GPX HT12B 2.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System

I'm giving this five stars rather than four because I can't think of any good reason to subtract a star. I bought this to plug into an older TV whose speakers were terrible. I ended up buying a replacement TV not too much later because the old TV was just dying. I've now got it plugged into the headphone jack of a new Samsung TV, and it works great. The sound is miles better than what the TV puts out, and because the TV has a true headphone jack and not just a 3.5mm line-out jack, I can control the volume with the TV remote. I have the subwoofer volume on the speakers turned up about 90% and the satellite speakers turned to about 60 - 70%, then control the input volume with the TV. The sound is clear and enjoyable. I have had to turn the subwoofer down a couple of times because in some shows, the bass has become overwhelming and I can't hear dialog for the explosions and bass-heavy background music. I have the subwoofer turned so that the speakers are side-firing, rather than having one face forward and one backward as is shown in the picture. I like that the speakers are nice and compact so that I can put the satellite speakers next to the TV on the TV stand and put the subwoofer on the bottom shelf.The speakers come with an RCA-to-3.5mm jack cable. If you need, you can purchase an RCA-to-RCA cable if your TV or other device has RCA outputs (my new Samsung only came with the headphone jack output and an optical TOSLINK connection), in the past, I've hooked the speakers directly to my DVD player using RCA-to-RCA cables, and that worked fine, too, although the volume had to be controlled directly on the speakers.If you're looking for an inexpensive 2.1 system for your PC or for a TV with a headphone jack, you can't go wrong at this price. BTW, I've seen a review or two that said they'd never heard of GPX, but I remember them as a manufacturer back in the late 70s. I didn't know they were still around!

For the price; this unit just cannot be beat. I couldn't build one that inexpensive, if you gave me the parts. The construction quality is excellent. The sound reproduction is excellent as well. This unit plays very good bass and mid-range frequencies however, there is no high frequency end. It is not a very powerful unit but it is ideal for use with the smaller screen TVs. I used two phono "Y" adapter cords (one for each stereo channel). I connected each common plug to one of each of the DVD player stereo outputs. Then I connected one of each output plugs to the TV stereo inputs and the others to the GPX12B 2.1 stereo speakers inputs. I marked the output plugs with a marking pen, so as not to cross-over the stereo channels. Connecting in this way allows me to control the sound output from the TV and the speaker system, independently of one another. This way you can adjust the high end frequencies (tiny speakers) with your TV volume control and the low-mid-range sounds from the speaker system. It works very well in this way. The only draw back is that this type of connection will only work from the DVD player outputs (while using the DVD player). When the DVD player is not in use, you will only be able to hear the sound from the TV's tiny speakers. Many of the less expensive (smaller screen) TVs do not have any audio output ports for connection to the external speaker system, so connecting the speaker system in the way that I have mentioned here may be your only option. Anyway; it sounds great while watching DVDs. If your TV is on, or up against the wall, try turning the little round speakers facing at 45 degrees outward from the TV toward the back wall. This way the mid-range sounds will reflect off of the wall, there-by improving the stereo effect greatly.

I saw these in Warehouse Deals and picked them up for half price after a (far superior) 15 yr old Harmon Kardon 2.1 system finally quit on a PC that doesn't get much use anyway. These only deserve the praise they get because of the low price. The subwoofer isn't a subwoofer, meaning it doesn't isolate frequencies from 150hz down while blocking the mids and highs. It plays right up through a 1 khz. Don't expect bass. The satellites are tinny compared to systems that cost twice as much. "Ess" sounds can get annoying. They don't do a good job with music despite getting unexpectedly loud. I've had to turn the "bass" way down (even off) to avoid damaging the two drivers on the "sub". They do a good job with television and movie dialogue, but they're not significantly better than most tv speakers. Calling them a little better is more honest than most the reviews I see.So why four stars with all this criticism? Well, they're certainly worth $20 as is. They do in a pinch if you have no sound. They are not "great"; they really aren't "good". I guess they are "okay"; but I really like good audio for my music and this ain't that.So while looking at the electronics on the back I noticed this has a 50 watt amp playing into 6 ohm speakers. Well, that explains them getting nice and loud. Like most 2.1 amps I figure this is 12.5 watts into each satellite and 25 into the "sub". And and and, I just happened to have a couple unused 3" full range 6 ohm Yamaha satellites from a surround system. A little wire snipping and exposing and twisting and disconnecting the tinny 1.5 inchers and connecting to the Yamahas and oh yeah. These are as good as the old Karmon Kardons, and that's pretty derned good. I'm ordering new drivers and a low pass filter for the "sub" so it can actually be a subwoofer. There's just six little screws on the back and this thing gonna thump.