Logitech X-530 or Logitech THX Z-5300e ?!?!?

Since everyones ears are different, it's going to be a crap shoot if you order any speakers without hearing them first. What sounds good to a friend may not impress you. Of course, you can buy the most expensive 5.1 or 7.1's and they'll not impress if you don't set them up properly. Kinda like in the old 6x9 days, when people just tossed their speakers on the rear package tray of their car and expected great sound.
Of course, if you can't listen first...............not much one can do but buy n try.

The 5500s are worth it, but if you don't want to spend $220, try to snag the 5300e's. They're not as good, but still very good.

I picked up the 5500s about a month ago. I can say that these are good speakers. Save your money and pick up a high quality set of speakers. You won't have to upgrade them (like we do with video or sound cards) and you won't be thinking "I wonder"

What price range are you looking for? Maybe there are some alternatives form other companies like Klipsch.

I personaly run Logitech Z-680's and they are pretty sick little bastards. They are loud, accurate, small, and aren't too bad on the eyes lol. I play Battlefield 2 with them and they handle everything well, the sub isn't home theater quality, but it gets the job done.

My point in all of this rambling is to drop the money for the good speakers if you can. Look at the pure wattage, 70w v 280w. The 70w X-530's would be alright maybe in a bedroom, but if you plan to entertain people or want to hear some loud explosions when bus from SPeed blows up, then go Z-5300.

Thanks for all the comments and help.

Issues:

1. My room is pretty small but I would still like to have surround sound.

2. I'm geting a free 360 xbox which I'm selling in hopes of recieving 400 bucks. So anything over the price range of 400 is coming out my pockets

3. I still need to buy my samsung 930b to replace this crappy crt. Gotta get the Saitek PZ30AU-RED Black keyboard. Get some new heating for the cpu. Pick up audigy z2 and maybe purchase a new mouse.

4. I watn something that I can say thats the sh*t....There is no need to upgrade for awhile.

There's nothing like seeing a movie preview (lets say spiderman 3) in surround sound. Hyping u up for the movie. There doesn't seem to be any good speakers at around 170 or so... The price differential from good to better is always 80 to 100 bucks. I was also thinking about a 2.1 setup....I would be saving the money get good speakers but there is no surround sound.

With regard to your $170 comment check this crap out:

Logitech Z-5300e

Under 140!

I upgraded from 2.1 speakers to the z-5300e and they blew me away . I am using the onboard sound and could not believe the difference in quality it made . I know it would get even better with a sound card but I just can't seem to part with the money for one when I am still blown away with what i have now . I'm not an audiofile but i do watch dvd's listen to music and play a few games and these speakers have outperfomed my expectations . The room they are in is 8 foot by 12 foot and I feel the room isn't big enough for the sound that the speakers produce .

That's what I have. I wasn't disappointed.

I'll go with the 5300...they are really cool believe me. I have one of those with my audigy 2 value and its really2 good.. I listen a lot of mp3,watch dvd and of course play games and the speaker just do it all perfectly. Btw the bass for this speaker is a bit to loud i think, but u can adjust it the soundcard setting.
If you compare it with x530, you will defenitely see the difference in their bass, how loud and how deep the 5300

I would like to thank everyone for making my decision easier... I'll definately go with the 5300e. Now I must decide whether to go with my monitor or the speakers first..... this crt is killing my eyes as I type this message lol.

lol, man thats a hard call. i suffered a long time with a crt,but it never died. 9yrs old and it still works. but I trully love my LCD. 16ms response time keeps up with BF2 and everything. I say speakers just bc you already have a monitor....  

I already have speakers but they suck ass. Since I knew I was gonna get a better speaker system, I decided to buy these cheap 2.1 $25 logitech speakers with soundwoofer. I have the new elder scrolls but I don't want to play them on these horrible speakers. So I haven't even installed yet.... I'm one of those "everything needs to be perfect" people. What monitor do u have?

Samsing 204T 20.1" 1600x1200 LCD (16ms), im proud of that bad boy, it rock my world... not that way lol. but seriously, I never notice any ghosting. Its big, its black, its a bad ass  

It depends how *permanent* of a purchase you think this is. If you think you will be looking for a large improvement in the future for music, you should probably buy the more inexpensive one now.

My reasoning is, once you hear how bookshelves + subwoofer sound like, you'll never look at computer speakers again. At that point, you'd probably be happier you didn't spend more money, and the sonic difference will be subjectively minor at that point.