EV SonicXS 2.1

[yngwie98]

Anybody have these?? CompUSA has them on sale for $40, normally they are around $200. I'm hoping it's not a mistake and they meant $140.

They are for my 2nd rig, have Creative 5.1 speakers for my main rig. Reviews I've read so far are very positive. Sound card is an SB Live 5.1, just upgraded to an Audigy 2 on my main rig.

http://www.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r21258.htm
http://www.gamespot.com/gshw/filters...562194,00.html

[soupnazi]

I've also heard they are decent. The sound would be similar to the Klipsch Promedia 2.1's. I'd only get them if they're only $40, also keep your eye out for the Monsoon PM9's or PM14's. They are discontinued.

[vrao81]

Good luck finding them...sold out online plus most stores have already sold their stock....

[UnderpinnerCS89]

Yes, they DO sell for $40 at the CompUsa. I just picked one up at a store in 38st. in Manhattan, but I haven't tested it yet.
There was only one box on display along with the floor model.
I asked the store manager if I could take the floor model(someone had alreadly taken the box). He said no problem- they had like TWENTY in stock. It's just that nobody really knew about the deal because it was still listed at $199 in the store. A good pickup, it seems.

[wizfury]

Originally posted by UnderpinnerCS89
Yes, they DO sell for $40 at the CompUsa. I just picked one up at a store in 38st. in Manhattan, but I haven't tested it yet.
There was only one box on display along with the floor model.
I asked the store manager if I could take the floor model(someone had alreadly taken the box). He said no problem- they had like TWENTY in stock. It's just that nobody really knew about the deal because it was still listed at $199 in the store. A good pickup, it seems.

Have you had the chance to test them out yet? From all the reviews that have read these seem to be excellent speakers and at this price it's definitely a steal. I wonder how they do against the Monsoon Planar Media 14s, which I have right now.

Hope to hear your take on these speakers soon.

[UnderpinnerCS89]

YES, I've finally tried them out, even with my meager mp3 and cd collection, and a slow dialup connection.

The setup: Believe it or not, EV screwed up the line output from pc to the subwoofer. The white plug should go to the RED input, and vice versa, at least for my onboard c-media sound. Or else, surround sound willbe reversed. When I played some RTCW, the nazi parade song coming from the radio would not position correctly- that gave me a clue. You might here about this issue from other EVSonic users.

The sound: The power is just frickin amazing!!!
Of course, I'm upgrading from a 2speaker Altec Lansing setup.
There is a tight, squeaky sound from the highs and mids- in fact this speaker is said to be engineered for clarity at the highs. Yeah, the highs ARE really separated- my unprofessional opinion.
The bass has a low menacing thrum, very non-directional as it should be. I'm not sure it's the "tightest" sounding bass, however. If you set the bass volume and tone volume anywhere past half, the bass is just overpowering. This is more common when using Windows Media player- very bass heavy sound! My included Asus mp3 player has a much better, cleaner sound-not as bass heavy. And forget using surround options with this 2.1- too much bass. The Klipsch 2.1 might have a tigher sounding bass than these speakers. Not sure about Logitech or any othhers.

I also believe that you need mp3s encoded at the highest quality to really exploit the capabilities of this system.

Well, I've bored you enough- I'll keep fiddling with this toy to get that "tight" bass I've always desired. If not, then maybe I'll sell these(any takers?) and get the Altec Lansing 621 for a possibly warmer more natural sound with tighter bass.

[wizfury]

Interesting review. Maybe they need some more time to break in to get that warmer sound you like. I have also glance pass the reverse output issue before, well, at least it's easy enough to fix

If you like tight bass I would recommend you to take a look at the Monsoon PM-14s too, but be prepare to break them in for at least 50 hours

[soupnazi]

Originally posted by wizfury
If you like tight bass I would recommend you to take a look at the Monsoon PM-14s too, but be prepare to break them in for at least 50 hours

I just got mine today. After 2 hours of break-in, they blow away my Logitech Z560's in music reproduction.

[wizfury]

The Monsoon PM-14s are probably the best MM speakers for music in this price range. They sounded a bit "metallic" to me when I first got them, but after the break-in period (from my experience they do need an extensive period to break in) they do sound much warmer and the clarity and crispness of the sound is simply amazing.

There is a downside, which is the narrow soundstage. I could tell the difference just by slouching and sitting upright on my chair . The sound sounds a bit muffled when I am slouching. But when I sit upright the sound is clearer and more crisp and I hear instruments/sounds that I didn't know were there when I was slouching .

So, make sure you are sitting in the sweet spot for these speakers or you might miss alot of the details.

[soupnazi]

Originally posted by wizfury
They do sound much warmer and the clarity and crispness of the sound is simply amazing.

There is a downside, which is the narrow soundstage. I could tell the difference just by slouching and sitting upright on my chair . The sound sounds a bit muffled when I am slouching. But when I sit upright the sound is clearer and more crisp and I hear instruments/sounds that I didn't know were there when I was slouching .

Totally agree. Hey it's a good reason to "sit up straight", so your mom doesn't have to tell you to.