I couldn't find any forums for the topic on speakers and I felt the Peripheral section wasn't concentrated on this topic either, so I decided to post it here.

It's been awhile since we had a THG speaker review; makes me wonder if there are any newer and better speakers out there that surpass the ones deemed worthy since the last review.

And with X-Fi coming up soon, which speakers do you recommend that are less than $100 now? I'm looking for something that works well with gaming, watching movies, and listening to music.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by that_aznpride101 on 08/19/05 08:33 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

i've had my Logitech X-530's ($80 MSRP, cheaper in lots of other places) for almost a year, and they've been an awesome buy so far. for my computer desk, the 70 watt RMS/140 total is more than enough power. it puts out punctuated bass, crisp highs (after a little EQing in the sound card mixer), but slightly empty mids, which doesn't hinder the audio quality TOO much. the only real problem is the lack of a remote of some kind and that bass control is only on the sub.

but for less than $80 and given the pretty amazing quality of the sound, it's hard to complain about the shortcomings.

I dont mean to rain on anyone's parade,but why would you spend a load of $$ on the X-FI and buy cheap-o speakers? I have had the x530's and several other "top notch" Logitech speakers and they never ammout to the quality to Klipsch or a do it yourself set up!


Save some money and buy quality with that X-FI! It will be worth it!

\

<font color=red>"Battling Gimps and Dimbulbs HERE at THGC"</font color=red>

"<font color=blue> Wusy</font color=blue> <-Professional sheep banger"
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Clob on 08/20/05 03:39 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

yeah...don't bank on making the best of X-Fi with the X-530s. but for under $100, if you want 5.1, it's hard to get much better.

aren't the x-530's supposed to be decent speakers overall? i have some old Cambridge Soundworks FPS 1800 4.1 and their quality isn't that great... would the 530's be any better?

Cambridge Soundworks makes Creative speakers, founded by Henry Kloss who was in the audio business for around 50 years. After he died Cambridge was bought by Creative.

Here is a link. <A HREF="http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=speakers" target="_new">Cambridge</A>

For "computer" speakers they sound good.

The Prisoner



I'm not a number, I'm a free man!

Its like putting only 256mb ram on a new FX57... Kinda pointless.

<font color=red>"Battling Gimps and Dimbulbs HERE at THGC"</font color=red>

"<font color=blue> Wusy</font color=blue> <-Professional sheep banger"

Here's my review of my "computer speaker"

Usher AU-9000 Integrated amps and Usher S-520 speaker
<A HREF="http://"http://www.responseaudio.com/usher loudspeakers.htm"" target="_new"> Read about the S-520 here</A>

Gotta love the sound. Only 2 speakers beats any of those Altec 5.1 stuff out there at only slightly more price. No subs because the woofer on the speaker alone sounds better than any sub out there. Add in a home theatere powered sub and you got a killer sound thats going to rattle ceiling for miles. And the speaker is only rated to 55hz... with only 5.25 inch woofer, most computer subs have woofer the same size but cant even come close to this sound. But thats only Taiwan prices though... S-520 costs like 400 dollars in USA so that doesnt make it such a good bargain compared to those Altec 5.1s...

200 watt PMPO computer speaker? Mines does that in RMS...

Computer AMD Intel Hard drive

No offense, but my ass after a night of eating beans sounds better than Altec Lansing speakers in general. They used to be a good speaker back when a Soundblaster pci128 was top. The last few sets I've heard sound terrible. Their last few new speaker sets look (and sound) like Altec Lansing is trying to win people over more with style than function.

Other than that, I've had my Klipsch 5.1 Promedia Ultras for over a year now and absolutely no complaints. Their 2.1 Promedia are supposed to be as good if you're not looking for surround sound.

The funny thing is, the greatest relative utility probably comes from combining the expensive X-Fi with el cheapo speakers. Because the X-Fi's "advantage" over the Audigy 2/4 line is basically the new compression algorithm that increases volume on the transients (highs).

This works great for Logitech speakers that have no tweeters (since they hit a brick wall in general at 16khz). Smashing the dynamic range to increase volume in the highs almost gives you the highs of a tweeter with their "full range" drivers. Plus, 3" midrange drivers are never intended to play above 4-5KHz really anyway. Beyond that, there is a lot of distortion. The new compression algorithm works great here too, because Logitechs already distort the highs so badly, the differences are minor!

The X-Fi and el-cheapo speaker market are the perfect match after all. Usually spending a ton on electronics (sound card, receiver) vs speakers is considered lunacy, since speakers will account for 99% of the overall sound quality. The amount of distortion electronics produce is about 0.001% of what your speakers make! But here we find the exception--the super expensive X-Fi to make your cheap speakers sound better...assuming you had the speaker beforehand and couldn't bear leaving them. If you are combining the X-Fi and AFTERWARDS spending dimes to the dollar for bad speakers...I have nothing useful to say to you.

As for Altec Lansing...they are moving back to 2.1 setups as their flagships. Their Mx5021 is their true flagship (the more expensive 6021 is really just a gimmick with a line of tweeters). Dual 2.5"s, a 1" tweeter, and a 5.25" subwoofer. The subwoofer is the only true weakness here, being in Altec Lansing fashion, very one-note bassy and distortive, but otherwise for most music purposes are more neutral and clearer than the Promedia 2.1s.

I find Altec Lansing as the "cheaper" alternative to Klipsch, with a pro-rated loss in quality. Klipschs 2.1 flagship is now the iFi, which is at $399. The 5021s fit well right below it at $200. The Promedia 2.1 is a bit out of its league now in the 2.1 flagship sector, and its value is around $130-150, being that it is older generation. The satelites have been improved on the Klipsch 5.1 Ultra, given more extension to blend with the subwoofer better, and the subwoofer on the 2.1 PM had...its limitations both in extention and in clarity.

In the 2.0 market, its the 5020s (around $70) and the Klipsch Promedia Ultra 2.0 ($100). Klipsch is again superior but at a prorated value--both are dual 2.5" midranges with a tweeter, although the Klipsch has more bass extention being a very large speaker at 6.5 inches deep.