SpeakersPost Date: 2009-01-14 |
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ctjones 
Newbie 
Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 39 |
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 Topic: SpeakersPosted: 14 Jan 2009 at 6:08pm |
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I'm not sure if anyone has started this topic already, I haven't been able to find one but I was wondering what people thought the best all around speakers were that were also affordable. I was looking at audio engine and there speakers seemed be really good. Bose also seemed to have good speakers. Then there is logitech which have been somewhat mixed so I just wanted to know what people's thoughts were on this.
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Dsnewb210
Senior Member 
Joined: 01 Oct 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 972 |
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Posted: 14 Jan 2009 at 11:02pm |
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Ive owned several different sets of logitech speakers and I was disappointed everytime... Static sound,terrible base and 5.1 SR sucked etc..
I ended up buying a set of bose companion 5 speakers, there freaking incredible.
Great bass and some how they manage 5.1 surround sound with just 2 speakers and a woofer.
Edited by Dsnewb210 - 14 Jan 2009 at 11:08pm |
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Dredoric
Senior Member
Joined: 31 Dec 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 121 |
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Posted: 15 Jan 2009 at 12:02am |
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Think the next pair of speakers I'm going to try are Swans M10... believe the last I looked I could get 'em for about $109 and everything I've heard at [H]ardforum was good. Only a 2.1 system but I didn't really setup my last 5.1 system properly.
Figured they're worth a try.
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Kaoberry
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Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 204 |
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Posted: 15 Jan 2009 at 7:33am |
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I use Atlec Lansing (these here to be exact: http://www.alteclansing.com/index.php?file=north_product_detail&iproduct_id=vs4121blk . They work wonderful, great sound and a good price. They've been compared to Bose but of course in the end Bose wins with quality ^_~. I adore Bose but it is on the expensive side. What is your budget with speakers?
Edited by Kaoberry - 15 Jan 2009 at 7:33am |
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justin.kerr
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Joined: 06 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5084 |
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Posted: 15 Jan 2009 at 12:05pm |
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Define affordable. That will help out immensely.
A "good sounding" speaker is purely subjective.
If you are looking for speakers that accurately reproduce music, then Bose, or Logitec are out of the question. But, if you like their sound, then use them.
My wife has a pair of M-AUDIO Studiophile AV 40's with a pair of JL audio W3 10"'s with a Dayton 1000 watt amp. Sounds ok to me, she likes the setup.
My gaming computer I have a o pair of Swans M200MKII, with (2) TC sounds 12" drivers, with a 1000 watt BASH amp. I like this set up for myself. I had to add a fan to the Swans amp, because it gets to hot, and shuts down, when listening to at "spirited levels" But, thats about my only complaint with them.
To my ears the Swans sound very good considering the price.
Room acoustics and layout, hardware, personal taste, and the source sound, will all have a huge impact on your sound enjoyment.
I personally love to play a game, cast a spell, and feel a 115 db wave at 18Hz shake the room to get the effect, but I also live in an area that allows me to act this way. lol
But then again I like overkill. here is one of my subs, from my theater, just before paint. http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b140/hoss3430/theater/?action=view¤t=TADA.jpg and no, my wife is not a little person.  Edited by justin.kerr - 15 Jan 2009 at 12:31pm |
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Dredoric
Senior Member
Joined: 31 Dec 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 121 |
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Posted: 21 Jan 2009 at 12:01am |
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Well I received the Swan M10 speakers that I ordered late last week... it's a nice looking 2.1 system.
Of course I'd have preferred that they didn't have a loud buzzing noise when powered on with volumn is off... and I could do without the loud radio signal they're picking up whenever the volumn is on... yay $120 speakers that aren't shielded worth sh*t. Guess it's back to the cheap Creative 5.1 system until I find some speakers I like that are actually functional...
Now it's time to see if TheAudioInsider.com will take these useless things back... considering their contact number seemed to be someone's personal voicemail I'm guessing I'm going to be even more pissed off soon...
 Update: So after reading up on TheAudioInsider.com a bit more it seems that most people have a rather good experience with the owner. Apparently the voicemail I was getting was his... although it mentions nothing of TheAudioInsider... and it sounds like he's saying John Wayne (his name is Jone Lane it turns out).
I'm going to head down to Radioshack tomorrow and buy a couple cheap ferrite core clamps... see if those will get rid of the radio signal I'm getting before I send these things back (they look nice and sounded good... from what I could tell through the radio signal  )Edited by Dredoric - 21 Jan 2009 at 12:36am |
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Dredoric
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Joined: 31 Dec 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 121 |
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Posted: 21 Jan 2009 at 4:10pm |
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Well RadioShack was out of ferrite choke clamps at that location (their website LIES! Now to wait for my ferrite chokes and ferrite beads to show up from Frys...
I guess I get to listen to NPR on these things until then... darn you KUOW-FM 94.9!
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widdlecat
DS Veteran
Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 840 |
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Posted: 24 Jan 2009 at 3:35am |
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Hello all! It is difficult to advise people on audio purchases for pcs as there are different needs for different people. Some really need the ability to know if a sound is coming from behind them and therefore require a good surround system. Others are more interested in more accurate sound quality vs location. Others still demand the most for their music and may even sacrifice stereo imaging for musical enjoyment. I spent years designing and building high end speakers, "serving time" as an audio consultant for audio specialty stores, doing audio and sound reinforcement installations in professional venues, and reviewing music and audio equipment for several years. One lesson I've taken from all this is that everybody likes their system to sound their own way!
The first step to making an educated purchase is to read reviews from audio and music people. Don't rely upon pc reviewers. Most don't truly have the extended exposure to real music to tell whether the piano he's listening to is a Bosendorfer, a Steinway or a Kawai. Just as importantly, they are unqualified simply by their lack of exposure to what is possible for audio equipment to recreate (and what their shortcomings are). Follow the more informed reviewer... The second step is to consider your budget and include the total cost of any accessories that you will need to purchase. Note that all your ancillary equipment, including cables, will affect the overall sound. Different combinations can actually alter the overall sonic character of your system. Good audio cables can be very expensive. The most expensive cables I've used in my house retail for $25,000/pr. and aren't even my faves. (Good thing reviewers don't have to buy everything they review!) The third thing to do when buying new speakers is to go and listen to the ones you've narrowed your choices down to. Have a few in mind to compare. At nearly every price point you can find examples with vastly different sonic characteristics. Some people prefer a big boomy bass, others want a taut accurate bass and will sacrifice depth to get that. Many want accurate highs, but often there's a delicate balance between sizzling and piercing... So, you, the consumer, must decide what you like the sound of. Take heart and trust your ears. If you are unsure, bring along a musician or singer friend. They'll know how far from true the speakers are. Yeah, sorry for the long post... I'll repost a guide I once wrote on understanding reviews. Cat aka d catherine blaine aka dayna b |
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Samael
Groupie 
Joined: 26 Nov 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 488 |
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Posted: 24 Jan 2009 at 12:48pm |
You said that dreaded name  BOSE they are the most overpriced pieces of junk on the speaker market right now seriously you have no idea how bad they are. I think their legal department gets more funding than their R&D they are the most overpriced under performing speakers on the face of earth. I would suggest anyone stay away from them with a 10 foot pole(if you can find bigger use that). Your money is spent better somewhere else, for the same price you can get some awesome awesome setups, that would blow the Bose away soooo far into space the Hubble will not be able to see it. /rant off Sorry I get angry when anyone mentions that name. |
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Why do they blame me for all their little failings? They use my name as if I spent my entire day sitting on their shoulders, forcing them to commit acts they would otherwise find repulsive - Lucifer
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widdlecat
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Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 840 |
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Posted: 25 Jan 2009 at 3:30am |
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Just a little background and info on Bose. First, Dr Amar Bose truly has a Ph.D. in psychoacoustic. Second, he does not defend his claims of "direct/reflecting sound" technology as true fact. Third, he readily admits that it is false, but that "there is a sucker born every minute" and that such marketing has made him very rich.
Now, whether you choose to buy from someone who feels he's taking advantage of your lack of knowledge regarding acoustics or not is up to you. but the fact is, his products are disproportionatly overpriced for the materials used to manufacture. Case in point are the (in)famous Bose 901's made popular back in the 70's. They retailed back then for over $1,000 for a pair with a complex crossover/multichannel attenuator. The drivers used cost them 30 cents each for the 8 tweeter rear-firing array per speaker for a total of $2.40. Now the front firing mid/woofers were also cheap, low quality drivers with overall parts of drivers and electronics coming to a price of less than $10. Throw together a cheap particle board box and some plastic and sheet metal... well, you get the idea... By current price standards, his profit margin comes in looking like the designer clothes line of speakers with the quality of kmart clothing. In the audio industry, most manufacturers can only run with a meager profit margin, excluding the mega corporations like Sony, etc. British budget gear and smaller manufacturers will often give you better quality sound for your buck simply because that's there only leverage for competing with the big guys. I highly recommend looking at specialty audio stores for any serious purchases on audio gear. There are some real gems to be found for the same price as some mainstream dreck that people dream they can afford. P.S. I've tried to find a source for the speakers I use, but I think the company got bought out. I use Monsoon PlanarMedia 9 speakers. It's a 2.1 system that I still haven't found a decent competitor for as far as sound quality for its convenience. That is to say, I don't need to break out a bunch of ancillary gear and place on a rack to make em work. If I get a Xonar card some day, I may go to a component system tho... LOL! I'd pull out some monitor speakers and a real sub then. Yeah... a $7,000 mini stereo setup for my sub $2,000 pc rig...  Edited by widdlecat - 25 Jan 2009 at 3:37am |
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widdlecat
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Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 840 |
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Posted: 25 Jan 2009 at 3:58am |
The "surround" effect is a simple concept originally played with back in the 1960's. It has a nice "gee whiz" factor, but also produces a variety of distortions, both electrically and acoustically. Obviously, the way it works is through electrical distortion of the original signal. The primary way this works is by taking the two stereo signals and adding varying degrees of signal cancellation and crosstalk. In it's simplest form, basically you have a L signal, a R signal, a L-R signal and a R-L signal. The L and the L-R are combined and played back through the left speaker, while the R plus the R-L signal are played back through the right speaker. This can produce a rather forward, yet intimate sound effect that low quality small speakers can have difficulty reproducing. A side "benefit" is a boost to the bass of the audio signal, giving inexpensive speakers a "bigger" sound. This process can be applied so simply that all that is required is additional wiring... no additional electronic parts. Actually, the pure form where no added parts sounds better, as other "designs" feel the need to use very cheap electronics that give a brittleness to the sound. Although this concept died in the 70's due to the audiophile rage... it made a comeback first as an idea for surround sound via 4 speakers thanks to David Hafler. Once home theater began to rear its ugly head... I mean... started to blossom, many companies remembered the old stuff and incorporated it with their surround sound "processors". It's all "compatible" with two channel signals, but for other signals, that's when adding cheap electronics come into play. All for the illusion of providing the consumer with "true" 5.1 compatible surround sound via 2 or 2.1 speakers... hmmm |
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eloquentrave
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Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26 |
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Posted: 27 Jan 2009 at 3:53pm |
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Personally, I enjoy Klipsch speakers immensely.
I had a pair of 2.1 and I absolutely loved the clarity.
For a $150 bucks, at that.
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)... and the "shielded" cables I got didn't do the trick (probably not the best quality)...