Computer speakers on a budget

[Major Orange]

Currently I have been doing some research into obtaining new computer speakers for my wife's desktop. The only way here is up as the ones to be replaced are from some nameless brand identifiable only through a logo of the stylized letters 'pa' and their quality is abysmal.

The aim is for quality but of course - as anyone would like - as cheap as possible. She has an old Dell XPS M1730 laptop of which she notes she really loved the speakers and their quality and would like something at least like that.

Now browsing around I found two sets that have had really good reviews. Initially I almost settled on a pair of Creative Inspire T-10 2.0 speakers and after researching on they were even listed in a ranking as being surpassed by the Sony SRS-A3 2.0 speakers. Both are in the range of about 30 to 50 dollars (with some bargain hunting around 20 even).

My question is what other people's thoughts are on them and or alternatives.
Since reading into 2.0 vs 2.1 I'm starting to doubt even more what decision to make, but I wonder if a separate bulky subwoofer is such a good idea. She mostly browses, watches some videos and plays some odd games here and there and might play some music too but the reference point are the speakers from that M1730 laptop which I believe to be 2.0 as well.

I thank any and all for their time spent reading and any advice or information they can weigh in with.

 

[Wall Street]

I have used these 2.1 logitechs in the past and they were OK for the price, now THEY are budget. In the low price range, you really really want a 2.1 as the 2.0s have zero bass. I don't mean like chest thumping bass either, I mean the 2.0 speakers sound like AM radio.

By the way, the sub in the model I linked is about a 5 inch cube. It is really small.

 

[SilthDraeth]

By budget, how budgetty are we talking? Sub $50?

 

[nsafreak]

If she's happy with laptop speakers it's not going to take too much to keep her happy. I'd probably go with the Creative T-10s as personally I'm not too fond of the sound that comes out of Logitech products, I love their mice and keyboards but I've found their audio products to be lacking and accentuating the bass way too much for my tastes. If you're willing to go above your budget you might want to look at the Creative Gigaworks T20, I've heard them a couple of times and found that they had pretty decent audio quality. Another alternative to look into would be the M-Audio Studiophile AV-20 speakers, they're also at the top end of your budget but they're pretty decent units.

 

[Major Orange]

Thank you guys for the responses!
Throughout my searching the Logitech LS21 speakers did pass me by and I liked their looks, but their mixed reviews threw me off as well as what nsafreak mentions, that their muddy, bass sounds drown out the rest - something mentioned in several reviews.

As a note budget wise, yes we would rather not be going over 50, less if possible.

I also realize that 'she likes these laptop speakers' sounds worse than it is, but that specific laptop (which is/was not your run off the mill laptop) has a set of good speakers in it.

I was leaning towards picking up the Creative T-10s until I found the Sony's to be more praised more than the T-10s (but I wonder how credible that is).

 

[giantpandaman2]

For what they are the Sony's are pretty good. You could always run to the local electronics store and try them out. Unless your wife likes bass heavy music they should be fine.

 

[Major Orange]

Ha! So here I was thinking, 'Wellp that settles it!' ... 'Oh wait she does like bass heavy! Crap.' So that means we should probably be looking at something in the 2.1 range after all for the subwoofer I take it?
Can anyone else weigh in on something for example like the LS21s or is it really true that the bass is kind of overpowering? We were hoping to still make use of some memorial day sale for the speakers.

As a way to specify the reference her laptop('s speakers) is basically Alienware quality. The speakers in use with the desktop currently are dug up from some 90s computer (I kid you not)

Edit: As a final update, we managed to randomly stumble upon a steal of a bargain at bestbuy. A pair of 2.1 Insignia speakers marked down multiple times to end up at 16 dollars (with tax) and they get the job done just fine! Thanks for the support and ideas everyone.