Corsair SP2200 2.1 Speaker Review

Corsair SP2200 2.1 Speaker Review

Testing and Conclusion

With the ease of connectivity the SP2200 were tested on a variety of sources, from iPods, Consoles and of course a variety of media types on a PC.

Without question the overriding brilliance of the SP2500, the ability to be very loud indeed without distorting the sound, has transferred perfectly to the SP2200. At full volume the sound doesn’t suffer at all. It’s very loud, not “The Who in Concert” loud, but plenty loud enough for even the most cloth-eared of users. The way in which the volume increases without the sound starting to fray around the edges is hugely impressive.

The main problem with the sound quality is the amount of bass. As one would expect from a system with a massive ported sub, and two comparatively small satellite speakers, the bass completely dominates proceedings.

Now their is, as well as the volume, a control to adjust the level of bass. However, this seems to have been designed by the same people whose job it is to make the temperature control on showers. You know how you’ve got about 300° of rotation but the first 140° are ice cold and the last 140° are like lava? So it is with the bass control on the SP2200.

Starting at the bottom end of the scale there is no bass at all. The sound is so thin and weedy that it reminds me most of recordings of World War speeches or similar. At about a third of the way around the bass starts to appear but still in a way more reminiscent of Motown than anything useful. Then as you reach the middle the lower frequencies start to dominate, sucking all the midrange out of the sound, and the further you go around the less and less midrange there seems to be. So to go back to my shower analogy, the useful bit of the bass dial is between about 10 and 11 o’clock. Below that you’ve got nothing, above it way too much.

Obviously when producing a set of speakers that are a quarter of the price of their big brother a lot has had to be sacrificed. There is no remote and the satellites are lacking the extra speaker to help the midrange. The former is a tiny thing but the latter definitely affects the balance of the sound quality.

If you love that mid-scooped sound and place a high emphasis on “bassy and loud”, then the good price and great build quality of the Corsair SP2200 might be just the ticket. If you want a more well-rounded set of speakers that are as at home with a full selection of audio sources, then you might be best served looking elsewhere. Still the impressive undistorted volume, excellent build quality and ease of connectivity at £39 make the Corsair SP2200s worthy of our OC3D Bronze Award.

   

Thanks to Corsair for supplying the SP2200 for review. Discuss in our forums.