5.1 speakers

[NegativeBeef]

My Creative Gigworks G550W speakers has finally died on me. The speakers still work but the control console got fried by static electricity. What would be a worthy upgrade? There doesn't seem to be too many options out there.

 

[boomhower]

Budget?

 

[NegativeBeef]

~ $500 although size would be more of an issue.

 

[giantpandaman2]

Do you really need 5.1 if size is such an issue?

Often a decent pair of headphones is enough.

Also, what's the usage? Music? Movies? Games?

 

[tential]

Stick with it and just RMA it. IF not, replace it with a similar system for your PC.

There is VERY little performance you can gain without a size increase. I had similar speaker system with a Z-5500. The next logical upgrade for me was Home Theater. HTIB was basically my Z-5500 with a weaker sub. Or with bigger speakers that really were just bigger but not much better in performance.

There isn't a logical upgrade from your type of speakers without going significantly larger. Otherwise, I'd stick with the type of system you have.

 

[NegativeBeef]

Do you really need 5.1 if size is such an issue?

Often a decent pair of headphones is enough.

Also, what's the usage? Music? Movies? Games?

Music and games. Yes I really do need 5.1 especially for games. I already have some great headphones and they are definitely no substitute for 5.1

 

[alcoholbob]

If size is a big deal, you could grab maybe a used 5.1 PC system and just replace the satellites with Klipsch RSX-3s which are pretty cheap on ebay.

 

[videogames101]

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trk....TRC0.H0.Xz5500&_nkw=z5500&_sacat=0&_from=R40

z5500, sadly you'll only find them aftermarket because logitech decided to stop making the only decent set of speakers they ever put out

 

[moonbogg]

I still got my Z5500's and they are just so damn amazing still. If they break, i'll buy another set new or used off ebay. Logitech has a replacement model that might not be as good in the sub, but should still be quite great.

 

[yhelothar]

Music and games. Yes I really do need 5.1 especially for games. I already have some great headphones and they are definitely no substitute for 5.1

Headphones with games that can simulate binaural audio through HTRF should be vastly superior to any surround sound speaker setup. Binaural audio is omnidirectional and can even give you directional cues on height.

Unfortunately few developers puts much attention into sound quality nowadays. But there are a number of titles that feature it.

Listen to this with your headphones and tell me if your speakers give you a better experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqqiIR017SQ

 

[vshah]

it was a sad day when I threw out my z5300. for your use case I'd find a used set of z5500s

 

[NegativeBeef]

What would be my options if I were to build my own?

 

[SithSolo1]

What would be my options if I were to build my own?

If you want to go the DIY route here are some sites to browse:
http://www.avsforum.com/f/155/diy-speakers-and-subs
https://www.parts-express.com/project-gallery
http://www.diysoundgroup.com/
http://www.diyaudio.com/


If you could fit a receiver somewhere you could get a set of these: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=109&cp_id=10906&cs_id=1090601&p_id=10565&seq=1&format=2

which is basically a knockoff of these: http://www.amazon.com/Energy-Classic...ds=energy+take

 

[Sheninat0r]

Headphones with games that can simulate binaural audio through HTRF should be vastly superior to any surround sound speaker setup. Binaural audio is omnidirectional and can even give you directional cues on height.

Unfortunately few developers puts much attention into sound quality nowadays. But there are a number of titles that feature it.

Listen to this with your headphones and tell me if your speakers give you a better experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqqiIR017SQ

This is very much dependent on your own HRTF and how closely it matches a generic HRTF used to generate the binaural audio. Have you ever tried a Smyth SVS Realiser? After using one of them, I've found that no other binaural system can even come close.