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Good 5.1 speakers in the $40 - $70 price range?

Yeah, I bought a set myself even though I was sure I wanted the ~$130 Z5300s from Logitech, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good the X530s are. They sound good, with strong bass, and look pretty stylish too. One thing I was particularly impressed was that they don't feel cheap, despite being very cheap. When you turn it on, it's totally silent, with no hums or buzzes that you hear on a lot of cheapo speakers.

So overall, very satisfied.
 
X530s are probably the best speakers in the price range.
Also, you can probably save some $$ on sh if you buy them on amazon.
 
Originally posted by: Slider
My onboard realtek ac97 7.1 sound would be just fine, right? How much better would an Audigy 2 ZS be over my onboard?
Click to expand...

For this price level, I think onboard would be just fine.

If you can spend another $70 or whatever a ZS would cost, in my opinion you'd be better off spending that money on getting up to the next level of speakers (you're close to z-5300s by then)

 
Originally posted by: qbek
If you are not happy with your onboard sound you can always upgrade later.
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I agree. More importantly I doubt the sound quality difference is that big between onboard and an audigy 2, unless you're some sort of audiophile freak (unlikely since you're eyeing the X530s instead of wasting 300 large on some Klipschs). I think the only difference is your taking up an extra 2% of CPU work cycles by going without a dedicated sound card, but big wup with the multi-GHz CPUs we've got nowadays...
 
Originally posted by: Slider
Thanks for the input. I'll be upgrading from these:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=36-117-121&depa=0

So I'm sure the new speakers will make a world of a difference 🙂
Click to expand...

yes they will. I got the Creative Inspire 5200 as a present from my dad. I was aiming for the logitechs, but i'm very happy with these. when I play MP3s w/ iTunes or winamp, the audio codec pipes sound through all 5 speakers, so in my dorm any music i'm playing seems to fill the room. I won't say they're the perfect, but they'll be a nice upgrade from those Labtecs (I also upgraded from a set of old spin70s).
 
dang, i just bought an x-230 set (same sspeakers as x-530 but a 2.1 instead) for like $40...10 bucks more woulda got me 3 extra speakers, d'oh!
 
Originally posted by: tren001
Originally posted by: qbek
If you are not happy with your onboard sound you can always upgrade later.
Click to expand...


I agree. More importantly I doubt the sound quality difference is that big between onboard and an audigy 2, unless you're some sort of audiophile freak (unlikely since you're eyeing the X530s instead of wasting 300 large on some Klipschs). I think the only difference is your taking up an extra 2% of CPU work cycles by going without a dedicated sound card, but big wup with the multi-GHz CPUs we've got nowadays...
Click to expand...

Wasting 300? I got mine for $230 I guess. I'm always happier paying more for components that will outlast the rest of my system. They sounds great, but as you mentioned are nowhere near the $40-$70 price range.
 
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