I need some new speakers
Hi guys. 
I'm looking to purchase some new PC speakers that will be used for games, movies and music (everything, really). I am looking to spend £45/$90 tops and the speakers need to look good as well as sound good (black is a prefered colour).
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should buy? Thanks.
I'm looking to purchase some new PC speakers that will be used for games, movies and music (everything, really). I am looking to spend £45/$90 tops and the speakers need to look good as well as sound good (black is a prefered colour).
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should buy? Thanks.
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Just go to wherever they sell them and find something in your price range that's a name brand. You usually get what you pay for.
I'm not too picky and bought my last pair for $15. They sounded fine.
i have the 2.1 version of that set and they are pretty good and sturdy ( i have stood on the sub)
What are you planning on using those speakers mostly for? For the price though, I don't know if you will find a better deal. Make sure you have a sound card that supports analog 5.1 output.
They will be used for movies, games and music equally. Where would I find if my sound card supports 5.1?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00069BTP0/breakoutblues-21?dev-t=D1N06J1RR4TQPU
If you can settle for 2.1, these are capable of being obnoxiously loud. As you can see, they come in black, but I have them in "smoky grey" (the closest to my preferred colour). The speakers lack grilles, which means that they look nicer and that I tend to poke them a lot. The bass is really good. So good that if I turn it up, I have to hold the drawers of my desk in place.
I have knocked the satellite speakers off my desk several times, and they're still working perfectly. The first time I did it, I panicked. They look really fragile. Eh, the drivers are made of titanium, so I guess they can take it. What else? Um... they play Sam and Max audio well. At a guess, I'd say they'd be about £50 worth from a local retailer.
Hrm... 5.1? I was thinking about 5.1 when I was purchasing my computer about six months ago. Is your computer on a desk? If so, do you have the space for 5.1? The speakers for 5.1 channel systems aren't that large, but you do need a lot of space for a system to work properly. I have a 5.1 system in my rather large lounge room that's set up on my amplifier's small-medium profile.
Anyway, to find out whether your sound card supports 5.1, I'd suggest you check your sound card manual. With Creative sound cards, this is often on the driver CD. There's usually a specifications section at the back of the manual that will tell you. Or sometimes there can be the obvious "connecting 5.1 channel speakers" section of the manual. Or even something more obvious, like 5.1 in the name (SB Live 5.1).
If you're concerned about sound quality, go for a better 2.1 system over a 5.1 system.
My computer is on my desk and I have enough space for big speakers, yeah. I was also thinking of (if I got this) that'd two would go on my desk and three would be on my walls. The room I'm in is big, so I think it'd work out okay, but the bass would probably destroy the room below.
What makes you say that a 2.1 system has better sound quality than 5.1? I thought the sound quality got better as the numbers went up...?
"The nEar04 inherits professional monitor speaker quality from ESI’s nEar05 and nEar06 series. Sized only as compact bookshelf speaker for your desktop, nEar04 provides all the reference level sound quality and enough power for your audio monitoring especially in a digital audio production environment."
So it's a professional set of speakers, and they are at the same time very cheap - my set cost me about 185 euro, and since the euro is stronger than the dollar, you could probably expect the same pricelevel in dollars.
It's a bit higher than your budget, but you wont regret it, they are basically studio speakers and you get them at a very good price when you compare with most 5-1 systems with much worse sound quality.
They look pretty good too - not very big considering, black, a blue diode which looks pretty cool if it's dark.
http://www.esi-pro.com/viewProduct.php?pid=57
If you know what sound card you have, you can look it up on the manufacturers site maybe. If it is built in to the motherboard, check the motherboard specs sheet/manual. If you don't know what you have, just look at how many outputs it has. If it only has one output for sound, and one for a microphone, it will only support 2.1 sound. If it has 3 inputs, typically saying front, center, and rear, then it will fully support 5.1 surround sound. Hope that helps, if not maybe I can try to be clearer, or someone else can step in and help.
Ah, thanks. My PC supports 5.1.
On a side note, I really love amazon.co.uk, as it is far superior than the US version... you guys get awesome preorder and new game deals, while we get typically nothing. Also, even with the exchange rate as it is, some games were cheaper for me to buy in pounds than with a US dollar from amazon.com. I miss living in europe...
If movies are important to you, I'd favour channels over speaker quality (to an extent). Some movies, such as The Terminator, are far more entertaining in 5.1 channel sound. I can't see much of a point for games, and even less so for music.
Anyway, that said, it seems like you're really keen on a 5.1 system. This isn't your first 5.1 system, is it? Or are you just wanting to get the most out of your PC's sound hardware? Is it because 5.1 is flashier? I'm not advising you not to get one. They are flashy. If you've got your heart set on getting a 5.1 channel system, get one. That Logitech X-530 system you pointed out looks fine and will definitely do the job. I'm just speaking from personal experience. I found I wouldn't really use 5.1 that much (I mostly code, play music and the occasional game), and I didn't have the space to get the most out of the audio.
Out of curiosity, what sort of speakers do you currently have?
no, you're probably right a lot of people have 5.1 and don't actually use/need it. so, if that is the case you should spend the extra money on a better stereo set..
The only reason I'm wanting the 5.1 is mainly for all the movies I watch on my computer - I never use a DVD player, just my computer. I've never had a 5.1 system before.
At the moment I just have some small Acer speakers that came with my speakers. Nothing special really. I needed an excuse to buy some new ones, and now that one of them has blown, I have one.
http://www.amazon.com/Console-Adapter-Convert-Plugs-Single/dp/B0006U3ACY/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_b
Although I can't find it on the amazon.co.uk site.
They used to sell that on the Logitech UK site, but for some reason they took it down.
Anyway, anything similar to that should work. Just be wary of super-cheap items sold on ebay (which don't always work as advertised)