Speakers

[Gusty987]

What are the best but cheapest 5.1 surround sound speakers?

Also, what is the difference between 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 etc?

 

[Dman877]

Originally posted by: Gusty987
What are the best but cheapest 5.1 surround sound speakers?

Best and cheap are incompatible. Give us a price range.

 

[CJP]

Yeah you won't get best and cheap together but you might get pretty good and affordable. I got my Logitech Z560's a couple of years ago for a good price and I've been pretty happy with them. They're only 4.1 though. The Logitech Z-5300's are 5.1 and pretty affordable.

 

[k3nt]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=36-121-104&depa=1
58 bucks, a steal

 

[zodder]

I've never heard the 540s, but I can tell you the Logitech Z-5300s are awesome and they're at an unbeatable price, too.

 

[Tab]

Yea, the Z-5300s are pretty nice. The Sub is amazing for its' price range.

 

[mitchafi]

I got the Creative T7700 7.1 System. More than enough power for my small room and the extra 2 channels are awesome for gaming.

 

[SneakyStuff]

CreAtive

Yes, those are great for the price you pay.

 

[jrphoenix]

Originally posted by: Gusty987
What are the best but cheapest 5.1 surround sound speakers?

Also, what is the difference between 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 etc?

Listen to Zodder below and get the Logitech 5300 5.1 system (that's who I listened to and couldn't be happier). I bought my set about two weeks ago and love them. You can get them for about the same price at Amazon or Newegg.... when I bought them Amazon had free shipping.

This is the set that Anand recommends in his highend buyers guide: 5300. For $140 you can't go wrong.

From everything I have read... you don't get much more by moving to 7.1 from 5.1 so save yourself the money!😉

 

[Gagabiji]

Gusty987 we need to know what you will be doing with your speakers. Are you going to game with them, or just listen to good music?

 

[wizdum]

The difference between 2.1, 3.1, 4.1 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 etc etc etc is the number of speakers. We'll take the number 5.1 for example. If you are buying 5.1 speakers then you have a total of 5 satellites(speakers) and 1 subwoofer. The '.1' is there for something called LFE, lower frequency effects, which subwoofers produce. So if I had a 5.1 speaker set, I would have 5 satellites and 1 subwoofer. Get it?

 

[Gerbil333]

Originally posted by: k3nt
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=36-121-104&depa=1
58 bucks, a steal

If you like muddy bass. I like my Z640's a lot, but they're really nothing special. For the price, they can get fairly loud, and they sound good enough. They are far from perfect though, and I really dislike the sub. It's a box of crap. I use my Sennheiser HD-280 Pros most of the time with my Audigy 2 ZS.

 

[Gusty987]

Gusty987 we need to know what you will be doing with your speakers. Are you going to game with them, or just listen to good music?

I'd say I will be doing 75% gaming, 25% music/downloaded tv shows.

The difference between 2.1, 3.1, 4.1 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 etc etc etc is the number of speakers. We'll take the number 5.1 for example. If you are buying 5.1 speakers then you have a total of 5 satellites(speakers) and 1 subwoofer. The '.1' is there for something called LFE, lower frequency effects, which subwoofers produce. So if I had a 5.1 speaker set, I would have 5 satellites and 1 subwoofer. Get it?

Ok, I see. But if you have 3.1 or 5.1 or 7.1 (odd number of satellites), wouldn't it be assymetrical? What good is that? Also, can you get decent surround sound with 2.1 or 3.1?

 

[nitromullet]

5.1 = sub, front L, front R, front Center, rear L, rear R
6.1 = sub, front L, front R, front Center, rear L, rear R, rear Center
7.1 = sub, front L, front R, front Center, rear L, rear R, rear L Center, rear R Center

Ok, I see. But if you have 3.1 or 5.1 or 7.1 (odd number of satellites), wouldn't it be assymetrical? What good is that? Also, can you get decent surround sound with 2.1 or 3.1?

The odd nuber of satellites is fine because of the center channel, often the center channel looks a bit different. You are correct about 2.1 and 3.1, since you don't have any rear speakers it isn't possible to get surround sound. There are some manufacturers (like Bose) that have 2.1 systems that are supposed to be able to create a sense of true surround sound with only 2 satellites, but these are quite expensive.