Computer Speakers on a Budget?

Angela asks: "In the spirit (and utter terror) of the upcoming holiday season, I would like to ask the opinion of the Slashdot community on speaker technology. The dilemma is this: I would like to purchase computer speakers for my audiophile husband for Christmas, but I am clueless when it comes to this particular field. I am also on a budget ($200USD or less?). What computers speakers would you suggest and why?"

Comments

Speakers

[Thalin]

Logitech. That's all I have to say right now. Their speakers are great for the price. If you want a 2.1 set, the 340s are great, and it only goes up from there, and they're affordable. Some sites have even rated the 560s (I think that's the right model number) as good as the Klipsch speaker sets which retail for a few $100 more. I've only listened to the 340s for any length of time, but for their size they're very nice speakers, with very good range and a nice wide cone of sweetspotness. So, depending on what type of setup you want, I'd recommend the Logitech series corresponding to it. Have fun!

Logitech Z-560 4.1 Speakers

[OutRigged]

I paid $150 for 'em, from EMS Computing. They've got great sound, really nice quality speakers, and a huge sub. This things does 53 watts RMS per channel, and 200 watts RMS on the sub. Great speakers if you don't wanna fork out $400 for Klipsch 5.1 speakers. If you're lookin' for a review, here's a great, really detailed review of the speakers.

Logitech Z-560

[pcbob]

You can't go wrong with them. With 200W sub, 4x53W speakers, and THX certified, they produce one hell-of-a sound. Also, in Canada you can get them for $200 CND, which is quite in your budget of ~$350 CND.
Buying those speakers was one of my best computer-related purchases. Best thing is playing Chemical Brothers Bass Test - whole apt. building shakes from the vibrations, and I don't dare turn it more than 50% up (i think it would rip me apart). Perfect for annoying those pesky Jehova's Vitneses neighbors :)

speakers aren't the only important thing

[vsync64]

You might first consider getting him something better than his current sound card. Internal ISA and PCI sound cards are subject to RF interference from other components inside the case. Therefore, without good shielding around the DAC and all the connections leading to the analog cable, and on the end of said cable, there will be a lot of static and noise. On many computers you will find that with no sound playing, if you turn the speaker volume up, you will hear clicking, chirping, and hissing when you do things like move the mouse.

USB audio connectors such as the Extigy and the Stereo Link, on the other hand, have an all-digital connection to the computer and shielding around all the electronic components. This will produce much cleaner sound.

There's no point getting good speakers if the audio being played on them is of poor quality.

Buy real speakers

[zero_offset]

If he's actually an audiophile, he won't be interested in "computer speakers", and regardless, he won't want to listen to audio from his PC anyway -- and when he does, he won't be expecting even the basic quality an audiophile demands/expects/prefers. Not that I claim to be an audiophile (my hearing sucks), but I have plenty of friends who really are, so I've learned a lot about how these people think. That's assuming he's an audiophile, and not just "a guy who likes music a lot" (I can relate). The best thing you can do is buy a cheap external amplifier and spend most of the money on real home-stereo speakers. The cheapest external amp and the cheapest home stereo speakers are going to sound 100 times better than any crappy little desktop setup. If your budget is more flexible than you indicated in the article, consider dropping about $100 for a nice, very basic amp by somebody decent like Pioneer, and spend another $200 or so on some regular home stereo speakers. Don't listen to the standard geek line about shelling out tons of money for crappy little desktop speakers. Even the ones with separate subs sound awful in comparison to real stereo equipment. And if he's actually an audiophile according to the picky, traditional definition of the word, get him a gift certificate, suggest he buys a real amp, a really nice sound card, and some good speakres, and let him go "test drive" some equipment...

Cambridge Soundworks

[Apreche]

3 years ago when I bought my computer I got 4 sattelites and a subwoofer to go with my SBLive! sound card for 80 bucks. To this day the only parts of my 3 year old computer that still kick ass are my drives and my sound. My friend recently got a new computer and he liked my sound system a lot so he got this to go with his SBLive. From listening to it myself I can safely say that it is absolutely an awesome sound system at an incredible price. If you set up your configure your audio software properly and have a decent sound card these can be just as good as a low-end home theatre system, if not better.

Monsoon!

[iCEBaLM]

I have a set of these flat panel Monsoon MH-505 5.1 speakers and they *rock*. They are also relatively cheap and should fit your budget nicely.

The sub is slightly underpowered for some but if you have a good soundcard (I use a Hercules Game Theater XP) you should be able to boost the sub channel. Also going against the installation guide and aiming the sub at a wall from about 1 ft distance works well.

I was a little skeptical about the flat panel speakers, however they not only look cool they produce amazing sound aswell. You have to play them for awhile to "break them in" until they sound their best.

You will need 3 sony minijack hookups from your soundcard to use them (front, surround and center/sub) so if you don't have those you will have to get additional hookups. My soundcard has RCA connectors for the center/sub so I had to get a sony minijack to RCA splitter.

Reviews are available: TechTV Amazon and more if you check Google.

-- iCEBaLM

Buy a receiver!

[slaker]

First: Klisch aren't anything special. They're boomy and bass heavy. For some people, bass = good sound, but the rest of us know better.

Second: Logitech's current 2.1 and better speakers are very good. newegg.com has them for a decent price.

Third, and best: Spend $200 on a low-end home theater receiver. Something that does 5.1, ideally, and Pro-logic II if you can find it. This is a computer, and not being up to Denon or NAD standards is acceptable, I think, even for an audiophile.
Then, hit your local large electronics store for a cheapie set of 5.1 speakers. Yamaha and KLH have sets in the $99 to $149 range. These speakers are on par with "decent" computer speakers and have the real advantage of being replaceable with something decent a bit later on.

Ebay and ubid are decent sources for inexpensive speakers.