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5.1 speakers

N

NegativeBeef

Junior Member
My Creative Gigworks G550W speakers has finally died on me. The speakers still work but the control console got fried by static electricity. What would be a worthy upgrade? There doesn't seem to be too many options out there.
 
Do you really need 5.1 if size is such an issue?

Often a decent pair of headphones is enough.

Also, what's the usage? Music? Movies? Games?
 
Stick with it and just RMA it. IF not, replace it with a similar system for your PC.

There is VERY little performance you can gain without a size increase. I had similar speaker system with a Z-5500. The next logical upgrade for me was Home Theater. HTIB was basically my Z-5500 with a weaker sub. Or with bigger speakers that really were just bigger but not much better in performance.

There isn't a logical upgrade from your type of speakers without going significantly larger. Otherwise, I'd stick with the type of system you have.
 
giantpandaman2 said:
Do you really need 5.1 if size is such an issue?

Often a decent pair of headphones is enough.

Also, what's the usage? Music? Movies? Games?
Click to expand...

Music and games. Yes I really do need 5.1 especially for games. I already have some great headphones and they are definitely no substitute for 5.1
 
If size is a big deal, you could grab maybe a used 5.1 PC system and just replace the satellites with Klipsch RSX-3s which are pretty cheap on ebay.
 
I still got my Z5500's and they are just so damn amazing still. If they break, i'll buy another set new or used off ebay. Logitech has a replacement model that might not be as good in the sub, but should still be quite great.
 
NegativeBeef said:
Music and games. Yes I really do need 5.1 especially for games. I already have some great headphones and they are definitely no substitute for 5.1
Click to expand...

Headphones with games that can simulate binaural audio through HTRF should be vastly superior to any surround sound speaker setup. Binaural audio is omnidirectional and can even give you directional cues on height.

Unfortunately few developers puts much attention into sound quality nowadays. But there are a number of titles that feature it.

Listen to this with your headphones and tell me if your speakers give you a better experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqqiIR017SQ
 
NegativeBeef said:
What would be my options if I were to build my own?
Click to expand...

If you want to go the DIY route here are some sites to browse:
http://www.avsforum.com/f/155/diy-speakers-and-subs
https://www.parts-express.com/project-gallery
http://www.diysoundgroup.com/
http://www.diyaudio.com/


If you could fit a receiver somewhere you could get a set of these: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=109&cp_id=10906&cs_id=1090601&p_id=10565&seq=1&format=2

which is basically a knockoff of these: http://www.amazon.com/Energy-Classic...ds=energy+take
 
yhelothar said:
Headphones with games that can simulate binaural audio through HTRF should be vastly superior to any surround sound speaker setup. Binaural audio is omnidirectional and can even give you directional cues on height.

Unfortunately few developers puts much attention into sound quality nowadays. But there are a number of titles that feature it.

Listen to this with your headphones and tell me if your speakers give you a better experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqqiIR017SQ
Click to expand...

This is very much dependent on your own HRTF and how closely it matches a generic HRTF used to generate the binaural audio. Have you ever tried a Smyth SVS Realiser? After using one of them, I've found that no other binaural system can even come close.
 
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