, plugged it back in, hit play on the cd player, and listened. The bottom end magically appeared! The bass tightened up so much, and all the little subtleties appeared. An absoultely amazing difference for a $7 mod and 15 minutes of time. This sub really *will* compete with other subs that go for hundreds more.

4 stars for music
5 stars for home theater (This is the one you are looking for, I can't say enough)
5 stars for value

Strengths:
Goes way deep.
Very Powerful.
Price.
Dead ringer for home theater.
Perfect sub for an already decent speaker system.
Knobs have "notches" for better feel of settings.
Will keep up with fast bass passages.

Weakness:
The mod is an abolute must. If you won't spend a little pocket change and 15 minutes of time, don't bother, you won't be happy.
Size (The manual says to hide it under a coffee table. That's some coffee table. Use it as a coffee table maybe...)
It's not a work of art by any definition.
Power switch is somewhat unconventional.
It's mush over 100hz.
Don't even try to hook this up with your $ computer speakers.
Makes you subwoofer proof your house.

I have these speakers in my kitchen hooked up to an old Sony Walkman CD player (the one that weighs about a pound and has a remote control). It sounds fantastic. I listen to a range of music from Kate Bush to Mozart's Requiem to Squirrel Nut Zippers and they all sound amazingly good. I don;t think you're going to find anything in speakers anywhere near this price that will compare. Placement of the woofer is important, and don;t be afraid to LOWER the woofer output a bit, especially at louder volumes. As I have this in my kitchen it is used for background music, but I have played them loud enough to really fill the room. I have another set hooked to my computer and again, abit of tuning makes a world of difference.

I'm no audiophile. Increasingly, my music is stored in the form of 160 kHz mp3's so I can take it with me or put it in very large playlists on my computer. That implies some small amount of loss of sound quality. I'm the kind of guy who's happy to live with that.

That having been said, these speakers are ideal for the purpose. After side-by-side comparing them at a store with several other more mainstream brands, I was impressed at the amount of what those audiophile glossies call 'presence', especially at the low volumes appropriate for apartment dwelling. Beat the Altec and Labtec speakers hollow - dunno why, particularly. A Bose system was a little better - and about 10 times the price.

The large 'subwoofer' only gets frequencies that your brain's spatial localization system (mediated by the lateral lemniscus -> superior olivary nucleus pathways, if there are any neuroscientists reading this) isn't equipped to deal with. So set it under your desk, put the little 2 inch cubes on your desk (or hang em from something with the included 2-sided tape, each weighs about an oz.) and get ready for great sound at a great price! I originally bought a set for my computer but went ahead and bought extra sets for every room in my home, including the bathroom, so I can have 24-hour music now if I want. The price is right to do that!

I give these speakers my strongest endorsement. While the maxim "you get what you pay for" is generally true, I felt I got *way* more than my money's worth with these.

The sound quality is amazing, especially for the money. The set up is easy, and there is plenty of wire to put the speakers any reasonable distance from your computer.

A few years ago I bought a used Creative Labs FPS 2000. Recently I accidentally knocked one of the connections lose, and thought I'd broken the speaker system. I plunged into researching speaker systems, and after reading a number of reviews I settled upon the Z640. When I got the speakers, I excitedly connected everything together and started perusing my playlist. Much to my dismay, none of the music seemed as clear or powerful as with my old system. I tried fiddling with my equalizer settings or using different Winamp plugins or using the Matrix mode for the speakers, but nothing made them sound better. I may not be a hardcore audiophile, but I can differentiate between broad levels of audio fidelity. These speakers simply aren't up to par. Thankfully, my FPS2000 system was still working, but I regret buying this set of speakers. If you want your speakers to give you a real musical experience, look elsewhere.

I wanted a set of speakers that I could eventually use with a 5.1 surround sound system away from my PC. Testing out various speaker systems at a local computer shop, the Logitech Z640s had the best sound for the best price - $... with a $... rebate.

I was already looking at eventually getting a Sound Blaster Extigy to use as my Dolby converter, but with the Logitech Z-640s, it has the "Matrix" surround option which simulates surround sound from 2-channel sources. I was actually impressed with how well it could simulate surround sound. In many areas of movies, it actually worked! However, once I obtained the Extigy, I can attest that nothing can take the place of true Dolby Surround decoding. However, for those on a low budget, the Z-640s with the Matrix surround sound is an excellent buy.

The stands on the two front and two rear satellites allow to you either leave the speakers standing on a table or mount them to the wall. The center speaker's stand only gives you the option of leaving it on top of your monitor or TV set. It allows only two positions: angled up or angled down depending on whether it's placed below or above your listening level. I do wish it allowed mounting to a wall, since that is where I have my front speakers and the center channel should always be inline with or slightly behind the two front channels.

The sub-woofer pounds out the bass so well that my wife is constantly telling me to turn it down! From our rec-room in the basement, she says she can hear it up in our second-floor bedroom. Now, that's some powerful stuff!

Hooking up the speakers is pretty simple. The satellites hook into the subwoofer. From the woofer, another cable comes out with the standard lime-green (front), black (rear) and orange (center/subwoofer) connectors for 5.1 sound cards. Logitech provides a connector that allows you to hook up the speakers to a 2-channel source and utilizing the Matrix option, you can get simulated surround. The front and rear connectors hook in on one side and on the other are standard RCA jacks so that you can take the audio-out of a DVD player or game console and hook it up directly to the speakers. That is an excellent move on Logitech's part. The power supply is internal, so no bulky power supply block is needed to plug into your outlet which can take up space.

The rear speaker cables only allow about 10 feet, which wasn't enough for me. The wires would be running across the floor, except I went and purchased a pair of RCA extension cables and that fixed the problem real well with no degradation of sound.

All the controls are placed on the center speaker EXCEPT for the bass control, which is inconveniently placed on the back of the subwoofer. For me, it's not that bad as the subwoofer is not out of place. But, for those that love to hide it behind furniture in the corner of the room, it could be a problem. The controls on the center channel consist of the power button, volume control, fader, center channel volume and the Matrix button.

The look of the speakers is pretty slick and professional looking. I haven't had any problems with distortion of sound nor interference with the TV.

For the price, this is a definite buy for those people on a budget, but who want some great-sounding speakers. Other people who are more particular with the way their sound system works would probably do better looking elsewhere.

If you want to spend some more money, there are other speaker sets out there that have Dolby Digital decoding built in, but some are over $...(THX certified) while others are around $... (Dolby Digital only), but I don't know how well they sound.

The best thing to do is shop at a store that has the speakers set up for testing so you can determine for yourself if they are the right choice for you.

I brought these speakers along with a Soundblaster Audigy 2 card to replace two HP Pavilion Polk speakers. I am not disappointed with this purchase. Not only are they affordable for a 6-speaker system, but they sound amazing too. I'm not an audiophile or anything like that, so I don't know the nitty gritty details, but I trust my ears and they proved to be a huge improvement.

It took me a while to connect these things to the Audigy 2. Unfortunately the card's plugs arent color-coordinated with the speaker's cables, so it was somewhat of a challenge, but once I got it right I enjoyed listening to music a lot more than before.

These are surround-sound speakers. Unfortunately my setup doesn't allow me to place the rear speakers behind me, so I opted to put them on the side instead. Amazingly, it still sounds like surround sound.

The subwoofer is a welcome bonus too. I live in an apartment building, so I have to set the volume pretty low, but I can still feel the vibrations underneath my feet. I haven't tried it at full power, but I wager it would shake the wall on the opposite side of the room. It's incredible how much realism a subwoofer adds to a listening experience, especially with DVD movies.

I agree with the reviewer who said the blue light on the center speaker is annoying. If you like to watch movies or play games in a dark environment and the thing is right in front of your eyes, it distracts from the monitor. It's not a big deal though, I just put some black tape over it and I got back to enjoying the multimedia.

DVD's really sound good on these speakers. You can actually hear sound move from one speaker to another and cycle, depending on the movie. I've never had that experience with two speakers. In fact, you can hear sounds you've never heard before too! It's really amazing.

Games also sound great, though not all support six speaker systems. Most support four, and you can hear the difference, but the sound is still better than with two speakers. It's a fantastic consolation that games like GTA 3 and Vice City sound absolutely fabulous now. It actually feels like you have a sound system in the computer-generated car.

Now, they're not THX certified, as if I know what that means. The only place I've heard THX is in a movie theater and even then, I wouldn't want to get that at home. It would bother too many people to turn it up that loud. At least it gives me an incentive to go to the movies more often. Nevertheless, if you're not an audiophile and you're looking for an affordable upgrade that will make your world rock, literally and metaphorically, these speakers are a good solution.

The Yamaha TSS system provides is a great value for those looking for a low priced digital theater system for a small apartment.

I've been searching for a dolby digital decoder and speaker system to connect to both my DVD player and my Xbox, without spending buckets of money, or duplicating components I already have. Initally, I bought this item because it was a steal... but it has turned out to fit the bill very nicely.

The system is small and easy to set up. I was up and running within 3 minutes of opening the box.

For the size of my apartment, the sound is rich and robust. The fidelity is excellent, although the low end doesn't quite seem low enough to really thump your chest when DeNiro blows the safe in The Score, or you scrag a baddie in Halo.

On the flip side, the approx. 10" cubed subwoofer is small and conveniently concealed, although it does seems to be a bit more directionally and locationally dependant than a more powerful system.

No complaints about the surround speakers, they produce an impressive amount of sound for being slightly larger than a Rubik's Cube.

The only inconveniences I've found are the lack of remote control (which is echoed in a number of reviews, but... I can [get myself] of the couch to change the volume), and I would like to have a second optical input (I'm having to switch connections between DVD and Xbox, appropriately).

All in all, if you are looking for a good value in a home theater system, and you don't have much space to fill, this system does an excellent job. If you are looking to fill a larger room, or want a _really_ intense experience, I would look for a system with a bit more wattage.

One note...I already have an enormously powerful Denon reciever with even more powerful speakers. And, although it says "Don't do this" prominently on the speakers, box, etc., the outputs to the speakers from the decoder are all RCA type connections. Which I have on the back of my reciever. See where I'm going here? It's just too easy. Maybe next time I'm feeling like gambling I'll see what happens...

After doing research on systems similar to the TSS-1...like the DTT3500, Inspire 5700, Onkyo GXW51, and some others, I found that this was the best bang for the buck (from Amazon for the black version). I was also fortunate to get the rebate. With no sales tax/free shipping, it was a no brainer).

I would say that for the room I'm in (12' x 11'), it is plenty loud. I use it in a desktop set up in my office, so I'm about 3 feet from each speaker...I was able to turn up to full volume for both DVD and music (music sounds better than DVD) and didn't get any noticeable distortion. BTW, full volume is louder than is comfortable for me to listen to. The speakers are very clear with no hiss and music using Dolby Pro Logic is pretty good as well (I know alot of folks don't like Dolby Pro Logic on music). The controls are very intuitive. Inputs include digital, 4 ch analog, and 2 ch analog and one button on the front to choose between them. When using 2 ch, you can either choose Pro Logic or not. With 4 ch, you have no choice (2 sets of stereo inputs are on the back for 4 ch). With digital, the system will tell you automatically if it is a DD5.1 or DTS signal (but you can choose to not use the decoder). It will also tell you if the signal is DD5.1/DTS and you've chosen not to use it (by accident, I would guess). It does this by dimming the light for DD5.1 or DTS.

I don't do gaming, so I don't have an opinion here. I got it mainly for entry level surround sound and for music.

The headphone is nice touch as well. It uses Yamaha's Silent Cinema which does virtual surround sound on headphones (like Dolby Headphone and DTS Virtual Surround). I found that this feature is pretty good (much better than just 2 ch stereo).

There's also a switch on the back to set output to all 5 speakers, 4 speakers (no center channel), or just 2 speakers (no center channel or surrounds). When in 4 speaker or 2 speaker mode, a phantom center and virtual surround channels are created by mixing the information that would have been sent to those speakers. They all sounded pretty good. But, I don't know why anyone would want to use fewer speakers.

It helped to listen to a demo of the TSS-1 and play with the controls (even though the store noise and store size impacted the sound). Tip: bring some sort of portable player (MP3, CD...or if you're rich, a portable DVD player) with a stereo jack M-M with you (if you bring a portable DVD player, bringing an optical or coax digital cable (toslink on the TSS-1 side) will let you hear the DD5.1 and/or DTS depending on the film(s) you bring). Alot of demos have the system plugged in but there is no sound source. This way you can input some music or something to listen to. It may be a little hard to find a demo...

The Onkyo GXW51 is an interesting platform (on paper)and sounded OK, but didn't seem to have the highs that the TSS has... The DTT3500 sounded similar to the TSS-1, but was more expensive... The features and sound qualtiy on the 5700 didn't convince me that the price difference from the TSS-1 would be worth it. I decided against the DTT3500 because it didn't have DTS, no headphone and a price difference.

Conclusion: I think for the price point the TSS-1 is great. It won't "wake the neighbors" but if that's not your goal, this system will provide excellent sound quality, good features, and an affordable price (and it is "loud enough"). The only drawback I can see is there's no remote control. ...

I was looking for a Home Theater system for quite a while... I saw this system...and liked the clarity of music and voice it produced... This system can produce clear sound even if you turn up the volume, doesn't crack.

I mainly use this for watching movies. I connected my DVD player with the supplied Optical Cable and the sound is great. I connected my digital cable box with the supplied Coaxial cable and now can enjoy digital surround sound. Also I had connected my VCR to this system. Now I can watch VHS movies with Dolby Pro Logic.

This system has a built in DD and DTS decoders. Especially watching DTS coded DVD's is great (Pearl Harbor and Saving Private Ryan).

My Living room size is 16 x 12 and keeping the volume at 4.5 (max is 10) fills the whole room.

The only drawback is that this doesn't come with a remote control. Sometimes it's irritating but for this price I think you can't expect more than this.

People out there, just don't go and fall for...other costly brands if you don't have a very big room. Trust me this will be more than enough. All my friends and relatives were surprised that I could get a system that doesn't Cost much and at the same time produce better sound.

Place your speakers properly and you can get clear 5 channel sound.

These speakers truly have phenomenal sound quality for the price you pay. However, I could not get them to stop buzzing and picking up static. No matter where I put them or how low the volume on the speakers was, I always seemed to get very loud static, and often the speakers would pick up fuzzy radio signals. Eventually I couldn't stand it any more and I just gave up and bought a more expensive set of speakers. No more buzz.

I don't normally write reviews, but I have to say that these speakers are probably the best sound for the price. I bought them as a temporary replacement while my *considerably* more expensive Boston Acoustics speakers were getting fixed, and I was shocked and impressed because the sound was almost on par with the speakers I had before. The speakers perform very well, producing good highs, lows, and a surprisingly good midrange--hard to find in speakers this size. I didn't even have to turn the volume past the halfway mark to get some pretty loud sound out of it. I almost felt guilty for getting that sort of performance out of speakers that cheap. In the end, I switched back to the Boston Acoustics because of its 4.1 surround sound, but for normal use, I didn't feel like I was missing anything by using these smaller speakers. I'm not sure about other Cyber Acoustics products, but these small, inexpensive speakers are definitely worth the money.

Don't expect Tha Boomin' System from this very compact little 2.1 speaker set. But if you'd like a decent little speaker set that won't cramp your space and which makes the most of the little volume it can pump, this is nice.

The subwoofer is wood (OK, particle board) not plastic, so you get a nice resonant low end. It's a good value for the price.

You might even want to consider this as a travel system for your notebook computer...it seems this new model has a USB power tap so you don't need the wall-wart. Mine is a wall-wart model.

DVDs, gaming sound, music, it does it all. It won't do it at ear-splitting volume and the little subwoofer won't rattle the room, but for what it is, it's nice.