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Best 2.1 Combo Handsdown.

W

waterboy787

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 20, 2001
Messages
324
I'm currently looking for a new soundcard and 2.1 speaker system combo...I currently have a TBSC/Altec Lansing 621. Good set - but I'm getting tons of static/hissing of late.

Will I see a great improvement in sound by upgrading to this new combo?

Looking between Audigy 2 or M-Audio.
Speakers wise...
MX5021
Klipsch 2.1
New Logitech or Creative 2.1 systems (not sure what they were called)

I'm open to any other suggestions.

My usage:
40% games, 40% mp3s (listen to rap, alternative, pop) , 20% movies.


Thanks!
 
Since you game, stick with the A2.

As far as speakers, I've never heard the MX5021's, but I hear they are nice. I don't know how they compare to the Klipsch's though:confused:
 
The Altec MX5021 are an excellent set of speakers IMHO. Overall they perform the same if not better than the Klipsch. But, looking at your requirements and the fact that you listen to a mix of Rap and Pop The MX5021 may not be your best choice. They have good clean bass performance just not as powerful as the others your interested in. The Klipsch Promedia 2.1, GMX A-2.1, or the Logitech Z-2200 would probably be your best bet for sheer bass perfomance/sound quality. I havent personally heard the Creative 250D but they are actually Cambridge Soundworks speakers and are probably excellent as well.

From personal experience (subjective of course) the Promedia 2.1 would probably be your best choice, they offer the most well rounded performance and sound for your application IMHO. The GMX are also nice but seem to be a bit "brighter" (almost tinny at times) and seem to lack the midbass "punch" that the Promedias have. The GMX also have a better subwoofer, but a lower overall power rating then the Promedia. Since I have had both I can tell you that there is a difference between the two (besides for the obvious appearance difference). The GMX do seem to have a bit better sub performance. Overall though the Promedias are a step ahead in sound quality. Some people report a bad "hiss" from the GMX. I experienced it as well which is why I returned the set that I had.

You should go to Circuit City and have a listen to the MX5021, GMX, and the Logitech Z-680, they have all 3. Just set the control pod on the 680's to stereo and it should give you a pretty good idea of what the Z-2200's sound like. They both use the same basic components as far as sats and sub go with the power rating being lower on the 2200's. Also, pull the grilles off of the Logitechs this will help a bit with the midrange. Keep in mind while listening that all of the speakers are WAY under signalled. They usually use a portable CD player to power the speakers. The volume and sound of the speakers will be enhanced by about a million times once they are hooked up to your PC.

Before you make a decision, take a trip to your local Best Buy and have a listen to the Promedia 2.1. If the ones on the regular display dont work ask someone there if they have them setup anywhere else in the store. Remember that these will be underpowered as well.

As far as the soundcard goes, unless you really use any type of 3D audio and have a reasonably powerful computer the M-Audio Revolution will really make a big difference in music without noticeably sacrificing gaming performance. Dont get me wrong, any speakers that you choose will sound fine with the A2 but if you want "top notch" audio the Revo is the way to go.

Please keep in mind that all of this info is subjective and that you should actually listen to the speakers to make an educated decision. Hope this helps.

Also, have you tried to diagnose the cause of your scratching/hiss problem? Has the problem always been there or did it just start recently? It may also help if you posted your system specs.
 
System Specs:
Athlon XP 2400+
Cheap ECS mb
1 gig crucial pc2700
Radeon 9800np: 405/310
120 gig 8mb cache IBM hd

Thanks! How much of a performance impact am I looking at for the Revo? Do you guys think I will notice a difference in games/music if I get this new setup? How about the Planar Media 14s?

As for the hissing..I'm not sure. I'm thinking its interference? I know I have my wireless router, dsl modem, and cordless phone around my speakers. I've already updated the TBSC drivers. Any suggestions?

BTW - there are so many types of Audigy 2s....which one would I choose?
 
I'm going to upgrade my audio setup soon and decided on the M-Audio Revolution and Klipsch ProMedia 2.1. I have Klipsch in my home theatre and know the speakers are high quality. As for the sound card, I play alot of games but care more about music quality. Besides with just two speakers you only going to stereo any ways.
 
waterboy787,


Your system is plenty fast enough not to notice any slowdown during gaming.

As far as the Planar Medias, dunno, never heard them.

Have you tried repositioning or removing each wireless component one at a time to see if the hiss stops? If something is really causing bad interference there is no gaurantee that buying a new set of speakers and sound card will correct the problem.

The Audigy selection depends on what you want. Definately get the Audigy 2 ZS (latest hardware). Check out Creatives site to see what different models they have.
 
bump.

new information: I saw the Planar Media 14s for 80 bucks at CC.
Decisions...

Any more input please?
 
Originally posted by alcoa
waterboy787,


Your system is plenty fast enough not to notice any slowdown during gaming.

Click to expand...

When was the last time you used an ECS motherboard? Pieces of crap.

Oh yeah, you guys should ask Irons82 what happened to his Revo.


HAHAHAHAH
 
Originally posted by Duck-BOT
When was the last time you used an ECS motherboard? Pieces of crap.

Oh yeah, you guys should ask Irons82 what happened to his Revo.


HAHAHAHAH
Click to expand...

Wha Happen?

Cheers,

Mr. Pain

-- Dare I ask?
 
Compusa has the EV Sonic 2.1 system, alot of people seem to like it cause it retails for 199.99 and they 49.99 at Compusa, just saw them tonight.
 
Originally posted by Stanley Pain
Wha Happen?

Cheers,

Mr. Pain

-- Dare I ask?
Click to expand...


It broke. hahaha. Sorry I find it so funny, but that is just too much to pass up on laughter, coming from the leader of the Revo Army himself.
 
Check out the Klipsch Promedia 2.1 refurbished system for only 99$. This is a great deal. I have the 4.1 refurbs and they have been running strong.


check it out here Klipsch 2.1
 
Just picked up the EV Sonic XS 2.1s at CompUSA. Spent about thirty minutes doing A/B with an ancient pair of Promedia 2.1s and, if the Promedia 2.1 gets a "ten" rating then the EVs get a solid "8.5". Maybe even a "9" after break-in. We'll see.

I went in with lower expectations, actually, and was pleasantly surprised with the sound. Not bad for half a Franklin, anyway.
 
new information: I saw the Planar Media 14s for 80 bucks at CC.
Click to expand...

That's a good price!
Since you listen to rap, you might consider the Logitechs or the Klipsch refurbs, but the PM4's are very nice.

Since you are going to be using a 2.1 system I see no reason to buy a Creative Labs sound card.

When was the last time you used an ECS motherboard? Pieces of crap.
Click to expand...

When was the last time you used one?
I have one and it's almost exactly as fast as a board from anyone else with the same chipset. It may be a bit less stable, but it's performance is not lacking for what it is.

Recommending an A2 for a 2.1 system that costs ~$100 is absurd overkill for no apparent gain. Buy a fortissimo III or just about any cheap Envy24HT-S card.
 
Originally posted by Hal|9k
Just picked up the EV Sonic XS 2.1s at CompUSA. Spent about thirty minutes doing A/B with an ancient pair of Promedia 2.1s and, if the Promedia 2.1 gets a "ten" rating then the EVs get a solid "8.5". Maybe even a "9" after break-in. We'll see.

I went in with lower expectations, actually, and was pleasantly surprised with the sound. Not bad for half a Franklin, anyway.
Click to expand...

I cant get over the no shielded sub though, you gotta keep it far away from you hehehe.
 
Logitechs new 2.1s, the 2200 should arrive next week. I chose them over refurb Klipsch and might be able to offer some sort of a comparsion next week.
 
Another vote for the Ev SonicXS's, got mine for $50 too. They sound pretty nice, almost as nice as the Klipsch 2.1's.
 
Originally posted by Highlife
I cant get over the no shielded sub though, you gotta keep it far away from you hehehe.
Click to expand...
Definitely. Fortunately for me, my desk allows me to place where it's several feet from anything sensitive.

Remember, the Promedia 2.1 subwoofer isn't shielded, either, so it's not that big of a deal.
 
Originally posted by leukotriene
It is if you use your subwoofer as a monitor stand! ;)
Click to expand...
Heh, and here I was thinking I was just having acid flash-backs... :p
 
Originally posted by Duck-BOT
It broke. hahaha. Sorry I find it so funny, but that is just too much to pass up on laughter, coming from the leader of the Revo Army himself.
Click to expand...

I find this quite funny...specially from such a strong revolution supporter...anyways, how did it break exactly?...did it stop playing sounds, blow up, burn into ashes, make the speakers crackle, or did it just break in half (or into many peices)?
 
Originally posted by leukotriene
That's a good price!
Since you listen to rap, you might consider the Logitechs or the Klipsch refurbs, but the PM4's are very nice.

Since you are going to be using a 2.1 system I see no reason to buy a Creative Labs sound card.



When was the last time you used one?
I have one and it's almost exactly as fast as a board from anyone else with the same chipset. It may be a bit less stable, but it's performance is not lacking for what it is.

Recommending an A2 for a 2.1 system that costs ~$100 is absurd overkill for no apparent gain. Buy a fortissimo III or just about any cheap Envy24HT-S card.
Click to expand...

Quite recently actually leuk, ditched it (came with a XP 2400+ for $39.99 at Fry's) because it kept SUCKING :mad:
 
I went to my cousin's house for a bit and saw that he had some Acoustic Authority 2.1s...They were pretty decent and had good bass...

Anyone ever hear of them?
 
Quite recently actually leuk, ditched it (came with a XP 2400+ for $39.99 at Fry's) because it kept SUCKING
Click to expand...

How was it sucking is the question.
Was it sucking by spontaneously rebooting all the time, or sucking by giving you memory bandwidth or processor benches lower than they should have been?
Every ECS board I've used scored right about where it should have given the chipset and components used, though several of them were so unstable that they should've been RMA'd immediately.

Therefore assuming that using a soft-audio solution (particularly with stereo out, for crying out loud) on an ECS will be worse performance-wise than on a comparable board from another manufacturer is flawed reasoning, and not in line with what I've seen on either the L7S7A2, KT600-A or the K7S5A.
ECS' build quality and QC are definitely lacking, which is why they give them out with Cracker Jacks.
 
Originally posted by leukotriene
How was it sucking is the question.
Was it sucking by spontaneously rebooting all the time, or sucking by giving you memory bandwidth or processor benches lower than they should have been?
Every ECS board I've used scored right about where it should have given the chipset and components used, though several of them were so unstable that they should've been RMA'd immediately.

Therefore assuming that using a soft-audio solution (particularly with stereo out, for crying out loud) on an ECS will be worse performance-wise than on a comparable board from another manufacturer is flawed reasoning, and not in line with what I've seen on either the L7S7A2, KT600-A or the K7S5A.
ECS' build quality and QC are definitely lacking, which is why they give them out with Cracker Jacks.
Click to expand...


1) It wouldn't accept any Audigy2 Platinum I popped in it, rejected the card as a whole and worked perfectly fine in any other system

2) Rejected any ATi video card I popped in there, only nVIDIA

3) Incredibly small, not enough of inputs/expansion, then again, I get what I paid for.

Many more, including it's inability to install windows XP on it (WTF?). I just don't like dealing with ECS.
 
1) It wouldn't accept any Audigy2 Platinum I popped in it, rejected the card as a whole and worked perfectly fine in any other system
2) Rejected any ATi video card I popped in there, only nVIDIA
3) Incredibly small, not enough of inputs/expansion, then again, I get what I paid for.
Many more, including it's inability to install windows XP on it (WTF?). I just don't like dealing with ECS.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you got a real POS model all right, straight from the bottom of a cereal box.
Was the board $35 or was that the board with the processor?

Incidentally, though they are technically different corporations, ECS and PC-Chips (which is, by far, the worst mobo maker in the universe, including ECS and Matsonic) share members of their executive board and produce boards at shared production facilities in China.
 
I feel lucky, then. I'm running, totally by accident, an ECS K7S5A in my primary rig. It's flashed with a custom BIOS and wears a 2400+, 512MB/PC2700, 9500P, TBSC, and intel 10/100 NIC.

Aside from defaulting to a 100MHz FSB every six weeks or so (known issue with the hacked BIOS) it's been rock solid. I bought it because it was $47 shipped to build a secondary box but ended up using my old KT7Ar for the secondary. I don't really regret the decision, either, since it's allowed me to postpone buying a "real" motherboard for over a year! :p

I'm only just now not able to play new games at a reasonable rez with the eye-candy turned up so I'll be demoting this board soon. It's been a well-spent $47, though, truly.

I guess I'm saying, "YMMV." :)
 
I feel lucky, then. I'm running, totally by accident, an ECS K7S5A in my primary rig. It's flashed with a custom BIOS and wears a 2400+, 512MB/PC2700, 9500P, TBSC, and intel 10/100 NIC.
Click to expand...
I think it's a model and luck of the draw thing.

My secondary box now runs an ECS L7S7A2, and it's rock solid as well, provided you dont overclock it. I have it at stock speed with the multiplier dropped and the FSB at 166, and it's stable in everything except for multiple hours of the prime95 torture test.

I'm also running a cheepoman custom BIOS on it, but the two-phase VRM and the board in general really puts a damper on almost any overclock.
The board is basically not a real improvement over the K7S5A because the chipset (746) doesnt officially support 333MHz FSB (you need the 746FX for that), even though ECS claims the board does in every piece of documentation I've seen.

Also, they got rid of the socketed BIOS because the socket was too expensive. Bad flash, and you're completely screwed - the chip is soldered to the board :rolleyes:
So instead you get multiplier adjustment through a jumper bank and some default overvolting options (too little to do anything of course), plus a flash reader.

It's stable though, and performance is right what it should be. So using a soft audio solution will not slow the system down relative to a different system with the same components excepting mobo.
 
Originally posted by leukotriene
It's stable though, and performance is right what it should be. So using a soft audio solution will not slow the system down relative to a different system with the same components excepting mobo.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I have to agree with that when everything's set up properly.

As for these EV Sonic's, I just got them somewhat set up. The left sat is about 6" lower than the right until I can get a shelf added to the right side of my hutch. These suckers are friggin' HUGE! :eek: They won't fit next to my monitor, hence the need for the shelf.

Preliminary listening is pretty positive. With their tone control at approximately 1215hrs, the sub's level control set at 0900, and everything else set "flat" I have to say I like the sound pretty well. It's late so I can't crank anything up, but at low-to-moderate levels the sound is impressively balanced and fairly clear. "Effortless" is a term that comes to mind. Tweeters sound a little bright but, considering the YST-M15's the EV's are replacing didn't HAVE tweeters, this is understandable. :p

Almost have to shed a tear that the Yamahas are being retired, but I think I got my money's worth out of them. $25 in mid-1998 comes to just over a penny a day. :D
 
Originally posted by Highlife
I cant get over the no shielded sub though, you gotta keep it far away from you hehehe.
Click to expand...



You can always remove the driver and wrap the woofer's magnet with aluminum foil. Works like a charm.;)
 
M-Audio Revo 7.1 and Klipsch 2.1 (modified);)) are the only way to go for a 2.1 set-up:D
 
Originally posted by md262626
M-Audio Revo 7.1 and Klipsch 2.1 (modified);)) are the only way to go for a 2.1 set-up:D
Click to expand...
"Only" might be stretching it a bit, eh?

Either way, if these EV's work out like they seem to be so far, I'll have $100 in my PC audio setup (not counting headphones). I can't complain. ;)
 
No I don't think it's stretching it a bit. But then again it's just my opinion.
 
decent soundcard, integrated amp and a pair of studio monitors.

ill soon have audigy2-cyrus1-B&W DM110.

bought the m-audio audiophile but it was absolutely awful with games, so have ordered the a2.
 
Originally posted by md262626
You can always remove the driver and wrap the woofer's magnet with aluminum foil. Works like a charm.;)
Click to expand...

Awesome, that will protect from all interference? Great suggestion.
 
If I remember correctly (and I might not), aluminum foil can attenuate a magnetic field approximately one-half of one percent.

If you really want to do the job you need an alloy foil with high nickel content. It's not cheap, though. I'll see if I can dig up some links, and if anyone has had any experience with this, please chime in!
 
The Planar Media 14s are an awesome speaker setup... I've got them, and I love them. I paid $150 for them quite a while ago, and if you can get them for $80 it's hard to pass up... these speakers just kick ass.
 
Another note on the EV SonicXS:

The sats are very directional. I'd love to see the off-axis response of the tweeters graphed. I'll bet it looks like the Texas Giant! :p

It's obviously going to be very important to position them precisely to get the best sound. They are capable of great sound, though, and at all volume levels. With everything set flat and a good CD in, the soundstage is wider than the speakers, if you know what I mean. After they're broken in a bit, I'll crank them up to threshold-of-pain and see how clear they stay.
 
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