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Computer Speakers on a Budget? 71

Posted by Cliff from the getting-the-early-jump-on-holiday-shopping dept.
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?"
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Computer Speakers on a Budget? More

Computer Speakers on a Budget?

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  • Speakers (Score:4, Informative)

    by Thalin ( 130318 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @06:12AM (#4695599) Homepage
    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!

    • I must humbly disagree. I bought a pair of the 340s and for the price the Altec Lansing comparable model sounds WAY better (I returned the Logitechs for them). The Logitech has variable bass, but its Midrange is WAY lacking. The Altec Lansing version sounds better, even if I can't adjust the sub-woofer.

      --Besides that damn blue led is distracting.
      • Personally I love the little blue LED...though it would probably get on my nerves if I had to look at it at length. I have a set of ACS-54s that I use at home and think are fine, but at work we have both a set of the Creative Labs 5.1s and the Z-340s out for demo and the Z-340s just sound better throughout the store. I haven't noticed any particular lack of midrange in our set, but I'll give it a listen next time I go in and re-evaluate my opinion.

  • Logitech Z-560 4.1 Speakers (Score:3, Informative)

    by OutRigged ( 573843 ) <rage@o u t r i g g e d . com> on Monday November 18, 2002 @06:12AM (#4695601) Homepage
    I paid $150 for 'em, from EMS Computing [emscomputing.com]. 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 [3dsoundsurge.com], really detailed review of the speakers.
    • > This things does 53 watts RMS per channel, and 200 watts RMS on the sub.

      Oooh no they don't :-).

      In my review [dansdata.com] of the Z-560 set, and some other speakers, I have a look inside and discover that Logitech's wattage numbers appear to be seriously inflated. Oh, and that "THX certification" doesn't mean diddly, either :-).

  • Logitech Z-560 (Score:3, Informative)

    by pcbob ( 67069 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @06:14AM (#4695603) Homepage
    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 :)

  • Speaker Kits (Score:2, Informative)

    by deek ( 22697 )
    Have a look at http://www.theloudspeakerkit.com/ . Their M4 bookshelf speaker sounds about right for your needs. It's shielded, so there's no magnetic interference if you place it next to a computer screen. The performance from this speaker is brilliant for the price, and your audiophile hubby will definitely be impressed.

    Plus, being a kit, your hubby get to build it! Any self respecting geek loves to put things together.

    The prices are in $AUS, so you'll need to multiply by 0.56 to convert it into $US (assuming you're in the USA, of course :). You'll probably need to email them about shipping costs, as they don't have overseas locations in their online order page.

    DeeK

  • Me? (Score:2)

    by isorox ( 205688 )
    I think I've got a pair somewhere. I also have a link to my Panasonic DTS amp, and from there to my surround speakers. It's great, I can control my audio from anywhere in the room - only problem is if I want to listen to a game and radio at the same time.
  • Not so long ago a musician friend of mine recommended I try the Creative Inspire 5.1 5200 [creative.com], which is only $80 something. These little babies are fantastic...the bass is amazing, plus EAX is always sexy sounding.

  • speakers aren't the only important thing (Score:5, Informative)

    by vsync64 ( 155958 ) <vsync@quadium.net> on Monday November 18, 2002 @06:38AM (#4695664) Homepage
    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 [soundblaster.com] and the Stereo Link [thinkgeek.com], 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.

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

      I agree with this to a point. You don't go buy $10k speakers and run them off a Soundblaster 16. But, really, you don't run them off an Extigy either. The only things the Extigy has going for it is marketing and being external. It actually has nasty DA and AD converters, constantly dithers to various frequencies and bit rates, and generally mucks up the sound something awful. Not actually worth the money.

      There are good external sound cards, but they don't come cheap. Try M-Audio [m-audio.net] (now with a consumer line [m-audio.net]!) or Echo [echoaudio.com] or Aardvark [aardvarkaudio.com] or even Digidesign [digidesign.com] if you want "audiophile" sound cards for a PC. These are all "Pro Audio" companies (aka music production), but you can use the stuff for Quake just as easy as creating break beats.

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

      The counter to this is that there's no point in using a good amp/soundcard/cables/etc to produce good audio if the speakers it is playing on is poor quality. And there are no "computer speakers" that are not poor quality from an Audiophile perspective. Nor can you even buy any Audiophile speakers at Best Buy or Circuit City. Supposedly SoundTrack carries them, but the one near me does not. I can only find them in local shops; the shops that turn up thier noses if you ask if they carry anything by Bose.

      For perspactive, there's audiophile and Audiophile. The former is like the guy who says he's into performace cars and slaps a "Type-R" sticker on his Civic. The latter is the guy who says he's into performace cars and labors over whether to buy a Ferrari or Lambroghini. (If these are misspelled, or are actually not the "nice" cars anymore, please forgive me. I drive a "paid for" Storm and a Grand Prix and don't pretend to care about cars.) My wife and I are 2/3 of the way from audiophile to Audiophile. She won't buy a speaker unless she can instantly tell whether Itzhak Perlman is pushing or pulling the bow across the strings. I want to hear what brand of compressors were used in the drum overheads. But we have a WIDE variety of systems we play music on, from MB Quarts (nice) to Altec Lansing PC speakers (functional for the beeps Windows makes) to 1964 Magnavox peice-of-furniture stereo (inacurate, but warm and perfect for Billie Holiday.)

      So... If your husband is an Audiophile, spare him the agony of pretending to like what you get him Christmas morning and get him something else. If he's an audiophile, get him whatever is on the shelf for $200.

      Sysiphus
      • Perfectly said! I thought I was going to have to say something to this effect until I got this far down the page reading the comments. I know I can't imagine anything closer to utter agony than pretending to like something called "computer speakers"... for many years I've had my computer outputting to my trusty Kenwood amp, and onto a nice pair of real speakers. And I've scoffed at those who discuss "computer speakers" in my presence.

        OK, so I'm not that much of an Audiophile. "Kenwood, eh?" you say? Well, I'm on a teenager's budget. Because I'm a teenager. And no, I don't listen to Korn or Marilyn Manson.
    • If you ask me.
      I have found that using physically separate amps for, at least, trebel and bass makes a vast difference. With the right amp, even the cheapest radio shack speaker or even a PC speaker can sound as good as it possibly can and a lot of times that's surprisingly good even for the very very cheap stuff.
      Keeping the bass on its own amp is the easiest way to get the most bang for your buck. To that end, I would recommend that Angela buy her husband two amps and not only that, I'd say go with car amps that have AC connectors. I know the audiophiles are going to find this appalling, but it works amazingly well. Cheap speakers and homemade boxes will rock the house when the amps are balanced.
      My system rocks the walls and I live in three story brick building. At the same time it captures the subtleties with spooky clarity and most of the mid range speakers were ripped out of old boom boxes for $0.00. Amps are where the money should go if you want good sound on a budget. Speakers are everywhere and most sound cards should be good enough.
      Oh, and the most important part for someone getting started in this is that you can use 1.5mm Y patch cords to split the output from the sound card. Doesn't work for input, but output is okay. Cheap trick and it definitely works.

  • Logitech Z560 (Score:2, Informative)

    by yelims ( 160240 )
    I have to agree with the majority here. My Z560's have a much better range than my Creative 5200's. I bought mine from Multiwave Direct [mwave.com] for about $150 shipped.

    I didn't have a chance to do a lot of listening tests, but I have been very impressed by these. I'm more of an enthusiast (read: wannabe) than an audiophile, but I don't think you'll be dissappointed.

  • Audiophile? (Score:2, Funny)

    by Night0wl ( 251522 )
    Are you sure he's not a pretend-audiophile? In a true audiophile world 200$ will get you a down payment on the reciever/amp.
    If he isn't really an audiophile, I have to agree with the suggestion of the Logitech's. They're pretty decent speakers for what they're worth.
    Perhaps if he is an audiophile and he doesn't have one yet, you could consider a player for the new DVD format based audio discs. I wouldn't be surprised if you could aquire that in the price limit, then again I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't.

    • Re:Audiophile? (Score:3, Funny)

      by HRbnjR ( 12398 )
      If he is /really/ an audiophile...

      Take the $200, and invest it. 10 years from now when it has multiplied 10 fold in value, you will then have enough for the 20% deposit to put some /real/ audiophile equipment on layaway. :-)

    • Re:Audiophile? (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      azz oles r u

  • Buy real speakers (Score:4, Informative)

    by zero_offset ( 200586 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @07:41AM (#4695811) Homepage
    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...
    • I totally agree.
      Buy a basic amp and some basic home stereo speakers. They take up a bit more (desk) space but you'll get way more sound quality for your dollar. I use a thirty year old amplifier and the speakers that came with it as the sound output for my pc. It cost me just 20,- in a secondhand electronics store and it outperforms most if not all computer speakers that cost three times as much.
    • I have to totally agree. About 5 years ago I was walking through (insert random store here, I think Dillards?) and they decided they didn't want to carry home stereo equipment anymore. I got a killer deal on a Sony STR-DE405 (270 watt 5 channel, (70/70/70 L/R/Center) (30/30 rears) and bought two of the 100W floor speakers from Radio Shack (yea I suck, but I knew the owner and he warranteed them against blowing up for 5 years) - Optimus (oem'ed for RS by Pioneer, I believe) The speakers have 12" woofs, 5" mids and metal tweets and I can crank them up enough to rearrange wall art and knock stuff off the shelves with them if necessary (without distortion.) The speakers weigh about 33lbs (15 kilos) apiece - there is no substitute for cubic inches.

      Note - hook the sound card out to the CD input - it gives you a much cleaner sound.

      Audiophile quality it isn't, but it will dominate any PC speaker setup out there for the price.
      • I believe Optimus is Panasonic.

        That's a good point, those clearance item deals are the way to go for computer audio. For my wife I picked up a Harmon Kardon AVR-45 for only $100 and a pair of 150W Yamaha speakers for $80 each in a similar deal. Prior to that she was running through a cheapy $120 Aiwa bookshelf stereo (the crappy things that look like separate components but it really isn't) and even those blew away "computer speakers". Now the Aiwa is running on the computer in the garage. :)

  • The best Logitechs you can afford (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Brento ( 26177 ) <brento.brentozar@com> on Monday November 18, 2002 @07:43AM (#4695819) Homepage
    This is actually pretty good advice no matter where you're at on the price spectrum. I picked up a $50 pair of Logitech Z-340's for my Mom for her birthday last year. This week, when I came to her house to visit, she told me she wanted to hook up the Logitechs in her kitchen because they sounded so much better than her (major brand) stereo speakers.
  • They sell semi-quality speakers for a full-quality price. I would buy a full mini stereo set from Sony or something, and then hook it up to the computer. Sure, Logitech speakers are good enough, but so are Sony ones. And you get more things for your money.

  • Get headphones (Score:4, Insightful)

    by mr3038 ( 121693 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @07:58AM (#4695855)
    With a budget of $200 or less the best choice would be a good pair of headphones. You can get pretty nice sound from some small speakers but with that small amount of money spent to two or more speakers and an amplifier isn't going to result in high quality sound. With any luck, $200 should get you pretty good headphones and an amplifier for those. And be cheap about the headphones and use more money on the amplifier because it'll probably last longer anyway. Read some reviews [audioreview.com] and remember that if the subject is going to wear glasses some cans are going to cause problems (for example, I cannot use any sennheiser setup but I have Sony MDR-F1 [audioreview.com] instead. Be warned that MDR-F1 is a bit hard for the amplifier and you can ruin the result with a cheap one.
    • Replying to my own post... I looked around for headphone amplifiers and it seems that be the best amplifier for about $200 range is Musical Fidelity X-can V2 [audioreview.com] (class A tube headphone amplifier!). Be sure to get V2 because there're some problems with channel separation and noise in the V1. Your husband cannot listen with the amplifier only but at least I would be much happier with a high quality amplifier without headphones than a cheap one with cheap headphones.
    • I second this idea. For $200, you aren't going to find anything of audiophile quality in speakers, at least not for a whole system. Read some more headphone reviews at the community forums head-fi [head-fi.org] and headwize [headwize.com].

      Myself, I have a pair of Sennheiser HD-580 headphones (no glasses) and I am completely happy with them. You can also get some good deals on used headphones on the above forums as well.
    • I use AKG K240 Monitors [akgusa.com] and they're awesome! The deal is, these may very well have been used to master whatever recordings you like... so, why not hear it how it was meant to sound?
    • One other place to check out is Headroom [headphone.com] for various headphones and headphone amps, as well as some interesting info on amps... I have a set of Sennheiser HD-580s, and I haven't found a soundcard or portable player that can properly drive them (though they are easier on amps than some others). The amp is a must... even a relatively cheap (battery powered) headphone amp makes a world of difference (plus, with battery power, you have one less AC supply to worry about - get some NiMH rechargables and have a ball).

      I have bought from Headroom, but I don't work for them or know anyone who does.
    • I would say headphones too, and I would def. say get grados. The sr125s are in your price range and sound amazing. Beyond that a lot of quality headphones need a headphone amp to get any level of output, however the grados will work fine plugged into a discman, soundcard etc. (Altho the sr-125s have a 1/4" jack, not the miniplug that a disc man takes, you need a converter, no big deal). Some of the other grados, quite possiblly the sr80s have the minijack, and they allll sound great.
  • I personally have an older version of this set. ATP4 [altecmm.com]

    They produce clear tones. Perhaps not audiophile quality....but they are very good for casual ogg playing, and an occasional UT game.

    However, you should still go a store that sells them, and listen yourself.

    Unfortunately, they seem to now only have the surround version for double price. Mine are stereo, and I got them for $80 two years ago.
  • Why not try headphones? That way you can keep his noise contained, plus he can get quality close to his discerning ears where he'll appreciate them most. And I'm sure you give him quality elsewhere. ;)
  • ... your husband doesn't read slashdot ;)

    • I dunno. That was my initial thought too, but how neat would it be to know that your significant other is soliciting opinions from 250k other people to try to get you the perfect Christmas gift?

      Actually, how neat would it be to be married to someone that reads tech forums, period? :-)
      • ... how neat would it be to be married to someone that reads tech forums...

        My point exactly. This guy is married to someone who actually posts to /.. Does he actually need anything else for Christmas?!

  • Dan's Data [dansdata.com] recently had a review of a speaker kit [dansdata.com]. He was very pleased with the results.

    Of course, that company is based in Australia, so if you're not there, you'll probably want to find something closer. Anyone know of any similar companies in North America? (Especially in Canada, for my sake!)

  • It depends on the audiophile... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Zapman ( 2662 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @09:43AM (#4696206)
    And it all depends on the ear.

    If you're not an audiophile, or just don't quite know what he's looking for, give him an IOU. Something like:

    "You can spend up to $200 on speakers for the computer". And let HIM agonize over it. (Audiophiles enjoy agonizing over these things)

    I'm into highish end sound, and I'd trust my SO to get something like this, but that's only because she's a (self proclaimed) music snob, and has much better ears than I do. She played a large roll in my last speaker purchase.
  • In addition to Logitech, Altec Lansing makes great speakers. I have an ACS48 set (no longer in production) and it's GREAT.

    You will probably get more for your money with an external amp and normal home stereo speakers, as another poster suggested. A $5 1/8"-to-RCA adapter at Radio Shack will hook up your computer to the amp. This is what I did until I moved into an apartment where the area my computer was in didn't have space for my large speakers, at which point I bought the 48s. (The 48s actually sounded better in my case, but the original speakers were kinda crappy - They had originally had blown woofers and the replacements weren't matched to the cabinet, resulting in a muddy sound.)

  • logitechs (Score:2, Informative)

    by d_i_r_t_y ( 156112 )
    i too thoroughly recommend the logitech Z-560's. i bought some 2 days ago and am thrilled. prior to my purchase i'd spent days combing the net for reviews of computers speakers in your price range, and the praise for the quality and value of these speakers is universally glowing.

    perhaps the best review i can direct you to is this one [tomshardware.com] - a comparison of 13 4.1/5.1 systems around your price range. it really helped me.

    cheers from oz
  • best 2.1: klipsch promedia 2.1 (2 sats, 1 sub, thx, crystal clear, very respected company, $150) best 4.1: Logitech z-560 (mind blowing bass, 4 sats, $150) headphones: grado sr-60 (incredible sound from *affordable* audiophile headphones, can be had for 60-70, $60) (street prices listed)

  • Cambridge Soundworks (Score:3, Informative)

    by Apreche ( 239272 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:09AM (#4696377) Homepage Journal
    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 [hifi.com] 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.
    • I highly suggest anything by Cambridge Soundworks. The craftmanship and the sound quality is compariable if not superior for speaker sets that cost twice their price. First I suggest is to find out what kind of sound card he has. If he has a SBLive, use the DIN (Digital) connector). If he has 5.1 sound card (center, front rear and center) get one that matches it. After you find out which sound card he has, walk into any store, and buy one. There is a good chance they may even have a open ox unit (after Christmas 100%). If there is not one avaiable, get one from BUY.com, good prices and they have copouns always comign out for the holidays.


      Warrenty is great also. I have a computer subwofer plugged into my home radio and I blew it after 10 months. I walked into the store and on the spot they gave me a new one. Blew the same one, 12 after, again they repalced it with no problems. I even returned their speakers to the stores (with orginal boxes) after 6 months of usage for full store credit.

      You may also consider spending an extra $200 (total $400) and get a complete audio system; like AWIA. You will have full surround capabilites, with cd, mp3 and tape players. I have mutiple machines and I use both options. I use the cambridge for gaem playing and the stero system for mp3's. If any questions, ask me.

  • Best speakers != computer speakers (Score:3, Interesting)

    by shoppa ( 464619 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:18AM (#4696425)
    "Computer speakers" above a certain price point have expensive-looking styles, but little else to recommend them. They still sound tinny, or in the case of subwoofer systems, tinny and boomy at the same time.

    On the other hand, even a low-end pair of bookshelf regular-hi-fi speakers have a naturalness and full-range quality for a fraction of the price. I use a pair of fifteen-year-old Radio Shack Minimus 7's [angelfire.com] that I'm very happy with.

    The only gotcha: computer speakers, by design, have very wimpy little magnets in them. Hi-fi speakers tend to have much stronger magnets, and will require placement much further away from color monitors.

  • Monsoon! (Score:3, Informative)

    by iCEBaLM ( 34905 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:25AM (#4696463)
    I have a set of these [monsoonpower.com] 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 [techtv.com] Amazon [amazon.com] and more if you check Google [google.com].

    -- iCEBaLM
    • this is a suggestion for the wife reading this, not a complaint about the speakers-

      if he's an audiophile, he may have a predjustice against flatpanel speakers, as they are slightly "tinny" and you'd be better off getting him more "traditional" cone speakers.

      of course, i love the monsoon speakers, i'd get a set if i had the $$, but my reciever/speaker setup i've been using for the last 12 years (since i was 7!) is working nicely...
      • if he's an audiophile, he may have a predjustice against flatpanel speakers, as they are slightly "tinny" and you'd be better off getting him more "traditional" cone speakers.

        These speakers have cones on the bottom with the flat panel portion at the top to create the best of both worlds. The imaging from these speakers is so immersing you would swear they were anything but flat.

        -- iCEBaLM

  • You wanted the best for $200 or less? Go with the Klipsch 2.1. Loud enough for just about anybody and possibly better than your home stereo speakers (depends, of course). They have changed the way I listen to music -- only ripping MP3's at 192kbps, etc. And games - the helicopter blades in Comanche can be truly felt with the subwoofer.... Go with the Logitechs if you want to save some money, but if you truly want the best... stop looking & buy the Klipsch's....
  • Yamaha makes some very good computer speakers, and their prices are resonable. Amazon (software patents, etc.) has a nice speaker pair with subwoofer on clearance for $30. Decent sound, decent price.
  • If you don't mind refurbished products, Klipsch has this system for $149 at their store [klipsch.com]. Supposed to be excellent, and a steal at this price.
  • If he's really an audiophile, I'm sure he will complain about the signal loss you get when you have the soundcard producing analog audio signals inside the computer.

    Instead, you should get him something so he can connect his computer to his (probably already ample) 'home stereo' system, preferably through a digital connection, but if his system only accepts analog inputs, then at least digital until its outside the computer case.

    if on the other hand he's just pretending to be an audiophile, get him a nice set of headphones, it'll sound better for him and disturb you less :)
  • Let me recommend, instead of buying some cheap speakers (which, for under $200, is what you will be buying), get some really nice headphones. I have a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO's, which cost me around $140, and they are easily the best sounding speakers/headphones I have ever had, and surpass most of the studio monitors that a radio station I worked for had. So, if he's an audiophile, speakers probably aren't the way to go, for the price, headphones give a much, much higher quality of sound. Oh, and the neighbors will love you.
  • This might not be suitable as a gift, but older, used audio components make a better computer-speaker system than just about anything I've come across from computer-speaker manufacturers.

    I've got an 28-year-old Harmon-Kardon receiver (usually around $30-$40 on ebay) hooked up to Boston Acoustics HD5 bookshelf speakers (bought them years ago for under $100). It sounds FANTASTIC. If I was a gamer, I might buy bigger speakers or a sub, but I'm thrilled with the performace for playing back music (and I'm not just talking MP3's here - which sound worse as the quality of your amp/speakers increase). There's a reason why this amp weighs 20lbs., and that has to do with power handling capabilities, heat sinks, and rugged, metal construction.

    My speakers aren't .5" thick, suctioned to the table, transparent, or otherwise fancy. They are, however, about 7" deep, giving them decent bass response for a bookshelf speaker. While the 5" driver won't shake the room, its output is more than sufficient, considering you sit only about a foot away from them.

    Speakers designated for use with computers are typically made using very cheap components. Before this, I had a set of Altec-Lansing computer speakers, with a sub, that lasted not even a year before unexplicably falling silent. But my old HK amp has been going strong for... 28 years!

    As I said above, giving an old, used stereo might not be the way you'd prefer to say "Happy Holidays" - but if there's anyone else reading this looking to buy a decent speaker setup, consider first searching your local garage sale, goodwill store, flea market, or online auctioneer. And just remember - heavier is BETTER.
  • I was in the same boat about a year ago. A friend of mine had just purchased the 4.1 surround version (now 5.1 [bestbuy.com]), and I was quite impressed. Not wanting to spend as much on computer speakers, I decided to get the 2.1 version [bestbuy.com], and I haven't looked back since. These speakers provide a full, rich sound that I've never heard from run-of-the-mill Altecs or Logitechs. If you are looking for quality sound at high volume or low, this is it.

    I don't work for Klipsch or anything, yadda x 3. Just a satisfied customer here.

    Oh, the ONE thing I don't like about the 2.1 is that the power button is on the sub. The 4.1 has a power switch on the right speaker.

    -IAmTheSuit
  • I bought them one week ago and I still have 3 weeks to decide if I return them to the shop or not. Anyone can tell me how they compare to Logitech Z560 , Yamaha TSS-1 5.1 or another set ?
  • I have four sets of Cambridge Soundworks speakers of various price levels. All are wonderful for their respective prices.

  • Buy a receiver! (Score:3, Informative)

    by slaker ( 53818 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @05:28PM (#4701075)
    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.
    • Lame to reply to my own post and all, but a few words on sound cards as well (more for others than the askee).

      Unbelievably, Crystal Media makes an under-$10-in-generic-form card that includes optical digital output. This "card" can also be found as the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz and on many current motherboards (e.g. Gigabyte GA7VAXP). This is not a bad thing for folks who like sound and have a receiver.

      Philips Acoustic edge is also a solid product. Probably the best thing out for general use.

      I'd shy away from true "audiophile" sound cards (M-audio, et al) - mostly they're made for musicians, not listeners.

      Creative has technically solid products. I use them on my computers, combined with a Hoontech addin board for digital in and output support. Drivers are too much an issue for these cards, and linux support isn't so great when you get away from the analog connectors. Bad for a big company.

      Those are really your choices in the mainstream right now, to mate with the receiver you sould buy. ;)
    • Feh. You just need the right Klipsch speaker [klipsch.com].
  • Seriously. I once had a Soundblaster of some sort with this feature. I could hook it up to the stereo and I was in business with a *real* sound system.

    I suppose you could also try your luck with the headphone jack. But you may run into a ground loop problem.
  • Let me describe my first encounter with Monsoons and you will grok how good they are.

    I was at MacWorld Expo about 3 years ago, walking back to our booth in Moscone's North Hall, we were in the "Net Pavillion" in the NW Corner and the "Multimedia' (pasee term nowadays!) area was right in front of us. As I walked by Sorensen's booth they had all these brand new Apple Cinema Displays showing off their wares. They were playing movie trailers in full-screen mode. The gorgeous monitors caught my eye and I was reeled in like a fish toward a 20"+ widescreen showing some special effects shots from "Pearl Harbor" (the unreleased)... from 50' away, the monitors drew me in, but when I was drawn past the 20' mark my attention was grabbed by a different source... the awesome sound

    Mind you, that may not be impressive, until you realize that a crowded show floor of Moscone Center is probably the worst acoustical environment on earth!

    Anyway, my mind completely popped the sexy Cinema Displays right off the stack as my focus narrowed, like a laser, on the incredible speakers. I had to have them. I spent the rest of the expo trying to find some to buy. I finally did, and now I have them all over my house and carry my iPod from room to room plugging into my Monsoons.

    Monsoons Rock.

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