do i "NEED" a receiver for a good 2.1?

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bluefire7

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 29, 2004
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i'm currently considering the purchase of 2 polk monitor 40's to replace my current outdated computer speakers. right now i have 2 vintage advents (literally falling apart) connected to a cambridge soundworks subwoofer (cheap one that came with 2 sats), and i am thinking of changing the sub as well..

what i wanna know is, can i get a powered sub that can handle the 2 polks? their efficiency is rated at 89%. if so, any suggestions for a good tight and low subwoofer predominately for music under $200?

if i HAVE to get a receiver (and i hope i don't), any suggestions for that?


thanks!!
 
You could use a sonic impact T-Amp instead of a stereo receiver, but a stereo receiver has many advantages over a simple amp.

A good sub on the cheap for music would be the Dayton 10" 100w subwoofer. Ideally, for music, you'd want a sealed subwoofer, but in your price range, there isnt much worth looking at for sealed subs.

What you'll need to do is pass the speakers through the sub with the level inputs, and output the sub to the T-Amp or stereo receiver via the spring terminals.
 
lol....

good? hehehe. different people have different definition of good. to some people good might be the stock ipod ear buds for others, it might be a pair of $1k headphones and a super duper $$$ amp.

so to answer your question: no you do not need a receiver for "good" 2.1. you can use a pair of crappy labtec etc $10 speakers and it might be "good" enough for your ears
 
Threads like this remind me how lucky I was to get an M&K VX-4 12' sub at goodwill for $40....

You need to pick up an amplifier or reciever, because it will give you the best sound quality. Subs can wait a little bit. If you are lucky you can find a vintage reciever at a pawn shop or goodwill. It is worth it to get a reciever, because you can then find a sub and just pre-out it, giving you much higher quality sound.
 
I think even a relatively mediocre receiver and speakers would be better than most pc speakers. When I was much younger I used to have some really cheap philiips speakers hooked up to a cheap sanyo or something or other stereo receiver from the 80's I got from goodwill to play LP's and it sounded better to me than my much more expencive bose sattilite pc speakers + sub.
 
yea, i've always hated the way computer sat's sounded.. even from so-called "high-end" ones like the logitech 5500. to me, they sound built for games rather than music quality..

so what's the cheapest decent receiver to get if i decide to go that route? sub recommendations also welcome :cool:
 
I second so_cal's recommendation. The Dayton 10" subwoofer is a great bang/buck buy (no pun intended). PartsExpress has free shipping for the sub every now and then and other times, they lower the price to $100.

As for a receiver, you can go refurbished from shoponkyo.com.
 
I don't think you are going to find a subwoofer that also powers your sat. speakers. (at least I have never seen any). So in your case you would need an amp or receiver. Have you listened to the Klipsch Promedia 2.1's? For the money - It's really hard to beat the quality of sound. THX certified, and always receives excellent reviews. I normally use a good pair of Sony studio headphones for gaming but music sounds fantastic on the Klipsch speakers. You might have a Klipsch dealer in town that sells them so you could sample them (or probably at Bestbuy).

http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=103

A lot less hassle than dealing with extra amps, etc.



bluefire7 said:
i'm currently considering the purchase of 2 polk monitor 40's to replace my current outdated computer speakers. right now i have 2 vintage advents (literally falling apart) connected to a cambridge soundworks subwoofer (cheap one that came with 2 sats), and i am thinking of changing the sub as well..

what i wanna know is, can i get a powered sub that can handle the 2 polks? their efficiency is rated at 89%. if so, any suggestions for a good tight and low subwoofer predominately for music under $200?

if i HAVE to get a receiver (and i hope i don't), any suggestions for that?


thanks!!
Click to expand...
 
How about this?

Swan M200 computer media speakers
Dayton 10

That would sound wonderful and give you the "hometheater" quality sound that you desire.
 
seanmcd said:
I don't think you are going to find a subwoofer that also powers your sat. speakers. (at least I have never seen any). So in your case you would need an amp or receiver. Have you listened to the Klipsch Promedia 2.1's? For the money - It's really hard to beat the quality of sound. THX certified, and always receives excellent reviews. I normally use a good pair of Sony studio headphones for gaming but music sounds fantastic on the Klipsch speakers. You might have a Klipsch dealer in town that sells them so you could sample them (or probably at Bestbuy).

http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=103

A lot less hassle than dealing with extra amps, etc.
Click to expand...
There you go. That was my suggestion too.
 
i've never heard the promedias before, but other speakers i've heard from klipsch are really good.. i guess i'll go over to bestbuy and check em out. but i really had my heart set on some nice bookshelf speakers.. =P
 
The promedia's are nice, especially since they are only about $129 iirc.
 
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