Help on selecting a decent, affordable set of desktop speakers.

[gittyup]

I have a WIN2K system and am using the SBLive X-gamer card. With so many different sets of speakers available, I am having a hard time choosing. I am just looking for a 3 piece set of good all around speakers and not spend a fortune. Any suggestions would be helpful...

 

[UKspace]

I know you said three piece but what about the creative labs FPS1500 speaker system?



It has one sub-woofer and four smaller speakers. (Yes I can count)
I haven't got mine yet but I don't think they will dissapoint you.

They are well priced too. In the UK I can get them for £52.

I'm not an expert, no doubt others will have their opinions.

 

[Noriaki]

Boston Acoustics BA635 and Altec Lansing ACS48 are both good 2.1 speaker sets.

What price range are you looking at?

For $150 you can get the BA4800 4.1 set from outpost.com with free overnight shipping. They are one of the best sets of computer speakers out there. Up there with the Klipsch (that's a hot debate that you can find many threads on), but much cheaper.

 

[divinemartyr]

If you want something that sounds good, buy the ACS54's from Altec Lansing. They're the best sounding speakers you can buy for under $100, no question about it.

dm

 

[Noriaki]

<< They're the best sounding speakers you can buy for under $100, no question about it. >>

What about the ACS56? They are under $100 aren't they?

 

[gittyup]

This is the input I was hoping for. To all, thank you very much...

 

[Noriaki]

Oh, I should probably add incase gittyup doesn't know, the ACS56 I mentioned are just an upgraded version of the ACS54. Slighty bigger sub and slight more power/channel. I almost bought the ACS56 before I went off on my &quot;dolby digital decoding is required&quot; trip....

 

[duragezic]

I like the ACS54's. Great sound, good volume. Only problem is there is some hiss but that can be almost gone but having the volume control in windows at about 80% and adjust speaker volume accordingly. But since the ACS56's is an upgraded version, I'd get those.

 

[gittyup]

Noriaka

No I didn't know. Thanks again. I am somewhat speaker challenged...:frown:

 

[gittyup]

10's for everyone....

 

[MichaelD]

Labtec 2422. Two satellite's/one sub. Sats have 3.5 speakers/10 watts RMS per channel. Sub has 5.25 driver in a ported wood enclosure, 20 watts RMS. Sub has level control on the sub, volume control for overall system is on right satellite. You can get them for about $60 now. They play louder than you'll ever need. Just to quantify that, my car stereo is 600 watts RMS. I like it loud. Even during marathon UT sessions when I'm drinking....uh, relaxing, I never have them past 1/2 volume. Go listen, you'll like.

 

[rommel]

well i bought the bose speaker system for the pc...it only is able to support two speakers off one subwoofer....but i am not sure 4 speakers would be a good thing cuz you could blow your head off...lol
but if you want really nice sound i dont think it gets much better then this.

 

[speedlever]

I don't know why folks don't jump on the Altec Lansing ATP 3 speakers. They are the best sounding inexpensive 2.1 speakers I found. ~$75 from onvia.com when I bought them.

ATP 5 if you want 4.1 setup.

 

[A2KLAU]

Well for all the 3,4,5 piece speakers, the subwoofer will always never be as good as HiFi speakers because they are all vented. This means that there is air resistnce against the cone which will hinder the tightness of the bass. It won't matter when playing games, but when you want to listen to music, or MP3s, the bassline will be slow, and sometimes distorted. For games it will be OK. The reason for the vent is also not just for the looks, but for cooling as I have founf out taking apart a Cambridge Works 4.1 The air which flows inside it will cool the circuits. But if you want a good 2.1 setup then go for the Creative Labs ones.

Hope this helped,

Albert.

 

[hans007]

i've got an xgamer and win2k also. i have the fps2000s, they are digital and work with the xgamers special digital port. pretty nice sounding, no hiss.

 

[kami]

sigh...i don't think I can agree with anyone in here except for Noriaki's first post.

You should buy the ACS48's.



<< If you want something that sounds good, buy the ACS54's from Altec Lansing. They're the best sounding speakers you can buy for under $100, no question about it. >>


I beg to differ...I owned the ACS56's which are better than the ACS54's and they are nothing to write home about. The ACS48's are a much better sounding speaker....they have a seperate tweeter and mid range driver while the ACS54/56 have an &quot;all in one driver&quot;... the ACS48's subwoofer also blows both of them out of the water. The ACS56's could not be turned up very loud without having the bass get muddy and distorted...and if you turn the bass down, the speakers sound too bright and it sounds like crap. There was also a large range of sound missing in the speakers (mostly in the mid range) because of the stupid &quot;all in one&quot; driver they use. It seemed like all there was was low end and high end sound...NO midrange. The ACS48's have been out for years but Altec hasn't put out anything that sounds as good as them yet (which is really sad). They are still manufactured so get them!



<< Labtec 2422. >>


don't make this mistake. Labtec? I don't really need to go on....



<< I don't know why folks don't jump on the Altec Lansing ATP 3 speakers. They are the best sounding inexpensive 2.1 speakers I found. >>


heard the clarity is pretty good on these but they can't compete with the pumping bass and general power the ACS48's have.



<< I know you said three piece but what about the creative labs FPS1500 speaker system? >>


It's basically a slightly upgraded version of the PCWorks but with 4 speakers instead of two. I also owned the PCWorks before the ACS56's and well...those are much much worse than the ACS56's! Funny thing is they are around the same price. Good old Creative jacking up the prices...

I've went through many speakers on my quest for good sound until I realized no computer speaker could give me the sound I want...not even the ProMedia's or BA's...so now I run two Sound Dynamics 50ti's (100 watts/channel, 3/4&quot; titantium tweeter dome, 5 1/4&quot; midrange driver, 6 1/4&quot; woofer) with a JVC pro-logic receiver for my computer sound.

With your price range I'd have to tell you to get the ACS48's...and if you can spend a little bit more, the Klipsch 2.1 system.

just 2 cents from a guy who has researched this sh!t for months and heard a lot of it first hand.

 

[divinemartyr]

<< sigh...i don't think I can agree with anyone in here except for Noriaki's first post. You should buy the ACS48's. >>



I personally felt they sounded a bit cheaper than the ACS54/6's but hey, every speaker sounds different to everyone.

<< I like the ACS54's. Great sound, good volume. Only problem is there is some hiss but that can be almost gone but having the volume control in windows at about 80% and adjust speaker volume accordingly. But since the ACS56's is an upgraded version, I'd get those. >>



The hiss is not the fault of the speakers, but your Creative Live! series card. You will experience hiss with this sound card, no matter if you had Altec Lansing, or a $10,000 pair of electrostatics.

dm

 

[hans007]

i think the fps1500 and fps1800s are slightly more powerful than the original pc works. the sub is definitely. the fps1000 is the 4 point pcworks, they used to call it the cambridge 4 point surround but changed the name and made them black

 

[hans007]

double post crap

 

[helloedchen]

if ya wanna go cheap w/ some good sound...acs33 isn't bad actually...comes with a decent sized sub. $20 more and you can get the 5 piece altec gaming speakers