speakers pc vs ht

[amaxwell]

Hey guys I was having an "argument" with a mate of mine
The question was for 500 Aus dollars ~ 300US? which set of speakers would sound better.
Those designed by computer companies eg. logitech/creative
Or those designed by sound companies for home theatre applications.

I was looking at a logitech z680 and a z5300

 

[Crashman]

Good question! The answer is kind of tough: If you want home theater speaker you're going to need an amp, home theater amps cost a lot of money, so unless you already have one you're getting the better price on the computer speaker (which have their own cheaper amp).

Let me put it this way, I think a $200 HT amp and a $150 speaker system would sound about the same as a $250-$300 computer speaker set. Of course it would have more features (remote control, lots of inputs, lots of power...).

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Crashman]

BTW, if you buy a "home theater center" here (the complete kit) with all the speakers, you'll pay $500 U.S. to get a settup with the same quality as a $300 set of computer speakers...but it will produce at least 50% more volume as well. Just my opinion.

My friend just fried his $200 computer speaker amp, and tried replacing it with a $260 home theater settup, but the speakers on the old system were better so he ended up using the new amp with the old speakers.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[amaxwell]

thnx crashman..

 

[Rob423]

how come toms don't test Klipsch setups? i have the 2.1 and that thing has some nice power...

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200gb WD 8mb cache..
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1 GB Corsair XMS PC3200 Cas2

 

[Black_Cat]

Yeah, why not Klipsch?

Okay, brain. You don't like me, and I don't like you, but let's get through this thing and then I can continue killing you with beer. -- Homer Simpson.

 

[Crashman]

Buy them some and I'm sure they'll test them. What, you expect Tom's to actually buy the parts?

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[trunksgt]

i have the klipsch 5.1... they blow all other comp speakers out of the water. period. (logitech is a cheap accessory company, i wouldnt go for their 'high end' audio)

i hooked them up to my new sony 500w reciever ($180) so now the speakers sound even more amazing because the reciever amps them better

as for HT vs Comp.... basicly HT setups are generally louder and richer, meant to listen in your average room.
Comp speaker setups are meant to have full sound when sitting at your comp, not to fill a room.
if u have good 5.1 speakers right now, get a cheap amp (i got my sony from best buy with a 10% off coupon.. great deal)... if your really into sound, then go for a decent level HT setup, its worth it cause you can do more than just the comp

 

[Ark]

Hi,
The question i have to you all, is how do Creative GigaWorks S750 compare to the home cinema packages in terms of sound quality? Which home cinema package would be comparative to Creative GigaWorks S750 speakers?

Thanks ARK

 

[blah]

yer question leaves me in the wonder land. What exactly you want: reach sound for your PC needs, or all around system to have. For 300 bucks you will not find a good "ht" (whatever that thing is, I assume "house tunes") caz you need a good $300+ rec to boot. Altec makes very (I mean very) good PC speakers, they sound better than any other ones in their price range, which means they sound the same as ones with the price above them (pease of junk klipsch and such). Check them out, best bang for the buck and best sound around.

..this is very useful and helpful place for information...

 

[blah]

""they blow all other comp speakers""

what does "all" mean? you mean "all" other? that means "all"? or am I lost here? you seriously mean "all" other, right? have you listened to "all"? what do you mean by "all?

..this is very useful and helpful place for information...

 

[trunksgt]

my god man.. stop responding to posts on these boards... you have no idea what your talking about in anything (HT is short for Home Theater, idiot)... cant even spell right ('caz' what is 'caz'? i'm assuming you mean 'because')
and by 'all other' i mean exactly that, klipsch are better than 'all other' computer speakers.. what dont you understand there?

Altec? your kidding right? altec is a complete POS brand... if you have any concern for having good sound then a) if you dont want to spend the money go for the logitechs... b) if you dont mind spending some money and getting really good sound, go for the Klipsch Promedia series, the best sound your gonna get for the comp... or go for the HT setup, gonna pay a bit more for it (unless you get an all in one for $3-500) but the HT setups are nice because you can customize them how you like, can get any reciever you want and hook up any speakers, dont have to settle for a complete package, you can also easily hook up multiple devices, not just the comp (i currently have my comp, tv, and dvd to a reciever going through my klipsch speakers)
its all a question of how much you want to spend and what you want to use it for

 

[blah]

chill out, dude, the question was about $300, what will be better, not $700+ setup you or $1000+ I are having.



..this is very useful and helpful place for information...

 

[silverpig]

Depends on the individual setups really. I have a $250 500W Sony HT reciever (eh, it's decent), and a 5.0 (no sub) $500 set of speakers which do me pretty well. I LOVE how I can get DD 5.1 to the amp from my soundstorm.

It sounds great and I'll never buy another set of computer speakers ever again. A few years down the road I'll get a nice Denon amp and use it to power a Paradigm 7.1 system for sure. Until then, my current setup will do fine and will kick the crap out of most, if not all, pc speakers.

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[Hobbit]

Spend around $100 on a good pair of headphones and you will have sound superior to any speakers. The main difference is that with headphones you will be able hear/isolate sounds you just cant hear as well with speakers. This is a must for PC games: especially first person shooters.

Balls, said the Queen if I had them I would be king!

 

[blah]

hehehe, I just got RP-DJ1200 DJs ordered, those things will blow your brains out, they have so much bass, gg

..this is very useful and helpful place for information...

 

[silverpig]

Not really. Sure you can hear more sounds, but you don't get any directional info out of headphones. I would much rather play with a surround speaker setup in an fps than headphones because then I can tell exactly where everyone is.

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[Hobbit]

I couldnt disagree with you more. The truth is headphones do provide fantastic directional information. I would like to say all professional gamers use headphones but nothing is absolute.

Balls, said the Queen if I had them I would be king!<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by hobbit on 01/06/04 09:58 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[silverpig]

You get right and left. Your sound card outputs only a right and left stereo signal to your headphones which only have 2 drivers. You can tell when something passes left to right, but not if it's behind you or in front of you.

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[Rob423]

dam i didn't visit here in a few days and everyone went crazy...lol..

Yeah i have the Klipsch Promedia 2.1, only complains i have are 2, one being that they do supply some cheap wire'ing... i had to makeup my own cables, and also i wasn't to thrilled on the fact that i have to bend over and flip a switch on the back of the sub to power them on.. other then that the speakers ROCK, solid design and deff no problems with power output. Everyone on this forum talks so much about Logitech z680s or whatever models, personally never tested them out or anything but im just wondering how a company who makes MOUSE"S and KEYBOARDS can make speaker setup that sounds better then a Real Speaker company like Klipsch.

Next time im in a store i am deff gonna check out those z680's.. only thing i can see right from the start that i like are the Remote and that little box with that you can power on everything and control everything.

anyway 2.1's rock! lol

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
80gb Maxtor
200gb WD 8mb cache..
Lian-Li PC-60
Lite-On 52X
AMD XP2800+
LeadTek GeForce 4 Ti4200 w/vivo 128mb 8x
Hitachi CML174
1 GB Corsair XMS PC3200 Cas2

 

[blah]

<""You can tell when something passes left to right, but not if it's behind you or in front of you."">

Dood, you talk like a cow, lots of fat, no brain. Have you ever played UT on MX300 with headphones? That thing is so thruthfull it is scarry.

PS: please make yerself a fever and find out how sound is "flying" into yer ear? do you have front and rear "hole" in the head? if you know what I mean?

..this is very useful and helpful place for information...

 

[silverpig]

I've played UT, quake, CS, and about 30 other games both with my sennheiser headphones and with my 5.1 HT setup.

It's very easy to see how you can tell where the sound is if you use a simple program where you can move a sound source around you on the screen. Creative's utilities let you do just that. Use your headphones and move a sound around you in a circle. All you will hear is the sound going left to right and back again. Now do with with a surround setup. You will be able to hear the sound actually move around you.

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[blah]

hey, I will not say a word any more to you, you don't understand what I am telling you, it is not headpones it's a sound card that makes you "hear things". SB Live! is a junk with your headphones, let it be sennheiser or shmakheizer, they just produce what's going in with different quality. (by the way, the headphone you posess have weak bass line, all sennheisers have that, and if you have an open air, which is I hardly doubt, caz they cheap, they suck even more)

..this is very useful and helpful place for information...

 

[silverpig]

I've used 3 different sb cards from the original live through to a full 5.1 digital card, as well as the nforce apu in analog mode and in DD mode where the signal is decoded by my amp and sent to the head phones. Basically, with the last setup, I get downmixed DD 5.1 to the headphones and I'll still take the 5.1 setup over headphones.

Why do you say "it is not headpones it's a sound card that makes you 'hear things'" when you're trying to argue that headphones are superior to a 5.1 setup?

So is it the headphones or is it the sound card?

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[r2k]

blah, you want to be the worst troll ever but you just suck so much that you can't even be nominated that. We really need a moderator (and a worthy FAQ by the way) for the forums. You try and post some of this garbage on ArsTechnica.com forums just once and you'll see how hard you'll get kicked out and never allowed in again.