# Radio Shack's new $15 Presidian Speakers - Brief Reviews and Thoughts



## SoundGoon

So, after my responding to a post, my interest was perked a bit.... Has anyone had any listening experiences with these Presidian Speakers that Radio Shack is selling for $15 a pair? How do they sound? Who is "Presidian?" Anything would be helpful, but especially if you have heard these. Here is a link to the page for them: RadioShack.com - Home Entertainment: Speakers: Presidian 2-Way Book Shelf Speaker


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## h4n9m4n

I don't think its $15 a pair... thats just the picture. Notice speaker is not plural.


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## IPodPJ

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *h4n9m4n* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I don't think its $15 a pair... thats just the picture. Notice speaker is not plural._

 

It is for 2. Lower on the page it says this:

*WHAT'S IN THE BOX:
 Presidian 2 Way Book Shelf Speaker (2)
 Owner's Manual (1)*


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## TheMarchingMule

Yup, you get two of dem speaker thingies for the price of 15 bucks.


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## IPodPJ

But be careful buying from Radio Shack. You have to make sure you read through all of those pages where it says Features and Tech Specs. Some are only one speaker for the price and some are two.


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## SoundGoon

It is indeed for the pair


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## infinitesymphony

Could've sworn I just commented on this thread, but it was a thread with an identical title in the Member's Lounge, posted four minutes after this one...

 Ya gotta give people in the proper forum time to respond.


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## SoundGoon

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *infinitesymphony* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Could've sworn I just commented on this thread, but it was a thread with an identical title in the Member's Lounge, posted four minutes after this one...

 Ya gotta give people in the proper forum time to respond. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Oh no, I know. I didn't do it so that no one had a chance to respond, I just figured that I would reach more people this way


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## SoundGoon

So, earlier this evening I was out and about and figured I'd atop at the 'Shack to see if they had any of these babies. You can't get them online, only in the store, so I'm guessing that there is a clearance? I don't know - it doesn't say "clearance" online, so maybe it is only something that they are offering in the store for now. Anyways, I digress 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Long story short, I picked them up. Came to a whopping $16 and change after tax. Later on in the evening (or morning if you would rather
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




) I took them out and gave them a once over before hooking them up. Decent weight, failry decent build, too. Push-pin hook ups (which I am not a big fan of, but I was expecting that for $16 and change), port on the backside, and grills that were kind of nice as well. These look nice with the grills on or off, although at least for now I like how they look off. Over all, fairly nice and a good impression thus far.

 I hooked them up to my Kenwood Sovereign receiver with some 16 gauge speaker cable (which, surprisingly, is what the manual (yes, even more surprisingly they came with a manual) recommends) and slowly turned up the music a bit. At very first, the tuner was on and they really didn't sound too terrible all things considered - right out of the box on a station. Then, after letting them "warm up" for a few minutes, I switched to some CD's that I know very well. 
 I started with a Wind Ensemble recording that I was very familiar with and knew how it did sound and how it should sound. Mind you, it was close to 3 in the morning, so they were not loud at all, just enough to get them going a bit. This recording was done in a studio that picks up every little detail, both good and bad, and the depth and sensitivity and clarity of the ensemble was captured beautifully in this recording. There is also a generous but pleasant reverb in this recording. The Presidians are set up about 3ft off the ground and about 5ft apart, and they sounded just beautiful. 
 I was expecting something with (hopefully) decent highs but very tinny, especially at the volumes that I was playing them at. However, they gave me no such thing. There was an appropriate depth and roundness to the bass instruments without them being bloated, and an attention to detail that really surprised me. I was also VERY surprised at the middle voices and soundstage that these speakers presented. Being 2-ways, I wasn't expecting much for the middle end of things at all, especially considering price, but they were indeed there and realistically so. The highs did seem a bit exaggerated, but not so much that it took over and unbalanced the speaker. The bass very full all things considered (the fact that they were not driven very loudly at all), and gave an decent representation of what these instruments should sound like. I also listened to a few piano/choral pieces that I engineered the recordings for, so I know how they ought to sound too. I was very impressed again by the soundstage, especially with the choirs - I could hear those right in front of me, a little further behind, and off to the sides pretty well, which was amazing I thought. Also, the piano sounded incredible - VERY realistic and deep and well balanced throughout its spectrum. 
 That's all that I will say for right now until I get a chance to listen to them tomorrow/later on today with a bit more juice. 
 So far, quite good...


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## infinitesymphony

Wow... If that's how $15/pair speakers sound to you, I can't wait to read your impressions when you upgrade.


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## SoundGoon

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *infinitesymphony* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Wow... If that's how $15/pair speakers sound to you, I can't wait to read your impressions when you upgrade. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Hey hey hey, easy now. I know what good sound is and isn't thank you. And anyways, it's what sounds good to me, right? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 And these will definitely sound best with a sub woofer I'm guessing


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## SoundGoon

So, after some listening and such, I have come tom some conclusions about these little guys. First off, if you are going to use them for home theatre, you need a subwoofer (duh). Secondly, they seem to sound best with orchestral and acoustical music, with pop and vocal a close second and third, respectively. One thing that I can't get over about these speakers is the imaging - it is truly amazing for $16 speakers. With orchestral recordings, the orchestra sounds as though it were set up in front of me and I am in the middle of the hall. These do not sound confined or tight at all, which really surprised me considering their price point. They are quite open and easy to listen to, and are fairly accurate to the recordings that I used. I also used a pop album (Black Eyed Peas if you must know) and was rather impressed with their performance with this genre as well. There was not the kick that I am used to, however, it did produce the lower octaves enough so that you knew that they were there - it was not as though notes were missing, it's just that these don't have the thump that bigger speakers (or more expensive speakers) or a subwoofer would have. 
 I could picture using these quite successfully for a surround sound system, as they sound crisp and clear, but also balanced. A well matched sub could make these deceptively good. A possible sleeper here... Hope this helps anyone looking into these speakers - they are indeed worth the $15 or $16 in my humble opinion.


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## infinitesymphony

Could you compare the Presidians with other speakers you've heard? Just curious to hear some impressions...


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## SoundGoon

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *infinitesymphony* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Could you compare the Presidians with other speakers you've heard? Just curious to hear some impressions..._

 

Sure. Let me think - my MAIN music speakers are Watkins Sound Concept Acoustic Suspension 3-way speakers. Very detailed and fun to listen to. They has an accurate sound, but add a bit of thump in the lower end. When I listen to a pipe organ on these, it sounds like a pipe organ. The mid ranges on these speakers are in their own enclosure, separate from the tweeter and woofer, which helps to give the mids a bit more presence - not artificially so, but enough so that they don't sound muddy and are balanced with the rest of the sound signature. 
 These are not studio monitors by any means (I have heard several studio monitors as well, I just can't think of the brands, sorry) , however, for the price, I would dare say you would be hard pressed to find a pair that sounds this good.
 Most of the music that I listen to is acoustical - choral, instrumental, orchestral - and these speakers do a decent job of reproducing the things that I listen to fairly accurately. I know that they are not $1000 speakers, and I doubt that they are built to compare with speakers in that price point. But with some other speakers that I have heard (Bose, BA (Boston Acoustics) and Sony to name some of the generic few), I would buy these before any of them.


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## SoundGoon

So after some more listening, I would have to say that these are at their best with Acoustical music. Like I said earlier, with a well matched sub, they could be great with pop and probably pretty decent with rock as well, but as decent as they sound with vocal, for some reason, the recordings sound a little too warm and muddy. I think that part of it may be the recordings, as they were done by a company that I was never overly impressed with (at least not with their job of mastering). I'm thinking about taking a look inside and see how these look bracing wise and if there's any fiberfill. We'll see...


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## JadeEast

A great way to make cheap speakers sound a bit better can be to liberally dampen the inside of the cabinets with plasticine. You can also try to get a small brace in their as well. a small circle of felt around the tweeter can help with imaging/soundstage. Cheap mods & they won't cost more than lunch. Gotta love that R-shack outsourcing.


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## Spare Tire

Argn, and i just shelled out 250CADs for a pair of speakers.


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## Acoustic Chef

Aww man those look sweet!!


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## SoundGoon

So I opened these up (will post pics if I can remember how to use photobucket and what my password and username are), and found about what I though I would - in line crossover, no stuffing. I'm not too bothered by the in line crossover considering the sound, but I wanted to try some stuffing to see how it changed the sound, either for the better or worse. I put it in one to start with to have some A/B comparison, and came to the conclusion that it does clean up the bass a little bit while at the same time bringing out the midrange, however, I believe that I put too much in the one that I put the stuffing in, so tomorrow I will experiment will the amount that will work best. 
 The one that has it has lost some of it's upper frequency sound that I initially enjoyed when I first heard these, and at first it didn't bother me, I thought that it might be better for the overall blend of the sounds, but after further listening I feel that it took too much away from the upper sounds and details in general. So we'll see how things go tomorrow. Pictures perhaps to follow


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## tusk

Would you mind comparing these to computer speakers? Maybe even the Logitech z4s if you can?


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## oicdn

I'm going to Radio shack tomorrow to pick these up....I can fill everybody in with how these sound compared to some Advent small speakers (the infamous Advent "the smaller loudspeaker")...


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## classicalguy

We have two threads going at once on these.

You say you want inexpensive speakers? How about $15.00/pair? - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

 They are certainly not world beaters, but they are ok if you're on a very tight budget. $15 is hard to beat. In fact, it's hard to imagine that a company could make and ship this speaker to the us for $15.


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## oicdn

^^ Just goes to show the horrible amount of mark-up in the audio industry...


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## SoundGoon

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *oicdn* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'm going to Radio shack tomorrow to pick these up....I can fill everybody in with how these sound compared to some Advent small speakers (the infamous Advent "the smaller loudspeaker")..._

 

Your Advents are probably gonna kick the pants off these (if they have the sound that I know Advent for having).


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## SoundGoon

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *tusk* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Would you mind comparing these to computer speakers? Maybe even the Logitech z4s if you can?_

 

I've never heard the Z4's personally, but if you would like to loan me some to do a comparison with, sure.


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## SoundGoon

And now, for some visual aid:





































 My apologies for some of these being a little blurry, the lighting wasn't all that great and neither am I with the manual mode


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## tusk

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *SoundGoon* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I've never heard the Z4's personally, but if you would like to loan me some to do a comparison with, sure._

 

I think you are a little bit far for that. Thanks though. Do you have any computer speakers you could compare with?


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## SoundGoon

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *tusk* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I think you are a little bit far for that. Thanks though. Do you have any computer speakers you could compare with?_

 

lo, It's ok, I was just being silly. I have a good pair of Altec Lansing ("AL"'s from here on) computer speakers (2.1) that I have got about 6 years ago for college. They are great little speakers, and were around $30 when I got them and I like them over most others that I have listened to today in that price range (AL included). They are clear and have decent amount of depth to them without being too muddy. They are what I would call fun speakers - not overly accurate really, and certainly not to the point of making music sterile, but enjoyable to listen to music as well as watch movies from your computer on. I didn't really care for them for classical music (which is what I listen to mostly), a bit too boomy, but for everything else they were grand. 
 The Presidian's have a decent amount of punch in comparison, and definitely have cleaner lows and highs. The highs are not overly shrill on the Presidian's, but they are present. The bass on the Presidian's is not too punchy either, but there is some kick when it is called for. I am experimenting with some acoustic filling in them, and it seems to clean up the bass a bit (which I did not think was too bad in the first place) and bring out the mids too. I'm still trying to find the right amount of fill, but slowly but surely am getting there. Hope this helps some, and good listening!


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## kelim

Reminds me of my old Paradigm Atoms.


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## Austin 3:16

Try Dynamatting the mid/woofer basket. It will do wonders for the mids/lows. Also try some in the enclosure.


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## SoundGoon

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Austin 3:16* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Try Dynamatting the mid/woofer basket. It will do wonders for the mids/lows. Also try some in the enclosure._

 

Never had any experience with Dynamat, but it looks like interesting stuff. I just put some acoustic filler in the bottom of both, and I'll give a listen tomorrow to see how it does. It's a lot less than was originally in the one, A LOT less, but the lesser amount seemed to bring the mid frequencies out a bit and clean the lower frequencies up a bit, so we'll see how it does. I'll post some photos in a few minutes.


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## SoundGoon

So, "a few minutes" later, some pics of some stuffing:

 Left:






 Right:


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## Acoustic Chef

Wow.. I never would have guessed this day would have come...


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## JadeEast

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Acoustic Chef* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Wow.. I never would have guessed this day would have come... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Tuesday?


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## SoundGoon

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *oicdn* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'm going to Radio shack tomorrow to pick these up....I can fill everybody in with how these sound compared to some Advent small speakers (the infamous Advent "the smaller loudspeaker")..._

 

Did you end up getting these?


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## SoundGoon

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Acoustic Chef* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Wow.. I never would have guessed this day would have come... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

?


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## plaidplatypus

The highs don't extend up like the K501's but considering what most people will be hooking them up to that's probably a very good thing. They seem to be not as long as most bookshelf speakers I've owned, in fact about half as long. I think these would be a good choice for garage or porch speakers but I don't like them in the nearfield.


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## SoundGoon

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Acoustic Chef* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Wow.. I never would have guessed this day would have come... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

I still don't know what was meant by this, but I like the response of "_Tuesday?_"


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## infinitesymphony

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *SoundGoon* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I still don't know what was meant by this, but I like the response of "Tuesday?" 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

I think he meant that he couldn't believe people were raving about a $15 pair of speakers. Even the cheapest semi-decent headphones aren't that cheap.


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## Dept_of_Alchemy

Reminds me of those $30 Besy Buy speakers we talked about a few months back.


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## TheBends

The best buy insignias stomp all over these presidians in every aspect except for size and (arguably) price to performance ratio, if that's even a factor in the grand scheme of things. That being said, for $15, i couldn't complain, there are plenty of "bookshelf stereo systems" with MEGA GROOVE BASS enhancement that i'm sure these are better than, and with the added bonus of not getting a headache from all the chrome and blue LEDs. That being, said, i'm sure some cabinet stiffening, additional bracing, and some damping material would do these some good, but i'd still have to place my vote with the insignias (if we're talking about budget decent-fi/way too good for the money-fi).

 A nice, and cheaper alternative to dynamat is Peel N Seel rubberized asphalt with adhesive and foil backing, it's available in rolls at Lowe's and costs about $13 for enough to build up several layers inside of both of those cabinets and it would do wonders to increase damping in the cabinet and isolate the sound. But is it really worth spending the cost of the speakers? i'm not so sure...


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## SoundGoon

I'm not so sure either. I wouldn't spend more than or even what these are worth to try and improve them. They are certainly not the best speakers that I have ever heard, not by a long shot. I just thought that for $15, they were surprisingly decent. Not monster killers or anything, just decent.


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## Inkmo

these look pretty interesting. I wonder how they'd sound next to my Genesis speakers?

 what I really think I'm gonna do is get them to replace the left and rights for the surround sound system downstairs. and then move the current left/rights to satellite duty (we had a satellite crap out and have been too lazy to do anything about it)


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## wedweb

Like someone said, good garage, patio or surround speakers. For those "outdoor" locations:
RadioShack.com - Home Entertainment: Speakers: Presidian Indoor/Outdoor Speaker (Pair)

 Bo


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## Harvey/ Ga

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *SoundGoon* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_So, after my responding to a post, my interest was perked a bit.... Has anyone had any listening experiences with these Presidian Speakers that Radio Shack is selling for $15 a pair? How do they sound? Who is "Presidian?" Anything would be helpful, but especially if you have heard these. Here is a link to the page for them: RadioShack.com - Home Entertainment: Speakers: Presidian 2-Way Book Shelf Speaker_

 

Hmmm...every link that I've tried doesn't show them. Does RS still sell them??


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## infinitesymphony

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Harvey/ Ga* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Hmmm...every link that I've tried doesn't show them. Does RS still sell them??_

 

If they do, they don't sell them online. Give your local Radio Shack a call and ask about 'em.


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## RokabillySwagger

I have the Presidians and they make a great alternative to PC speaker sets at big box stores. I have an Aiwa Reciever i paid 5 bucks for at a yard sale, the presidians, and some rat shack speaker wire hooked up to my laptop and they sound much better than most computer speakers i've heard and it cost me 30bucks. They are not perfect but way better than they should be at 15 dollars.


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