Klipsch R-15PM Powered Monitor (Pair)

**UPDATE - 3 years post-purchase - Still very happy with these speakers. Have now run them in two different homes with different electrical, and have never noticed any sort of hum or noise. Primarily using USB input for the most part, but have tested the RCA stereo input & have used BT occasionally. The R-15PMs, and an R-112SW sub, have been plugged into a new gaming desktop/monitor I got in April and frankly this is my favorite setup for gaming & listening to music without headphones. The sub does a nice job of rounding out a bottom end that would otherwise be lacking. Was initially hesitant to get powered speakers based on horror stories about powered speakers' propensity to make noise and distortion when playing loud, but I really didn't have anyplace to locate an amp or receiver. FWIW, I've had these cranked up very loud in a bedroom sized room I used as a dedicated office (2 desks w/chairs, a large rug covering the floor, and some wall art, 8' ceiling) and never noticed any distortion when playing music. Generally speaking, I use them at much lower volume levels but still loud enough that anyone trying to get my attention or speak to me would have to raise their voice or shout to be heard over the music or gaming action. **Original Review - Summer 2021 For the money, I'm really happy with the clarity and power of these speakers paired with a Klipsch R-12SW subwoofer in my home office. I spent much of last year chasing the perfect headphone/amp/DAC setup and ended up with some nice gear. Nonetheless, I really missed having decent speakers in the one room where I'm presently spending 80% of my life. The R-15PMs were ideal because I didn't want to deal with a receiver, and can instead feed them from my PC directly via USB. I purchased these speakers fully planning to connect them with a Klipsch 12" subwoofer that I already owned as I opted to upgrade my home theater to a 15" sub. Given that they're small bookshelf sized speakers, the R-15PMs do not provide a full range sound on their own - no surprise there. But with the subwoofer they sound fantastic to my ears. Bonus: the finish on the R-12SW is the same brushed satin as the R-15PMs. Others have noted that the R-15PM's 24bit/96khz built-in DAC is lacking, but I can't say that I've noticed. Thus far I've been listening to some rock and lots and lots of EDM, including tracks that I've listened to on various headphones many, many times. In a critical listening test, I fully expect headphones to provide flatter frequency response and more detail, but conversely they lack the feeling & impact that loudspeakers provide. And I don't feel like the sound is lacking, at least not with any of the source material played thus far. I should also note that I haven't bothered trying any of the other inputs - using USB from PC exclusively - so I can't comment on how well they work. For $250 I'm super happy with these powered speakers. Oh, two things I want to note: (1) My speakers shipped from Crutchfield, and while they're clearly marked as Klipsch R-15PMs on the back panel, they do not have a power switch as shown in all the R-15PM documentation/literature I've been able to find. The back panel looks like the one from the newer R-51PM. Not sure why as these are not remanufactured and the discounted price vis a vis the R-51PM suggests Klipsch isn't making them any longer. The speakers power off when I hibernate or turn off my PC and the remote has a power switch as well, so this isn't a big deal for me, but may be for someone else. (2) And speaking of the remote, it's not like the one in the photos. The remote is fine, such as it is, except for one glaring omission - there are no controls to advance tracks or go backwards: you can adjust volume up and down, you can trim the subwoofer output, you can reset the subwoofer level, pick other audio sources, mute, and pause/play tracks, but you cannot advance or go back. I find this to be kind of annoying since I have these speakers set up on a desk opposite my work desk, and I had planned to use the remote to skip or replay tracks. My solution was to spend another $18 on Amazon to get a knock-off Klipsch-style remote like the one shown in the photos - it arrives today, and hopefully it works as expected.