Computer Speakers

By sammy2
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Grand Master

FiB3R

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Of course it's a bad idea.  She's primarily using these in a bedroom, so for one, it will take up a lot of space.  Two, they won't sound optimal because home theater speakers are tuned for large rooms.

 

She can buy PC specific speakers that will sound great and for many times less.  You can buy 500W+ PC speakers, so it makes no sense to blow a crazy amount of money to hack together speakers that aren't aren't meant for PCs.

There's nothing to gain and a lot of money to lose by going that route.

Good point about the size of the room. Do we know what that is? Do we know if that is going to change any time soon? I mean, this is a bit of an investment, so you'd want to be thinking about how well this could serve you in the future. But yeah, it's overkill if it's going to be a bedroom setup for the foreseeable.

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ka-la

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Why? It might only be 2.0 speakers, but the sound reproduction is very good. If your looking for a deep bass (read: too much of it) for some who knows which type of music, then oh well.. get whatever you want. But the Microlabs I said are really an audophile speakers right there. This brand is not very known in US, since its an EU company, but they are getting popular :) I can see them in the top in a few years. Totally better money spent than on Logitech speakers

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sammy2

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For under 200$ I suggest the M-AUDIO AV 40. I use it for own living room, although it's actually meant to be used on a desktop; it does well in both scenarios I think. It's quite accurate and very powerful for its diminutive price; the amount of bass is impressive. It's not very balanced IMO but you're not going to get anything powerful AND balanced at that price range. They'll still absolutely cream whatever Logitech or Creative cheap 5.1 setup you were using. You can find them for 100$ if you get a good deal. 

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-ca/product/philips-philips-300-watt-home-theatre-system-htd3514-f7-htd3514-f7/10242451.aspx?path=ea21f077d521027d259555961539f908en02

 

or 

 

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/m-audio-m-audio-studiophile-bookshelf-speaker-pair-99006514000/10252724.aspx?path=54a93fb4124803b0350858b708db1b60en02

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Astra.Xtreme

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Neither...

 

The Phillips speakers are cheap junk home theater speakers, and you'll end up spending a ton of money on other auto components required to get them to work.  Horrible idea, as I've mentioned multiple times before.

 

The M-Audio are 2.0 and don't have a dedicated subwoofer, so they lack the lows of a 2.1 speaker system.  Quite expensive for how large of the sound spectrum you miss out on.

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Andre S. Veteran

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The M-Audio are 2.0 and don't have a dedicated subwoofer, so they lack the lows of a 2.1 speaker system.  Quite expensive for how large of the sound spectrum you miss out on.

The M-Audio AV40 are renowed for excellent bass response, and contrarily to most speakers in that price range, offer a quite flat and accurate frequency response over the entire spectrum. They're designed to be used as professional studio monitors after all. 

 

Most cheap audio systems that integrate a subwoofer are junk, with muddled and overemphasized bass and wildly uneven frequency response everywhere else. For under 200$ I don't know of any 2.1 or 5.1 system that has comparable sound quality.

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Astra.Xtreme

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The M-Audio AV40 are renowed for excellent bass response, and contrarily to most speakers in that price range, offer a quite flat and accurate frequency response over the entire spectrum. They're designed to be used as professional studio monitors after all. 

 

Most cheap audio systems that integrate a subwoofer are junk, with muddled and overemphasized bass and wildly uneven frequency response everywhere else. For under 200$ I don't know of any 2.1 or 5.1 system that has comparable sound quality.

Every review out there I've seen also say that they lack the bass response of a quality 2.1.  Obviously that's true since they don't have an actual subwoofer.  Don't get me wrong, the reviews all say they are clear and sound great, but for listening to music or watching movies, you'll miss out on the lows.  Regardless, if you don't have a good sound card and are playing lossless audio, you won't be able to recognize the true colors of studio quality speakers.  Playing Pandora, Spotify, YouTube, or MP3s have already introduced a noticeable amount of quality loss.

 

Logitech, Klipsch, and Bose all make quality 2.1 speakers that are clear and powerful.  The bass level is adjustable, so there's no such thing as "overemphasis".

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Andre S. Veteran

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Every review out there I've seen also say that they lack the bass response of a quality 2.1.  Obviously that's true since they don't have an actual subwoofer.  Don't get me wrong, the reviews all say they are clear and sound great, but for listening to music or watching movies, you'll miss out on the lows.  Regardless, if you don't have a good sound card and are playing lossless audio, you won't be able to recognize the true colors of studio quality speakers.  Playing Pandora, Spotify, YouTube, or MP3s have already introduced a noticeable amount of quality loss.

 

Logitech, Klipsch, and Bose all make quality 2.1 speakers that are clear and powerful.  The bass level is adjustable, so there's no such thing as "overemphasis".

Most of the musical content is in the mid-range and that's where all these cheap 2.1 setups fall short. They can produce powerful low-end and scream very loudly but they have little accuracy over most the frequency range that matters most. 

 

Obviously the ideal setup has both a quality subwoofer and quality woofers/tweeters, but there's no such thing AFAIK under 200$. For the record I've owned both Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 and M-Audio AV40, and while the Klipsch sound more "impressive", they have none of the AV40's accuracy, and yes the difference is obvious even on regular MP3s on an integrated sound card. You can get even more out of them with better quality input of course.

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Andre S. Veteran

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That philips system is a cheap no-name system that'll give you surround and a subwoofer, which is I guess cool for big explosions in movies. The AV40s will give you (relatively) accurate, powerful, stereo sound that'll make all your music sound like it's supposed to sound. What do you care about most?

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Grand Master

FiB3R

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http://www.head-fi.org/t/14948/why-exactly-does-bose-suck

 

That is a really old thread, but I think people "in the know" still dislike Bose.

 

I don't have any personal experience with them.

 

Wait and see if you are happy with them.

 

Are you willing to return them? If not, I'd stop looking /asking, you'll only get buyers remorse :)

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sc302 Veteran

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Bose is good for overpriced garbage.  Sound reproduction is really poor for a systems that costs that much.  It is a really gimmicky system which charges a great deal for size, but lacks full feature sound. 

 

I haven't heard the companion system.  When I was selling them for sears, it was the lifestyle 12 system (many years ago and I am dating myself a bit)...it was loud and clear at high volume but lacked a good mid rage.  Tweeters can get pretty loud if you have a good source pushing them, all that system was were two tweeters and a subwoofer.  There was no mid range at all or woofer that would give a good range of frequency with the lows being amplified by a sub woofer.  I generally could have beat the sound quality for about 5-800 less but with much larger speakers.

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Astra.Xtreme

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Today I purchased the Bose Companion 5... $414 after taxes ... ? bad choice ?  Can I do better for less ? 

Good choice!  A friend of mine in college had a set of those and they sounded crazy good.  They don't output room-shaking bass, but the sound is super clear and they get really loud.  You definitely won't be disappointed.

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+Asmodai MVC

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I personally have the Klipsch Ultra 5.1 speakers, which in my opinion are the best PC speakers you can buy.  They get LOUD!  I don't think you can buy them anymore though.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836119106

 

Even if you get the Klipsch 2.1 speakers, you will be very very satisfied.

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/klipsch-promedia-2-1-speaker-system-3-piece-black/9382232.p?id=1218095770265&skuId=9382232

I second this.

I have a nice 7.1 setup in my living room with a receiver hooked up to my TV and consoles and all that.... but in my "office" I have those Klipsch 2.1 speakers and have been VERY happy with them.

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Grand Master

Astra.Xtreme

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Why are some people so hateful of bose ? what are the better options ? 

I notice PCmag rated this http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372400,00.asp one above it... I have 14 days to return it if I can be convinced of a better option..

People don't really care for Bose because they are extremely expensive compared to the alternatives.  And I would agree with that.  Paying over $400 for a 2.1 PC speaker system is pretty insane.  There were a few alternatives that myself and others suggested for less than half that price.

 

Regardless, it doesn't take away from the fact that Bose generally makes very high quality speakers.  The ones you picked have very good reviews across the board.

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sc302 Veteran

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People don't really care for Bose because they are extremely expensive compared to the alternatives.  And I would agree with that.  Paying over $400 for a 2.1 PC speaker system is pretty insane.  There were a few alternatives that myself and others suggested for less than half that price.

 

Regardless, it doesn't take away from the fact that Bose generally makes very high quality speakers.  The ones you picked have very good reviews across the board.

High quality?  What exactly do you mean high quality, paper woofers are high quality now?

 

 

Doubtless, the lack of tweeters contributes to the lackluster frequency limitations of the system overall.

 

A subwoofer compliments a typical home theater speaker system with an eight-inch driver to produce the bass. This particular speaker system contains an "Acoustimass module" instead of the traditional subwoofer. Rather than one big driver, the Acoustimass module features three 5.25" paper-cone woofers. The three drivers together can't really produce the lowest bass notes, thereby disqualifying the Acoustimass module from being a true subwoofer. The paper diaphragm is also a problem; if it comes into contact with water or even humidity, it is easily denatured, thus compromising the integrity of the speaker sound overall. For a home theater system in this price bracket, we would expect to see higher-quality material used in the diaphragms.

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Astra.Xtreme

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High quality?  What exactly do you mean high quality, paper woofers are high quality now?

Err... there are advantages and disadvantages for both paper and poly.

Some disadvantages to paper are that it could soak up moisture and it's not as durable (which is what the speaker grill is for).  But many people prefer the sound of a paper cone over poly due to the sound damping.  In general, poly is better for all environments, but paper has the slight sound quality advantage.

 

Regardless, just because it's "paper", doesn't mean that it doesn't have Kevlar or carbon fibers.  "Paper" is a general term, and since Bose doesn't typically give out those specs, it's everybody's best guess as to what exactly it's made of.  It's far from "cheap" though.  A woven "paper" cone is probably more expensive to manufacture than a poly cone anyway.

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patseguin Global Moderator

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I originally had Bose 5.1 USB speakers but I felt it was causing problems on my computer's USB. So, I use Logitech 5.1speakers. I think decent speakers are less important than a decent audio card. I am against motherboard audio and now USB so I think a decent PCI audio card will go a long way to giving you good sound.

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Andre S. Veteran

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Today I purchased the Bose Companion 5... $414 after taxes ... ? bad choice ?  Can I do better for less ? 

Oh please, don't go 100% over budget for Bose' marketing. You're still getting 5 pathetic satellites and an oversized sub, that never produced good sound and never will. 

 

For 400$, you should get a receiver and 2 good bookshelf speakers, to which you can eventually add a center and rears later. At least you'll have good sound. I'm not much into home theater systems, but if you browse audiophile forums a bit you should easily find some good recommendations.

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sc302 Veteran

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The system lacks in lows and highs. I would certainly say that is a problem with Bose systems. They will sound great to people who have not heard the difference between Bose and a good system.

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sammy2

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I'm actually enjoying the sound.. Loud and very clear.. if I am to change it would have to be cheaper option - just as loud and clear.. The receiver option seems like it's going to cost twice as much...

 

 

http://home-audio.toptenreviews.com/home-theater-speakers/logitech-z906-review.html

 

what's wrong with these and are they better than the Bose system ? 

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sc302 Veteran

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The issue again is full range sound, they will be on par with the bose.

 

http://www.engadget.com/products/axiom/audiobyte-computer-speakers/

 

You will find the best computer speakers are two way speakers (tweeter and mid, or tweeter and woofer).  This will normally provide the best sound due to the ability to go high and go low, add a subwoofer if you want to go really low (if they don't include one).  I keep changing link sources so you don't use just one to compare with, you get a range of comparison.  Go to a store and see if you can plug in your own player to see how things sound...go into the hi fi listening room to listen to a good set of speakers/amplifier to hear the highs of the trumpets and lows of the organs in classical music (this is generally a good test). 

 

here are some suggestions for audio testing,

http://www.tnt-audio.com/topics/testrecords.html

 

pick something you like listening to and put it up to a good setup....listen to that setup and then go with lesser priced setups and see how they compare

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