Best PC Speaker System

EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
edited December 2003 in Hardware
Finally decided my Videologic system (DigiTheatre DTS) can move to the TV and I want something else on my PC, due to 2 main annoyances with the Videologic, firstly you have to prop the speakers up with the covers as they have no adjustable stand.... well, no stand at all, and secondly, due to it only having a single analog in (you need 3 for 5.1) , I can only play games in 2.1 (if I had an N-Force this wouldn't be a problem due to the 5.1 over digital via DDE) but as I dont, the only thing I ever get more than 2 channels in are DVD's and AC3 files using S/PDIF passthrough....

So basically, what is the best system for the PC which doesn't require a mortgage and allows 5.1 stereo.

Or even better 6.1 or 7.1, but still.... you know what I mean.

Cheers,
NS
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Comments

  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    The Logitech Z680s too expensive, or would those be ok?
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited November 2003
    Logitech z680s are well worth the $$$. Any review you read about them will tell you this.
  • pseudonympseudonym Michigan Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Z680s, definitely.
  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2003
    I went with the Z560's and they sound great and the Z680's sound just as good with a better control pod and a center channel (naturally) and a digital input or analog inputs...I wish I could have afforded a set of them.
  • Mr_BojinglesMr_Bojingles Northern Michigan New
    edited November 2003
    the Z680's for sure

    Have had mine for about 4 months and they are well worth the money
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I've Klipsch 5.1, and z680s.

    I wish I had two sets of z680s. :(
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    They look quite nice (though the missing tweeter on the satallites bugs me) but the cheapest I can find them here is $550, which is insane....

    Also, is the centre speaker grill removeable?

    NS
  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2003
    Yes it comes off.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    k.

    Right, down to £250 now ($425)
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009OWF5/ref%3Dbr%5Flf%5Fce%5F2/whichshcouk-21/202-7847042-0872651

    cmon, lets turn this into a "Lets find NS the Z680's for under £100" I know you can do it! I BELIEVE IN YOU!......

    hm....

    NS
  • m-goslingm-gosling UK, near to Brighton
    edited November 2003
    Defiently go with the Z-680's, ive had mine for about a month now, and not a single day goes by that i ever regret spending the £££ on them. And yes, all the speaker covers are removable. In fact, it is best IMHO to run them with the grills off, since they sound slightly better and look loads cooler :D

    You might have problems getting some tho. When i got mine there was some kind of major stock shortage of them in the UK, tho the situation has probally improved by now. The cheapest place i have found so far in the UK to get them is here: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Logitech_166.html
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    The other thing you could do, NS, is build your own.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Oh god, not OCUK..... no-one buys from their as basically their customer is next to none.... no seriously, so close to none that you probably wont get any service at all.

    Soooo, anywhere other than OCUK for cheaper?

    Also, can the bass be turned right down? As the parents like to complain a lot....

    NS
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Geeky1 had this to say
    The other thing you could do, NS, is build your own.

    Elaborate.....

    NS
  • m-goslingm-gosling UK, near to Brighton
    edited November 2003
    Oh god, not OCUK..... no-one buys from their as basically their customer is next to none.... no seriously, so close to none that you probably wont get any service at all.

    Hmm, can't say that me or anyone I know have ever had any problems with them, in fact your the first person ive come across to say anything bad about them....

    If your worried about custoner service tho, you might want to try buying them where i brought mine from @ www.over-clock.co.uk. Their support is just amazing, but they do charge a little bit more


    Yes, it is possible to turn the bass down to a point where it completely switches off. At default settings it is very boomy, but its fairly easy to adjust it to a level that you are confortable with. Its nice to have the bass tho for when the parents are out, the other day my hand started going numb from the desk vibrating so much from hours of having them up loud :D
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Hmm.... how ironic. My current speaker system still costs >£350, so I just wan't to make sure I am not going to be making a step down here (as the Logitechs cost >£100 less).

    This is going to be a long shot, but has anyone else here listened to the Logitech Z680's and the Videologic Digitheatre DTS Platinum?

    m.gosling: Not just me....
    http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6520

    Their staff are complete *******s though, they don't actually seem to wan't to help anyone.

    NS
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    By building your own, I mean buying the speakers, the wood for the enclosures, the wire mesh for the faraday cages, and the reciever, and actually putting one together. I'll see what I can find...

    And it may be somewhat more expensive than the Z680s (I dunno yet) but the sound quality would be far, far better.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Argh, you said OCUK... OCUK = overclockers.co.uk
    overclockers.co.uk != over-clock.co.uk

    No wonder :rolleyes2

    NS
  • m-goslingm-gosling UK, near to Brighton
    edited November 2003
    m.gosling: Not just me.... http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6520 Their staff are complete *******s though, they don't actually seem to wan't to help anyone.

    Hmm, i was speaking from personal experiance and from the experiances from a few of my friends. I really hope they havn't gone bad, since i currently have over £135 worth of orders with them...

    Argh, you said OCUK... OCUK = overclockers.co.uk overclockers.co.uk != over-clock.co.uk No wonder NS

    Well, overclockers.co.uk is where i was going to buy them from origonally, but because of the stock shortage at the time they didnt have any. So I went with over-clock.co.uk after reading good reviews about them, and recieved some of the best customer support ive ever had. They went out of their way to keep me updated on the matter and to help track some down.

    Anyway, I will stop hijacking this thread now :) Im just going to keep my fingers crossed that I dont have any problems with OCUK....
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    As I said, over-clock are probably fine, as they are nothing to do with OCUK.

    I found them for $250, so if someone wants to ship them over to me..... but then it will probably cost £50 shipping :(

    NS
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    Ok, so for example, if you were to build your own, you might use:
    <ul>
    <li><a href="http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&User_ID=16491149&St=7437&St2=56356434&St3=-34081141&DS_ID=3&Product_ID=6372&DID=7">These</a&gt; tweeters
    <li><a href="http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&User_ID=16491149&St=7437&St2=56356434&St3=-34081141&DS_ID=3&Product_ID=7298&DID=7">these</a&gt; midranges
    <li>and <a href="http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&User_ID=16491149&St=7437&St2=56356434&St3=-34081141&DS_ID=3&Product_ID=7559&DID=7">these</a&gt; woofers in each satellite
    <li>and one of <a href="http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&User_ID=16491149&St=7437&St2=56356434&St3=-34081141&DS_ID=3&Product_ID=7513&DID=7">these</a&gt; subs
    <li>with <a href="http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&PartNumber=300-792&DID=7">this</a&gt; amp
    <li>and a head unit of your choice to drive the satellites.

    That particular setup probably wouldn't be quite as good as the Z680s (just my speculation... I have no idea), but if you were to spend more $$ on speakers, it would be.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I think that would be too much effort with too high chance of failure are I am really cack handed, so I think i'll stick with pre-built.

    Thanks for the idea though....
    NS
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    No problem. The Z680s would be best then. Barring those, all of Logitech's speakers are supposed to be great.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    If anyone knows the Z680's well, can you compare them with this please.

    So, would it be viable to get them shipped over from the US? Or is that madness?

    NS
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Reading some of the reviews, I am worried about getting a defective set, as it seems some people have had to return them 2 or 3 times to actually get a working set of the speakers.

    Also it seems that the older version of the control pod (older firmware) has hiss issues, which is fixed in the newer version, but the point is trying to get it replaced if it is an old one....

    One thing I hated about this Videologic set is that it uses a different speaker(s) for the center channel, thus ruining everything, but that doesn't seem to be a problem with the Z680s.

    Is there anything being released any time soon that is likely to top the Z680's? As I am still bothered about the frequency response of a single midrange satallite system...

    NS
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited November 2003
    i seriously doubt anything is getting released soon to top them. logitech has had plenty of time to release a new product, and they seem to be sticking with that set.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I heard some mention about a new system from Creative with titanium 40khz tweeters, but on the other hand I hate creative and probably wouldn't buy it anyway.

    See, if Klipsh actually sold to the UK then I wouldn't have had this problem in the first place >.<

    The only thing holding me back now is the fear that the Z680's could be inferior (in sound quality, not features) compared to my current system :(

    NS
  • AnimalAnimal
    edited November 2003
    the site has the speakers lister for cheaper than £250...... sorry if you already found them cheaper...

    http://www.computerprices.co.uk/hardware/pricemagnifier.asp?productid=269852&categoryid=SPEAKERS
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Only just over an hour late :)

    http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7602

    Had found it a bit earlier.
    Now I just have to beat £233......

    But still, I still need to find SOMEONE who has used both sets...

    What was Merrics audio site address?

    NS
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Has anyone listened to the Klipsch 5.1 Ultra set (the new one) as well as the Logitch Z680s? As from other votes, it appears this new Klipsh system is better.

    NS
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    The Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1's have a redone sub, which is more powerful than the older 5.1 set did.

    The cross-over network has been fine tuned slightly more to achieve better blending between the mid-range and high-range.

    They've also re-wired the control pod to minimize interference.

    Have I heard them? No.
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