low cost speakers

[muzzy66]

This post is actually about speakers not sound cards. I could'nt fidna section onspeakers so figured this was the next closest thing.

Basically I have about AU$240 (I think about US$120) to spend on speakers for my computer. Generally my main preferences are:
1) sound quality of satellites:
I like clear trebles in particular, and also good misrange responses. It is also important that they can be cranked up fairly decently without distortion (at least half way, but higher the better). However, overall loudness is not that important. I would prefer somehign that sounds very good and is not quite so loud.

2) base ability of sub
I don't need absolutely huge amounts of base to shake the house, but would like enough to leave an impression. My current setup is cambridge. The box says CPS 1000 but i think they are FPS somethign not entirely sure. Quite old 4.1 system with rectangular plastic sub. Sorry I couldn't be more specific :S

I mainly want good sound quality in music (i listen mostly to hip-hop, rnb, dance and alternative) and gaming. I run dvd's on my system but not very often so its nota big priority.

At the moment i'm looking at:
TDK tremor S-150
Creative inspire 5300
Altec Lansing 2100
Altec Lansing select 621

I'm generally set on the TDK's at the moment, because I decided that more then two speakers is notneccessary (sound quality is top preference). No stores seem to give much chance to hear spekers in action, and reviews have given mixed results.

Can anyone here give an idea of which speakers (listed or otherwise) in this price range would be best?

I greatly apreciate any help.

Regards,
Pete

 

[Syndil]

If your emphasis is sound quality, I would definitely go for the Altec Lansing 621's. When I purchased my 641's, sound quality was also my priority, although I opted for the 4-speaker setup. The 2100's satellites may look cool, but they are not suited for music. They are simply too small to have a decent range, and rely on the subwoofer entirely too much for mid to low-range. The same can be said for the Creative Inspire's 2" drivers. Also in their 5700 set, the subwoofer is not nearly as big as they lead you to believe. The cone on the front of the sub is actually a passive radiator. The driver itself is a little 12-watt unit mounted behind it. I gathered that info from Dan's review of the 5700's <A HREF="http://www.dansdata.com/speakersets.htm" target="_new">here</A>, which also includes a review of the Altec 4100's, which are the same as the 2100's aside from the 2 extra speakers.

I have never listened to the TDK speakers, although I did find quite a few favorable reviews of them using Google. I was suspicious of them at first, because most "flat panel" speakers are actually just thin enclosures housing standard cone-shaped drivers, albeit very tiny ones, usually less than 1" across. However this is not the case with the TDK system, which uses bending wave drivers. However according to Dan, who reviewed the TDK system <A HREF="http://www.dansdata.com/s150.htm" target="_new">here</A>, the sub in this setup is the weak point, which is to be expected from a sub that contains 3" drivers. The Altec Lansing 621's, on the other hand, use dual 6.5" drivers in its sub enclosure. I can assure you from personal experience with my 641's that this sub works very well. It is very large, which is a good thing for subwoofers, but you may want to see it in person first. My 641's sub is actually larger than my PC case. Also the satellites contain both a 2.5" midrange driver and a tweeter, and have very good response for a PC speaker system.

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