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What speakers should I buy?

I'd either think you need to save some money or find some money, because $30 isn't going to get you good sound equipment at all, ESPECIALLY speakers.

For $30, basically you're limited to crappy and crappier speakers.
 
ermmm well I have heard some recently manufactured $30 Altecs and Logitechs that are not HORRIBLE. That's all I'm going for -- not horrible. Currently I have: the speakers in my macbook, the speakers in my HP LCD monitor, and a nice Bose livingroom system that is way too big for my bedroom -- which is where I want speakers.
 
For someone studying musicology it makes sense to me to invest a bit more in a set of speakers. Stop eating out for a month or something of the such that you can do to save a bit of cash for a while. A set of Klipsh 2.1's are a great value for the money. BB has them on sale for $100-$120 from time to time.
 
Originally posted by: wrongwaydownup
ermmm well I have heard some recently manufactured $30 Altecs and Logitechs that are not HORRIBLE. That's all I'm going for -- not horrible. Currently I have: the speakers in my macbook, the speakers in my HP LCD monitor, and a nice Bose livingroom system that is way too big for my bedroom -- which is where I want speakers.
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Yeah, I dunno.. I think I'll let someone else break it to you
 
Originally posted by: Kirby64
Originally posted by: wrongwaydownup
ermmm well I have heard some recently manufactured $30 Altecs and Logitechs that are not HORRIBLE. That's all I'm going for -- not horrible. Currently I have: the speakers in my macbook, the speakers in my HP LCD monitor, and a nice Bose livingroom system that is way too big for my bedroom -- which is where I want speakers.
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Yeah, I dunno.. I think I'll let someone else break it to you
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Hahahaha! First time I've laughed out loud all day.
To be fair, it's only 26 minutes into said day.
Still made me laugh.
 
Originally posted by: wrongwaydownup
hmmm yeah actually I was just asking for a rec of $30 computer speakers, like I said in my OP
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Well I recommend to you to get a Logitech R20, it got good reviews in buy.com. And a recent deal on it is $25. You can have a look at it.
 
Originally posted by: Kirby64
I'd either think you need to save some money or find some money, because $30 isn't going to get you good sound equipment at all, ESPECIALLY speakers.

For $30, basically you're limited to crappy and crappier speakers.
Click to expand...

qft

ermmm well I have heard some recently manufactured $30 Altecs and Logitechs that are not HORRIBLE.
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you heard wrong. miracles do not happen😉

you get what you pay for. perhaps by the standards of yesteryear when pc manufacturers would toss in unpowered speakers that cost $1.50 from china the 30 dollar speaker is better, but thats such a low standard that its meaningless. for windows beeps and boops and youtube $30 speakers fine. music? no way. then again some people could be happy listening to a cheap clock radio😛
 
Originally posted by: musicetime101
Originally posted by: wrongwaydownup
hmmm yeah actually I was just asking for a rec of $30 computer speakers, like I said in my OP
Click to expand...

Well I recommend to you to get a Logitech R20, it got good reviews in buy.com. And a recent deal on it is $25. You can have a look at it.
Click to expand...

the problem with such reviews is they are reviews by people that would buy 25 dollar speakers!
speaker quality and value for money has improved over the years. but the process peaked at about the time promedias came out. after that its all been pretty stagnant, no big jumps in quality for your buck. if you care about sound quality you will regret having thrown $25 away for no reason.
 
Basically your best bet for ~$30 is trying to find someone wanting to get rid of an old home component theatre headunit or stereo a la silver front style (look for one with CD in or TAPE in, mic in won't cut it). Chances are you won't find one, but it's possible. Then you need a dual RCA plug to phono plug adapter for an older one or if you get extremely lucky an SPDIF adapter for a newer one.

I actually happened across an almost new condition RCA RT2500 5.1ch home theatre headunit with speakers, manual, original box, remote, and everything for $100 a couple years back... I am still using it for my primary computer (which I use for everything from movies to games to radio and on down the line).

Basically, for under $60 you have to get very inventive and get lucky with searching.
 
i'd put the number at at least $100-150 before you get passable music from pc speakers. below that the difference between garbage speaker to garbage speaker isn't worth measuring. those are all "youtube" speakers. speakers last long enough that spending a little more for them is worth it. atleast $150 for promedias is bare minimum i'd say. for a while there were atleaset a couple sites with constant new reviews on pc speakers,they are basically dead now because its stagnant. i see Cambridge has a 2.1 extreme http://www.cambridgesoundworks.../mul_spk_csw/k1sntos4/
no idea if its good though. the specs look decent with nice and big midrange drivers that are rare in pc speakers and even has tweeters, looks like they used their regular home theater line components which is good. the klipsch ifi were great, but were expensive. you can see how sh*t the market is when the ifi is discontinued while a plethora of ipod docks are out there with horrific sound. many new speakers now are just repackaged for looks, not sound..and of course shaving pennies off the price. 7.1 for a super low price = 7.1 lousy cheap arse speakers.

 
Damn, there's some audiophiles in this topic.

I honestly can't hear the difference between the Logitech 540 speakers (the like $70 5.1 speaker set) and whatever Bose $300+ 7.1 speaker setup best buy had for comparison.

I ordered the 540s from Newegg along with some other stuff.
 
Bose makes good sound systems, but they charge well over what they are worth... so whenever you hear bose brand, slash the price by two thirds (sometimes three quarters) to see what another brand audio-comparable system would cost.
 
I was able to get the Logitech Z-2300 THX certified speakers from Amazon for $85 while the Z-5500 goes for $199. With a bit of adjustment they seem to play cds just fine. I am not an audiophile. I just would like my sound to sound good and be able to hear all the special effects. I amnot gamer though I do like watching japanese anime and movies on my computer.
Unfortunately, I am on a tight budget and renting a small room so I can't afford a seperate Home theatre set up. When it comes to apeakers and monitors you want to get the best you can afford since these last longer. You are not upgrading these items annually like other parts.
 
That still puts the Bose in the $100+ range, and the logitech ones I ordered had two less speakers and were ~$80 after shipping, with a $20 MIR for me to send in. So $60 speakers.
 
I've had decent results with the Behringer MS16s. There's precious few choices under $100 that aren't crappy-sub-paired-with-crappy-satellites. Those used to be under $50 but even at $65 or so now they are a solid sounding pair of speakers with good input flexibility. Out of the first guy's price range, but anything that isn't junk basically is. The other cheap option is a secondhand amp and 70s speakers.
 
$30 will get you some reasonable headphones, but the really basic sets from logitech etc. are probably about as good as you can get for new speaker sets. The options at this pricerange change practically annually.

As was suggested before, if you could find a set of used speakers off craigslist or a garage sale or something that could be a good alternative to these POS computer sets.
 
Originally posted by: Jax Omen
Damn, there's some audiophiles in this topic.

I honestly can't hear the difference between the Logitech 540 speakers (the like $70 5.1 speaker set) and whatever Bose $300+ 7.1 speaker setup best buy had for comparison.

I ordered the 540s from Newegg along with some other stuff.
Click to expand...

Sigh... when will people learn....

This guy, if he's telling the truth, is studying MUSIC. IE: He needs good sound quality, not $30 sound quality. If anything, he should get some headphones, because they could at least offer fairly good sound quality in the $50-75 price range (My Senn HD555's treat me well 😉)

I once again go back to my first statement: $30 isn't getting you jack, so save and wait.
 
Ok, here's my question: what the HELL does studying music have to do with speaker quality? Last I checked you can hear the notes the same on a mediocre speaker or a nice one. They just sound better on the nice one.

Granted, suck-ass speakers simply don't output all the sound, but that's another issue. I didn't recommend suck-ass speakers.

Also note that even I, who you quoted, suggested speakers that cost twice the "$30" the OP asked for.
 
Originally posted by: Jax Omen
Ok, here's my question: what the HELL does studying music have to do with speaker quality? Last I checked you can hear the notes the same on a mediocre speaker or a nice one. They just sound better on the nice one.

Granted, suck-ass speakers simply don't output all the sound, but that's another issue. I didn't recommend suck-ass speakers.

Also note that even I, who you quoted, suggested speakers that cost twice the "$30" the OP asked for.
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word.
 
Originally posted by: Jax Omen
Ok, here's my question: what the HELL does studying music have to do with speaker quality? Last I checked you can hear the notes the same on a mediocre speaker or a nice one. They just sound better on the nice one.

Granted, suck-ass speakers simply don't output all the sound, but that's another issue. I didn't recommend suck-ass speakers.

Also note that even I, who you quoted, suggested speakers that cost twice the "$30" the OP asked for.
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The frequency response will not get as high and low as you mentioned, but also within the frequency response you may run into very uneven levels. Sure, you'll get some output at frequencies from 40Hz to 15kHz from cheap sets, but the relative volume of that output at any given frequency is going to vary a lot more. If you're just listening to frequency sweeps, no big deal... but when you listen to music, that means that certain frequencies are going to be accentuated and others will be harder to hear changing the way the music sounds. You might have really shrill highs that make the speakers irritating to listen to after a while or you might get really boomy one note bass that overwhelms the sound of other frequencies.

It depends on the purpose of the system and the expectations of the purchaser how much these (and a multitude of others) are going to matter in their choice. If someone is really studying music, these kind of things would probably be important.

Apparently in this thread we're doing

"That's all I'm going for -- not horrible"

So if expectations are that low then just about anything is going to be better than laptop speakers and such.

I suggested headphones because even on $30, you can get a pretty solid pair of headphones that will sound much better than speakers at this pricepoint. Unfortunately headphones don't always work for the intended use to a POS $30 set is probably what's going to end up happening.
 
Originally posted by: Jax Omen
Damn, there's some audiophiles in this topic.

I honestly can't hear the difference between the Logitech 540 speakers (the like $70 5.1 speaker set) and whatever Bose $300+ 7.1 speaker setup best buy had for comparison.

I ordered the 540s from Newegg along with some other stuff.
Click to expand...

pc speakers are pretty far from audiophile. we are talking minimum standards for decent sound. audiophile speakers..well those prices will make you cry. lets not go there.

listening to speakers at big box stores is pointless. siting on a shelf in a hostile sound environment with the subwoofer on the shelf is no way to compare anything. sound is affected by its environment. and well, bose is known as over priced garbage which gets by on marketing and brand perception. thats the reason the bose sounded like a 70 dollar speaker set. it IS a 70 dollar speaker set you pay bose $300 for. isn't that wonderful? bose worst speakers are their pc speaker line which are basically total sucker buys. but really at a big box store you might as well listen to the over head announcement speaker, everything is going to sound like garbage there.

and what the hell does studying music have to do with speaker quality? one who studies music should be able to appreciate sound quality😛 why would a tone deaf person study music? i dunno, maybe its just me but if you are studying music you should be listening to as accurate a reproduction of said music as possible.



 
Audiophiles in general make me cry. Just as much as people who spend $1500 on a CPU or quad-SLI setup.

ANYONE who pays an insane premium for a very very mild improvement is throwing their money away.



I will agree that in the low-price segment, headphones give the best sound quality, though.
 
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