Et Tu, Philips?. Review on Philips LC2.1

There is a common adage that advises us “all that glitters is not gold”. Too bad no-one thought of a similar warning for tech-innocents looking for a decent set of computer speakers. How about “all that is branded is not better”...?

Before we get to my recent experience with the Philips LC2.1 speaker system, let me give you some background.

Around three years ago, I purchased my first 2.1 speaker system (one sub-woofer and two ‘satellite’ speakers). The compact, black set was manufactured by iSound—an offshoot of the popular iBall brand of computer mice—sounded pretty great and was reasonably priced at around 2.5 K. For three years, I blissfully enjoyed a home theatre experience (limited as it was) with my music, movies and Southpark episodes.

Then, two weeks ago, the speakers died.

After the panic attack subsided, I decided I should try repairing it. So I switched the power on and off a few dozen times, then carefully unplugged, plugged and replugged the various power, input and output cables. At the end, I was mystifyingly left with an extra cable, which I decided to ignore. But the speakers stared back in stubborn silence. So I tried cursing them, which soon degenerated into hearty slaps, which in turn almost reached the “kicking in blind rage” level. Then I sat and tried to caress, will and cajole the darned thing back to life. No luck.

I spent a week hunched over my PC with an ancient pair of headphones, looking for a suitable replacement. I haunted review sites (techtree.com is excellent!) and compared prices, performance, size, colour (my PC is black), and family history. Finally, I narrowed it down to a couple of excellent ‘value for money’ systems. All the hard work would soon pay off.

I had forgotten about my Arian impulsiveness and impatience.

The first shop I visited confessed to not stocking the speakers I wanted, before trying to convince me that their particular Chinese/Taiwanese/Vietnamese brand was far superior to any other system in creation. By the fifth shop, I was irritable and prone to say things like “That good, huh? It must hurt you to part with these treasures for mere rupees!”

Then, in the sixth shop, I saw a box with a familiar brand: Philips. I asked for it to be opened and liked the little sub-woofer and the tiny satellite speakers, all in two-tone black and grey. The shopkeeper blasted some Bollywood songs; not really my taste but it sounded good enough. The price at 1.5 K sounded good too for a branded product. So I took it.

At home, the Philips set definitely had a smaller footprint than the older iSound speakers. The wiring is simple and moving the entire set is hassle-free; you can hook it up to your TV or plug in your mp3 player with minimal hassle. So far so good, but now I wanted to listen to some loud music!

Three seconds after the music started, my mood changed; the sub-woofer lacks punch and depth, and the satellites don’t seem as crisp as my ‘previous generation’ iSound. Don’t get me wrong… the Philips is a pretty decent speaker system. Some jiggling around with the bass and your player’s graphic equalizer can help you get the sound you want. But its boring, lacks character, and sounds a little wimpy.

I think this time I just might reach the “kicking in blind rage” level.