5.1 / 7.1 Computer Speakers Obsolete??

[i_like_pie]

Hey all,

I was recently looking for some good 5.1 computer speakers, but to my surprise, there is very little offered out there. When I filter a site by 5.1 or 7.1 speakers, only "1" product from creative, and "1" product from logitech show up?! This is pretty surprising to me given that most soundcards are at least 5.1 there are tons of 2.1 speakers out there - but that does me no good. I was considering the logitech z-5500 speakers (well I have little choice because of the few offerings) anyone have these speakers? or can anyone recommend any? My budget is about $400, and would like some versatile speakers for gaming/music/movies. Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks.

Mike

 

[JohnnyLucky]

There's been quite a change in personal computing. Part of it is driven by the home theater pc market. Motherboards now come with excellent onboard sound. My own motherboard has HDMI and fiber optic ports on the rear panel. I used a fiber optic cable to connect to my old audio system.

 

[i_like_pie]

hmm, so I'm now wondering if it'd be better to get a home theater system and use the optic out on my sound card? Anyone going this route?

 

[Vythiel]

The Z-5500 set from Logitech is one of the best computer speaker setups you can get. It has digital input so it can be used with other output sources as well.

I've also purchased a gaming headset which has amazing sound when I don't want to disturb my neighbours. The one I picked was :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826106219&cm_re=sennheiser_headset-_-26-106-219-_-Product

But if you want more BASS, these are excellent as well:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826249035&cm_re=steelseries_siberia_v2-_-26-249-035-_-Product

All the above are very high quality and need a good sound card for you to get the most out of them. You will be able to hear a difference between onboard sound and a discrete sound card.

 

[i_like_pie]

Great info, thanks guys!!

 

[megamanx00]

Yeah, newegg only has 3 5.1 speaker setups listed. With the passing of EAX, it's been making more sense to use Home Theater setups for those whom want surround sound. I use creative surround speakers myself, but then I originally got them a long time ago to get the most out of EAX and for movies.