2.0 speakers to suit my friends needs(need some recommendations)

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Ruckus

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My friend has me hooking her Dell Optiplex 755 up to her 42" LG TV :p She is having comcast internet installed Wednesday and plans on using netflix and a blu-ray combo because she dont really watch "tv" just movies. well she is going to need a decent pair of speakers but her desktop only supports 2 channel sound(ADI 1984 High Definition Audio). So im trying to figure out what speakers to tell her to get. she will be watching movies and listening to youtube and stuff like that so it needs to be loud and not sound like ass, but she isnt going to spend $300 for speakers on a $300 computer so price is a consideration too. anyone got some input on which way to go? brands, wattage for a living room, any help appreciated.
 
its a small apartment so probably 10 x 15 room with the couch being about 8 feet from the tv. trying to stay under $100 i would say. I guess 2.1 will work too since they use a single input right?
 
Have you looked at cheap soundbars?

In this case a soundbar might be alright since its movies over regular TV/music.

Ask her if she wants to work her way up to surround.
 
nah she aint gonna do surround. she just likes the idea of netflix through the pc to her tv, and upgrading the sound on the dell is a waste of money imho for what she is doing. most of the movies she watches are old crap anyways LOL. I dont even know why she wants a blu ray in her computer. got any recommendations? specific models?


I really dont know much about this stuff because I use studio monitors myself because I run a mixer into my computer for recording my band,
 
thank you sir. the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 kinda caught my eye previously I just never heard em.
 
Fenris_Ulf said:
Under $100? Try a used 2 channel reciever and floorstanders, or some bigger bookshelf speakers. Another decent consideration is the
If you can get a good used reciever, the Dayton BR-1s might be a good choice:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-642
Otherwise, the DTA-1 amp and speaker combo would be a great value:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-650
Click to expand...

you think that 2nd one is loud enough for a living room? amp is 10 watts per channel @ 4ohm but being that the speakers are 8ohm its gonna be about 4-6 watts per channel. doesnt seem like that would fill a 10 x 15 room does it?
 
Look at the sensitivity of each speaker. 87dB @ 1 watt. That's roughly equivalent to the volume of a lawnmower. Two speakers will be 93 dB (3 db increase for double the radiating area, 3db for double the power). Two lawnmowers in a living room isn't subtle. I use a nearly identical amp (the 41Hz Amp3) and relatively inefficient 3" TangBand full range drivers and I never turn it above about the 8 or 9 o'clock position. 10x15' is a small room, about bedroom sized, so it's actually easy to fill. And PE is a great company, they wouldn't bundle them together unless they matched up well.
 
Your budget is pretty low, limiting your options, but if you want a brutally honest review of these speakers, here's a link. Be warned that he is a very scientific audiophile and speaker designer (his speakers go for about 10-40 times the amount of the Daytons) with high standards:

http://www.zaphaudio.com/Dayton-B652.html

QUOTE:

The bottom line
I can hardly believe I just tested a pair of speakers that cost $25 a pair. That's a new low. I guess I can say that if they even make sound at all, they are a great value. For some customers, that is really all they need. However, I find it hard to put my stamp of approval on these speakers. Guys like me are obviously a bit more discerning about sound quality. Some people are looking for a diamond in the rough, and this system is not it.

For home theater, this system will be an improvement over a TV's built in speaker. Again, that's all some customers will need. Maybe add a subwoofer and cross higher to remove some of the problem boom.

I'm not sure if the crossover I posted is even worth while. Even upgraded and improved, this is not a system I would want to own for any amount of time. The upgrade simply makes the system more bearable for a longer time before I feel the need to turn the music off and go outside for a bike ride or something. It could be a fun project, but the typical buyer of this system is a cheapskate who is unlikely to spend any extra money on anything - including crossover parts.

Don't take any of this review and commentary as overly bad. This is a $25/pair system and everyone should set their expectations accordingly. It's certainly not bad for what it costs.
 
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