Midiland 8200 5.1 DD System



-Performance



I'll say it now and I'll say it again. Sound is completey subjective. The type of sound people like is completely up to them. You cannot prove to someone that one system sounds better than the other because audio is all personal preference. I'm not here to tell you to buy these, I'm here to give you more info on 'em to give you an idea of what they are to help you decide what is best for you. You don't always get a chance to listen to them in store or at a friends house.

Also, speaker placement has a ton to do with it. In my room right now, I can't effectivly try out these speakers to their full potential because the way my room is shaped and where my computer is right now. I currently have two sats on either side of my monitor, one on top, a sub under my desk and the two rear speakers just out of the way. I did, however, balance the speakers out to get the best audio I could with where the sats are at now. Before I did that, I didn't even notice the two speakers behind me.

Before I jump right into how I think they sound, I should tell you what sound card I have. I have the original SoundBlaster Live! Platinum with the Live! Drive. Without the Live! Drive or some other deivce that offers SPDIF-OUT you won't be able to use these speakers to their full potential. If you connect them analog, then you will only get stereo sound (two speakers + the sub). I just wanted to remind those of this, because if you happen to be one that has the SBLive! Value without the Live! Drive, you're gonna be stuck with nothing more than what you probably are already using, stereo sound. So definitly invest in a nice sound card. A SBLive! Platinum or even better, the Platinum 5.1 so you can hook this system up optically. There may be other solutions out there, and as a matter of fact, I'm sure there are but I haven't researched enough to find out what those are. So, onto my opinion.

  • Games

    First game I tried was DOD, a half-life mod. I made sure EAX was turned on and jumped into a game. Man 'o man was that fun. This is actually the first time I've ever really played with surround sound. I have played it a couple times here and there at my friends house, but never like this! The machine gun would have an awsome thumping sound when shooting it. I could hear grenades and people yelling, "move out!" behind me. It was something I've never really experienced 'till now and I don't think I'll ever look at Half-Life the same way!

    I don't really have any other games that I regularly play that offers EAX, but I tired Quake3. Even though I don't have an A3D compatible soundcard, I can still see how well it performed. So, I went into the game and fired up a deathmatch round in Q3DM17. It was everything I expected. Heart-throbbing rocket-launching and a nice, deep, steady "hmmm" of the rail-gun. The machine gun was also very cool, cause each shot that fired delivered a nice little thump to the bass. It was definitly brought out a new "personality" to my computer. One that says "badazzz!"
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  • Music

    I listen to anything from bagpipe music, to soundtrack scores, to Metallica. I listen to a variety of music and the past month or so since I've had them; I've gotten to listen to all of it. The hard-rock of Metallica and Ozzy all had a nice thump each time the drums chimed in. The sounds in a total was almost orgasmic. To me, it sounded wonderful.

    I also put in Pink Floyds, The Dark Side of the Moon CD and listen to the entire thing. It was the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard . But seriously, it was very sweet sounding. With any MP3 I played or CD I put in, the midrage seemed perfect delivering the right amount of everything and the bass was powerful.

    My only real complaint is that I wish the bass was a little "tighter" and "punchier." My friend has the Klipsch, and although this bass does great with it's single 6.5 driver and 100w; the 160w and duel 6.5 drivers of the Klipsch deliver more to my likeing. The klipsch bass also seemed less "mono-tone."
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  • DVD's

    The first DVD I popped in was "Gone in 60 Seconds." I immediately skipped to the Elenor scene ('67 Shelby GT-500 chase scene). The second Nick Cage started that car, my jaw dropped. I had the volume pumped up to, probably 75% and the rumble of that V8 was amazing. It started rattling the CD's on my desk and my mouse was jumpin' all around the screen. It actually got a annoying so I turned the bass down with the help of the knob on the back of the bass. This is where the speakers really accel. I could hear cars whiz by as you hear it come from the front and fade to the back and visa versa. It was amazing. Simply amazing.

    The second DVD I used was Gladiator. Oh boy. Let me just say I have never had surround sound before, haha. If you go to the scene where Maximus is about to be executed and he asks for a soldiers death. That scene there. A little later when Maximus throws the sword and hits one of the cronies on the horse--let me just say that was the first time I *really* noticed the back two speakers. I could hear the sword come from the back and go to the front to knock the guy off the horse. I just started laughin' to myself; it was just that awsome.

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    6) Conclusion

    1) Home
    2) Specs
    3) Pictures
    4) Performance
    5) Comparison