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Computer Speakers

M

MajesticMoose

Diamond Member
I getting ready to go away to college next year and my computer is going to be used for all entertainment (tv, radio, cd, not to mention games). The speakers i have now are very crappy and have no base at all (think bose). What can you recommend for me to get for a nice sound without spending to terribly much?

thanks, m00se
 
I bought my Labtec Pulse 424's for 50 +tax from BB and for the price, these things kick ass. MaxPC gave them a 9/10 I believe. The total power on these is 32W RMS with a subwoofer that sounds as if it cost a lot more.
 
If your not part of the 'Creative Boycott', then I suggest SoundWorks Digital 2.1 40 watts of power (22 for the sub) gives you plenty of base and I found the overall sound quality to be great to my non-audiophile ears. $66 at egghead.com.
 
without spending too much money? You had better state an exact price, cuz i dont think $400 is too much for good computer speakers. Might i suggest the Midiland 8200's, or the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1's
 
I've got the Labtec LCS-2416. Less wattage but for $40.00 I'm happy with them.

When I get more money to blow on speakers (not high on my "to-do" list) I'll prolly get some Monsoons. Friend of mine has them and they are awesome.
 
My Altec Lansing ACS54's are pretty good for my dorm room. The bass is there, but not overpowering. They're small enough to keep out of the way as well.

Avoid the one altec lansing speakers that are tall and skiny, almost flat. While decent at low-medium volumes, they SUCK when loud. The sound quality drops considerably.

We had a PA system in our room for a weekend, think 2 ft tall speakers ment for a gymnasium. We hooked them up to the Dreamcast and were playing "Ready 2 Rumble" boxing for about 15minutes. We hadn't even got through the first fight and the front desk called about the noise.

Oh, and we lived on the 3rd floor 😀
 
I have a set of Yamaha YST50's, and I absolutely love them. 40 watt subwoofer with two 20 watt satellites. Satellites are not too large either and have a HEADPHONE JACK! That might prove very important in college, and it's something that many moronic speaker designers have left out (*cough*Altec Lansing*cough* -- my other computer uses one of their digital sets which do not have a jack on the satellite).

They are a little more expensive than the others here though. Mine were about $120 though I bought them with some heavy discounts so I paid only about $20 (ValueAmerica anyone??).
 
For looks, you can go for those (*ahem*) Harmon Kardon "Sound Sticks" USB speakers designed for Apple Cubes.. 😛
 


<< My Altec Lansing ACS54's are pretty good for my dorm room. The bass is there, but not overpowering. They're small enough to keep out of the way as well. >>



Very true. BUT I highly recommend any of the ALtec Lansing speakers. I swear by this brand. I really think that other speakers dont possess the refined sound of altec lansing. My favorite thing about AL is that theyre sound kinda engulfs the whole room and doesnt come from one identifiable, distinguished region.
anywyas, i just finished my first year in a college dorm, so i know a little something about comp speakers. heres a brief rundown on my Altec Lansings:
ATP 3 - the flat, thin and tall ones that were mentioned earlier. these are good, but they cant blast. otherwise, they have really nice nonoverpowering bass with clear sound.
ACS 33- the lower end of AL's line..but still very good. if you want to save money and sitll have compact speakers that can blast with the big boys, these are your guys. however, there is no bass adjustment, so the bass is essentialy on &quot;full&quot; all the time, which can get annoying if you want soft sound say like at night while going to bed...and also, you might annoy the hell out of your roomies and neighbors.
ACS 45.2- similar to ACS 33, but toned down a bit, so you can have a little more of a softer touch on your sound. aaaand, aaand, this has digial controls. yay! bigger sub too, same size as the ATP3's
anywyas, ive ranted for awhile, but i love speakers 😀
whatever you do, DONT buy those paper thin flat panels with the seemingly cool silver sheet...made by Benwin i believe.

oh, one more last thign, if you solely want speakers to blast your sound, Boston has some nice bad boys 😉
Turn it up!
 


<< Get ACS 48s... >>


For the most sound for the least $, buy these used (might even find new somewhere).
Otherwise, if the Klipsch double deal on 2.1 is still on, go in with a friend and split it.
 
I like the sound of the Microsoft USB speaker+sub combo.
The sub actually puts out a decent amount of bass, plus the speakers ain't too bad.
 


<< can't beat these for the price---they won't get as loud as some others, but the sound quality is excellent >>


the altec lansing ACS33's will give it a good run for it's money.

i recommend the ADA885's for overall value and versatility. i picked one up on ebay for $150 and it does Dolby Prologic, Dolby Digital, 3D Positioning (Quad), Stereo, and 2X Stereo. Not to mention it sounds great and gave reviewers a tough time choosing bewteen the 885's and the Klipsch. With the Klipsch 4.1 costing as much as $300, i went for the $150 ADA885's. (Both are THX certified).
am i sounding like an Altec Lansing fanatic yet?
 
Just checked the model # on those Altec Lansings I have: ADA-305. I started with an AL set, the ACS300.1, which used really cool looking &quot;clamshell&quot; satellites. You could mount them on the wall. I then graduated to another AL set, the ACS45's which are a precursor to the 45.# out now. They were decent but underwhelming. They also lacked a headphone jack. I then bought the Yamahas, and it's been great since then. I bought the ADA-305's for my wife's sytem when I found them on clearance. They are very good speakers, but the sub is weak.

So, I've heard three different sets of AL speakers -- the Yamaha beats them for games and music. For movies, the surround capabilities of some of the AL sets would probably be better though. I have added two rear satellites to my Yamahas for &quot;surround sound&quot;, but the setup is too much of a pain so I never use them anymore. I usually use headphones anyway since my wife doesn't like the sound of gunfire echoing through the house. 🙂
 
I just got a set of Altec ATP3's and they sound great! The Klipsch are very loud, but that's about it. The Altecs sound much better overall than any of the Klipsch speakers. I thought the Cambridge speakers sounded pretty good also, but not quite as good bass as Altec. The Boston Acoustics sound pretty clear also.
 
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