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Looking for new Speakers

L

Luthair

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 7, 2003
Messages
117
I wanna get new speakers (cause my crappy 640's sound sorta bad). Granted, I dont want to spend tons of money on a system, but I want to get something with a really clean and sharp sound. I used to have a pair of Monsoons (they were the 505 series, 500 series modded) but they died. Any Suggestions?
 
Give us a pricerange and are you looking into getting a 2 speaker +bass or a 5.1 system, 7.1 etc. Give us an idea of what you want and we will go from there.
 
The pricerange is 250 (U.S dollors) and Doesnt really matter if its 2.1 or 5.1. But I perfer to not go under 2.1
 
Luthair said:
The pricerange is 250 (U.S dollors) and Doesnt really matter if its 2.1 or 5.1. But I perfer to not go under 2.1
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Why are you dead-set on having a subwoofer in that system?
 
Why not stick with Logitech, since they are so grand, and go from your decent Z-640's to the AMAZING JUMP of the Z-680's... You'll be amazed as to how much better they are. ;) And if you don't feel like spending that much cash, get the Z-5300e's.... or maybe the more expensive Z-5500's which look magnificant! :) Logitech is my future... heh... I've got a logi keyboard, logi speakers, logi mouse, logi wireless gamepad... :eek:
 
Luthair said:
Isnt having a subwoofer better than not having one? :confused:
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The really high end 2.0 systems field all the bass with their uber sub-woofer drivers on the bookshelfs, so its as good as having a subwoofer. I still like the room shaking effects a subwoofer provides though.
 
I guess there's proof for the 2.0's :)

Do you actually have a pair Xonik? Is there lots of Bass or not?

too bad they're so expensive. There are no good 2.0's in the 60-110 range, just 2.1's and up. And personally, the bose mediamates don't count.

Although I suppose you could get some cheap bookshelf speakers, but then a reciever will cost $$$...
 
The selection is pretty wide and it really comes down to personal preference. A 2.1 and a 5.1 system are (obviously) quite alot different so it really depends what your main usage is (so for example movies and gaming etc = 5.1 or just music = 2.1 system). Personally I would consider either Klipsch or Logitech. I would like to say Creative (since I owned the Megaworks 550 THX myself) however the Gigaworks range is slightly outside your budget.

For a 5.1 system I believe Logitech provides the best option. The 5300 / 5300e THX sets (280 watts) are pretty decent and will most likely satisfy most regular PC uses. The 5500's (mentioned several times) can be purchased for a little more, but are a reasonable step up from the 5300's (bigger subwoofer, additional connectivity and nearly double the power output). The Klipsch 5.1 Ultras are the main rivals of the Z-5500's, but are slightly outside your price range.

For a 2.1 system, I would recommend either the Logitech Z-2300 THX or the Klipsch Promedia THX. Both sets have 200 Watts however a larger subwoofer is incorporated for the Logitech's but 2 way satelite design would produce slightly better quality for the Klipsch set. If I had to pick one, I would probabaly opt for the Logitech's since its cheaper.

I would have liked to comment on a 2.0 set, however I haven't had much experience with them, so I guess the others will have to help with you with that.

Well, I've rambled on too long. The choice is yours! But if I would be happy to have any of the above sets :)
 
GTPoompt said:
I guess there's proof for the 2.0's :)

Do you actually have a pair Xonik? Is there lots of Bass or not?

too bad they're so expensive. There are no good 2.0's in the 60-110 range, just 2.1's and up. And personally, the bose mediamates don't count.

Although I suppose you could get some cheap bookshelf speakers, but then a reciever will cost $$$...
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I don't have a pair, but I was lucky to listen to a pair that my friend has. There's not a lot of bass--as would be expected--but what it has is tight and punchy, not boomy.

Expensive? It's up to you. Really, they are just some nice bookshelf speakers with internal amplifiers all ready to go.
 
I just broke down and bought the Logitech 5500's :-p I was looking at the Klipsch, and the logitech ones seemed to have more features and the Klipsch didnt warrant the extra 80 bucks or so :-p. Im sure both are great systems ^_^
 
Luthair said:
I just broke down and bought the Logitech 5500's :-p I was looking at the Klipsch, and the logitech ones seemed to have more features and the Klipsch didnt warrant the extra 80 bucks or so :-p. Im sure both are great systems ^_^
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Trust me, I'm pretty sure you WILL be happy with your purchase. The Klipsch Ultra's are no doubt an impressive set however as you figured out for yourself they lack the Z-5500 features and are more expensive. Good purchase, let us know how it goes :)
 
LOL! i did the exact same thing. had the z640, had them for quite a while, the rear right speaker broke so decided to get another decent speaker system. at first i said no more than $150, then.. no more than $200.. then oh well screw it, ill get the z5500. orderd them from dell for $273 shipped. best price i could find. ordered them the 14th, still havnt arived.. =/ they sent it to the wrong place at first, had to call them to get another sent. 3-5 day process and they gave me free next day shipping. so hopfuly it will be here by friday. along with my new comp from chiefvalue
 
Luthair said:
I just broke down and bought the Logitech 5500's :-p I was looking at the Klipsch, and the logitech ones seemed to have more features and the Klipsch didnt warrant the extra 80 bucks or so :-p. Im sure both are great systems ^_^
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Oh no, say it ain't so, another goes down the road to poor audio quality :(

Luthair said:
Isnt having a subwoofer better than not having one? :confused:
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Not when you can get a 2.0 system for the same price with much more accurate sound than most budget 2.1 systems. Think about it, for the same price point, you're getting a whole extra speaker, usually subs go for about $500 and up for anything even half way decent. If you want to get two good speakers you could do that for about $250 and add a sub later on if you even need it. Near field monitors, which what computer speakers are, don't need to provide a whole room with bass, just the desk you sit at.
 
Luthair said:
I just broke down and bought the Logitech 5500's :-p I was looking at the Klipsch, and the logitech ones seemed to have more features and the Klipsch didnt warrant the extra 80 bucks or so :-p. Im sure both are great systems ^_^
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you'll most likley love the Z-5500's
 
Oh no, say it ain't so, another goes down the road to poor audio quality
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Lol, talk about Logitech H8R. Why would you consider Logitech (or more specifically the Z-5500's) as the "road to poor audio quality"? Owning a few Logitech (Z-560, Z-680) sets and also hearing Klipsch sets, both systems are good in their own ways but I would never consider Logitech speakers to be of "poor quality". Think your comment was a little out-of-line and maybe a little exaggerated.
 
Nizmatik said:
Lol, talk about Logitech H8R. Why would you consider Logitech (or more specifically the Z-5500's) as the "road to poor audio quality"? Owning a few Logitech (Z-560, Z-680) sets and also hearing Klipsch sets, both systems are good in their own ways but I would never consider Logitech speakers to be of "poor quality". Think your comment was a little out-of-line and maybe a little exaggerated.
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Ever hear of cost/value ratio? There are plenty of reviews on them and quite a few agree with my assessment of there being much better out there for the money. I don't work for a rival company so what would cause me to dislike a particular set of speakers and like another?
 
BossNoodleKaboodle said:
Ever hear of cost/value ratio? There are plenty of reviews on them and quite a few agree with my assessment of there being much better out there for the money. I don't work for a rival company so what would cause me to dislike a particular set of speakers and like another?
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Firstly, yes I have heard and understand the concept of the cost/value ratio however I'm a little unsure why this 'all of a sudden' has become the main topic of your opinion. You stated in your first posting "road to poor audio quality" and now your implying the cost/value ratio, where did that come from? I was only questioning why you considered the Logitech's to be of "poor audio quality" which you still have yet to answer actually.

In terms of cost/value wise I would say the Logitech Z-5500 are of reasonable value. The Z-5500's include several features which other multimedia speaker manufacturers lack. Klipsch provide an external decoder (but with an additional cost), Creative provide an external decoder (but with an additional cost). From what I can remember, most reviewers thought the Logitech sets had reasonable value since it incorporated several features and at the same time sounded good.
 
Nizmatik said:
Firstly, yes I have heard and understand the concept of the cost/value ratio however I'm a little unsure why this 'all of a sudden' has become the main topic of your opinion. You stated in your first posting "road to poor audio quality" and now your implying the cost/value ratio, where did that come from? I was only questioning why you considered the Logitech's to be of "poor audio quality" which you still have yet to answer actually.

In terms of cost/value wise I would say the Logitech Z-5500 are of reasonable value. The Z-5500's include several features which other multimedia speaker manufacturers lack. Klipsch provide an external decoder (but with an additional cost), Creative provide an external decoder (but with an additional cost). From what I can remember, most reviewers thought the Logitech sets had reasonable value since it incorporated several features and at the same time sounded good.
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If you have a good sound card those extra features could be considered a waste of money, since they'd be comletely redundant to the hardware you already have. Therefore the money spent on the excess hardware could have been spent on the speaker system itself, which is what the question at hand was about, unless I read it wrong. Most people tend to think more is better, but if you simplify a product down to the necessary elements and focus on having quality of features over quantity you'll end up with better sound. The superflous things like built in decoders when there are sound cards that do it already seems a bit redundant and wasteful. Certianly 500W "RMS" as they call it is attractive, but actually its 500W Peak, but they consider the peak as long as the capacitors will last because the wattage figure doesn't match the rated input voltage/amperage specifications for that particular speake system. Not to mention the lack of coherence between the driver units. Going from 1 10" driver to a 3" driver is going to leave a gap in between the frequency ranges that can be produced by those drivers. a 10" sub can't provide accurate directional midrange and a 3" driver won't deliver 20KHz at high volumes without distortion either. Its those basic audio principles of design that a lot of speakers with all the extra goodies aimed at PC users don't have, but they do have a big amp with a heatsink and lots of speakers to put all over the place, though almost everyone I've ever seen with multichannel PC speakers have all of them minus the sub sitting in front of them on their desks anyway.
 
BossNoodleKaboodle said:
If you have a good sound card those extra features could be considered a waste of money, since they'd be comletely redundant to the hardware you already have. Therefore the money spent on the excess hardware could have been spent on the speaker system itself, which is what the question at hand was about, unless I read it wrong. Most people tend to think more is better, but if you simplify a product down to the necessary elements and focus on having quality of features over quantity you'll end up with better sound. The superflous things like built in decoders when there are sound cards that do it already seems a bit redundant and wasteful. Certianly 500W "RMS" as they call it is attractive, but actually its 500W Peak, but they consider the peak as long as the capacitors will last because the wattage figure doesn't match the rated input voltage/amperage specifications for that particular speake system. Not to mention the lack of coherence between the driver units. Going from 1 10" driver to a 3" driver is going to leave a gap in between the frequency ranges that can be produced by those drivers. a 10" sub can't provide accurate directional midrange and a 3" driver won't deliver 20KHz at high volumes without distortion either. Its those basic audio principles of design that a lot of speakers with all the extra goodies aimed at PC users don't have, but they do have a big amp with a heatsink and lots of speakers to put all over the place, though almost everyone I've ever seen with multichannel PC speakers have all of them minus the sub sitting in front of them on their desks anyway.
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Evidently you have demonstrated a wide range of audio knowledge which I agree was actually quite informative. However again like any other situation, this matter is very subjective as your ears are different from others. Decoding yes can already be done by soundcards, however the additional connectivity to DVD players and other gaming consoles is a nice bonus which cannot be done with other MM systems in the same league (for example: Klipsch Ultras or Creative Gigaworks), this is one of the reasons why Logitech's are considered as "bang for your buck". However remembering this is a PC setup, but again the feature is a bonus.

I have come acorss people who said the Logitech's didn't sound as 'defined' as some other systems, but I never came across any who said "these speakers are of poor audio quality". Thats a pretty strong statement you put across, and its understandable why (like me) a person would question you for it. However we all have our opinions I guess. You could be an audiophile or an average listener so of course perspectives would be different.

Just wondering, what system would you suggest over the Logitech's in reference to this thread?
 
my knowledge in computer audio is limited. but wouldn't it just be cheaper and superior to get some bookshelf's and a amps and make your own speaker rig?

BTW if anyones got some faqs on how to do the bookshelf rig for computers, can you PM them to me or post it? i would like to know.

Also, even 250 watts RMS seems excessive for computer speakers.

http://www.3dsoundsurge.com/reviews/SiroccoSpirit/SiroccoSpirit.html are some more 2.0's but can't find them!!!!!

Price/sound ratio is probably better for logitechs and creative compared to klipsch. but honestly, if I was paying 300 for speakers, i'd pay the extra 50 and go with the klipsch's

EDIT: I must say that logitechs and creative's subwoofers seem a bit too boomy, that's why i prefer 2.0's
 
GTPoompt said:
my knowledge in computer audio is limited. but wouldn't it just be cheaper and superior to get some bookshelf's and a amps and make your own speaker rig?

BTW if anyones got some faqs on how to do the bookshelf rig for computers, can you PM them to me or post it? i would like to know.

Also, even 250 watts RMS seems excessive for computer speakers.

http://www.3dsoundsurge.com/reviews/SiroccoSpirit/SiroccoSpirit.html are some more 2.0's but can't find them!!!!!

Price/sound ratio is probably better for logitechs and creative compared to klipsch. but honestly, if I was paying 300 for speakers, i'd pay the extra 50 and go with the klipsch's

EDIT: I must say that logitechs and creative's subwoofers seem a bit too boomy, that's why i prefer 2.0's
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There is no rigging at all. Any active bookshelf monitor will have either analog or digital inputs and its own amps built in. The wattage depends on the load impedence of the speakers in question BTW.
 
GTPoompt said:
my knowledge in computer audio is limited. but wouldn't it just be cheaper and superior to get some bookshelf's and a amps and make your own speaker rig?

BTW if anyones got some faqs on how to do the bookshelf rig for computers, can you PM them to me or post it? i would like to know.

Also, even 250 watts RMS seems excessive for computer speakers.

http://www.3dsoundsurge.com/reviews/SiroccoSpirit/SiroccoSpirit.html are some more 2.0's but can't find them!!!!!

Price/sound ratio is probably better for logitechs and creative compared to klipsch. but honestly, if I was paying 300 for speakers, i'd pay the extra 50 and go with the klipsch's

EDIT: I must say that logitechs and creative's subwoofers seem a bit too boomy, that's why i prefer 2.0's
Click to expand...

Yip have to agree with you, 250 Watts is enough for my computer needs however sometimes its always good to know the power is there :) just like a car - whats the point of buying a fast car where in most countries there is a maximum speed you can only reach, its all about your mentality :)

I too must agree that if I had to choose between the Klipsch Ultras and the Logitech Z-5500's I would probabaly go for the Ultras due to their 2 satelites and the dual subs. However the Ultras arent't available in my country (due to voltage problems) only the Promedia 5.1's in which I would rather have the Z-5500's. But in this case, you mentioned you only had a set budget and the Z-5500 (being cheaper then the Ultras) this is why I mentioned the Z-5500 would be the best bet.

Oh well its all gravey. You should be sweet with your purchase!
 
i read reviews and they both got about the same, but z5500 were 270, klipsh were 350.... i had already told myself "DONT SPEND ANY MORE THAN $150!!" so i had to have my cut off point. im sure the z5500 sound excelent unless your like Mr Picky McPickerson here. they are both probably great systems i doubt its possible for anyone to be unhappy and wish they choose the other, unless your like, as i said, Mr Picky McPickerson.
 
Am I Mr. Picky McPickerson? Or are you Mr. John Q. Ignorance?

All joking aside, there's two sides to every coin, my friend.
 
I just got my 5500's today! Holy S*it do I need to get my subwoofer its own zipcode?! Its HUGE. Very nice system :-p
 
Luthair said:
I just got my 5500's today! Holy S*it do I need to get my subwoofer its own zipcode?! Its HUGE. Very nice system :-p
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Lol yeah most people under-estimate the size of the subwoofer. The pictures you see on the net just don't do it justice :) Congrats on the new system :)
 
Noodle summed it up well.

It's not the bells and whistles in the speaker set that matter, it's the sound. Let your soundcard do all the audio processing magic. Only exception is if your speakers support digital 5.1 in, then by all means that is a worth feature. Aside from that, go for sound quality.

It's like buying a car because it has a flower holder and a special dash holder for your iPod (yes, there is a car out there with this crap, given its a nice car, but my point stands), basically if someone buys it based on that and not the fact it may or may not be a reliable and properly priced car, has their stuff out of wack, since that cash could have been spent elsewhere on their PC for actual gains.

It's not who has the fastest PC, it's who spends the least for a good one. Pretty much same goes for audio...it's not how much you spend, it's how much of an upgrade you got from it.
 
mustang_steve said:
Noodle summed it up well.

It's not the bells and whistles in the speaker set that matter, it's the sound. Let your soundcard do all the audio processing magic. Only exception is if your speakers support digital 5.1 in, then by all means that is a worth feature. Aside from that, go for sound quality.

It's like buying a car because it has a flower holder and a special dash holder for your iPod (yes, there is a car out there with this crap, given its a nice car, but my point stands), basically if someone buys it based on that and not the fact it may or may not be a reliable and properly priced car, has their stuff out of wack, since that cash could have been spent elsewhere on their PC for actual gains.

It's not who has the fastest PC, it's who spends the least for a good one. Pretty much same goes for audio...it's not how much you spend, it's how much of an upgrade you got from it.
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Agreed. However no one actually implied "buy the Logitech Z-5500 because it has more features then its direct competitors" I for one was mainly recommending the set because it was cheaper, sounded good (or if not quite good) and also did include a few extras that other systems lacked. Thus the Logitech set had a good price/value ratio.

The sound quality of any system is obviously important, however you gotta remember the statement "you get what you pay for". Sound quality in most (I'm not saying all) cases come at a price. This thread was limited by a budget, and despite Luthair going slightly over budget, sounds like a happy chappy to me.
 
id just like to point out that 505watts is the max power for the 5500's and 1010watts is the PEAK power. please get your information right you flaming whore
 
Ballz2TheWallz said:
id just like to point out that 505watts is the max power for the 5500's and 1010watts is the PEAK power. please get your information right you flaming whore
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Well, I doubt it hits with anywhere near that power RMS, all channels driven, anyways, if it makes you feel any better :D
 
Ballz2TheWallz said:
id just like to point out that 505watts is the max power for the 5500's and 1010watts is the PEAK power. please get your information right you flaming whore
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Coming from a pretty good background in car audio I can with some certainly say that the 5500s do NOT run anywhere near 505 watts. My last competition car used an Orion 280 amp (2 channels, 80 watts each, 4 ohms) and reached SPLs enough to cause all the mirrors in the car to readjust themselves within a second. If I had 500 watts in 2 channels I feel confident I could have blown out all the glass in a split second, the split second before my head liquified.

Remember you can buy a 600watt system with amp and speakers at Wal-Mart for $23.64 (see http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2606839), or you can buy a real amp such as an Audiobahn A2150HCT which is a 150w X 2 and costs $469.00 (see http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=13504). Now using most people's logic the Wal-Mart amp should be the most powerful, NOT!

And of course sound power has absolutely no relation to sound quality, but that is a discussion for another time :)
 
BO(V)BZ said:
Well, I doubt it hits with anywhere near that power RMS, all channels driven, anyways, if it makes you feel any better :D
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Besides, for average computer needs, does anyone need over 50 quality watts to drive the sats? Hell, I really only probably use 5 watts. Right now I'm sitting 2 feet away from the speakers. Why do I need monster wattage? I could get away with a tube amp (if I had the budget).
 
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