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Sub $400 Speaker Recommendations

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yamaguchi441

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Mar 5, 2016
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Hi,

I live in Canada and im looking to buy new speakers. I'll mainly be using them for gaming on my PC but I want to know which are recommended and which aren't. Im starting to lean more towards a 2.1 setup but still not opposed to a 5.1 setup

Logitech Z906 - They are on sale here for $400 and are very tempting. Im reading alot of hate towards them and that they are not as good as the Logitech Z5500's?

Swan M20W Powered 2.1 System - How about these?

These?
Amazon.com: Energy 5.1 Take Classic Home Theater System (Set of Six, Black): Electronics

Any others you can think of or recommend?
 
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If you're after a quick, easy setup I'd say Swans M50W or M-Audio AV32.1. The Energy Takes would probably be a fun choice, but, you'll need a 5.1 (or 7.1) receiver to go with them. Might be doable with your budget or slightly over if you're looking at open box, refurbished, ect. The Energy kit has competition out there that should be looked at if you're going that route.
 
You would need a receiver to drive that Energy set (only the sub is self-powered), though they're not bad for the money at all. You could probably get something for $100-150 to finish out the set though, and they'd beat the shit out of any Logitechs on earth. (edit: John721 had you covered there, sorry) You'd need to look elsewhere for receiver recommendations, since I'm not up on current stuff. My interest is strictly vintage when in comes to sound equipment -- 60s and 70s Pioneer and Yamaha mostly.

The Swans are nice if you're ok with a smaller system and 2.1. Personally, I've always found surround to be gimmicky, and don't have any real issue tracking sounds in shooters and such with a good 2.1 system, or headphones. Obviously everyone is different, of course. I'm currently using a Corsair SP2500 setup (their 2.1 system) though I think they're discontinued or something, because prices I'm seeing currently are insane. I think I paid $150 or so for them used off the forums here, though, so if you can get them under $200 I do recommend them.

There's always the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 which are $150 straight from Klipsch themselves via Amazon. If you get these I do recommend an extended warranty, as the volume control "pod" on the one speaker tends to die just outside of official warranty. Other than that design defect (hopefully sorted out on more recent models?) they sound great, aren't overpriced at all, and aren't huge. I had these before the Corsairs, so I speak from experience.

All that said... If I were you and your desk/office setup allows for it, I'd get a pair of nice tower style floor speakers and a quality receiver. Might cost you $50-100 over budget, but it'll be vastly better in terms of sound quality and expandable to surround later if you decide that's something you want, as well as being reusable for home theater or just general music purposes.
 
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The JBL LSR305 is the obvious recommendation for this price range. There are many passive speakers also in this price range that are ok (but not as good as desktop monitors as the JBL).

Tannoy Mercury 7.2
Elac Debut B5
Creative E-MU XM7 (yes, surprisingly enough even Creative manages to make a passable speaker).
 
Hey thanks I'm strongly considering the JBL's. Since I'm not too familiar with the speaker space would I be able to or even need the pair the JBL's with a sub down the road?
 
With the JBL's compared to the Swan 2.1 setup, is there that much of a difference? Or does spending the extra $200 make a big impact?
 
I second or third the notion for the Swan M50W setup...I got the set a few weeks ago from Massdrop and I'm very happy with the performance of them.

I had a set of Logitech 5.1 speakers years ago and I got a bit of vertigo at times with the sound sound on. Overall they didn't make that big of a difference in gaming, if that is your primary focus.
 
+1 for the Swan M50W. Got them about a month ago and they are fantastic.
 
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