2.1 speakers (maybe 2.0)

M

my-name-here

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
281
looking for a set of good 2.1 speakers 200 and under is my budget.

i was considering swan m10s but the larger speaker is not a woofer and i don't have room on my desk for to put the big one where it's meant to be placed.

aesthetics does play a part in my decision making though i doubt there are many speakers that this would cause a problem for.

sattilites need to be relatively small, i have very limited desk space.

2.1 might not be a deal breaker... i am considering some audioengine a2s
 
The Audioengine A2 are nice, if you don't want anything larger than those then they're probably your best bet. However, if you don't mind larger speakers you can do better than the A2 for less $ or about the same $. Are you gonna be using them for music primarily or gaming? 50/50?
 
generally speaking, for the entry level,

good sound
cheap
small

pick two.

in approx dimensions, how large do you say you could go?
can you fit a subwoofer under the desk?

if you cannot fit a sub under the desk, for $200 its hard to beat the A2s. i personally, am not a fan of powered speakers, but they are fine if you do not plan to upgrade down the line.
 
i have room under the desk, on the topi have room for about 4 inches or so on either side... could probably squeeze 6 but it would be pushing it.
 
Speakers:
Boston A 23 (white only) - On sale for $49 ea, normally $139 ea. Free Shipping

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...shelf/Satellite-Speaker-EA-White/1.html#!more

Amp:
Lepai Tripath TA2020 - $24.48

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=310-300

Subwoofer:
Dayton Audio SUB-800 - $79.99

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-627

If you buy the Amp and Sub together then shipping is free.

Grand Total for Speakers/Amp/Sub = $201.48 Shipped

Wire/Cables: Add another $15-20 if you don't have them already.


Or you could just stick with the A2 idea.


Edit: Added bonus with Speaker/Amp/Sub Setup


With the setup I suggested you could use 2x http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=665&seq=1&format=2 and let your sound card impose a crossover. I know my onboard can do it so I assume most can. You would route one cable from the Green L/R port on the PC to the back of the amp. Then you would route the other from your Center/Sub Port(mine is orange) and plug ONE of the RCA plugs into the R port(which is the LFE port) on the back of the sub. You may need to do a sound test to see which rca cable plug(red or white) is actually carrying the sub signal.
 
Last edited:
Go to Best Buy and get the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system. I have two sets of these are they are freek'in awesome for the price... which last I checked was around $150. I believe you can only get them at Best Buy now.

I'm an audio engineer for a living and have come to love these. They aren't studio monitors by any means, but very good, and relatively small. They are two-way speakers.
 
thanks for the input guys i'm going with this for my first audio setup i've ever done:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VKEFMS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004275EO4/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

i'll probably get some good headphones down the line, right now i'm just using px5's for headphones but i will be using the speakers the majority of the time anyway.

the dac wont ship until mid august so if anyone has some better suggestions in that department, i'm all ears.

also i'm a fan of cool looking cables, not if they cost a ton though. any good rca cables? this is what i'm using for toslink right now:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005H3AGUE/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

was relatively cheap (4 dollars for a 6 foot if i remember right) and i think they look pretty nice. a soft braiding is a really big plus for me.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Looks good. I had a $100-150 budget and got these a while back. I've been pretty happy with them.
 
SithSolo1 said:
Amp:
Lepai Tripath TA2020 - $24.48

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=310-300
Click to expand...
Those amps are absolute crap... I made the mistake of buying one, they come with an inadequate power supply (amp would power cycle at more than 50% if there was a lot of bass) and the caps and other parts literally look like they were pulled from the garbage. I recapped my unit and it sounded a lot better, but it's simply not worth the time/money.

If you want a decent Tripath based amp, you can go with something made by SMSL, they are inexpensive and ship from China but the quality is in a different league from the Lepai. I have one that I use for my small home theater setup and it performs flawlessly. The only downside is you have to find a power supply, I would recommend at least 3A to run things smoothly.

This one is <$40 shipped:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-Hi-qua...7008525?pt=Car_Amplifiers&hash=item27c57cb38d

Also, the Klipsch Promedia system is good for the price, but if you don't care about booming bass you can get speakers for ~$100 that have much more clarity. So combine that with a decent Tripath amp and you're under $200 for a very good quality set.
 
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Unless you need any of the special software features on the Creative DAC, there's one readily available Topping DAC/amp in the same price range at Parts Express. HRT Music Steamer isn't much more expensive and it's said to be one of the better DACs out there, no headphone out or volume control tho. Audioengine's DAC has those things and is also pretty good but it's closer to $150 I think.
 
i looked into both of those, i ruled out the hrt because of those reasons and was interested in the audioengine one (which is 170 atm) but now that i'm spending more on the speakers than i originally wanted to i would like to stay around the 100 dollar area.
 
The ODAC is another great option but it's $150 and might also be back ordered... Did you look into Fiio's lineup?
 
speakers came today! had a fiio d3 laying around so i am using that until the other dac gets here. it's not going to be here until sometime (middle or end of) next month.

9lixia.jpg


my camera has decided to stop reading sd cards so you get crappy cell phone pics!
 
i have only tested with movies so far. next will be music, then games. so far i am impressed by how much of an improvement it is even for movies. so far, really happy with the purchase.
 
Dampening pads or some stands (or a ghetto replacement like a binder) would help angle them towards your ears and away from the desk, Audioengine makes some nice rubbery stands tho they're a little expensive.
 
i considered the stands but i keep my chair pretty low and think it would make the angle worse than what it is now.

i do have a bunch of sound dampening foam left over from my pc build i could put a layer or two in the front for a smaller angle... perhaps i'll try that out
 
Auralex Mopads comes cut into a few different sized wedges exactly for that purpose, if you want another option.
 
yes, I say in my op that i was considering those but i don't have the desk space to put the big speaker where it is meant to be placed. not without setting my monitor on it anyway and that would look silly i think.

i was really liking the m10s and had planned on getting them for some time but i think the a2s was the right way to go.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top