Any good PC speakers?

[Josh7289]

Hey all,

I'm not in the market to buy, and I'm not doing a new build yet, but I'm just curious:

I've read a lot of hate for Logitech speakers, though I have a set of X-230 speakers from that company right now. I'll admit I'm not an audiophile, but I do appreciate good sound. So I'm wondering for when it comes time to shop for another set of speakers, which makers of PC speakers are generally good? Which specific models excel in each price range, number of speakers, etc.?

I don't know...It just seems to me that all the typical PC speaker brands get a lot of flak for some reason or another...

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

If you have the budget for it, you can get a set of "real" speakers going
http://forums.anandtech.com/ca...tid=67&flcache=6698691

A lot of cheap sets have issues with them
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2178032&enterthread=y

You can get a lot better bang for the buck going with headphones.

 

[Fardor]

I can't imagine why I'd need better than my X-230's.

 

[Jax Omen]

I have the X-540, just got them yesterday. They sound amazing compared to my old stereo

I think for non-audiophiles, they'd be a great choice.

 

[Dizzymon]

I got my X-540 over 6 months ago and they are fairly good. The only thing I don't like is the heaphone jack blows. You can't get that loud enough no matter what you do. Software can help some but not very much. Other then that it sounds great with the 5.1 setup.

 

[heymrdj]

Logitech X-230's, pardon my french, but they are the damn best set of 2.1 speakers i have EVER owned or heard in my life. They even rival my 4.1 set. They get darn loud, are darn stylish, and their base lines can rattle a window. And their price is a fricken steal. I bought them 2 years ago for personal desktop use, jsut cause they were on sale and i wanted to replace my old 2.1's in a hurry with something louder, they supplied and more. I couldn't believe the deal. I could've gotten cheaper then Office Depot though . But still worth every penny .

 

[Ghouler]

PC speakers have improved since their early days but they are still way behind good bookshelves or monitor speakers meant for listening to music.
But some PC peripheral companies make woofer-less stereo sets that seem pretty good, e.g.:
Gigaworks T20 (review) or Groove PM20 ((klipsch website)
<Disclaimer: I do not have experience with these 2 sets.>
For gaming and "budget" home theater setups 5.1 PC sets are great value.
Logitech are very popular, but Altec Lansing and Creative offer interesting sets, too, and often at very good price. E.g. $40-$60 can buy 5.1 Inspire set already. Mine is 4 years (5100) old and still works great. Checked Logitechs x530 at friend - they are great for bass but for music the woofer was overpowering, sure A LOT depends on where you put your speakers and how, but I had impression my set was more balanced.

btw. anyone tried razer mako 2.1 set? There is a lot of buzz about them, are they any good?

 

[frostedflakes]

For a non-audiophile, PC sets are fine IMO. Most seem to be designed for gaming/movies (i.e. overpowering, boomy base, which drives me nuts -- that's why I went with a set of 2.0 PC speakers), but it's not like they're bad for music. A set of studio monitors would offer more accurate music reproduction, but that doesn't necessarily translate into "better" sound. Most people are used to the in-your-face sound typical of PC speakers and home theaters in a box. In comparison to this, true audiophile speakers would probably sound pretty mellow and boring.

 

[lightstar]

i have 2 pairs of these JBL duet- great general use speakers. . . .almost as good as my bose

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...6101074&Tpk=jbl%2bduet

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: lightstar
i have 2 pairs of these JBL duet- great general use speakers. . . .almost as good as my bose

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16836101013

uh oh....

 

[Sunrise089]

I like my Logitech Z-2300s a lot.

 

[Synomenon]

^
Me too.

 

[tcsenter]

Best 2.0 speakers under $25.00 that I've found = Cyber Acoustics

You asked about different price ranges, and "under $25" is a price range, right?

I bought two cartons (eight total) and have two left. Its the basic speaker I include with systems. Many good comments, no negative ones. Shielding ain't the best, but vastly superior to those infernal SP-691 (and clones) many system builders charge nearly as much for.

 

[corsa]

Its not what speakers u have, its what signal ur feeding them that counts

SRS Audio Sandbox?

once u go SRS ....u cant go back!

 

[sathyan]

I use M-audio nearfield monitors as computer speakers and am quite happy with them. Available in a variety of frequency ranges and price ranges.
http://www.m-audio.com/index.p...mily&ID=studiomonitors
(note: this is for 2-channel music/news listening and Netflix streaming ... I'm not a gamer)

 

[Josh7289]

OK, so answer this. The ".1" in a 2.1 speaker system refers to the separate subwoofer. But the sound that goes out to a 2.1 speaker system is still just regular 2(.0) channel sound. There's no discrete channel for the subwoofer, like there is in a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system.

So, where does the sound for the subwoofer (the ".1") in a 2.1 system come from? Is it just the low frequencies from the 2.0 channel sound routed to the subwoofer of the 2.1 speaker system?

And if that's the case, I have another question: There are two channels in stereo sound, so if the low frequencies of both of these channels get routed to the same subwoofer, how can the subwoofer handle playing two separate low frequencies (from two separate channels) at once? Couldn't/Shouldn't this distort the sound?! In that sense, isn't a 2.0 speaker system better for stereo sound, since each channel has its own discrete speaker and there's no sharing of a subwoofer?!?!

...As you can see, I don't know much about this stuff, so please enlighten me.

 

[corsa]

Josh7289 says:

So, where does the sound for the subwoofer (the ".1") in a 2.1 system come from? Is it just the low frequencies from the 2.0 channel sound routed to the subwoofer of the 2.1 speaker system?

The answer is Yes

Josh7289 also says:

And if that's the case, I have another question: There are two channels in stereo sound, so if the low frequencies of both of these channels get routed to the same subwoofer, how can the subwoofer handle playing two separate low frequencies (from two separate channels) at once? Couldn't/Shouldn't this distort the sound?! In that sense, isn't a 2.0 speaker system better for stereo sound, since each channel has its own discrete speaker and there's no sharing of a subwoofer?!?!

A quote from the Vandersteen Audio website:

Mono or Stereo Bass

There are significant advantages to using two subwoofers. Modern sources such as CD's, Laser Discs, DVD's and Video Tapes maintain full stereo separation to below 20Hz.Summing the channels into a single subwoofer reduces or cancels all the low frequency information containing phase differences between the channels. Stereo subwoofers reproduce all of the bass information complete with the phase differences that help provide the imaging and location clues we use to place people and things at distinct points in the sound field. Stereo subwoofers also improve linearity on mono as well as stereo sources by coupling the bass to the room at two points and lend themselves to natural placement near the corners where the low frequency room gain is often desirable.

ps. Josh u have the exact same speakers that i have....do your ears a favour and install SRS Audio Sandbox?

 

[Josh7289]

Wow, I feel proud of myself that I got that right. Hahaha.

So the low frequencies from both channels are "stuffed" into one channel in a 2.1 speaker setup. Now I want to look into what a 2.2 speaker setup is like, at least to satisfy my curiosity.

And if it makes such a difference, I'll check into SRS Audio Sandbox? (can't forget the ? ). Thanks!!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Josh7289
Wow, I feel proud of myself that I got that right. Hahaha.

So the low frequencies from both channels are "stuffed" into one channel in a 2.1 speaker setup. Now I want to look into what a 2.2 speaker setup is like, at least to satisfy my curiosity.

And if it makes such a difference, I'll check into SRS Audio Sandbox? (can't forget the ? ). Thanks!!

Having dual subs is pretty rare, and even when people do have dual subs, many of them (including me) have both just playing the same sounds.

Because of this stereo bass issue (along with other considerations), many audiophile types swear by just a 2.0 setup with speakers robust enough to not require a subwoofer.

I don't know of any computer speaker system that has a 2.2 setup with a subwoofer for each speaker.

Some speakers do have powered woofers built into them that allows them to be run full range with really good results. Some people also have an additional subwoofer on top of this setup with a lower crossover point to the subwoofer just handles the REALLY low frequencies while they get stereo bass for most of the bass frequencies.

There are a couple models in from AV123 (where I got my speakers) that have powered woofers in them that allow for really good full range response.
http://av123.com/index.php?pag...m_virtuemart&Itemid=37
http://av123.com/index.php?pag...m_virtuemart&Itemid=37

Combined with the tendency of music not having much below 30Hz (with the exception of pipe organs and such), speakers like those can let you get away with not having a subwoofer. In the case of Home Theater though, you'd still probably want to augment them with a dedicated subwoofer though.

Having the powered woofers built in can also have some down side to it in terms of placement. With a separate subwoofer, you're able to play around more with placement in case the location for the speaker itself doesn't give you good bass performance.

Some people buy subs to go with each of their speakers or perhaps just the front 2-3 speakers depending on what they want to do.

There are a LOT of different options to consider when doing this, but having a subwoofer for each channel shouldn't be at the top of your list of things to look for probably

 

[Josh7289]

Alright, thanks for the help, everyone. After doing a lot of research and actually learning some stuff about speakers, I realize I'm not going to get much "quality" with the amount I'd spend on computer speakers when in the market (though I'm pretty sure I already knew that; it's nice to know just how much quality I'm sacrificing by not spending more).

Anyway, I'm looking at Klipsch's computer speakers right now, specifically the Groove PM20 and ProMedia 2.1 (I don't like the design of the ProMedia GMX A-2.1). My Logitech X-230 cost $50 retail. Just based off the prices, can I expect the quality of even the Klipsch Groove PM20 to be better than my Logitech X-230, in general? What if I went with the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1?

 

[corsa]

Dolby Labs is what has driven the .1 sub bass signal idea upon us as they are all about the dedicated low frequency effects channel and compressing as much sound as possible on that dvd ....makes for cheap sub-sat systems that just get the job done
....but in reality stereo sub-bass keeps the original signal cues to recreate the live event as it was recorded.
Most of the bass signal u are hearing in the LFE channel was put there by a sound engineer, recorded live tracks are somewhat different in that respect....with Mono bass, just like the Mono Center channel we lose the spacial envelopment that stereo sound creates.
So why isn't the movie industry moving toward more separate channels u may ask? ...well it wont be long check this out
THX 10.2

The purpose of 10.2 is to allow much greater flexibility for sound designers and create a far more immersive environment for the audience. With these channels, it is possible to recreate the acoustics of nearly any location with astonishing realism, assuming the audience is facing a screen in front of them.

On subwoofers :

The .2 of the 10.2 refers to the addition of a second subwoofer. The system is bass managed such that all the speakers on the left side use the left sub and all the speakers on the right use the right sub. The Center and Back Surround speaker are split between the two subs. The two subs also serve as two discrete LFE (Low Frequency Effects) channels. Although low frequencies are not localizable, it was found that splitting the bass on either side of the audience increases the sense of envelopment.

For pc use, ur sub should be on the floor infront of u under ur desk....it should just make ur satellite speakers sound larger than they really are

 

[Josh7289]

Ah man...I'm really getting tired of loud bass. I cannot play any music from my PC at night because my Logitech X-230s put out so much bass, even at the lowest volume level on the subwoofer. If I turn down the main volume control to the point that the bass is not too loud to keep others in the house awake, then at that point the overall volume is too low for me to reasonably listen to anything!

So, I'm probably going to go for a 2.0 setup, and probably get those Klipsch ones I mentioned in my previous post. I'm just worried that I'll miss the bass a real subwoofer can produce (I like bass, but not overpowered bass that you can't turn down when you want to...). Any thoughts?

 

[konakona]

the klipsch (or their lower echelon models) are notorious for shrill highs and hollow mid-highs coming from their horned tweeters. apparantely to some this never crosses their minds and they are perfectly happy with their sets. Me, no they sound unnatural and tiresome, fatiguing. You should be able to find them quite easily at B&M retails, so why dont you give them a listen. I would get something more quality oriented like swans or edirol. if you can live with less than ideal bass output, you can get something unexpectedely decent for <$40 from MECI as well.

 

[Josh7289]

Ugh, I give up. Sorry, everyone, but this is too much for me to do all this research.

I'll probably just get whatever comes my way, or if anyone still wants to give me a precise recommendation, I'll take that.

Thanks for all the help.

EDIT: Er...The M-Audio AV 40's looking pretty good, actually, so when I get the chance, I may just pick those up.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: Josh7289
Ugh, I give up. Sorry, everyone, but this is too much for me to do all this research.

I'll probably just get whatever comes my way, or if anyone still wants to give me a precise recommendation, I'll take that.

Thanks for all the help.

EDIT: Er...The M-Audio AV 40's looking pretty good, actually, so when I get the chance, I may just pick those up.

good choice, i'd second that