I need to get 5.1 speakers, help me choose

[avi85]

I need a new set of speakers for my computer and would love opinions, the speakers I'm looking into are in the $50-$100 range (US pricing), I listen to music, watch movies, play games etc... they will be in a relatively small room but I like my music loud.

Also, what kind of difference would there be between my onboard (Realtek ALC 880 HD-audio) sound and a discrete sound card with speakers in my price range?

Listed below is a list of speakers and their respective prices where I live (just for a general idea):
Altec Lansing 151i ~$95
Logitech X-530 ~$110
Creative Inspire 5800 ~$120
Creative inspire T6060 ~$140
and in 1-2 weeks, the Logitech X-540 will be sold here, it will probably cost between $140-$160 (just a rough estimate by me, could be a little less though)

Speakers which are slightly out of my price range but are really really worth it will also be taken into consideration.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I wouldn't bother with a soundcard at this level of speakers unless you're having quality issues with the onboard sound (like hissing / static / etc.)

Logitech x-530s are pretty much the standard option in this range and most people are very happy with them. The usual complaint about them relates to there being too much bass even though it is adjustable.

Do you have room to set up a 5.1 set properly with the two surround speakers to the side/behind you? If you're in a situation like many people here where you'd be forced to have all the speakers in a line in front of you, you might want to just get a 2.1 set instead.

The x-540s add a couple features like a wired remote and matrixing of stereo signals, but the overall quality of the set looks to be quite similar to the x-530s.

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I wouldn't bother with a soundcard at this level of speakers unless you're having quality issues with the onboard sound (like hissing / static / etc.)

Logitech x-530s are pretty much the standard option in this range and most people are very happy with them. The usual complaint about them relates to there being too much bass even though it is adjustable.

Do you have room to set up a 5.1 set properly with the two surround speakers to the side/behind you? If you're in a situation like many people here where you'd be forced to have all the speakers in a line in front of you, you might want to just get a 2.1 set instead.

The x-540s add a couple features like a wired remote and matrixing of stereo signals, but the overall quality of the set looks to be quite similar to the x-530s.

The rear speakers will be mounted on the wall behind me, the matrix feature is one of the reasons that I'm waiting to see what the x-540's will cost here, is there software that can do what the matrix feature does?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: avi85

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I wouldn't bother with a soundcard at this level of speakers unless you're having quality issues with the onboard sound (like hissing / static / etc.)

Logitech x-530s are pretty much the standard option in this range and most people are very happy with them. The usual complaint about them relates to there being too much bass even though it is adjustable.

Do you have room to set up a 5.1 set properly with the two surround speakers to the side/behind you? If you're in a situation like many people here where you'd be forced to have all the speakers in a line in front of you, you might want to just get a 2.1 set instead.

The x-540s add a couple features like a wired remote and matrixing of stereo signals, but the overall quality of the set looks to be quite similar to the x-530s.

The rear speakers will be mounted on the wall behind me, the matrix feature is one of the reasons that I'm waiting to see what the x-540's will cost here, is there software that can do what the matrix feature does?

Unless you're hooking up to some gaming systems, I don't think the matrix feature will be very important.

You may have a feature like that built into your integrated sound already though. I'm not sure what it would be called on yours, but something along the lines of "stereo expander" or along those lines. Creative calls it "CMSS" (Creative Multi Speaker Surround)

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: avi85

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I wouldn't bother with a soundcard at this level of speakers unless you're having quality issues with the onboard sound (like hissing / static / etc.)

Logitech x-530s are pretty much the standard option in this range and most people are very happy with them. The usual complaint about them relates to there being too much bass even though it is adjustable.

Do you have room to set up a 5.1 set properly with the two surround speakers to the side/behind you? If you're in a situation like many people here where you'd be forced to have all the speakers in a line in front of you, you might want to just get a 2.1 set instead.

The x-540s add a couple features like a wired remote and matrixing of stereo signals, but the overall quality of the set looks to be quite similar to the x-530s.

The rear speakers will be mounted on the wall behind me, the matrix feature is one of the reasons that I'm waiting to see what the x-540's will cost here, is there software that can do what the matrix feature does?

Unless you're hooking up to some gaming systems, I don't think the matrix feature will be very important.

You may have a feature like that built into your integrated sound already though. I'm not sure what it would be called on yours, but something along the lines of "stereo expander" or along those lines. Creative calls it "CMSS" (Creative Multi Speaker Surround)

I set my soundcard settings to 6-channel and plugged headphones into the rear speaker jack and music (2-channel in windows media player) was coming out of the headphones and the front speakers, so this means that I don't need matrix, right?


EDIT: What do you know about the creative t6060's? I found only one review online which was pretty good but other than that I haven't seen a thing.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: avi85

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: avi85

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I wouldn't bother with a soundcard at this level of speakers unless you're having quality issues with the onboard sound (like hissing / static / etc.)

Logitech x-530s are pretty much the standard option in this range and most people are very happy with them. The usual complaint about them relates to there being too much bass even though it is adjustable.

Do you have room to set up a 5.1 set properly with the two surround speakers to the side/behind you? If you're in a situation like many people here where you'd be forced to have all the speakers in a line in front of you, you might want to just get a 2.1 set instead.

The x-540s add a couple features like a wired remote and matrixing of stereo signals, but the overall quality of the set looks to be quite similar to the x-530s.

The rear speakers will be mounted on the wall behind me, the matrix feature is one of the reasons that I'm waiting to see what the x-540's will cost here, is there software that can do what the matrix feature does?

Unless you're hooking up to some gaming systems, I don't think the matrix feature will be very important.

You may have a feature like that built into your integrated sound already though. I'm not sure what it would be called on yours, but something along the lines of "stereo expander" or along those lines. Creative calls it "CMSS" (Creative Multi Speaker Surround)

I set my soundcard settings to 6-channel and plugged headphones into the rear speaker jack and music (2-channel in windows media player) was coming out of the headphones and the front speakers, so this means that I don't need matrix, right?


EDIT: What do you know about the creative t6060's? I found only one review online which was pretty good but other than that I haven't seen a thing.

Yeah, that would seem to imply that your soundcard automatically has some sort of surround sound matrixing or something for stereo sources.

If you want your stereo sources to play on more than 2.1, then it seems your integrated sound already has that feature :thumbsup:

I'm not very familiar with creative's lower end offerings.

 

[IEC]

I find that most <$100 systems these days are mediocre in one or more categories (Logitech with its muddy/boomy bass, Altec Lansing with less freq response in bass and treble, etc.)

Basically any system in this price range can be tweaked using software EQ/hardware controls to output reasonable sound, but not to the fidelity of, say, a Sonic T-Amp + 2x Polk R15s/R30s... if I weren't in a dorm room 2500+ miles from home I would get that setup

I have to settle for my Cambridge Soundworks FPS 4.1 setup (the original, before Creative bought out Cambridge), which is still great even after many years... the sound clarity is better than an Altec Lansing 251 set I had before.