Best audio computer speaker system for less than $300

[asdftt123]

I plan on purchasing an HT Omega Claro Plus+ soundcard for my new system build in a couple of weeks to fully enjoy music, video, and gaming but I need a good sound system to go with it. For under $300 what would you recommend? I'm far from being an audiophile and I don't intend to play my music at extreme volumes to blow out my ears. Ideally I would want something with good bass with rich mids and highs. A remote or a control panel would also be a nice addition. I've been looking at the Logitech Z-5500...how is it? Is there any better choice? Thanks!

 

[oscar6]

I have the Z-5500's. Luv 'em.

 

[asdftt123]

Thanks...more opinions are appreciated! Also, would you say the Z-5500 is overkill if I'm not an audiophile? Would it be more cost-performance effective to spend a mere $50-$100 on a set of speakers?

 

[JAG87]

no. when you buy 50 dollars speakers you are neither spending nor investing your money, you are throwing it away. get the Z5500s you will be pleased with your purchase.

 

[TemjinGold]

Amen to both responses. The set is pricey but if you are patient, you can score some killer deals on it (and you'll be real pleased with it). Generally, for components that you don't expect to upgrade much (monitor, speakers, etc.) you want to get the best you can afford as it will serve you for years to come.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

$175 is a lot to pay for a soundcard.

Is your listening going to be mostly music?

You might want to consider getting a couple "real" speakers and a receiver to give yourself an upgrade path towards a very nice surround system someday while getting very good music production initially.

 

[asdftt123]

Yeah I agree that $175 is a lot for a soundcard, but I want to get the most out of my audio and video, and the Claro seems to be better than anything Creative has ever put out. I've also heard Creative has utterly horrible Vista drivers and customer service. I figure it would be a decent investment since I doubt soundcards will become obsolete as quickly as other PC components. Anyways, I unfortunately, know nothing about "real" speaker and surround sound systems. I don't want to go over the top in terms of sound, and I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with a nice computer speaker setup. Also, for anyone out there with the Z-5500, can you really tell the difference between a set of $50 speakers that will justify the $250 price tag?

On a side note, does anyone know of alternate soundcards I should consider? I've heard good things about Bluegears b-Enspire and I read somewhere that Auzen is releasing the X-Fi Prelude in a week. It's even more expensive than the Claro Plus+ so what are the strong points other than full EAX support? Will it have the same audio quality for music and video as the Claro?

 

[Excelsior]

Ideally I would want something with good bass with rich mids and highs.

You won't get that with the Z-5500s. I agree with yoyo about getting "real" speakers and a receiver/amp.

And if you'd consider building speakers at all, here is a good small/budget performer: http://www.zaphaudio.com/ZBM4.html

 

[asdftt123]

Thanks for your suggestion but while "real" speakers and a better setup would be nice, I personally think it's over excessive while I'm still in college. I just want to find a good computer speaker solution so I can enjoy my games, music, and movies fully. Resale value and quality would be nice, but if there isn't a substantial difference between a simple $50 speakers and subwoofer versus a $250 setup, then I'll choose to go for the cheaper one. :-x

 

[Excelsior]

I personally think it's over excessive while I'm still in college. I just want to find a good computer speaker solution so I can enjoy my games, music, and movies fully.

You think having a half-way decent sound setup in college is excessive? lol. Not having one would be the problem. And how can you fully enjoy your games, music, and movies with a sub-par sound system?

 

[TemjinGold]

To answer your question, there is a definite difference between a $50 set and the Z5500. In fact, there is a difference between a $150 or $200 set and the Z5500. However, where you won't hear a difference is if you spend $175 on a soundcard and $50 on speakers because on a $50 set, you may not hear a difference between that soundcard and a cheap one.

 

[A5]

Originally posted by: asdftt123
Thanks for your suggestion but while "real" speakers and a better setup would be nice, I personally think it's over excessive while I'm still in college. I just want to find a good computer speaker solution so I can enjoy my games, music, and movies fully. Resale value and quality would be nice, but if there isn't a substantial difference between a simple $50 speakers and subwoofer versus a $250 setup, then I'll choose to go for the cheaper one. :-x

Let me start this by saying that I am in college, and I own the (now discontinued) Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 set. If you really want surround, the Z-5500 is the way to go unless you want to buy a receiver - IMO the Klipschs have better sound, but the control pod on the Z-5500 is invaluable for hooking up game systems or DVD players.

That said, hauling and setting up a surround sound system every year is a huge pain in the ass. I would seriously recommend going with a 2.0 or 2.1 setup until you're in a place where you don't have to move out all the time. The problem with that is that most purpose-built computer systems in that configuration are complete crap with weak bass and poor sound quality, so I don't know what to recommend here.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: asdftt123
Yeah I agree that $175 is a lot for a soundcard, but I want to get the most out of my audio and video, and the Claro seems to be better than anything Creative has ever put out. I've also heard Creative has utterly horrible Vista drivers and customer service. I figure it would be a decent investment since I doubt soundcards will become obsolete as quickly as other PC components. Anyways, I unfortunately, know nothing about "real" speaker and surround sound systems. I don't want to go over the top in terms of sound, and I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with a nice computer speaker setup. Also, for anyone out there with the Z-5500, can you really tell the difference between a set of $50 speakers that will justify the $250 price tag?

On a side note, does anyone know of alternate soundcards I should consider? I've heard good things about Bluegears b-Enspire and I read somewhere that Auzen is releasing the X-Fi Prelude in a week. It's even more expensive than the Claro Plus+ so what are the strong points other than full EAX support? Will it have the same audio quality for music and video as the Claro?

There is no "over the top"

I've tried a variety of pricepoints over the years and there are great bang-for-the-buck components for whatever pricerange you're looking for whether it be $50 or $5000+

Initially looking at a $175 soundcard choice, it seemed to me that you'd want to get the most out of it. Your sound system is only as good as your weakest link.

Bad source material, bad soundcard, bad sound system... you want to make sure you're getting the best balance. That's a very expensive soundcard and your goals seem to be for high quality sound reproduction.

I've tried Logitech speakers and Logitech subs as I used to use them as my first decent system.

They're a pretty decent option for what they are, but if music quality is what you're after, they may not be the best choice for you. If you're looking for "speaker wars" type battles in the dorms, they're fine for that. I was happy with them for several years before I found out what a "real system" could do and my eyes/ears were opened. I honestly don't regret getting the Logitech set since I got several years out of it and sold it for only about $50 less than I paid for it, but I'm even more glad that I eventually moved on to something better.

If I had to do it over again knowing what I know now, I'd probably just use integrated digital out to a low-end 5.1 receiver, a basic dayton sub (or something similar for budget), and get a decent pair of bookshelf speakers.
With that system, I'd have an upgrade path to completing a 5.1/7.1 system once I had more space and a bigger budget without needing to throw anything away. Eventually once I'd have a surround system, I'd be able to get a soundcard to take advantage of that with DD/DTS encoding and hopefully by that time things would be a bit cheaper, more stable, and fuller featured.

Back when I was in HS, I didn't know you could easily hook "real" speakers up to a computer and just assumed that the "high end" sets from logitech/klipsch were the best I could do. They're an easy thing to get set up and I agree that you'll probably be happy with whatever you end up getting, but at the very least get something like a z-5500 / Klipsch promedia set if you go with computer speakers. If you like the idea of having a higher quality 2.0/2.1 system initially with the option to expand it to surround sound eventually, please consider your options with "real" speakers.

Good luck :thumbsup:

 

[asdftt123]

Thanks for your recommendations everyone! I think in the future once I have the funds and when I move into more permanent housing, I'll consider setting up a nice speaker system. For the time being, I think I'll be pretty happy with a computer speaker solution, especially since I haven't really had the opportunity to hear anything better. -_- Anyways, as far as speakers go, is there another set of speakers that is recommended over the Z-5500's? What kind of products from Klipsch would you recommend in the same (if not lower) price range. Also, am I good with my choice of the HT Omega Claro Plus+ or should I consider the X-Fi Prelude or Bluegears b-Enspire, etc...?

Also, as a little side note, how much can I expect a nice set of computer speakers such as the Z-5500's to drive up the cost of electricity per month? From the specs it says it consumes 505W, which I'm pretty sure will be more than my entire system itself. Does it depend on usage and volume? I'm asking because I don't want any surprises on my electric bill next year. :-x

Thanks again!

 

[TemjinGold]

From what I know (and that REALLY ain't much) it does depend on volume. That 505 figure is actually "nominal" wattage, not max (Z5500s max out at over 1kW). I was misled because I had the Cambridge Soundworks Megaworks 6.1 set before and that set said 600 watts RMS (which I think was actually that set's max).

I can say that the Z5500's volume is REALLY loud. On my Cambridge set, I usually get the volume at 60% for normal movie watching. On the Z5500 set, I rarely put the volume over 25% (I'm a fairly quiet person who lives alone though. Most reviewers say 40-50% volume when listening to music). As for electric usage, I can't really say I've seen a spike in the bill.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I didn't read through everything, but is there any reason that headphones aren't an option? At that price you can get better quality from them compared to speakers (especially computer speakers).

The wattage rating is the maximum (well if its RMS its max sustained I believe), so they'll be using far less than that under typical listening (unless you have a gigantic room I doubt you'll have them over 1/2 volume most of the time). I don't know how efficient say the Z-5500s are, but I'd guess you'll be in the 150-300W range.

For your sound card, it depends. If you're going to use the digital encoding features (DD-Live, DTS-Neo) and output digitally to say the Z-5500s then get the cheapest one that has the features you want. I personally would not spend $150+ on the sound card if you're going to just use PC speakers. Really, you can probably pick up one of the slightly older Auzentech cards (possibly other brands with more features as well) for about $75 or so, and then you could get a pair of nice headphones and the speakers you want.

Unfortunaely, it looks like in your price range the Z-5500s are really the main option. Klipsch has discontinued their Promedia Ultra 5.1s after having issues with the amps (I haven't heard/seen if they plan on creating a new model or not). I think Creative might have one, but I wasn't impressed by it, and they only have the 7.1 version of the older Gigaworks (which is good, but I think its like $400+).

As for headphones, there's a lot of good ones in the $75-300 range, especially if you pick up a used pair.

 

[videogames101]

if you rly want to spend less, you can get the z-5300s, but the 5500s are by far the best

 

[asdftt123]

Darkswordsman17, thanks for your advice with the headphones but I prefer to listen to my music over the speakers as I tend to walk about the room and I like to hear my surroundings. As long as the speaker set doesn't spike up my electricity bill every month it should be a good investment. I also looked up the Z-5300's, but I figure I should just go all the way with the Z-5500's since the control pod is pretty sexy. :-x

Anyways, the only thing I'm unsure about now is my soundcard as it is very pricey, but I've read it's only the best of the best for a home theater PC. If anyone has any suggestions as to the soundcard, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, does EAX support make such a huge difference in the immersion and performance gain (frame rate) in gaming? I figure EAX 5.0 support would be nice to have but I'm unwilling to drop down to Creative's level. :-x

 

[josh0099]

Originally posted by: asdftt123
Darkswordsman17, thanks for your advice with the headphones but I prefer to listen to my music over the speakers as I tend to walk about the room and I like to hear my surroundings. As long as the speaker set doesn't spike up my electricity bill every month it should be a good investment. I also looked up the Z-5300's, but I figure I should just go all the way with the Z-5500's since the control pod is pretty sexy. :-x

Anyways, the only thing I'm unsure about now is my soundcard as it is very pricey, but I've read it's only the best of the best for a home theater PC. If anyone has any suggestions as to the soundcard, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, does EAX support make such a huge difference in the immersion and performance gain (frame rate) in gaming? I figure EAX 5.0 support would be nice to have but I'm unwilling to drop down to Creative's level. :-x

I really suggest you go with the path YOyoYOhowsDAjello suggested. A receiver will last a very long time and is a good investment. Real Speakers will sound better to. I don't see your point in justify the $175 sound card to just hook them up to computer speakers even if they are the highest quality computer speakers, just do yourself a favor and look into the receiver/real speaker route a bit more. I bought a Klipsch 2.1 Setup before my freshman year and wished I would of went the receiver and real speaker route.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Looking around, it seems like the Z-5500s go for about $270 shipped right now (Amazon with free shipping at the moment). Depending on how much you can find a decent reciever for, you could grab a $50-100 pair of bookshelf speakers (Polk at Outpost.com and Insignia at Best Buy are popular) and the Dayton 8, 10, or 12 inch sub from Parts Express. A Sonic T Amp would suit that setup quite well and would keep the price down, although I'm not entirely sure how you'd get a signal to the sub (although YoYo or someone else probably knows). That would actually be better quality and allow you room to grow from there if you want a full surround setup. If you've got a bigger room or this is going to be a HTPC then I would say this would be better than the Z-5500s. The Z-5500s aren't bad though.

I really don't think it'd be worth your while to spend a whole lot on one of those sound cards. They have a lot of features, but is overkill for most people. You really will be better off picking up say, http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16829127002 which has most of the features of that other card (actually, it seems to have the newer Oxygen HD chip which has more features), and put the rest of the money towards better speakers.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

If you're sure you want the z-5500s, wait for a good deal on them. They've been ~$220 in the recent past from Dell for example.

The 505watt rating on the Logitech set is their claim on RMS wattage at 10% THD. As far as what I've seen from what kind of power handling the parts Logitech uses in these sets, I think they would self-destruct pretty quickly with that much power going through them.

For example, the z-560 set with its "188 watt RMS" sub uses a driver with 100 watt power handling, and the "53 watt RMS" sats are 15 watt power handling tang band drivers.

I'm not sure what kind of power was actually being sent by the amp on the z-560 set or how efficient it was, but I wouldn't trust what Logitech is giving for specs on the system.

 

[cheesehead]

I'd say skip the Z5500s. They're iffy at best. Furthermore, better sound can be had from those Tang-Band drivers.

If I were you, I'd go for a full HT set of Radiient Europas, at $300. Get a decent soundcard with a digital output (nothing fancy needed here) and connect the digital output to a proper home-theater reciever.