Need Some New Speakers

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Mansize_tissue

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Jan 1, 2007
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My aging--or ageing, I guess it doesn't really matter--Creative Inspire P5800 speakers are getting a little... old so I'm in the market for some new ones with a bit more power. With gaming as a priority, I'd another 5.1 set, but I don't really know where to go from here. The Logitech Z-5500s are an obvious choice for gamers and, to be honest, these would probably be perfect for me. I know they aren't the best quality, but I think I'd struggle to get something better suited for gaming for the price. However, I've noticed these on eBay and I don't know whether to jump on it or not. They're priced pretty much at the upper limit of my budget, but Ideally I don't really want to spend much more than the price of the Z-5500s, which are probably what I'll end up getting. But, basically, I was just wondering if It's worth considering these Klipsch speakers or not.

Thank you for your time.
 
I would highly recommend the Z-5500's for gaming. I've never heard that Klipsch system but it probably sounds better than the Logitechs. I don't think it's worth spending the extra money though.
 
Pinipig523 said:
But don't those quintets on ebay cost more than the 5500?

:confused:
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They are, probably by about £70 after postage. I think I'll just end up getting the Z-5500s; I mean, coming from my current set of speakers, I'm sure they'll be plenty good enough. Cheers guys.
 
Mansize_tissue said:
They are, probably by about £70 after postage. I think I'll just end up getting the Z-5500s; I mean, coming from my current set of speakers, I'm sure they'll be plenty good enough. Cheers guys.
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How much are the 5500 at your neck of the woods..?

The quintets are good, but they're still satellites.
 
Pinipig523 said:
How much are the 5500 at your neck of the woods..?

The quintets are good, but they're still satellites.
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Z-5500 are about £200. To be honest, I don't think I want to spend any more than £200 because, coming from my current speakers, any quality past that of the Z-5500s will probably be wasted, on my ears at least.

HappyPlato said:
You can get the Logitech G51 gaming speakers.
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Wow, I hadn't heard of them until now. Thank you for bringing these to my attention, although I don't think they'll be much of an improvement over my current ones.
 
I just got my z5500's and for ~250 usd shipped. They are good for the money IMO and nice and compact. However, they have some weaknesses from my testing so far.

For example the sub seems to have a higher port tuning, this saves space and allows the sub to blend better with the satelites. However it means it does not seem to hit as hard down low. But I am comparing this ported sub to a sealed 2 10" subs with 1200RMS in my truck. I like the SQ (Sound Quality) from the sealed setup better, and of course it hits both harder, crisper, cleaner, and lower than the z5500's (Duh the subs alone were more than the z5500's lol). My truck kills this system for music but is many many times more expensive and a much more extenzive install too (Had to rip out the entire interior lol)

But for my use the z5500's were the right choice as the set is pretty compact and good enough. They do not sound BAD in any way but my AT AD700 headphones do sound noticably better and were only $113 shipped. I prefer to use headphones for sond quality, as they seem to image better than even surround, and I can turn them up loud without disturbing others. However when I don't want headphones the logitecs are no slouch for the money.

Figure $75 for sub and box. $75 for amp, $15 for each speaker ($75) that leaves $25 for the controll panel, and remote. For $15 speakers they do sound AMAZINGLY good. I would still recommend them. They are in a plastic case but it is pretty heavy not some tin can type BS plastic. They do sound better than some HT stuff in the same rage, or even several times more expensive. However ithink the JBL setup I pieced together (feel free to search for my post "z5500" and my user name to find the deal) would have had noticably better performance with 2 way speakers larger center channel, and more powerful sub. But now that I have the z5500's im happy anyways I needed to save some valuable desk space :)
 
That JBL system is nice. Looking at all these JBL sets, It makes me want to get them instead. Although, I'll end up spending way more than necessary for their purpose. Even the Z-5500s work out at around $400, so It's still quite a lot for, what are considered, cheap "gaming" speakers. I think the Z-5500 will be plenty good enough for me, though; I mean, I've been using a 6" <40W subwoofer for the last 2 years!

Thank you for you help, I really appreciate it.
 
You wont be disapointed in the z5500's but for $400 I would look elsewhere or look into the JBL or other system. My my car audio experience JBL makes decent budget equipment, but I have not personaly heard that JBL home audio setup. I ordered mine from Dell. Dell has free shipping, I just had them pricematch the cheapest place froogle returned that had them in stock (other place actualy cost more since they charged for shipping, but it knocked like 45 bucks off anyways).
 
lol to all that. I wish you the best if you insist on 5.1 but really a good used receiver and a pair of real speakers will do WAY better than any satellite + soulless thumpbox they call a sub.

Yes I am an audiophile!

Sorry I just hate to see people throw money away. Something as important as sound should be done as well as possible.
 
spaceman said:
lol to all that. I wish you the best if you insist on 5.1 but really a good used receiver and a pair of real speakers will do WAY better than any satellite + soulless thumpbox they call a sub.

Yes I am an audiophile!

Sorry I just hate to see people throw money away. Something as important as sound should be done as well as possible.
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Audiophiles.... them are crazy folk I tells ya!

;)
 
spaceman said:
lol to all that. I wish you the best if you insist on 5.1 but really a good used receiver and a pair of real speakers will do WAY better than any satellite + soulless thumpbox they call a sub.

Yes I am an audiophile!

Sorry I just hate to see people throw money away. Something as important as sound should be done as well as possible.
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I'd actually be interested in hearing what kind of setup you'd recommend for ~$300 (typical non-sale price for Z-5500s in the US). Are we talking about going 2.0/1 over 5.1?
 
I know $400 is a lot for the Z-5500s, but in the UK a descent JBL set will cost much, much more, so the prices are all relative. I'd really like to get an amplifier and some nice bookshelves, spaceman, but I don't think I'll be able to get anything descent for £200. Plus, I don't really have much room for an amplifier, or bookshelves for that matter. And I'd also like a subwoofer, which will push the price up even more. Coming from my current speakers, I think the Z-5500s will be fine--at least I hope they will! Unless you can suggest a better bookshelf setup, with a subwoofer, for sub-£250 (I might be willing to stretch to £300 if it's really necessary), I'm afraid the Z-5500s are probably going to be my best option.
 
Is there a place with used gear? An online forum like audiogon? There are tons of options like a vintage receiver and some full sized speakers. I am certain that you could find each for around L100 each. You can find such in the states easily. A sub is not necessary if the speakers are full range and have around a 8" woofer.
 
spaceman said:
Is there a place with used gear? An online forum like audiogon? There are tons of options like a vintage receiver and some full sized speakers. I am certain that you could find each for around L100 each. You can find such in the states easily. A sub is not necessary if the speakers are full range and have around a 8" woofer.
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I suppose I could do away with a subwoofer if I get a pair of full-range speakers. However, I don't really have enough room on my desk for them and, since it's a large corner desk, I can't really have them on the floor either.
 
Pinipig523 said:
XLS for bookshelves, done.
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So these speakers will sound better than the 5.1 z5500's? sorry for the hi-jack but I didn't want to start a new thread...pretty much asking the samething :D

also w/ these speakers, won't I need a receiver etc.? and will there still be a need for a sub?

I was going to get the z5500's also to connect to my laptop via toslink optical cable
 
Hey, y'know what, I think I have--by that, I mean my parents have--some bookshelf speakers which I might be able to use. They're really old Sony ones, I doubt they're very good at all, but It's a thought. I'll try put some information on later about them and see if anyone can tell me whether they're worth using or not.
 
also, forgive my audiophile ignorance...but how would you connect these "bookshelve" speakers to your pc/laptop?
 
As promised, here are some photographs of the bookshelf speakers I found in the loft. To my surprise, there are actually two sets: both of which are probably crap.

Sorry for the poor quality photographs; the loft is really dark and I only had my camera phone handy. Oh well, here you are:

This is the set of Sony speakers I was talking about earlier.


Here is what they used to be attached to.


Here are the unimpressive specifications on the back of one of the speakers.


Nice!


Just to give you a rough idea of the size.


And again, but close up.


These are the other speakers I managed to find.


Here is the sticker on the back of one of these smaller speakers.


Both types together.


So, anything there worth using? The woofers in both speakers are rather small, so I doubt they'd be suitable, but I'd just like to know what you think.
 
I would try this. Get a receiver with a digital coax input. Use the old Sonys for awhile and save up for some decent speakers. I have a few on the tip of my mind that have good bass and are small but I can't recall names yet. However, such speakers will be about $400 usd even used.

It will still sound better than crap PC speakers I assure you. Even those old Sonys will do better midrange than satellites.
 
spaceman said:
I would try this. Get a receiver with a digital coax input. Use the old Sonys for awhile and save up for some decent speakers. I have a few on the tip of my mind that have good bass and are small but I can't recall names yet. However, such speakers will be about $400 usd even used.

It will still sound better than crap PC speakers I assure you. Even those old Sonys will do better midrange than satellites.
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I really don't have an awful lot of room, though. Especially not enough for those large Sony speakers. I mean, this is my desk at the moment:







I really can't see myself being able to fit a pair of bookshelves on this desk; what do you think?
 
Ok then skip the receiver idea. You have an X-Fi correct? Then you can get a pair of self-powered monitors like the Swans, source that from the X-Fi, pick up a small, decent sub and source that out of the x-fi and voila! 3D Soundstage when you position them right. Guns will crack like reality and explosions will kick you in the chest.
 
Pinipig523 said:
Wow... you have a nice setup as it is.
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Heh, thank you.

spaceman said:
Ok then skip the receiver idea. You have an X-Fi correct? Then you can get a pair of self-powered monitors like the Swans, source that from the X-Fi, pick up a small, decent sub and source that out of the x-fi and voila! 3D Soundstage when you position them right. Guns will crack like reality and explosions will kick you in the chest.
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That sounds like a good idea. Yep, I have an X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty. Can you show me an example of these Swans speakers you're referring to please, I'm intrigued?
 
For computer speakers, the Z-5500's are very good quality. Sure I could enhance my system with a sep. receiver etc. but at $233 delivered from Dell, they are a good bargain!
 
I still say, if you want good audio - get the XLS and a cheap receiver and call it a day.
 
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spaceman said:
Yeah but they are COMPUTER SPEAKERS lol.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836136102

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studi...0?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1188532999&sr=8-2

Either pair of these plus a sub will = damn good sound in a small package.
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will you need a receiver in order to run these speakers? ie. I'm in the same boat as the OP, but I'll be using a laptop instead (and I have no idea how I would be able to make this work, even though there is a toslink audio on the laptop w/ inputs for headphones/surround/center speakers)... and unfortunately the express slotted sound card isn't any better than my on board
 
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yang88she said:
will you need a receiver in order to run these speakers? ie. I'm in the same boat as the OP, but I'll be using a laptop instead (and I have no idea how I would be able to make this work, even though there is a toslink audio on the laptop w/ inputs for headphones/surround/center speakers)... and unfortunately the express slotted sound card isn't any better than my on board
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No... those are self-powered.
 
spaceman said:
Yeah but they are COMPUTER SPEAKERS lol.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836136102

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studi...0?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1188532999&sr=8-2

Either pair of these plus a sub will = damn good sound in a small package.
Click to expand...

Considering the price, I would still get the XLS and mate that with a cheap receiver or a Tamp. The thing is, with these powered monitors, you're stuck.... they are limited by whatever is driving them and none of them come with center channels if you ever want to expand to an HT setup that is truly conducive towards gaming.

With something like the XLS, it grows with you AND has better parts than either of these speakers. Once you have some extra money and you still want to spend more in your system, you can get a sub... a center channel.... more bookshelves for surrounds. Or if you ever wanted to experiment with tubes, you can add that type of amplifier to your XLS.

No brainer... for me.. with your budget. XLS bookshelves and a small cheap amp.
 
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suggestions on a "cheap" amp? and how difficult would it be to wire all this stuff up to a laptop? I know, I'm an audio newber:D
 
Pinipig523 said:
Considering the price, I would still get the XLS and mate that with a cheap receiver or a Tamp. The thing is, with these powered monitors, you're stuck.... they are limited by whatever is driving them and none of them come with center channels if you ever want to expand to an HT setup that is truly conducive towards gaming.

With something like the XLS, it grows with you AND has better parts than either of these speakers. Once you have some extra money and you still want to spend more in your system, you can get a sub... a center channel.... more bookshelves for surrounds. Or if you ever wanted to experiment with tubes, you can add that type of amplifier to your XLS.

No brainer... for me.. with your budget. XLS bookshelves and a small cheap amp.
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That is a good option. However, he does live in the UK and is limited for speaker placement space.

Oh, those links are for speakers which only need a source. They are self powered so no receiver needed. Just a soundcard.
 
spaceman said:
Yeah but they are COMPUTER SPEAKERS lol.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836136102

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studi...0?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1188532999&sr=8-2

Either pair of these plus a sub will = damn good sound in a small package.
Click to expand...

Thank you. They definitely seem like worthy contenders; although, they're still an awful lot bigger than the satellites I'm used to having on my desk. Say I went with one of those pairs, what sort of subwoofer would be appropriate and how would I go about connecting it all to my X-Fi card?

I'm beginning to like Pinipig523 suggestion, since I could make it more like a 5.1 setup with a bit of time and money. However, I don't have the space for a receiver and numerous bookshelves scattered around my desk. I don't even know if I'd be able to have 2 bookshelf speakers, as suggested by spaceman, in either a 2.0 or 2.1 setup.
 
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Mansize_tissue said:
Thank you. They definitely seem like worthy contenders; although, they're still an awful lot bigger than the satellites I'm used to having on my desk. Say I went with one of those pairs, what sort of subwoofer would be appropriate and how would I go about connecting it all to my X-Fi card?
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Mansize,

You're in the UK right? Dont you have a plethora of bookshelf speakers to choose from there? I'm assuming from BW to Monitor Audio to KEF?

I would really hesitate getting a powered monitor due to limitations for future endeavors. I would really urge you to look at stand alone bookshelves.... especially since you seem to be a man of good audio taste.
 
Mansize_tissue said:
I'm beginning to like Pinipig523 suggestion, since I could make it more like a 5.1 setup with a bit of time and money.
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Good man! Now start naming some names of bookshelves in your area that are within your price range and we'll try to spout out some info/biases about them.

BTW, Spaceman's suggestion is good and from what I see on headfi and here, he's a knowledgeable fellow... I dont want to make it seem that I was undercutting his suggestion. Normally, I'm perfectly fine with the whole powered monitor/swan idea.... but for some reason, I felt that mansize "wants" something a little more.
 
The z5500's are not bad. Audiophiles tend to call them crap, but I priced it out so you understand what you’re getting. They are not bad at all! Most of the time I have the volume so low I would not be able to tell much difference in speakers anyways. I wanted to save space and have "decent" sound, that I can crank up loud when no1 is around. From games to movies they work great, and stereo mode for music is a button press away. They actually met my expectations well. I'm a bit of an audiophile myself although I'm still learning about home audio esp. headphones and amps and such. Get the z5500's and a nice set of headphones for when you want to go in audiophile mode, it will be much easier to achieve awesome sound with headphones. This way you can keep the surround sound (which will be hard to re-create with a stereo setup unless you understand how 2 way surround systems work and have the ability to move stuff around or change your distances). Basically for me if I’m sitting in the middle of my room or laying on the bed, I can definitely tell sounds behind me from those in front. If I’m sitting at the computer I can grab up my headphones if I want the best imaging &#61514;.

I'm not going to BS about them being the ultimate or best, but they are a good value if you really are on a budget and need to save space(at least at $233-300). The sub is 10" and is fairly large though. I put it under my desk. You actually have more space than I do, even though my desk is probably almost 3 times as large lol. But it's in my bedroom so there’s a ton of crap on it at all times.

The sub is a bit much for the system but isn't the most boomy crap I have heard, I just turned it down a bit. It is tuned high, and ported, audiophiles like to hit the super low bass from subs with separate 2-3 way speakers. Generally speaking if each speaker is crossover and plays less wide a range of sound you "can" achieve better sound if setup properly. This is quite a bit easier in home audio than setting up 3 ways to image properly in car audio.

But for the price it is hard to beat this setup, esp without taking up allot more space. Just a tip, my $113 AD700's sound more crisp/clear than my other stereo which cost quite a bit and was allot of work to put together.

The z5500's bring out sounds I could not hear with monitor speakers alone. I have been enjoying the surround sound when watching movies as well, as playing games. The headphones, although stereo, image extremely well also.

If you need to fill a large room with sound the Z5500’s are not going to cut it, Probably not any other sub 300 Complete system (5 speakers, receiver, and powered sub), but they should work very well for how close you have them sitting. They have enough inputs for me to hookup multiple devices as well. They get loud enough for my bedroom for sure, although if I want super loud, I have a 1400RMS system in my truck, where I do the majority of my music listening in STEREO.
 
Right, so looking at my desk and how big average bookshelf speakers are I just don't think they'd be suitable. I really want a nice speaker setup, though, because your typical 5.1 system (like the Z-5500s) just don't cut it when it comes to midrange. Eh, but I guess they'll have to suffice. I might be able to get away with a couple of bookshelf speakers on my desk (if I get bookshelves which require an amplifier, it would have to go on the cupboard thing to the left of my desk you can see on the first photograph of my setup above), but there's no way I would be able to fit 5. Man, way for the lack of desk space to piss all over my bonfire.

Hmm, I've been looking around on ebay and I've found a few more nice-looking speaker sets:
Wharfedale Moviestar 68+

Acoustic Energy Aego 5.1

Infinity Beta HCS

Heco Vitas 5.1

So, what do you think of these?
 
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