Alternative to Logitech X-230

[TheRealMrGrey]

I owned a set of these speakers in Australia and loved them, but moved back to the states. Sold them with my old system assuming it would be no trouble to pick up a new set in the US. Not true, they are discontinued.

So I'm looking for an inexpensive alternative to these 2.1 speakers. Has anyone found anything reasonable for gaming at a reasonable price?

Thanks.

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

The x-240 are the successors to the x230, but arguably are a bit worse. What are you looking to spend? Swan makes some pretty decent 2.0 powered monitors for $~100

 

[TheRealMrGrey]

Yeah, my budget would have been helpful. I'd like to spend < $100. They are a temporary replacement for some Klipsch speakers.

I actually own a set of Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1, which are 500W speakers. Unfortunately, they died after 1 day (!!!) of use. Apparently these speakers have a known problem with the sub/amp where the capacitors/resistors/ICs are not made to the temp specs generated by a 500W set of speakers, and they burn up after anywhere from 1 day (in my case) to a few years. There are endless threads about these things dying, see here for example:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1268387

Now you might be asking why I don't return them under warranty? Well, I got the Klipsch as a graduation present - and immediately after graduation I went overseas for my 1st job and was gone 3 years. It wasn't worth shipping the new speakers over, so they sat in storage for 3 years w/ box unopened. Now I'm back, set them up with my new system, and they worked for a day. Thing is, Klipsch warranties are 1 year from purchase date. Don't buy from Klipsch, they might have been good once, but now their products are rubbish and their warranties useless.

Now that I'm done with my rant, I'm looking for a good temporary solution for *gaming* until I can learn enough electrical engineering to fix my Klipsch speakers.

I'm currently considering the logitech X-540, but I was hoping for something a little cheaper.

[Edit: though the x-540 are 5.1, I don't mind 2.1 temporarily if they can be had at a better price and quality.]

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

I know the promedia ultras have had a high failure rate. The speakers themselves are still good though, if you want to invest in a cheap receiver, you could use the speakers (as well as the sub if you get a small amp for it as well).

 

[Googer]

Axiom AudioBytes are widely regarded as teh best powered speakers for your computer. If your looking for something cheaper and arguably better, I would get a good pair of audiophile or studio monitor grade headphones like AKG K701, which can be found for $250-290 USD. Using (holophonic) headphone mode, I found that 3d positioning and tracking is far better than any 7.1 channel surround system.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/audiobytecomputerspeakers.html
http://www.headphone.com/headphones/akg-k-701-white.php


IF your super rich, these are just for you:
http://www.headphone.com/packages/speaker-packages.php
http://www.headphone.com/headphones/sennheiser-hd-800.php


And if none of that appeals to you, consider getting a moderatly priced ONKYO HTIB. Any of their mid-range priced or better will do you very nicely. Their top of the line HT-S9100THX sells for about $850 USD and sounds better than bose systems costing 4-8x as much.
http://www.onkyousa.com/prod_class.cfm?class=Systems

 

[TheRealMrGrey]

I really appreciate the opinions, though unfortunately I don't have that much money to spend. I really like the headphone idea, and I was thinking of just going with a set of Sennheiser. Possibly the HD202, if I can find it in stock someplace.

 

[Googer]

I really appreciate the opinions, though unfortunately I don't have that much money to spend. I really like the headphone idea, and I was thinking of just going with a set of Sennheiser. Possibly the HD202, if I can find it in stock someplace.

How much are you looking to spend?

If you play any sort of online games or use any type of online voice chat (skype, voip, WoW, BF2, C:SS, etc) then I'd consider a pair of headphones with a boom microphone like Sennheiser PC350. A little more upscale and better quality would be Beyerdynamic Headzone or Beyerdynamic MMX-300 which is based on a design used in their high end audiophile DT-770 Pro headphones.The beautiful thing about these headphones I have mentioned, is that they are serviceable; you buy them once and have them for life.

Beyerdynamic MMX300 > Sennheiser PC350

(super high end Beyerdynamic Headzone, with digital head tracking for 3d positioning in dolby digital and dts)

Beyerdynamic Headzone for Gaming (Kick Ass)

What ever you do, stay away from Plantronics and Logitech audio garbage that does not last long and sounds hollow.

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

How much are you looking to spend?

He already said around $100 or less.

OP, have you considered getting the Logitech Z4? They should be better speakers compared to the x230 and still cheaply priced.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Spea...f=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1265680413&sr=1-18

 

[Googer]

He already said around $100 or less.

OP, have you considered getting the Logitech Z4? They should be better speakers compared to the x230 and still cheaply priced.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Speak...680413&amp;sr=1-18

Sennheiser PC350 are with in his range, I have seen them for less than $100 at major e-tailers and highly recommend them. They regularly sell for under $100 on ebay; but you surrender your most excellent sennheiser 2 or 3 year warranty if you buy them there and will have to pay $30 to have them repaired. The PC161 and PC166 headphones are identical (incld 3.5mm jacks) except the 166 comes bundled with a detachable USB sound card for $30-40 more; which may not be a good deal if you already have a decent sound card (doesn't sound as nice as my X-Fi, but good enough for most of my mobile uses).

 

[TheRealMrGrey]

Hey guys, thanks for the input:

I have considered the Z4 (though they are out of stock most places), but am now sold on the headphone idea. The reason being that I often play games at night or early morning while my wife is in bed and can't turn up the volume very high anyway - so it is a win-win with headphones. (I'm not playing them on the sly, btw, I get my games and she gets to watch reality TV, and never the twain shall meet!)

I'm not playing games that use a mic - I play Oblivion and NWN2 mostly, perhaps will pick up Dragon Age soon (love RPGs), but never got into WoW because I don't have enough time to play regularly and make a monthly subscription worth it. I used to play CS-source, but it got too addictive for me.

I still like the mic idea, as we could use it with a webcam to talk to our families and get better sound than my old Logitech webcam can provide.

I have an X-Fi extreme gamer, so I don't need the sound card. The PC350 is $180 on newegg, a bit much, but yeah I could search around for a cheaper set. Googer, do you have an opinion on the PC161 vs the 151 and 131, which are cheaper but seem to have decent reviews?

 

[Googer]

Hey guys, thanks for the input:

I have considered the Z4 (though they are out of stock most places), but am now sold on the headphone idea. The reason being that I often play games at night or early morning while my wife is in bed and can't turn up the volume very high anyway - so it is a win-win with headphones. (I'm not playing them on the sly, btw, I get my games and she gets to watch reality TV, and never the twain shall meet!)

I'm not playing games that use a mic - I play Oblivion and NWN2 mostly, perhaps will pick up Dragon Age soon (love RPGs), but never got into WoW because I don't have enough time to play regularly and make a monthly subscription worth it. I used to play CS-source, but it got too addictive for me.

I still like the mic idea, as we could use it with a webcam to talk to our families and get better sound than my old Logitech webcam can provide.

I have an X-Fi extreme gamer, so I don't need the sound card. The PC350 is $180 on newegg, a bit much, but yeah I could search around for a cheaper set. Googer, do you have an opinion on the PC161 vs the 151 and 131, which are cheaper but seem to have decent reviews?

Now that I'm done with my rant, I'm looking for a good temporary solution for *gaming* until I can learn enough electrical engineering to fix my Klipsch speakers.

Ignore Newegg for this purchase. Amazon and other retailers are much cheaper; the egg has typically been higher in price when it comes to headphones and headsets for PC use. I have seen the PC350 for less than $90USD on ebay, but remember in back of your mind that you loose that very generous Sennheiser warranty (I needed it when I tripped on my cord) when you purchase Sennheiser and most other things these days from non-authorized dealers or 3rd party sites.

Once you start using HIGH QUALITY headphones ($150 MSRP AND UP) you'll find it hard to go back to your old Klipsch Promedia speakers; the sound is going to be so much better when connected to a high quality DAC or high quality analog source. I can hear the differences in DAC's on my AKG-K702 ($280usd) headphones, where as crummy Logitech speakers sounded no different on the X-Fi or onboard motherboard audio on my antique P4 system.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

i've owned altec lansing, logitech, m-audio speakers and sennheiser, shure headphones. the logitech audio product is by far the worse in sound quality. the z-2300 that i'm talking about had NO MIDRANGE. all it had was a boomy inaccurate bass that just wanted to boom whenever it wanted and made the song sound like it was taking a shit. it also only had squeaky highs that you just got annoyed with, it was like a bird chirping the song in your ear constantly.

I'm satisfied with my M-Audio LX4 speaker set right now + Shure SRH840s

for $100, just get a set of headphones or find some real audio brands to work with like m-audio AV series or BX series.

 

[Googer]

i've owned altec lansing, logitech, m-audio speakers and sennheiser, shure headphones. the logitech audio product is by far the worse in sound quality. the z-2300 that i'm talking about had NO MIDRANGE. all it had was a boomy inaccurate bass that just wanted to boom whenever it wanted and made the song sound like it was taking a shit. it also only had squeaky highs that you just got annoyed with, it was like a bird chirping the song in your ear constantly.

I'm satisfied with my M-Audio LX4 speaker set right now + Shure SRH840s

for $100, just get a set of headphones or find some real audio brands to work with like m-audio AV series or BX series.

I agree. My experience with Logitech is exactly the same as yours. No mid range made listening to people talk virtually impossible. Very tinny highs with no detail or clarity and monotone bass regardless of the instrument or frequency (My Paradigm PW2200, now that's smooth articulate bass).

And those Maudio LX4's are some nice speakers and represent a good value. Definitely a better value and higher quality compared to Klipsch and especially logitech.
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.family&ID=studiomonitors