NEED ADVICE ON DECENT SPEAKER SYSTEM...........

[Maverick2002]

well first off thx to all you guys who helped me pick out a good monitor, i ended up getting the Samsung 755DF (the 753 was nice but the 1600x1200 resolution caught my attention

now for the tast at hand: i have crappy midiland speakers, and i need something decent for my SB Live! sound card......

i went over to http://www.techdeals.net but the altec combo they have there is a bit puny for me

im looking for either:

4 DECENT speakers + subwoofer

-OR-

2 REALLY GOOD speakers + subwoofer

.......all for UNDER $60 SHIPPED

i would REALLY appreciate some suggestions
-THX ahead of time

 

[Maverick2002]

any suggestions? plz? hmmmmm........

 

[mrbios]

Try the Altec Lansing ACS54's. I've heard they're great for the money, and they're a 4 piece and subwoofer combo. I'm not sure how much it'll be in US dollars, but here in Canada you can get them for as low as $80.

Russell "Mr.Bios" Sampson

 

[Maverick2002]

thx....do you have any suggestions at to online cheap places (with good customer service, prompt shipping, etc?)

 

[Semper Fi]

I was looking at these not too long ago. I remember reading a review some time ago and they are supposed to be pretty good.

Yamaha YSTMS30W $50.95 and then there is a $20 mail in rebate.

Hopefully someone in the forum knows if these are good speakers.

EDIT: Removed link. The rebate expired 6/30/00, but buy.com still has a link to it on their site. Go figure.

 

[Howard]

The FPS1000s sound pretty good.

http://www.us.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10005730&loc=442

 

[VAP0R]

I got the Cambriege Soundworks PCWorks 4psk system with subwoofer for around $60 forgat the actualy price. I got em from Buy.com and these speakers are small but awsome.

 

[Maverick2002]

thx guys.....more suggestions? plz?

one thing, this is under $60 SHIPPED, and i dont do that whole mail in rebate thing for reasons i shant explain............

 

[ltk007]

Labtec LCS-2514

 

[Maverick2002]

sorry too high for me............its like 55 + 10 S&H

 

[Bad Dude]

The Yamaha rebate is over on June 31, 2000. The Creative Lab system you can get the coupon over at techbargains and get $20 off. But pricematch at Staples first then take the $20 off.

 

[Comp625]

I hate Labtec speakers. They give that annoying buzz when you try and turn the speaker on almost halfway. It's like some kinda electronic buzz.

I have the Altec Lansing ACS45a and it's a 2 satelite w/ subwoofer combo. I like it, it was a fairly priced speaker system last year. I got it last year for $100. I'm guessing I can find it for $60 these days.

 

[Comp625]

Oh, so $60 is too high. Hrmmm...I saw the Altec Lansing ACS30 or something. It's a 2 piece speaker set (no subwoofer) but I saw it for $30. It was on demo at my local CompUSA and they were showing it off with the former popular game StarWars Episode 1 Racer. It was actually a decent set of speakers IMO.

I'm an Altec Lansing junkie

 

[Semper Fi]

Yeah, just looked at the link to the coupon. EXPIRED

They should remove that link, it's misleading.

 

[Maverick2002]

looks like Altec Lansing is winning the race....hmmmmm
again, this is a 3-piece system im looking for UNDER $60 SHIPPING INCLUDED
just thought ide clear that up

anyway, do you think Altec is better than Labtec and why?
BTW, how would you rate Creative Labs and Cambridge Soundworks?

i mean, there has to be a DRAMATIC difference for me to go either way, else ill just look at the price difference, since on my SB live WALUE my old MLi 70watt speakers sound all right.......but i gotta have a sub

any more ideas, comparisons, etc?
-THX

 

[kami]

Cambridge Soundworks Digitals might fit in there. They are based on the FPS2000's but it's two speakers instead of 4, BUT the subwoofer has better bass than the FPS2000's and the speakers have more power than the FPS2000's. I think they are a steal.

 

[yllus]

Stay the hell away from Altec Lansing's if at all possible. I've encountered four sets (two owned personally) and they've failed mechanically each time. And no, I'm not double-amping them, it's a QC problem.

Check out http://www.3dsoundsurge.com for some very in-depth and professional reviews of speaker systems. I recommend Cambridge Soundworks systems myself.

 

[d1492ay]

get the Altec Lansing ACS 54 speakers. I have the ACS 33, which is the same except it is 3 piece system (ACS 54 is 5 piece) and my subwoofer is 15 watts (ACS 54s have a 20 watts subwoofer). On onvia they are selling it for around 60 dollars including shipping (no rebates needed).

Hey Maverick, are you sure your midland speakers are 70 watts not including a sub? I don't know of any speakers that are rated 35 watts per channel RMS that are made for computers. It could be that they are rated 70 watts PMOP which is different from 70 watts RMS. A pair of speakers at 70watt PMOP is similar to a pair of speakers rated at 3 watts RMS.

 

[Maverick2002]

cool ill check it out.....eheh just ordered my Samsung 755DF from onvia LOFL

ill go see about the cambridge, thx for the link

any more ideas? any lower costs, better quality? LOL

 

[dszd0g]

In that price range get the Altec Lansing.

I have no idea why anyone would even suggest Labtec. Labtec are those crappy speakers that often come with systems. I don't know why anyone would go out and buy them.

I have heard the ACS54, the PC Works, and the YSTMS30W. In my opinion the Cambridge PC Works distorts the worst out of the bunch. If you never turn up the volume or treble the PC Works sound pretty good, but I don't like distortion when you crank. A friend of my has the Yamahas and they sound decent. I think they sound better than the PC Works cranked, but worse flat at normal listening levels. The ACS54 still distort when you crank them, but much less than the other two and sound the best at normal levels to boot.

Speakers are definitely something even two people who took blind tests disagree on. If you have a store in the area with a good selection of speakers you may want to give a listen. Cambridge Soundworks has some stores (I've only seen them in malls), but be sure to set them flat, every time I've given their speakers a listen in the store they have the Windows Sound Advanced Properties Treble and Bass cranked which make the speakers distort worse.

None sound as bad as the Labtec which distort no matter what you do with them (Slight exageration.)

 

[Warrenton]

For one, I have the altec ACS54's and well frankly they stink compared to the cambridge FPS1000 even. May be biger looking, but the Altecs have absolutly no highs to them, and they bottom out really easy on the lows. I mean with bass they make popping noises, even at 20% output on the computers power with an SBLive.

My friend has the FPS1000 and they sound much better. The highs are actually there, and the sub is better sounding to.

Oh and to whoever said they have never seen speakers for computers with more than 35W RMS on the sats... Klipsch ProMedia, 60W RMS for each sat and 160W RMS for the sub. The amp is rated at 5A which means a peak output of 600W

 

[dszd0g]

Yeah, if my roommate wouldn't kill me if I turned up my Klipsch I'd be deaf. That sub can get loud. The only disadvantage to the Klipsch is they really bring out the flaws in ones sound card. I have to mute everything on my Soundblaster Live! Platinum to avoid distorting too much when cranking the Klipsch. The speakers are really clean, they just get so loud (108 dB?) that any distortion comming from the sound card is clear. Any distortion I have heard from them I have been able to identify as the sound card by muting the appropriate input. My other gaming system uses Altec Lansings though.

 

[Maverick2002]

ok cool thx guys looks like ill get the altecs..........but that wont be for another week or so

 

[dszd0g]

One thing I should mention about Altec Lansing, that I've mentioned on here before.

Altec Lansing and Klipsch tech support are the only tech support I've ever worked with for computer speakers. I had an issue with Altec Lansing's USB support. Altec Lansing tech support is probably the worst tech support I have ever worked with. As soon as I called they asked for a hardware description and when I listed an AMD processor they said that was the problem and that I should replace it with Intel and that would fix it. I called back and made up an Intel system with the same problem. The advice they gave was flat out wrong and they did the typical, reinstalling Windows will fix it thing. If I was on their end the only way I could have given worse advice is by reading some of the BOFH.

Since most likely, you will not have to deal with their tech support I don't think it is an issue. However, you have been warned.

(Just for reference in a forum I was inquiring about ways to reduce distortion on the Klipsch and a popping noise that happens every once in a while. Ended up totally being an issue with the SB Live! A Klipsch tech support guy responded to the post offering to help me if I gave him a call. I have to say that Klipsch has one of the best tech support I have ever worked with, even to the extent of monitoring other peoples forums occasionally. I was truly impressed. Both issues are resolved to my satisfaction.)

 

[duragezic]

ACS 54's?