Looking for 2.1 pc speaker recommendation

KometeKomete Member
edited March 2009 in Hardware
Hi all. Well my wife isn't letting me watch movies alone on my PC any more with my headphones. I know, how selfish and inconsiderate of her.

Anyways, I'm looking for a 2.1 speaker setup for my desktop PC. It's really just for movies and maybe some light volume music playing. Muddy sound and interference annoys the crap out of me. I like nice clean audio with decent bass.

Required features and perticulars:

It will not need to fill a large room with sound. Just satisfy two sitting infront of the PC.

inline volume control with Headphone and mic inputs.

$35 to $75 (I'd really like to keep it around $50.00 US.)

2.1 (5.1 and above isn't practical for me at this time)

Here are 2 that I'm I'm leaning towards. The creative one looks to be a little over my price range.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836193004

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836116037

Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Other than what my ears like, I have no clue what to look for when shopping for speakers.

Comments

  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited March 2009
    Hi Komete,

    I consider Logitech

    http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-050-LG&groupid=702&catid=22&subcat=173

    http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-043-LG&groupid=702&catid=22&subcat=173

    I have one of there 5.1 setups for my home cinema and it is really good
  • KometeKomete Member
    edited March 2009
    RichD:

    I'm a big fan of Logitech. I have 4 mice from them and 2 keyboards. Completely satisfied with all of them. I don't even look at another brand for a replacement. That said, I've owned 2 pairs of headphones from them and thought they were good for the price at the time. Then I stepped into a set of similar priced platonic headphones and was blown away at the difference.

    Now, in a store I've listened to these two side by side.
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121130
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836116037

    The logitechs were better constructed but I could hear that low level hiss that drives me nuts. And that is a big issue since I won't be turning them up high. I'd consider the first set you recommend but I don't think they are available in the US. At least, I'm not finding them. Have you listened to any other brands recently?
  • NiGHTSNiGHTS San Diego Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    They're a bit out of your price range, but they're recommended for exactly what you're looking for. Swan M10s are a great set of desktop speakers, but getting harder to find. They'd stopped making them for a bit when I looked ~5mo. ago, but IIRC they've started producing them again. They should be about $100.

    Edit: On second thought, it might be a bit much for what you're looking for, but check them out anyway.
  • floppybootstompfloppybootstomp Greenwich New
    edited March 2009
    What RichD said - Logitech :)
  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited March 2009
    Komete wrote:
    RichD:
    The logitechs were better constructed but I could hear that low level hiss that drives me nuts.

    Im really surprised by that Komete. Looking at the specs the logis have a more powerful amp but a slightly narrower frequency response (the Creatives have a deeper low end) but the signal to noise ratio is better on the logis so I would expect there to be more noise and his from the creatives. Reasons being, on the creative, the amp is having to drive harder, you have a poorer snr and a a wider frequency response over which to get interference. The only thing that I can think is that the internal shielding between the power components and the audio components is very good. Am I right in saying that you have aC power in the states?
  • KometeKomete Member
    edited March 2009
    Well, I can't argue with majority. Logitech it is. I decided to go with these. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121015

    But, being cheap as I am, I found them at Tiger direct for 79.00 Comes out to around 107 shipped. More than I wanted, but I don't think I will be disatisfied. I'm a little concearned with their compitability with win7 when it is realeased but logitech has never let me down before.

    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3523892&sku=L23-9030&srkey=Logitech%20Z%20Cinema
  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited March 2009
    Good find! I think you will be very pleased with them. You wont have any compatability issues because there are no drivers. You just plug them in and they amplify whatever signal you put through them. The only issue you might have is the compatability of your sound card but if that is going to be a problem, the speakers you buy will be irellevant.

    Let us know how they are for you.

    edit:
    Having looked at the spec, they do plug in via usb so there may be a driver. At the top of the spec it says they plug in via USB.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    There might be compatibility issues because they're USB.
  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited March 2009
    Dual posting I was editing as you were posting :)
  • KometeKomete Member
    edited March 2009
    Well it does have a standard input jack. So worse case scenario, I'll just loose some of the cool features in Win7. I also read that you loose some volume useing the input. I Don't crank things up high so it shouldn't be a negative for me. Time will tell. Only bad thing is, if I loose that remote I'm screwed for turning it on and off...lol I'll probably try and install it on my uncles pc that is runnign win7 to give it try. Will see :)
  • MochanMochan Philippines
    edited March 2009
    Well komete, I'm late to the party. I use a Z5500 Digital, and have it hooked up to an Auzentech Prelude via optical connection, and I have absolutely no hiss. I guess digital really works.

    I actually would have recommended you try the Creative Gigaworks T20 instead, as you said you wanted clean sound, but these are a 2.0 set. I heard they are pretty good, but I honestly haven't tried them out myself. The T20 though sometimes gets bad comments about having this hiss -- so the T40 might eb the better deal as those are a revised and more powerful set... and are still within your budget.

    I'm really shocked though that you got those for like $80? They're priced $220 at newegg. WTF? Must be good to live in the US of A, all those gadgets are dirt cheap!
  • KometeKomete Member
    edited March 2009
    I think there is a reason they are selling for that price. I'm starting to wonder if logitech will not support them in win 7 or maybe a replacement is on the way. Either way, I'm not too worried. I'm going to give them a good trial and double check on my upgrade path to win7 useing the beta. If it doesn't work out, I guess I'll just be out of shipping. I'll update once I get a chance to check them out.
    Mochan wrote:
    Well komete, I'm late to the party. I use a Z5500 Digital, and have it hooked up to an Auzentech Prelude via optical connection, and I have absolutely no hiss. I guess digital really works.

    I actually would have recommended you try the Creative Gigaworks T20 instead, as you said you wanted clean sound, but these are a 2.0 set. I heard they are pretty good, but I honestly haven't tried them out myself. The T20 though sometimes gets bad comments about having this hiss -- so the T40 might eb the better deal as those are a revised and more powerful set... and are still within your budget.

    I'm really shocked though that you got those for like $80? They're priced $220 at newegg. WTF? Must be good to live in the US of A, all those gadgets are dirt cheap!
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Personally, if I am right in front of them all the time, not sharing the sound with the room, I might go for a high quality 2.0 speaker set, and skip the sub. Look for a good two way design with decent amplification a good crossover, and open port for bass extension in a small enclosure.

    I really like the T20, its not going to fill a room with bass, but for right in front of you, its going to sound clean, and its a more refined speaker than the single driver design with phase plug that logitch seems to favor (logitech is not a bad cpu speaker, I just prefer a two way design),

    Sound is a personal choice, I would get out and see if you can test drive a few at the local big box store.

    http://www.jr.com/creative-labs-gigaworks-t20-speakers/pe/CLN_MF1545/
  • KometeKomete Member
    edited March 2009
    Thanks for the info Cliff. For now, I've ordered the Logitech Z Cinema Advanced. Hopefully I'll know by the end of the week if it's good or not. The reviews look positive.
    Cliff_Forster wrote:
    Personally, if I am right in front of them all the time, not sharing the sound with the room, I might go for a high quality 2.0 speaker set, and skip the sub. Look for a good two way design with decent amplification a good crossover, and open port for bass extension in a small enclosure.

    I really like the T20, its not going to fill a room with bass, but for right in front of you, its going to sound clean, and its a more refined speaker than the single driver design with phase plug that logitch seems to favor (logitech is not a bad cpu speaker, I just prefer a two way design),

    Sound is a personal choice, I would get out and see if you can test drive a few at the local big box store.

    http://www.jr.com/creative-labs-gigaworks-t20-speakers/pe/CLN_MF1545/
  • MochanMochan Philippines
    edited March 2009
    All Logitech Speaker reviews are positive, ever since the original Z560 Logitech has been the darling of the PC speaker industry.

    That said I wouldn't worry about Logitech "discontinuing" the line or anything like that. You don't need drivers for a speaker so it doesn't matter what OS you are using. Sure you lose out on the remote controller functions but if you're a PC geek that shouldn't bother you at all.

    I also woudln't worry about the sound. Looking at the specs of that thing I can guess how it will sound. Extremely bassy. :) I've owned two different Logitech speakers before and I've heard quite a few of their other models, so I can more or less have a good idea of what a Logi set sounds like based on its RMS.

    At that price the Z Cinema should be a steal. Man I wish I lived in the US, so I could get deals like that on electronics. Over here, electronics are usually between 150% to twice the price of what they sell their brand new on their release.
  • VicarVicar Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    A very good deal, knowing what it sells for in the US, makes me more determined to look an equally good deal over here.
  • KometeKomete Member
    edited March 2009
    Just to let everyone know, I got my Logitech Z Cinema speakers in. For the price I paid it's a banging deal but I don't think these should be classified as speakers. It's more of an audio solution. Since they have an onboard audio card, you loose the functionality of your sound card. In my case I loose my audigy sound card. I don't know how I feel about that just yet.

    I'm going to post back after I've used them for a week or so. Right now the system feels cumbersome and intrusive. The remote is steller and adds a whole new level of media interaction with my pc that I haven't had before. There are pro's and con's to it but for now I'm going to reserve judgment on them.
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