Klipsch ProMedia Heritage 2.1 Multimedia Mid Century Modern Desktop Computer Speaker Monitors with 8” Subwoofer, Matte Black

I originally owned the standard ProMedia system, and lived with it for a few months. There have been many hardware revisions to that system since their debut over 20 years ago, with many alleging that the first- or second-generation models significantly outperform later models. That’s a different conversation entirely, but I bring it up because, if it matters, I purchased my particular set of the standard PMs this year, so they are/were the *current* revision, and so that’s what I will be comparing the PM Heritage to in this review. To start, WHY did I upgrade? Volume was the biggest reason. That’s not to say the standard PMs aren’t loud – they are, and they possess possibly unbeatable fidelity for their price – but I just needed more. That leads us in to the next question: when choosing a 2.1 system to upgrade to, why the PM Heritage instead of, say, one of the Edifer systems? For one, aesthetics – the Edifer 2.1 systems are handsome, but there is not a SINGLE other product in this category that looks like the PM Heritage. They are entirely unique in that aspect. Doesn’t help that I am a sucker for the “mid-century modern” look, and I especially enjoy that the satellites were so obviously designed to appear like tiny Heresy IVs. Secondly, I already liked so much of what the standard PMs offered sonically. My criteria, then, was basically: “I want it to sound like the standard PMs, but more/better,” and well, naturally, that brings us to the PM Heritage. Now then, on to the comparison: APPEARANCE/CONSTRUCTION: This is subjective, but to me, the PM Heritage just looks significantly more attractive, and it’s not really close. The standard PMs (the satellites, at least) look like something that would’ve come bundled with your Dell Dimension in 2004. With the PM Heritage, I feel like I actually own a “premium” product, even though these aren’t even in the same neighborhood as the actual Heritage products (for perspective, the least-expensive “true” Heritage product is the Heresy, which is ~$3000!) They also feel better, physically. The satellites and sub are heavier, and the materials they’re made of are nicer to touch. It’s not like you’ve got real wood here or anything, but it’s an upgrade over the basic ABS plastic that the standard PMs are built with. Even the satellites’ speaker covers receive an upgrade beyond just appearances. They’re made of much sturdier materials and, at the very least, it’s clear more effort went in their construction. A picture comparison is included in the attached images. On the subject of covers, it’s worth noting that the subwoofer speaker cover is also removable now. This is not the case on the standard model. Not that it matters much – I can’t imagine why you’d remove the subwoofer cover, especially since they usually live in the “accidental kick” zone. The satellite speakers themselves are not significantly bigger, but they are boxier all the way around instead of slimming down to a “teardrop-esque” shape in the back as with the standard model. The subwoofer cabinet is quite a bit larger though. It’s awkwardly taller and deeper than I expected, and along with having its bass port is on the back, you may have to be more considerate of your subwoofer placement with this model. Speaking of the bass port, it’s large enough that smaller hands/arms can reach all the way to the back of it, so I’m VERY thankful they’ve attached netting to the end so that even if something falls inside, it’ll catch and you can easily tip it out. - CONNECTIVITY/INTERFACE: The standard PM satellites are hard-wired (the current revision, anyways), the PM Heritage satellites are not, which is great because the included speaker wire is CCA, so you can upgrade that to OFC if you wanted to. Included in the box is also a 3.5mm male to RCA male cable. I’ve seen mixed opinions on this cable, with some experiencing a pretty terrible hiss, but I had no issues with mine. As for the inputs offered, there’s a slight trade-off. The best-equipped version of the standard PM has 2 analog inputs and Bluetooth. The PM Heritage has 1 analog input, 1 USB input, and Bluetooth. You lose one analog input, but gain USB. The placement of these inputs has also changed. The standard PM inputs are all found on the detachable “pre-amp/control pod,” which most people keep under one of the satellites. On the PM heritage, all inputs are on the back of the sub. I run two separate analog cables – one for the PC, one for my consoles – and so switching between them has become more inconvenient since I have to pull the sub out every time, but it wasn’t enough that I felt like I had to knock a star off. Worth mentioning that the USB port is not just for music either, it’s also how you update the system’s firmware, which is one of the first things you should do with this thing anyways. Lastly, on the back of the sub and between the USB/RCA inputs, there is a 3-pin port labelled “SDA-SCL-GND,” which is also not present on the standard model. Klipsch support confirms this is solely for diagnostics/service. As alluded to previously, the “control pod” of the standard PM is gone, and how you interact with the PM Heritage is done via remote. The master and sub volume knobs are also on the back of the subwoofer now (they’re click-able, so you can still cycle inputs if you lose your remote). I found the LED light of the standard PM’s control pod to be agonizingly bright, so I’m glad that’s gone, but I miss easy access to the inputs and physical controls for volume levels. Also worth mentioning that the IR receiver for the remote is located at the front of the subwoofer cabinet, so you really have to point RIGHT at it for your button presses to register. For this category, I’m gonna say they’re tied since they each have their own trade-offs. - SPECS: On to the numbers. Per the official spec sheets for both models, here is what you get in terms of power and frequency response: Standard PM -Satellites: 18 Watts Continuous, 26 Watts Peak -Subwoofer: 65 Watts Continuous, 80 Watts Peak -Freq. Response: 35hz – 22khz PM Heritage -Satellites: ~27 Watts Continuous, 35 Watts Peak - Subwoofer: 100 Watts Continuous, 150 Watts Peak -Freq. Response: 29hz – 20khz -Other upgrades over the standard PM: ---Subwoofer is now 8” vs 6.5” ---Larger wave guide for the tweeters ---Beefier midrange woofer ---Satellites have a significantly upgraded crossover, see the attached pics Klipsch does not actually provide specs for the PM Heritage satellites’ continuous power rating, I just guessed and subtracted 8 from the peak rating since 8W is the difference between the standard PM’s cont/peak. Seemed like a safe-enough starting point. Anyways, spec-wise, it’s an undeniable victory for the PM Heritage, but that is expected. What I didn’t expect personally was a reported frequency response of down to 29hz. For the $285 these are currently selling for, nothing else touches that, but how true is it? I used a synthesizer and some reactive graphs to test this. At a listening position 8ft away, in my ~130sqft office, I can say the bass is consistent in its presence/volume all the way down to around 33-35hz, and tapers from there. Of course, not to say that the driver won’t produce anything below that, that’s just where I found the drop-off in volume to begin. For comparison, the standard PM dropped off around 40-45hz in the same test. This probably justifies the PM Heritage’s comically larger and longer reflex port. - SOUND: Perhaps the most important category of them all, and by far the hardest to properly convey in a text-based review. All I can say is: wow. I don’t approach even half of the system’s max volume most of the time, but when I turn it up, it is properly thunderous. For the gamers, I’ve found Skyrim to be one of the best ways to showcase this system, as that game is a proper feast for the ears with its soundtrack and atmospherics. For music and movies, vocal clarity is just superb, and the subwoofer can actually be TOO much. I’ve found keeping it 3-5 clicks away from its highest setting is best. On the subject of the subwoofer, the standard PMs have a design flaw where its subwoofer can bang up against its metal cover, creating a pretty disconcerting rattle even when you’re not thrashing it. I’m happy to report the PM Heritage does not suffer from this, and its subwoofer can be pushed so, so much farther before distorting at all. I actually haven’t gotten mine to distort once yet, though it’s not like I really want to try, either. As I mentioned earlier, what I wanted was “basically the regular ProMedia sound, but more/better,” and that’s exactly what was delivered. - UNDER THE HOOD: Take off the back panel of the PM Heritage and you’ll find a plate amp that’s…shockingly a bit less dense/populated than the standard PM, even with the Heritage’s integrated “preamp” section that the standard PM houses in the separate control pod. You’ll have to refer to the attached images for this section. There’s not even a heatsink for the amplifiers inside of the Heritage version, and even after extensive/loud listening sessions, the back plate is cold to the touch. The standard PM could get uncomfortably hot in comparison, and strangely enough, the standard PM has a power supply rated for 240W, compared to the 100W power supply of the Heritage version. Don’t let the bigger number fool you – sonically, the PM Heritage outperforms in every way – I must’ve underestimated just how efficient amplifiers have become, and Klipsch must be saving them for only the Heritage version. We’ve already mentioned the crossovers inside of the PM satellites, too – no doubt a surprising upgrade over the standard PM, but of course. - CRITICISMS: -Compared to its similarly-priced peers, it is quite lacking in # of provided inputs. At bare minimum, we should have two analog inputs. -IR receiver should’ve been placed in one of the satellites, or at least attachable to one of them, instead of inside the subwoofer. Would require an extra cable/port on the back, and maybe that’s why they didn’t, but I personally wouldn’t mind. That’s it. Those are the only “bad” things I could say about it. - TO CONCLUDE: The PM Heritage is the only one of its kind as far as appearances go, and there is a LOT of speaker here. At $285, it’s tough to beat, and it is a worthy upgrade over the standard PM. I’ve no regrets with my purchase, and plan to use them for many years to come. - NOTES: -This reviews was thoroughly rewritten on 9/15/24, roughly a month and a half after the first review, to better compare the two models. -All images, with two exceptions, were taken by me with my own standard and Heritage ProMedia systems. The two exceptions are the image of the standard PM’s crossover, taken by Klipsch Forum user “Lorien,” and the image of the PM Heritage Plate Amp, which comes from eBay user "GreenCells." I just didn't feel like taking mine apart to get those to particular images.

FIRMWARE UPDATE! - First and foremost, I like many others, was bummed out at the over-aggressive auto-off function that came standard. I had to reach for the remote to power it up when I wanted to play music, otherwise it would not auto-on for several minutes. BUT THERE IS AN UPDATE!!! The Klipsch website has the firmware update, which installs in about 3 minutes with any blank thumb drive in the USB port. They apparently updated this exact issue and the issue is essentially gone. It takes maybe a couple seconds to wake up after prolonged silence and stays on "just in case" for much longer. That was literally my only gripe and its been fixed. The rest of my review: These are replacing some Harman Kardan sound sticks/sub combo that has served me well for years. That's a great system, but a critical listener could always tell the midrange was lacking. It was essentially 8 tweeters and woofer. Moving to this Klipsch system was an amazing contrast. I left both sound systems in place and went back and forth several times for a few days, switching the input cord into my computer, sometimes mid song. The full range of sound with the Klipsch is undeniable. The subwoofer is also fantastic for its size. I can rumble my house if really crank it up, but its otherwise full, present, and crisp at normal and low listening volumes. I have a several of just about every model of Sonos in my house and a very nice "just for music" listening set up with traditional amp/speakers in one of my rooms. I consider a Sonos One to be the speaker to beat for their balance of "close-up listening" and cost/value; and frankly that was still an option for me for my computer (running two Sonos One's in stereo from my computer through Airplay). This Klipsch system can be had much cheaper, with the fq range of a true subwoofer, and it sounds just as good or better with the L/R units with clarity vs the Sonos. I would say they are same quality at normal volume, but the Klipsch blows the Sonos One pair away at increased volumes because the Klipsch mid drivers get to focus on midrange and do not distort trying to cover the bass as well. Obviously, the Klipsch sub handles the bass. Whereas with Sonos, the two Sonos Ones need to keep pushing that DSP bass, which they do admirably, but it starts getting dicey at louder volumes and the bass stops increasing along with the mid and treble as you really turn it up. As a work-from-home guy, I get excited to rock out on these sometimes when work is dragging. It's money well spent for audio that gets played probably more than any other speaker set in my house. I hope Klipsch continue to make quality computer speakers like this.

So originally I had the original ProMedia 2.1 (non-THX version) and I've always been happy with the quality and bass of it but I was always curious to get into the next level and see what I would be missing if I upgrade to the Heritage version. They are much pricer than what I payed for the original ProMedia but decided to take a chance on them... and I am glad I did. The sound of the Heritage ProMedia 2.1s are similar to the original but with a bit more "presence" to them. The sound is just a bit clearer but the major difference is more with the subwoofer. These sport an 8 inch subwoofer compared to a 6.5 inch in the original ProMedias. The difference is much more substantial and noticable. It allows this system to go much louder and the bass is just astonishing for what they are. My 10x10 bedroom shakes and it's not even pushing the limits of the subwoofer. It's not just all about crazy bass but the clarity and sound is great and treble matches what the subwoofer puts out due to the two way horn setup of the main speakers. Now there is also a night mode as well that turns off the subwoofer completely but without it, the two mains sound very flat... not even much midrange or bass are present so that is something to note. They sound more like TV speakers if I had to compare them to something. This definitely will not replace a full size Hi-Fi system like the Yamaha system I have that has a 10 inch Klipsch sub but if this was the only system that I owned, I would definitely be content with it. Worth the upgrade from the original ProMedia 2.1 and if you are in the market and looking at both that or this Heritage system, it's worth the extra money if you can afford it or to save for it.

Estuve por más de medio año esperando una oferta con la marca Klipsch y por dios valió la pena, soy amateur con el tema de la audiofilia pero estas bocinas son más que excelentes, los materiales son de ultra calidad, los acabados son exquisitos y el nivel de audio, graves, agudos, etc.; son increíbles a pesar de su vista sencilla, por la función del volumen que tiene la perilla esta en la parte trasera de subwoofer para no estar agachándote para ajustar el volumen tiene un control muy elegante y minimalista, su uso es sencillo para todas las funciones del equipo. En general vale la pena adquirirlo, no te arrepentirás. Recomiendo que compres una base al subwoofer para que no se maltrate ya que debe estar en el piso.

They didn't work for me. Tried them with a PC, a laptop, a portable radio and a hi-fi CD player. Which is a shame because these speakers are highly rated. I had the Promedia 4.1 system for many years, so I know they are high quality. And these look SO GOOD. Maybe it's me, I don't know. I'm considering trying again with another set, but I'm also thinking of the Promedia 2.1 set because the 4.1 set is no longer available. They may be liquidating the 2.1s too. I need to find someone to fix the sub. I'm not removing any stars because of my problem because I know they are excellent. The reseller didn't ask any questions, offered a return label quickly. I was hoping he would help me try to find the issue. As for Klipsch themselves, I opened a ticket last week and have not heard from them.

Tienen la calidad, presión sonora y expresividad que no hay en las bocinas nuevas de Klipsch

Son unas bocinas que estéticamente te entregan todo, la calidad de los materiales es impresionante para su precio, y sin duda el audio es exquisito. Los bajos son fuertes y limpios, hacen que las ventanas de mi cuarto tiemblen. Creo que estas bocinas son la compra perfecta para una persona que disfruta mucho de escuchar música y obtenter todos los sonidos posibles, pero al mismo tiempo no gastar mas de 5.000 pesos en esto. Son excelentes, no dejan nada que desear y después de usarlas a tope 2 semanas, puedo decir que no les he hallado ningún defecto, honestamente, las recomiendo mucho. Si a caso, recomendaría cambiar el cable de audio 3.5 por uno de mayor calidad, ya que los que bienen incluidos generan mucha estática en ocaciones cuando el volumen está muy bajo, pero nada que no se resuelva con un buen calble de no más de 200 MXN. Muy satisfecho con el producto, saludos!

Tengo todo mi sonido 9.2 de casa con bocinas Klipsch Premuim. Y en el mismo estudio coloque estas bocinas ProMedia, conectadas a la PC, y alejadas 5 metros cada una del monitor, y es sorprendente el sonido estereo que se percibe. Ademas al encenderlas con el sistema 9.2, estas complementan el rango de frecuencias medias de todo el sistema. Realmente exelentes bocinas, gran calidad de febricacion y de sonido. Por si solo el Subwoofer es decente, aunque no tiene control de frecuencia (Hz), esta, es de un rango medio-alto. El par de bocinas son capaces sin problema de llenar de sonido decente, un area de 40 mts cuadrados