Best 5.1 Digital Speakers for under $200

[renditionkid]

The subject says it all. I am looking for a good digital 5.1 speaker setup to use on my old nForce board so it most be under $200. I would prefer if they were not Creative either as I heard they do not work well with the Nvidia APU.

 

[Xentropy]

Unfortunately, most 5.1 rigs most people would classify as "good" instead of "mediocre" require an increase in your price range to around $300. Both the Klipsch Promedia 5.1's and Logitech Z-680's require a few bucks over $300 to get.

If you're willing to lose the center channel, Promedia 4.1's are a little under $200. I'd probably recommend that for your price range; you'll barely miss the center channel with solid speaker placement, and personally I'd prefer a four-channel 400W setup to a five-channel 70-75W setup. (Yes, wattage isn't everything, but in general it can be a decent starting point for speaker comparison.) In 5.1 speakers, there's a somewhat odd "black hole" between $100 and $300. You have your low end at $60-$120 and then only 4.1's between there and $300. Go figure.

 

[HumbleFish]

Try the Altec Lansing 251 5.1 set at about $70.00 and You won't be sorry... Try www.newegg.com.

 

[TripperJoe]

If the digital 5.1 is for movies or music, you might also consider Videologic's Digitheater 5.1
It'll run you $185+ shipping with the decoder or $95+ shipping without. Either way, it's a good system now that the price has dropped.
This speaker set will not compete with the aforementioned Klipsch and Logitech ~$300 systems in terms of loudness, so if your room needs to shake, don't expect the Digitheater to do it quite like those.

You can check out the review here
note: it didn't perform as well in a 4.1 gaming mode, if that's a concern for you

 

[crisscross]

where can i find the Digitheatre?

Thanx a lot

 

[PliotronX]

Good readin'

 

[TripperJoe]

Digitheater available here
(linked up from Videologic's website)

 

[crisscross]

Thanx Tripper

 

[cheapherk]

I got my Logitech Z-680's for $292 online (they retail for $399 at most retail stores). It would definitely be worth your while to look into something like these. The sound is incredible (assuming you have a good sound card). It has it's own Dolby Digital Decoder on the LCD conrol panel and you can hook up to 3 separate devices to it. For example, I have my home DVD player connected w/ a coaxial digtial connector and the optical connector to my computer. You'll be sorry you settled once you've heard these. The only under $200 speakers I could recommend is Logitech's Z-560's (there only 4.1 analog), but they rock and sound just as good if not better than any Klipsch speakers. I'm not knocking Klipsch, they are great speakers, but Logitech's the way to go- especially the 680's!