Best cheap 5.1 setup

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Dannyboyayyo

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Nov 1, 2005
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Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about purchasing some 5.1 speakers to take over my 2.1 setup. I dont want to spend too much money i was thinking about 40-80ish. Also is it a pain to hide all the wires?

Would i need to get a soundcard or standard onboard sound good enough? if i need a soundcard which one should be fine(games,movies and music)

the speakers i was looking at are the logitech x-530 since its pretty cheap on newegg right now. I noticed the X-540 but i dont see a big difference. Anything else i should look at?

Thanks for any input!
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
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You don't need to get a soundcard. I wouldn't bother at that pricepoint for the speakers because the speakers themselves are going to limit you pretty badly. Unless you get some odd performance issues or static / crackling / etc., I'd say stick with onboard.

For hiding the wires, I guess it depends on your room, placement, creativity, and effort :p

Just want to mention that if you can't put two speakers behind you (or at least to the side), it would probably not be a good idea to get a 5.1 set vs. a higher quality 2.1 set.
 
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Dannyboyayyo

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Nov 1, 2005
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ya I'm planning on moving 2 of them behind me. The reason I'm looking for new speakers is because my old comp will be back in use once i get my new monitor but that comp doesn't have any speakers. My 2.1 setup i have now is fine from what i can tell, I'm not a audiophile though.
 
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duragezic

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
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I have the X-530s as well as my roommate too. They are fairly popular as they are one of the better budget 5.1 systems. A lot of people will say to just get a 2.1 setup at this price range of spend more, but I wanted surround sound as I mostly play games and watch movies on my computer, and couldn't afford a nicer setup (though I should've just waited a few months).

I definitely recommend them. Mine were only like $55 shipped from Newegg. My roommate and I are both quite happy with them. Loud enough, decent sound quality, good construction, good price, and Logitech makes decent products overall IMO. One thing though, if you read some reviews online (you probably should read X530 and competitors reviews), a lot note the subwoofer is quite loud and boomy. They are certainly right about that. I used to constantly bug my roommate with the X530s to "turn that fvcking boombastic sh*t down!!" as I was trying to sleep. So we both have our subs turned down a lot, and my bass is turned down in XP Volume Control a lot. So now its fine, but at default/average settings, I find it to be too bassy. Depends your bass preference though.

I am not sure about the X540s. Haven't heard of them until now. I don't see much tech specs on Newegg so you'll have to find other sites noting the differences. One customer review says "X-530 are esentially the same thing for 30 bucks cheaper without the added matrix and seperate volume control (i think)". Not sure what exactly that means... but for the X540 price I'd probably spend a bit more for a better set, or just keep a tight budget and get the X530s.
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
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Originally posted by: duragezic
I have the X-530s as well as my roommate too. They are fairly popular as they are one of the better budget 5.1 systems. A lot of people will say to just get a 2.1 setup at this price range of spend more, but I wanted surround sound as I mostly play games and watch movies on my computer, and couldn't afford a nicer setup (though I should've just waited a few months).

I definitely recommend them. Mine were only like $55 shipped from Newegg. My roommate and I are both quite happy with them. Loud enough, decent sound quality, good construction, good price, and Logitech makes decent products overall IMO. One thing though, if you read some reviews online (you probably should read X530 and competitors reviews), a lot note the subwoofer is quite loud and boomy. They are certainly right about that. I used to constantly bug my roommate with the X530s to "turn that fvcking boombastic sh*t down!!" as I was trying to sleep. So we both have our subs turned down a lot, and my bass is turned down in XP Volume Control a lot. So now its fine, but at default/average settings, I find it to be too bassy. Depends your bass preference though.

I am not sure about the X540s. Haven't heard of them until now. I don't see much tech specs on Newegg so you'll have to find other sites noting the differences. One customer review says "X-530 are esentially the same thing for 30 bucks cheaper without the added matrix and seperate volume control (i think)". Not sure what exactly that means... but for the X540 price I'd probably spend a bit more for a better set, or just keep a tight budget and get the X530s.
Click to expand...

Matrix mode would take a stereo signal (the green input) and just use that information to give you fake surround sound.

For the remote part, the 540s have a wired remote so the volume control is now on that rather than the right front speaker.
 
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duragezic

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
11,234
4
81
Well... some sound cards have support for more or less the same thing. I believe Creative's CMSS modes are like that matrix mode. You're onboard may or may not have such a feature. It's good for audio that doesn't normally output as 5.1 (such as music unless you have some 5.1 plugin) but something like music is normally best from 2.1 anyway. Games and movies should output 5.1 as long as surround is selected.

Maybe matrix would be worth it for you if you are sure you can't get it otherwise through software. The remote volume would be handy but not really worth it.

I could measure the length of my surround speaker wire but I'm not at home until Saturday or Sunday so you might not want to wait that long. I find it long enough. It goes from my subwoofer, up to the ceiling to the other side of the room where my rear speakers are hung on the wall behind me/my desk. But in a large room they might not be, but that's a common issue with lots of speaker sets, and you can just buy some extension cables for them.
 
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Dannyboyayyo

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Nov 1, 2005
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i have a ASUS A8N Premium MB not sure if i have the "matrix" support but i'm pretty sure i have the software needed. Thanks for the help everyone im going to go for the X-530 since its so cheap :p and has awesome reviews.
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
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Yeah, the matrix mode would seem most useful in a case where you were trying to hook up something like a game system and wanted to use all the speakers.

In the case of a computer as a source, you're going to get true surround from surround sources and you'll keep stereo sources in stereo :thumbsup:
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
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Originally posted by: Dannyboyayyo
o_O what if i was going to connect a Wii....?
Click to expand...

Well then you'll either get plain stereo, or you could use a game adapter and you'll get a different kind of "fake surround" with that.

I am unsure if that adapter comes with the speakers, and if it does, if it's only for retail or if OEM has it too.
 
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Dannyboyayyo

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Nov 1, 2005
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ewl newegg charges shipping on the X-540s :( guess i'll goto bestbuy since its going to be the same price. or perhaps i should get that adapter and 530's...
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
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91
Originally posted by: Dannyboyayyo
ewl newegg charges shipping on the X-540s :( guess i'll goto bestbuy since its going to be the same price. or perhaps i should get that adapter and 530's...
Click to expand...

I don't know how good the matrix mode is on that. I know the 5300s had a matrix mode as well.

Back in the day I had z-560s and the "M3D" fuction to get fake surround wasn't too great.
 
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duragezic

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
11,234
4
81
Yeah I don't think you need the X540s.

My OEM X-530s from Newegg came with the game adapter that was seemingly sold separately so I was pretty happy about that, though I don't use it. So with that you can use all of the speakers with a game console.

Even if you don't get the adapter with the X530s, it is very cheap, and maybe can be found on Ebay. So unless something else about the X540s is better than the X530s (like if the speaker quality is any different), then the X530s would do, since the matrix mode is not needed really, and the remote volume isn't worth an extra $30!
 
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Dannyboyayyo

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Nov 1, 2005
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Alrighty that makes it easier lol thanks for the all the input i'm just going to order the 530's then. Why is ordering parts always so hard >< :p
 
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