Recommend some speakers for gaming and DVD viewing

[RahulM]

I don't want something super expensive, but I'd like to hear good 5.1 from movies and games. What are some good speakers that won't break the bank?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Can you give us a hint as to how much is in your bank so we can avoid breaking it?

Logitech makes pretty good budget speakers.

x-530s for cheap
z-5300e for midrange
z-5500 for upper midrange

beyond that, Klipsch promedias or an entry level HTIB... above that the fun starts 😛

 

[RahulM]

 

[RahulM]

Are those good for positional awareness? I want to be able to locate the source of a sound precisely.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: RahulM
Are those good for positional awareness? I want to be able to locate the source of a sound precisely.

They should all do a good job at playing back surround material if you place them correctly.

I looked back at your older posts to see if I could find out what your soundcard was... what did you end up getting?

Also, a budget would really help us make helpful suggestions.

An x-530 set will get the job done, but moving up to a set like the z-5300e is going to be a big jump in what your system is capable of doing. Beyond that it's going to get increasingly expensive to get decent performance jumps.

If audio is important to you, it might be worth it to get a HTIB to start and leave yourself the option to upgrade your system as you feel the need. Onkyo makes some nice HTIB sets that would allow you upgrade components. Right now my subwoofer alone cost more than that set 😱... but it was worth it :evil:

A HTIB set will be better suited for a larger listening environment vs a "sweet spot" for computer speaker systems that are designed for a listener to be quite close to the set. If you intend this to be more of a home theater environment rather than a standard computer single user type setup, it might be a good idea.

I wouldn't get a HTIB though unless you have a budget that's large enough for that onkyo set. An alternative for cheaper would be to just buy a receiver and two speakers for now and build up the system to 5.1 over time.

Computer speakers are really good value though. It seemed like you were in Canada from the soundcard thread I looked at. I'm not really sure how prices compare over there, but keep in mind that if a nice speaker set is similarly priced to a decent HTIB, both would work for you. There are some issues with gaming though on a HT set, but I wont get into it since you're probably not even considering something in the $400 to $500 range.

Ok... I'm rambling. If your room isn't huge, a logitech z-5300 set is probably a good bet for you.

 

[RahulM]

Thanks. 🙂

For PC speakers, I'd be willing to spend 300 bucks or so, but that's the max I'm willing to pay and only if the product really creams others below that price. I don't want to have giant speakers and woofers, my room isn't that small, but I'd like a more compact solution.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I don't know if you have any stores in your area like I do (circuit city, best buy, etc.) that have several speaker sets set up next to each other, but that might be a good idea to get a rough idea of what you get for spending more. The listening environment would be pretty crappy of course, but it's worth a trip if you're thinking about making a $300 purchase imo.

 

[Umberger]

i am using logitech z-5300e's. I have used them in several different rooms, of different sizes, and I have no complaints. i agree w/ YOyo on this one. plus, for $140-somthing on newegg, they are hard to beat for the money. they get a :thumbsup: from me. very clear sounding, no distortion, and a sub that is plenty powerful, but doesn't overpower everything else.