• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Z-680s vs HT setup

P

Pixeleet

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 24, 2003
Messages
1,145
I'm not sure if this has been asked here before, but why spend a lot of money on regular computer speakers (i.e. Z-680s) when you can get a HTiaB (ht in a box) setup for the same amount of money? Convince me to either side :D
 
Most HTiB setups don't have 5.1 channel inputs; neither digital nor analog. Also they're bulkier and generally less powerful.

You may be able to come up with a better solution than the Z680's by pieceing together a cheap receiver and some speakers, but in the end it will be hard to beat Logitech's performance at that price.
 
I recently purchased these for $299 at Fry's... best thing I ever did. I listened to my friends Z-680's and they don't compare. Plus it has 5.1 inputs. Wonderful system.

Yamaha YHT-450
 
Pixeleet said:
I'm not sure if this has been asked here before, but why spend a lot of money on regular computer speakers (i.e. Z-680s) when you can get a HTiaB (ht in a box) setup for the same amount of money? Convince me to either side :D
Click to expand...

Long as you can get shielded sattelites, there isn't much difference, imho.

Sub is going to suck with either option, though, since there really is no such thing as a really good 'cheap' sub. Closest you get to a really good 'cheap' sub would probably be HSU Research.

You could go all HSU, bundle a set of these with a HSU sub. They cut $100 off the combined cost if you get sub and satts together.

HSU website

I've got a vtf-2 as part of my main HT rig, it just couldn't be touched by anything else I auditioned within a reasonable price range. If I didn't occasionally do other stuff with that setup other than DD/DTS, I might have went M&K instead, as I really like their stuff for HT, especially matched up with bryston amp/preamp/pro stuff.


Oh, btw, my very first 5.1 setup was a yamaha package, great sattelites, absolutely horrendous sub. That was over 5 years ago though, their low-end subs could be much better nowadays.
 
I love all of it... the sub seems great to me. Not REAL deep but I am in a small room anyway so it is just fine. Still hits you in the gut pretty hard.

And the satellites are amazing. I am listening to the Star Wars theme right now and it is a very nice experience.

Oh and don't let the $299 price fool you. I got this set from a friend. He had some kind of deal as they weren't on display. Some kind of last stock thing. Who knows.
 
That's my vote...

Plus an HT setup can grow over time. Replace speakers and subs with better ones, as well as the reciever.

Many people will tell you that spending the money on a reciever then doing speakers later will do you best. Like maybe an refurbed Onkyo or the likes. You can go many routes.

Good Luck and have fun!
 
I had the altec lansing 641 for PC and they were great, but then i wanted to upgrade to 5.1.
Then i got the z680s, they sucked. Then i got the promedia ultras and they were great, but not quite what i wanted. HT for computer is very versitile and you can pair up speakers and all the stuff you want for the exact sound you like. it usually costs a bit more but it has much greater potential.
 
A rule of thumb is with hifi gear performs better than equally priced computer audio gear. For the price of the Z-680s, you can get a low end receiver and some low end bookshelf speakers that will sound much better. Personally, instead of that, I would invest in a decent stereo amplifier and a pair of ~$300 bookshelf speakers such as those from Axiom or B&W.
 
I got a fry's deal on a sony+klh HT 5.1 setup for just $199. it has both spdif and 6 descret inputs, works great and sounds better then most all media setups.
 
KLH is quite possibly the third worst audio company out there, right next to Sony and Bose. I have a pair of 5 1/2 bookshelfs from them and they sound like they are out of phase. I check all of my connections and the insides of the speaker, all are correct. Probably a fault in the crossover or the drivers wiring.

Generally I think that any system below $500 is gonna get trounced by the Klipsch 5.1 Ultra, with the exception of the Quintets. The reason for this is that none of the ht in a box setups have a sub that compares to the Ultra's sub. The Ultra sub is simular in output to a Klipsch Referance Series RW-10. If you are only gonna spend $500, go 5.1 Ultra and a digital decoder. You can always upgrade the sats to shelf speakers if you want and the sub is more than enough for medium sized rooms.
 
i had a KLH 10" subwoofer for about 2 days. then the power switch stopped working. i tried emailing customer support, all of the emails came back with the "undeliverable mail" response, except for one address which worked, but nobody ever replied. i tried calling tech support. they only have 1 guy in the tech support department and he wasnt there, i got his voicemail. i left a message, he didnt respond. then i went to best buy and put up with their BS when i tried to return the thing.

Here's my advice. either order EVERYTHING from newegg if you can. however, if you're going for a HT setup, go to circuit city. their speaker policy is great. they also give you one year to trade them in for better speakers, and you get almost a full credit for the price you had paid on the speakers if they are in good condition still. if you need a receiver, go to the harman/kardon store on ebay and buy a reconditioned AVR130 for $210, thats less than 50% of msrp.

i got my whole setup in my sig for about $700 or so. in walks all over the ultras and every other computer system in every way. of course that is to be expected since its a good HT setup, but it just goes to show if you dish out a little more money and find good deals, you can have something so much better.
 
hooting_monkey said:
KLH is quite possibly the third worst audio company out there, right next to Sony and Bose. I have a pair of 5 1/2 bookshelfs from them and they sound like they are out of phase. I check all of my connections and the insides of the speaker, all are correct. Probably a fault in the crossover or the drivers wiring.

Generally I think that any system below $500 is gonna get trounced by the Klipsch 5.1 Ultra, with the exception of the Quintets. The reason for this is that none of the ht in a box setups have a sub that compares to the Ultra's sub. The Ultra sub is simular in output to a Klipsch Referance Series RW-10. If you are only gonna spend $500, go 5.1 Ultra and a digital decoder. You can always upgrade the sats to shelf speakers if you want and the sub is more than enough for medium sized rooms.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with his first paragraph, but not your second. My HT systems that's actually hooked up to a real TV was around 500, and I gaurantee you it pwns the Klipsch Ultra.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top