Audiophiles: Need some speaker opinions :)

[Unity]

I know this topic has come up alot, but hear me out

Due to my budget i am looking at the following:

Altec Lansing 641's
Logitech 560z's
Klipsch 2.1's

I could care less if games/dvd's sound great with the speakers that i choose. Although that would be nice too Mainly i want them for music. I am using a regular output to receiver to my sony surround setup right now, but it doesnt sound so great coming out of the pc; and the pc is mainly what i play music from. I noticed that the Altec's are the only ones not THX certified of the 3. I am not sure if that makes a difference just something i noticed.

If there is anything else i could look into i would love to hear about it. From what i've read though, there doesnt seem to be anything else. I would look into the Klipsch 4.1's but they are slightly out of my range, so the 2.1's are all i can afford. If surround is going to make a big difference with music, then i'd like to go that direction, if it isnt thats fine too

Anything and everything as far as information goes would be appreciated. So all you hardcore audiophiles out there give me your input, i know its not alot of money to spend, but its all i got for speakers

-Unity

 

[RanDum72]

Overall, the ALtec 641's gets the nod.

 

[brunswickite]

z560's here, they dont dissapoint

 

[jacktesterson]

Get the Logitech Z-560's...there kick ass...Trust me

 

[bulldawg]

I can't tell you about the other two, but the Klipsch 2.1's are not the best choice. I have a set and I'm thinking about replacing them with something better.

 

[Pariah]

If you have your computer connected to a HT setup now, you're not going to get anything better from PC speakers, even if the HT setup isn't that good. Rather than getting speakers you may want to look into getting a better soundcard (You didn't say what you have now), like the MidiMan Audiophile 2496. If you want to get musical speakers, none of the ones you listed are any good. Take a look at Boston Acoustics and Videologic speakers and see what is in your price range. THX is a movie audio certification and has no relevance to the music industy.

 

[Workin']

If you have your computer connected to a HT setup now, you're not going to get anything better from PC speakers, even if the HT setup isn't that good. Rather than getting speakers you may want to look into getting a better soundcard (You didn't say what you have now), like the MidiMan Audiophile 2496.

This is true.

If you want to get musical speakers, none of the ones you listed are any good.

This is not true. The Altec 641's when properly set up are quite good at reproducing music, certainly FAR better than any Boston or Videologic at a comparable price. Or even at any price. And yes, I have listened to them, many of them in my own home. Listening to them on the shelf at Best Buy or CompUSA is an exercise in futility, they will sound NOTHING like that when you get them home.

THX as applied to home audio/video means squat, regardless of whether you're talking music or movies. All it means is you are paying extra for some fancy marketing crap. (THX as applied to commercial theaters is meaningful, however. But the standards are far more comprehensive and stringent than for home.)

 

[Unity]

Well i disagree with the fact that regardless of what i got from my picks there that it will NOT sound better than what i have now. I've heard at least some of what other people have, even what DELL packages their computers with, not sure exactly what model, and i was impressed with those over my setup currently. But, maybe your right, not to say you arent cause i dont know for sure.

I currently have a sound blaster live. i am not quite sure whether it is the value or what model it is. i have two actually, one is not in the pc current. one has a yellow digital plug on the back, equaling 5 plugs, the other that is in the pc currently only has 4. I am pretty sure that the one with 5 is the 'value' model but i cant be sure i got them so long ago i'd have to open the pc up to check because my system information isnt telling me anything that specific in windows.

I know sb live isnt the best thing to have, but it isnt the worst thing either. If i have to upgrade sc i will.

bulldawg: i guess then i'd be ruling out klipsh, have you heard either of the other two?

Workin': Thanks That thx info was helpful. So you'd recommend the 641's over the logitechs?

 

[flood]

If you want something remotely close to audiophile quality and want to use it for music, try out the swans m200. I believe they are on sale here for $199.

 

[Crank]

I agree with Pariah and Workin' - as long as speaker placement is good for soundstaging, your home equipment ought to sound a lot better.
If that's not the case, I think the Logitech's are the best bet if you're budget conscious.
I did the Altec vs. Klipsch showdown at CompUSA this Sunday, and I thought the Altec's sounded marginally better.
But then Workin' pointed out that the shelf at CompUSA isn't exactly the type of place that will let speakers shine

FWIW last year I upgraded from my onboard sound to the TBSC. Difference in games was maginal at best, but the difference in music was HUGE.

 

[Pariah]

"The Altec 641's when properly set up are quite good at reproducing music, certainly FAR better than any Boston or Videologic at a comparable price."

Musical preferences is personal thing, and I've never liked Altec Lansing speakers for music. You're probably right on the price thing though, I don't know what Boston Acoustics has in the $100 range, but I know Videologic has nothing.

A SC will sound better than a Live, but I don't think it's worth $60 to upgrade to it.

 

[podingX]

at least the klipsch 2.1s are currently selling for 89.99 at sam goody/best buy (with a PM). thats not too bad at that price level

 

[Nobuo]

Hasnt been mentioned yet but...

Check out Monsoon's offerings! I auditioned all of the above listed speaker sets (looking for musicality as well) and nothing even came close to the Monsoon MM702's that I ended up with. Circuit City had them at the time, and the mids and highs on these speakers are awesome

At least give them a listen, or you might make a huge mistake.

 

[dexvx]

What about failure rates? There are a lot of posts saying the Z560s came defective or will be defective after a period of use? It certainly seems that there are a lot of Z560 failure posts than the Altec Lansings, but I'm pretty sure that that the Z560s sell more than the Altec Lansings.

Videologic has nothing in the $100 range. The only ones that are readily available are at least $300.

 

[tronester1]

My vote would be for the Klipsche speakers. I have heard them and they sound decent - especially for the money. Since you want them mostly for music, you really dont need more than 2 channels, right? Another person mentioned the Swan's speakers, you should check those out too, I have heard good reviews on them. I have heard nothing of the Altec Lansing, but the Logitech's seem to be rated favorably especially for the price, but they seem to have a high failure rate.

 

[cmdrdredd]

"THX doesn't mean squat." As you put it is very untrue. THX certification is only given to components that have exact standards of quality and fidelity across a broad range of tones and sound levels. If it weren't they wouldn't plaster it all over when they get the certification.

When it comes to Ht setups you don't notice it unless each piece is THX certified, and you have to set it up really carefully to get the best sound. For Computer speakers I don't think THX is necessary, but the components go through some tests before the logo can be placed on the equipment.

 

[jacksco]

I haven't heard the others, but I have Z560's and they're amazing. I do listen to alot of music and movies and they sound great. They are computer speakers though, if your're serious about sound, I'd send the signal (preferably optical) out to a good reciever.

 

[Unity]

Originally posted by: Pariah
"The Altec 641's when properly set up are quite good at reproducing music, certainly FAR better than any Boston or Videologic at a comparable price."

Musical preferences is personal thing, and I've never liked Altec Lansing speakers for music. You're probably right on the price thing though, I don't know what Boston Acoustics has in the $100 range, but I know Videologic has nothing.

A SC will sound better than a Live, but I don't think it's worth $60 to upgrade to it.

Yeah musical preference is deffinitely a personal thing. Thats what makes this whole process difficult
So pariah in yer opinion the logitechs are 'out' as far as musical concerns go. Over all i could really care less about surround or thx or how they sound gaming if they are going to have the acoustics and clarity when listening to music. Even though all those things would be an added bonus if they sounded good that way too.

I am willing to spend a bit more money and willing to upgrade the sound card if necessary. So any suggestions that may be in the $200 range are ok too not to say i'll be able to spend that much, but i want to take everything into consideration i can.

-unity

 

[RanDum72]

My recommendation: Altec Lansing 641's and Turtlebeach Santa Cruz for music. Price for both should be around $200.

 

[dj4005]

IF what you are trying to accomplish is listen to music, why not just get whatever stereo speakers that your budget will allow?

You can run your line in/line out from your sound card to a tape monitor loop on your receiver allowing you to monitor the source selected by your receiver along with any sounds generated by the computer.

The speakers that the others have mentioned are all good speakers, but not in the same category as decent stereo speakers. The amp in your receiver is likely to be of much higher quality than that in your sound card or speakers. Put it to use.

Additionally, when you integrate your stereo and computer all sorts of other things start to become possible such as recording from the radio, turntable, cassette or other sources.

The only real caveat is - keep your speakers far enough away from your monitor such that the magnetic fields generated by the music won't affect the video.

Have fun!

 

[MasterHoss]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
"THX doesn't mean squat." As you put it is very untrue. THX certification is only given to components that have exact standards of quality and fidelity across a broad range of tones and sound levels. If it weren't they wouldn't plaster it all over when they get the certification.

When it comes to Ht setups you don't notice it unless each piece is THX certified, and you have to set it up really carefully to get the best sound. For Computer speakers I don't think THX is necessary, but the components go through some tests before the logo can be placed on the equipment.

True about THX certification but the certification level varies I forget but I believe there are 3... Multimedia, Ultra, and Ultra 2. Although it is true that a component carrying the THX certified logo passed a sound quality/consistency test, other speakers/components that fail to carry the THX logo does not necessarily mean that the respective speaker/components could not meet the certification standards.

More specifically, in the multimedia speaker market, I can confidently say that there are other speakers out there that would meet the THX Multimedia requirments to become THX certified; however, many manufactures decide that the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ required to get their speakers certified could be used elsewhere. Let it also be said that Klipsch doesn't get all their products THX certified ... just like Sony, Onkyo, Harman Kardon, et. al.

THX does guarantee that the product will perform at a "high level," but other products not carrying the certification may perform equal to or better than the certified product. Therefore, the argument that THX is nothing more than just a marketing strategy could be considered somewhat true.

In any case, I would say that the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 would be the best multimedia speaker system for Unity. For music, surround sound would only be available for DVD-audio SACD etc... not mp3 files or CDs; therefore, a surround sound solution is not needed.

EDIT: Yes, I'm aware of Dolby ProLogicII, but Unity may or may not have software or hardware to use ProLogicII.

 

[Workin']

I don't want to stray too far off the topic but let's call THX certification what it really is - a marketing ploy.

In the beginning there was "plain-old" THX certification, and there was some level of credibility that went along with that, and a reasonable argument could be made that it had some worth.

Then greed set in, and it was discovered that the cachet that had been earned by making the original THX logo at least semi-meaningful could be exploited by the marketing department if they could figure out a way to slap a THX logo on just about everything except maybe underpants. The way they figured out to do it was to rename the original standard "THX Ultra", then gut the standard and call that "THX Select", and then go for the final grab with "THX Multimedia". I think the most stringent requirement of the THX Multimedia standard is the maximum size of the logo and how often the manufacturer can use the logo in their ads...

The final clue that THX certification has become meaningless is the introduction of the new "THX Ultra 2" certification, further proof that the standards have become so diluted yet the name is so valuable from a marketing perspective that it pays to keep making up new names so the brand-conscious masses don't realize the emperor doesn't have any new clothes.

Sorry for the small detour, hopefully it was amusing...

 

[RanDum72]

There is also "THX Select" certification. This can be found on 'middle-class' receivers. THX can be a handy guide to quality control since audio equipment had to pass some criteria. But the problem is it also comes with an added price tag. Arguably, they come with better components (but not by much) but is it worth that much extra?. Yamaha receivers are not THX certified and they are one of the best receivers you can buy.

 

[skriefal]

Definitely consider the Swans M200 speakers, as mentioned above by flood. They may not be well known, but for a set of stereo speakers used for music they'll blow away anything you could find at Best Buy, CompUSA, etc.

There was some mention of the offerings from Monsoon, such as the MM-700/702. I just recently upgraded from the Monsoon MM-700 to the Swans M200, so am familiar with both. Although the Monsoons are better than many comparably priced computer speakers, they're definitely not as good as the M200s. If you were to compare both directly you would easily notice the difference.

 

[mchammer187]

go with the boston acoustics BA4800's or the altec 641's ( i have not heard them but read about them)


the boston acoustics BA7800s is priced higher but will beat anything for music pretty much

i have heard the z560's, BA4800, Promedia 4.1's, Megaworks 510D and IMO the BA4800's stomp everything but the megaworks at music

I own a set of megaworks 510D, and owned a set of 4800s but have heard the other 2 in detail


i am pretty sure the 7800's ($249) are the best musical speakers < $500 because they are supposed to blow the 4800's away


if you have a $300 budget IMO get the Megaworks if you want 5.1 , 7800s will prolly beat it in music

or if you are in the $100 price range the BA4800's and the altec lansing 641's are probably your best bet


for sound card the obvious choice is Santa Cruz over the Audigy for music and the other way around for games