POD 2.3 into headphones sounds great, but...

[DonP]

Going into small speakers not so good.

I love the full tones I get when using headphones. The sound is all around you.

But I kind of hate using headphones. On the road in my apartment I have a laptop with speakers that I play along to. This means I have to have one ear on one ear off the headphones.

My laptop speakers are (1997?) Gateway 2000 Altec Lansings with a tweater and midrange, ported as well. The come with separate bass and treble controls.

So I bought some BOSE PC like speakers from Sam's for $70 thinking I would use these for the POD so that I wouldn't have to use the headphones.

Turns out that small speakers just don't cut it. I don't get that wonderful "drowning in tone" effect that the headphones give. The headphones also have nice punch, but small speakers can't hit as hard.

I A/B'd the BOSE vs. the Gateway speakers, and while they did sound a little better (more "airy"), they aren't $70 better so they are going back.

So, is there any way to get the great POD tones I'm hearing in the headphones without using headphones, or should I just chalk it up as "that's the way it is" for low volume playing?

[markD]

"that's the way it is" - with headphones the sound is IN your head, with speakers it's not. your ears hear each way differently.

[Spivonious]

Well, BOSE typically makes overpriced junk, so that might be part of the problem.

But yes, the only way to replicate headphones with speakers is get a bunch of them and put them all around you.

[Grandturk]

I plug my XT into my laptop via USB cable and that directs any sound from the laptop out to the POD and through the headphones... I forget how the midi ins work on the POD 2 though - upgrade time!

[DonP]

Yeah, I hear ya. The POD 2.0 has the older 5 pin DIN connector for Midi instead of a USB.

[Dogbone]

I've had good luck with my Pod XT, and before that with a Pod 2.0 through these...

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4064450

Line outs from the Pod into a 1/4 stereo adapter that goes down to a 1/8 jack to plug into the speakers.
Mine are the model before this as mine are not THX certified, but they look identical, the sub is the same 8" and the satellites are the same, other than when I bought mine they were 50 bucks They have a good tone, and can get fairly loud before they start to go away, but for just playing at home, without a lot of volume, they're great

[DonP]

I've had good luck with my Pod XT, and before that with a Pod 2.0 through these...

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4064450

Line outs from the Pod into a 1/4 stereo adapter that goes down to a 1/8 jack to plug into the speakers.
Mine are the model before this as mine are not THX certified, but they look identical, the sub is the same 8" and the satellites are the same, other than when I bought mine they were 50 bucks They have a good tone, and can get fairly loud before they start to go away, but for just playing at home, without a lot of volume, they're great

A little more than I was thinking of spending, but maybe the sub-woofer route is the way to go.

How big of a difference did you notice going from POD 2.0 to POD XT? I pretty much just plug in and play (lazy), I haven't tweaked any of the presets on the 2.0 yet. They sound good to me - with the headphones.

[straycat]

When I had a POD I did pretty much what Dogbone did thru my Boston satellite's and sub woofer.Worked OK but not as full sounding as the headphones.Its a trade off at best.My Johnson J station actually worked better hooked up that way than the POD don't know why tho'.

[Grandturk]

How big of a difference did you notice going from POD 2.0 to POD XT? I pretty much just plug in and play (lazy), I haven't tweaked any of the presets on the 2.0 yet. They sound good to me - with the headphones.

Huge difference to me, plus a whole lot more amp models, especially the Metal pack which I use most of the time. I do all custom tones because I like a pretty dry signal and most of the presets they give you have tons of echo and delay on them which I don't really like.

[Dogbone]

When I made the switch, I noticed a big difference as well. The 2.0 wasn't bad, but like has been stated, the XT just had more
The sub really helps in my opinion... I don't think I would have bought the Logitechs either for 120 bucks if you can find the older version, there 50 bucks, not bad for that price. I have another set that I bought for one of my other computers, but it's the 5.1's, no where near as good. The sub is smaller, and you can tell
At room level the sound is really not bad. I do agree though, headphones do sound better, may be something to do with the extra little bit of proccesing the headphones recieve :think: Don't know...

[Spivonious]

I've had good luck with my Pod XT, and before that with a Pod 2.0 through these...

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4064450

Line outs from the Pod into a 1/4 stereo adapter that goes down to a 1/8 jack to plug into the speakers.
Mine are the model before this as mine are not THX certified, but they look identical, the sub is the same 8" and the satellites are the same, other than when I bought mine they were 50 bucks They have a good tone, and can get fairly loud before they start to go away, but for just playing at home, without a lot of volume, they're great

I have the model you linked, and they're a great set of speakers for the computer. Good for music, good for gaming, maybe a bit bassy for the POD. I haven't had one in a while, but I did have those speakers when I had one.