*Sigh* Just cant get no satisfaction

S

so_cal_forever

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 5, 2004
Messages
1,125
Well, I've had the X-530s for about 2 months now, and I feel starved. So, I've been considering maybe getting a different set by May. I'm looking at the Z5300e's right now, and damn they're making me drool. However, I'm new to the arena of audiophilia, so my question is this: What's my best bet for 5.1 in the $150 range? Only reason I demand 5.1 is for games and DVDs, otherwise I would gladly go 2.1.
 
I hate to say it, but you'll be hard pressed to find a 5.1 set in that price range that you won't be strongly wanting to upgrade a year from now, since it seems your obviously wanting for sound quality, but are compromising to get surround for gaming on a budget.

I would say, to just keep what you got, and save up for what you really want. Since after all, if you do compromise, you'll just end up at that same desire to upgrade sooner than you would like....I know, I've done it, most of us have.

At least speakers are cheaper than bicycle wheels....now it looks like I have to save up for that $600 wheelset (made for 200lb+ riders) I should have bought four months back instead of the $300 "it'll do" wheels (these crappy things keep warping...) :(
 
About the only others in the realm of 5.1 are Klipsch and Creative. Creatives dont seem good unless you can afford the Gigaworks (cant...) and the only thing Klipsch in my price range is the GMXD-5.1s, which arent really available anymore (sometimes in super refurb deals though...).
 
So is it safe to assume we will see another one of these threads when the bloom wears off of the next mediocre 5.1 system you buy? :p
 
Mister X said:
So is it safe to assume we will see another one of these threads when the bloom wears off of the next mediocre 5.1 system you buy? :p
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Only when I reach audio nirvana, my friend. Hell, I'd lay down $375 for the Klipsch Promedia 5.1s easy if I had the denero. I feel like a heroin addict. :D
 
so_cal_forever said:
Well, I've had the X-530s for about 2 months now, and I feel starved. So, I've been considering maybe getting a different set by May. I'm looking at the Z5300e's right now, and damn they're making me drool. However, I'm new to the arena of audiophilia, so my question is this: What's my best bet for 5.1 in the $150 range? Only reason I demand 5.1 is for games and DVDs, otherwise I would gladly go 2.1.
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2 things i have to say to you...

1) woot, good thing you dont like the x-530s, i was seriously considering buying that. before i got the z-5300e

2) don't buy the z-5300e. I've gone thru ****2**** brand new sets in 2 months, and i have a *3rd* new set comming in tomorrow.
 
you could try to look for a set of the discontinued megaworks 550s they were halfway decent
 
so_cal_forever said:
Only when I reach audio nirvana, my friend. Hell, I'd lay down $375 for the Klipsch Promedia 5.1s easy if I had the denero. I feel like a heroin addict. :D
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lol
I think we all know what you mean.
Chasing that next upgrade gets to be an expensive habit. :(
 
flutie98 said:
you could try to look for a set of the discontinued megaworks 550s they were halfway decent
Click to expand...

Actually 'half-way decent' is pretty harsh lol. The Megaworks 550 THX were one and still a very respected 5.1 system. I use to own a set and was very pleased with its performance. The 550's are rivals to the Logitech Z-680's and Klipsch Promedia 5.1 (non-ultra), and in some cases were percieved better due to slightly better clarity (or on par with Klipsch) and punchy bass (which can be seen as a good or bad thing dependant on what music you listen to). The Megaworks will be better then the 5300e I'm quite sure to say.

But I agree with mustand_steve, sometimes its best to save up for something you really want. I'm definately one of the victims who purchased other priducts (because I wanted it 'right now') only to find I wanted something else. Sure you can sell things off again, but you will most likely be wasting cash and also time.
 
I spent an entire week trying to figure out which ones i should buy, between the X-530's and the Z-5300e's
I upgraded from the X-230's so i had a pretty good idea how the 530's would have sounded

Let me tell you the 5300e's are soooo worth it


I just got them in today and they sound fucking awesome
It's nice to have a nice set of PC speakers for the first time

IMG_5308.JPG

IMG_5314.JPG

IMG_5319.JPG
 
so_cal_forever said:
Well, I've had the X-530s for about 2 months now, and I feel starved. So, I've been considering maybe getting a different set by May. I'm looking at the Z5300e's right now, and damn they're making me drool. However, I'm new to the arena of audiophilia, so my question is this: What's my best bet for 5.1 in the $150 range? Only reason I demand 5.1 is for games and DVDs, otherwise I would gladly go 2.1.
Click to expand...

If you've got audiophile tastes you won't consider anything in that price range other than some new headphones. Even the "high end" 5.1 PC speaker setups, which sound like crap basically, cost about twice that. I'd stick with what you have until you can get a real setup or something. You won't get audiophile satisfaction from 150 dollar speakers, and especially not 5.1's.
 
AMD T-type said:
I spent an entire week trying to figure out which ones i should buy, between the X-530's and the Z-5300e's
I upgraded from the X-230's so i had a pretty good idea how the 530's would have sounded

Let me tell you the 5300e's are soooo worth it


I just got them in today and they sound fucking awesome
It's nice to have a nice set of PC speakers for the first time

IMG_5308.JPG

IMG_5314.JPG

IMG_5319.JPG
Click to expand...


sry to burst your bubbles, but just make sure you bought it from a store that will replace ur speakers free of charge if they ever go out on ur a**
 
joethemole said:
sry to burst your bubbles, but just make sure you bought it from a store that will replace ur speakers free of charge if they ever go out on ur a**
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Indeed. Logitech speakers have a nasty habit of breaking.
 
GodsMadClown said:
Screw that. For $100, only 2.1 systems start to sound decent.
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True but thats only if your buying today's current models. The Z-560's (I use to own them in the past) is definately one speaker set that shouldn't be overlooked. When they were new, they were about $199 USD, and was the "bang for your buck set". They actually sounded reasonably good, and definately definately enough power for the average PC user. The only reason why I sold them was because I got bored of a 4.1 system.
 
This guy is saying hes in the new realm of being an audiophile. No audiophile would dream of using a logitech or klipsch PC speaker system at all if they care about sound quality. You can't really even get a ghetto blaster powerful enough to satisfy "loud-crappy-sound-o-phillic's for that price. If his tastes are discerning enough to make him an audiophile he's going to have to spend about 250 dollars to get anything truly quality, and even then it would only be two active speakers with no sub or for the price range quoted, a pair of really nice headphones would do the trick, but that doesn't meet the 5.1 requirement, but then again the 5.1's in that category won't meet his audiophilic requirements...
 
joethemole said:
sry to burst your bubbles, but just make sure you bought it from a store that will replace ur speakers free of charge if they ever go out on ur a**
Click to expand...

Well what should i have gotten? not the Klipsch's

Those have had a higher return/break rate than the Logitech's since i can remember where I used to work
 
AMD T-type said:
Well what should i have gotten? not the Klipsch's

Those have had a higher return/break rate than the Logitech's since i can remember where I used to work
Click to expand...

From my experience, that's true about the Klipschs. Now, we can see that Klipschs break easily, and Logitechs break easily, and nobody seems to want Creative, so we'll rule them out too...what does that leave us with?

PS: If you answer 'real speakers and an amp' you win a prize =]
 
BO(V)BZ said:
From my experience, that's true about the Klipschs. Now, we can see that Klipschs break easily, and Logitechs break easily, and nobody seems to want Creative, so we'll rule them out too...what does that leave us with?

PS: If you answer 'real speakers and an amp' you win a prize =]
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lol

I know my 5300e's are far from the best out there, but im not rich like it seems most of these other people are who say $500 wont get you "quality" speakers
 
AMD T-type said:
lol

I know my 5300e's are far from the best out there, but im not rich like it seems most of these other people are who say $500 wont get you "quality" speakers
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Ask the person who said that what he speakers he has. ;)
 
AMD T-type said:
lol

I know my 5300e's are far from the best out there, but im not rich like it seems most of these other people are who say $500 wont get you "quality" speakers
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Well you can find quality in almost any price range. Usually the higher you go the higher the quality you can find. $500 will most certainly get you quality sound. Off the top of my head I could pick... oh yeah, my speakers. $500 Event TR-8's with built in amps. They're true to life enough to master recordings with and when combined with a good analog source like a Nakamichi CD player player, you can expect some impressive sounds. You can get a pair of Grado SR-60 headphones for $79 if you're on a budget and enjoy studio quality sound from them too. True, you won't find many multichannel systems that don't suck in that price range or lower, but usually quality, as you said yourself, is going to cost. I' much rather have two channels of excellent sound than 7 of tinny treble and .1 of bass that's so indiscernable that you can't tell just what the hell that low frequency noise is supposed to be (logitech and creative subs anyone?). I do own a great little 2.1 system that's now discontinued called the Harman Kardon HK 595, and its 60W max output power would make the ghetto blasters laugh, but its DSP quality and its overall sound quality is amazing considering what it is. You can hunt down a good set of speakers for about 200 dollars if you want to, but most people don't go down the avenue of pro audio monitors and stick with the flashy looking 5.1 systems that are sought after for some odd reason.
 
Hmm, well, I might just go with a 5.1 set for my Audigy 2 and get something really nice and put them on an AV-710. Those Event TR-8s sure look great. How do they fare?
 
500$ will buy you some nice stuff, but in the world of audio, oftentimes it's the lesser-known brands that produce some of the best gear. While most people might think of Klipsch or Bose as producing the best speakers, there are myriad other choices for less money and higher quality. Same goes for subs.. the average person would think that some Sony 400$ sub would be the best they can get for the $, but if they got a PB10 from SVS they'd suddenly be getting 105dB peaks, and output down to 18hz =]

so_cal: Why not just piece together a system? That's what I did.. First, bought a decent receiver and some used speakers, and as time went by, first added a sub, then a new pair of mains, then rears to swap out the old used speakers, then centers...and full circle to a pair of new subs to replace/supplement the old one :D

No matter what your budget, you can buy one piece at a time, as your pocketbook allows, and come out with a great system that's easy to upgrade. Contrapositively, that ease of upgrading can certainly be a big problem.. I constantly see myself eyeing those delicious Ref3's and Emotive amp/preamp combo...and thinking, 'yea, I can probably dig up the 9k I need for those somehow.'

Part and parcel with the hobby, but if you start down this path, you'll learn to love it!
 
BO(V)BZ said:
500$ will buy you some nice stuff, but in the world of audio, oftentimes it's the lesser-known brands that produce some of the best gear. While most people might think of Klipsch or Bose as producing the best speakers, there are myriad other choices for less money and higher quality. Same goes for subs.. the average person would think that some Sony 400$ sub would be the best they can get for the $, but if they got a PB10 from SVS they'd suddenly be getting 105dB peaks, and output down to 18hz =]

so_cal: Why not just piece together a system? That's what I did.. First, bought a decent receiver and some used speakers, and as time went by, first added a sub, then a new pair of mains, then rears to swap out the old used speakers, then centers...and full circle to a pair of new subs to replace/supplement the old one :D

No matter what your budget, you can buy one piece at a time, as your pocketbook allows, and come out with a great system that's easy to upgrade. Contrapositively, that ease of upgrading can certainly be a big problem.. I constantly see myself eyeing those delicious Ref3's and Emotive amp/preamp combo...and thinking, 'yea, I can probably dig up the 9k I need for those somehow.'

Part and parcel with the hobby, but if you start down this path, you'll learn to love it!
Click to expand...


Absolutely right. I've got a hodge podge of Event TR-8's running off a Nakamichi SS8 receiver/CD changer. The TR-8's were a tough call for me between those and some KRK V6's. The V6's were more expensive but I ended up going with the TR-8's because the KRK's were a little too smooth. If you want brutal honesty the Event's are your best bet for powered studio monitors at ~$500. They're just ugly black boxes with one green LED on the front and no speaker grilles but they're rock solid and very powerful.
 
There are so many different small brands out there that it's unreasonable to keep track of them off the top of your head..I've never heard of Event of KRK myself =]

For some well-regarded speakers in the 500$ price range, here's what's off the top of my head:

Paradigm Atoms
Paradigm Titans
Onix RS150
Onix ELT LRS
Onix CSe
Epos ELS-3
Ascend 170

Those are just the ones that immediately come to mind.. I know somebody on AVSforum compiled a list of all speakers under 500$.. came out to a list of about 80 speakers!
 
Mister X said:
lol
I think we all know what you mean.
Chasing that next upgrade gets to be an expensive habit. :(
Click to expand...

lol no kidding.

For me, it all started off with a cheap set of Philips 2.1 speakers from circuit that i got for about $30. I thought they were great. Then i saw the Altec Lansing 641s at best buy, i just had to had them (and i still do, 2 sets actually, on my other computers now). Then i saw the logitech z680s... i got them! Too bad the z680s were a huge downgrade from the altec lansings. added to that, the amplifier blew after 2 hours. THEN, i got the klipsch ultras just so i had the best of the best and wouldnt have to worry about upgrading... Then i started to look at home audio equipemtn. I sold the klipschs and went to circuit city and got the surround system in my signature. Fortunately it was all on clearance for about half off....

So, buying that first $30 system led me to my current $1000+ system. It's an addiction! But at the same time i dont regret it.
 
I have the Klipsch 5.1 Ultra's No problems perfect working order besides I heard there customer support is one of the best. And I use to think people were crazy for spending 350+ for speakers Well now that I have them and heard them. I will buy klipsch again.! :D
 
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