Spherex Xbox Omnipolar Surround System $150 Off!!!

core238

core238

CAG Veteran
I do not post here often, but whenever I do I like to bring something very nice to the table; and today is no different.

Despite the fact that we all are a bunch of cheapasses (and proud of it), we are all very much aware that these days the quality of your gaming is directly proportionate to the quality of your gaming rig; and with the next generation just months away, the quality of your gaming rig is about to become that much more important. HDTV, multi-channel surround sound and broadband internet makes all the difference in any gaming experience. They will breath new life into even the most fun games, and make them all that much more fun.

As some of you are already well aware, last year Microsoft announced a 5-year deal with Spherex Design for their omnipolar speaker technology as the basis for the Official Xbox branded Surround Sound System. And as many of you know, despite the fact the system's audio, build and upgradability quality were of the highest order, well above any other similer system aimed at gamers and PC users, the asking pricetag of $500 was a bit steep (okay, very steep) and this has turned more than a few gamers away. Well I just came across a deal that has finally lowered the price of the Spherex Xbox 5.1 Surround System to a price that anyone can afford.

You can grab one of these from Amazon for only $350! Amazon has just put the Spherex Omnipolar Surround System on sale for $380, and if you sign up for the Amazon Visa, you get an additional $30 off your first purchase, bringing the total for the Spherex system down to only $350.

Even though I do not need one of these, at $350 it is getting extremely hard to pass up. I may pick up one of these in the next couple weeks.
Click to expand...

Why is this deal so special? To those of you who are audiofiles I do not have to explain, but to everyone else, just know that omnipolar speakers tend to produce a sound quality, depth of perception and a soundstage of speaker systems that run up to x10 their price - omnipolar is just that good and the Spherex brand is no exception. Until the Spherex System came to retail, the least expensive omnipolar speaker set ran around $1500 (for the speakers only). At $500 the Spherex's were already a bargain, but now at $350, they are priced within a range that only a broke old fool would deny. The technology is sweet, extremely cutting edge and for the money, you'll be extremely hardpressed to find a better setup out there.

Don't take my word for it:
Home Theater Magazine (Review)

Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity (Review)

Toronto HiFi (Review)

IGN Gear (Review)

Team Xbox (Review)

WWWCoder (Review)

Darkstation (Review)


More information on Omnipolar designed speakers:
Mirage Loudspeakers Creators of Omnipolar Speaker Technology

Spherex Inc. Makers of the Official Xbox 5.1 Surround System
 
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I think for even $350, you can get better speakers out there, quite frankly. Maybe you'd have to leave out the sub, but you wouldn't need that immediately.
 
Seems like a very good price, but I also know that $380 is big ticket item in these woods (as you know). Thanks for the heads up. Now we know to keep an eye on this one.
 
True audio/videofiles know that an investment in a quality rig is an investment into the future. One of the real values that comes from this set, is not only the ability to own a set of speakers that can output the same quality sound that you would normally have to shell out a few grand to hear, but also in the fact that of all the speaker systems currently available at a similer (or lower) pricepoint, these come with a full 10-year warranty. The manufacturer expects these to last that long and will cover the devices for at least that length of time. Also, this is the only set which is designed to expand to incorporate newer sound technologies via either the digital expansion slot (hardware) or via flashing the BIOS (software).

You gotta figure, that in a 10-year period, messing around with a lesser system, you'd have probably replaced that twice and spent far more than the $500 MSRP of these. This goes doubly so as newer sound technologies come into play and are adopted by future generation game consoles and audio/video playback devices (CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, HD-DVDs, DVRs, etc.). Picking these beauties up for only $350 while they are still MSRPed at $500 is the steal of the decade.

In any case, I posted this here in the hopes that more than a few of us can take advantage of the deal. We all know that the really good ones do not come along that often, and I hate to see people miss out on them.
 
Why does this sound like an infomercial? hehe
I kid, it sounds like a pretty good deal as an investment in good surround sound speakers is money well spent. Even if it does seem pricy.
 
Im interested in this, having just bought a Samsung LNR328W TV, I now need some surround sound to compliment it but I dont know much about them. The main thing im wondering is are the little speakers wireless or do they all connect to the amp with wires? I really hate wires
 
[quote name='Az986']Im interested in this, having just bought a Samsung LNR328W TV, I now need some surround sound to compliment it but I dont know much about them. The main thing im wondering is are the little speakers wireless or do they all connect to the amp with wires? I really hate wires[/QUOTE]

Any good sounding yet still even close to reasonably priced speakers will be wired. Just the nature of the beast these days.
 
I found this deal at Amazon a couple of months ago and made a purchase and am very satisfied with the speakers. I have sort of an odd set up in that my entertainment center needs to be placed diagonally in the corner (in order to avoid blocking any windows). This leaving a very limited "sweet spot" range for normal speakers and makes the sound distribution a little strange, but the omnipolar technology in these speakers works fantastic. (Ironically, though, I have found Animal Crossing to be the most clean, expressive surround sound experience. When you hunt for bugs etc. you can really tell where they are coming from incredibly clearly no matter where you sit.)

These speakers are very heavy, feel incredibly solid, and the fact that the tiny remote sensor (it does not have its own huge bulky reciever) fits right next to my satellite reciever means I clear up a shelf space for another gaming system (I was able to dig my Saturn out of Storage). Now I just need a modest, hi definition TV (right now I have an analog 27" Wega) and I'm set.
 
I bought this package about a month ago from Amazon to replace my old speakers and have to say the system is great. Last weekend I watched House of Flying Daggers and the was blown away by the sound quality and imaging. The "Echo game" sequence was phenomenal. That was the first real test for the system and it passed with flying colors. It isn't the cheapest set out there but it's definitely worth every penny.
 
For those that have been tracking these speakers I was wondering from what you have seen is there a good chance I will see the same price for these speakers in a couple months. I know we aren't Miss Cleo here but just judging from its trend in pricing??

I don't start my teaching job until September and I definitely don't want to use my credit card....
 
If you shop around I've seen it at about this price a few other places (give or take $20. Finding them for around $399 isn't too difficult. However, a lot of places seem to have pretty limited supply, so you might run into a problem there in a few months (I'm not sure what the production run is like). But I think you'd be safe enough to wait and it's always better to pay for things when you can actually afford them and enjoy it without it hanging over your head.

Dan
 
(digs through dumpster) I got my surround speakers right here! (removes orange peel). A little dirty, but still sound great!

But seriously...

My speakers are hand-me-downs from older stereos that died. Don't need to buy new, when you've got old speakers.

Also...

I just took a look at that picture. Tiny little speakers. "3-1/2-inch woofer"? What a joke. You can't pull solid bass from tiny speakers like that. If you want *good sound* you need to buy full-sized speakers with full-sized woofers (at least 7").

troy
 
[quote name='electrictroy']
I just took a look at that picture. Tiny little speakers. "3-1/2-inch woofer"? What a joke. You can't pull solid bass from tiny speakers like that. If you want *good sound* you need to buy full-sized speakers with full-sized woofers (at least 7").

troy[/QUOTE]

Ya see, there's this new technology out there, I'm not sure if you've heard of it...It's called a "subwoofer". Now, the "subwoofer" produces low-frequency effects in place of regular sized speakers. Satellite speakers, such as the spherex ones, cannot handle much bass at all, so a "subwoofer" is added to the system to make up for the deficiency in the bass department.
 
[quote name='electrictroy'](digs through dumpster) I got my surround speakers right here! (removes orange peel). A little dirty, but still sound great!

But seriously...

My speakers are hand-me-downs from older stereos that died. Don't need to buy new, when you've got old speakers.

Also...

I just took a look at that picture. Tiny little speakers. "3-1/2-inch woofer"? What a joke. You can't pull solid bass from tiny speakers like that. If you want *good sound* you need to buy full-sized speakers with full-sized woofers (at least 7").

troy[/QUOTE]

lol. No offense, but like the above poster said, look into what a subwoofer is. Its what produces your bass. Look closer at whats all included in that package...
 
[quote name='Dustin Echoes']lol. No offense, but like the above poster said, look into what a subwoofer is. Its what produces your bass. Look closer at whats all included in that package...[/QUOTE]

well - in defense of this poster - a "good sound" (which is relative I know) would include full range in all the channels - at least for me. Sure a sub is great - especially to go down into the high teens htz - but a sub doesnt take the place of having speakers all around that can go pretty low.
 
But I don't see how it wouldn't. You can place a subwoofer anywhere in the room and not be able to tell where exactly the sound is coming from while a bunch of individual speakers might reproduce a much higher frequency at all kinds of distorted angles. If a sub didn't take the place of having speakers all around that could go low then movie theaters wouldn't need them, right?
 
A subwoofer is not supposed to produce bass. It's supposed to produce the sound *below* the bass levels (hence the name "sub"). Your satellite speakers still need to produce the bass level between 100 and 2000 Hz, which means they need large woofers. The 3 1/2" speakers in these Xbox mini-speakers are inadequate.


Here's a good article that describes why mini-speakers provide lousy sound: "The result is a hole between the top end of the subwoofer frequency range (between 100 and 150 Hz), and the bottom end of the little speaker's frequency range. Low male voices will sound thin, and music with low to midrange frequencies also will be weak."

ARTICLE: http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/128203.html

troy
 
[quote name='electrictroy']A subwoofer is not supposed to produce bass. It's supposed to produce the sound *below* the bass levels (hence the name "sub"). Your satellite speakers still need to produce the bass level between 100 and 2000 Hz, which means they need large woofers. The 3 1/2" speakers in these Xbox mini-speakers are inadequate.


Here's a good article that describes why mini-speakers provide lousy sound: "The result is a hole between the top end of the subwoofer frequency range (between 100 and 150 Hz), and the bottom end of the little speaker's frequency range. Low male voices will sound thin, and music with low to midrange frequencies also will be weak."

ARTICLE: http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/128203.html

troy[/QUOTE]

The speakers used in this system are made by mirage and are essentially their smaller omnisat micro speakers.

http://miragespeakers.com/omnistat.shtml#

Omnisat work differently than normal speakers, and I can tell you from personal experience and about a month of research that these speakers sound great. They work very differently than normal speakers and dont really need the larger woofers that you suggest they need. If you have a Tweeter around you stop by and check them out before you condemn them as inadaquate
 
[quote name='Sarang01']
Here's a good article that describes why mini-speakers provide lousy sound: "The result is a hole between the top end of the subwoofer frequency range, and the bottom end of the little speaker's frequency range (dropout between 100 and 150 Hz). Low male voices will sound thin, and music with low to midrange frequencies also will be weak."

ARTICLE: http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/mess...579/128203.html
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What speakers would you suggest Electric? I'm talking more top of the line consumer shit.[/QUOTE]


Click the link above and you'll get your answer. That website seems to prefer Polk. But basically, you should get *full-sized speakers* with a tweeter, mid-range, and bass (triple cones), if you want the best sound. *Avoid the mini-trash*.

You shouldn't even need a subwoofer, if you use quality speakers. Quality satellite speakers will provides tons of bass, all the way down to 50 Hertz.

troy
 
[quote name='electrictroy']Click the link above and you'll get your answer. That website seems to prefer Polk. But basically, you should get *full-sized speakers* with a tweeter, mid-range, and bass (triple cones), if you want the best sound. *Avoid the mini-trash*.

You shouldn't even need a subwoofer, if you use quality speakers. Quality satellite speakers will provides tons of bass, all the way down to 50 Hertz.

troy[/QUOTE]

Well, I respect your opinion but I think you are misrepresenting "small" speakers. We are also talking about the difference between a $3000 home theatre surround sound setup and this surround sound setup for $350. A tenth of the price. That makes a big difference. These speakers are also omnidirectional which makes a big difference in immersion and quality. I would say these are a great value for the money an no one who spends the cash for this setup will be disappointed. These speakers do have a tweeter, by the way.
 
My concern is getting the BEST speakers I can to match with the Onkyo NR-801 receiver I plan to buy. Any 7 speaker sets listed in that link troy and will I have to worry about separation of sound in the small room I plan to put these in?
 
I have the Polk RTI series speakers and they sound great but I remember hearing those small Bose speakers in stores and to me they sounded just as good. To me these omnipolar sound like a great deal for the price.
 
[quote name='electrictroy']CYou shouldn't even need a subwoofer, if you use quality speakers. Quality satellite speakers will provides tons of bass, all the way down to 50 Hertz.

troy[/QUOTE]
> Was that a typo? I can't think of any satellite speakers that can go down to 50Hz without significant dB loss. Tower speakers, yes.
 
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