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what speakers/sound card to get for a cheap 5.1 system?

D

DarkManX

Diamond Member
I saw the Logitech® Z-640 speakers for 70$ on newegg and that looks pretty good. I cant find any reviews of them anywhere. anyone have these? and whats a good soundcard to get? I have an Original SB Live! gamer. (not the 5.1). so what would be a good afortable card? and speakers?
 
I heard that the speakers give noise but they are decent sounding, just not as good sounding as the z560's (4.1 speaker set).
Since you have a Live gamer, you would need a new card to get 5.1, so I would suggest keeping the card for now and getting the z560's which are better speakers.

It really all depends on how much you want to spend. If you want the 5.1, then get a newer card, like a Hercules, Phillips, Creative, or Turtle Beach SC, and then outfit it with a good 5.1 setup like one from Klipsch, Altec Lansing, or several other vendors.
 
z560's mite be a lil to loud with a new baby in the house. id like to get something under 100$ also. and preferably a 5.1 system.
 
Originally posted by: DarkManX
z560's mite be a lil to loud with a new baby in the house. id like to get something under 100$ also. and preferably a 5.1 system.
Click to expand...

Low volume and 5.1....kind of negates the need for each other, doesn't it?😉
But with speakers, you can always turn the volume down, or get a good pair of headphones.
 
hey what about trying Fortissimo sound cards? If you got the money, Klipsch speakers are the best. If not, Creative ones will do.
 
Originally posted by: DarkManX
if i have loud speakers I wont hesitate to blast them. so I need somethin that wont get to loud.
Click to expand...

Hehe You don't need new speakers, you need willpower man 😉
 
http://www.otakupc.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=62

I'm having the exact same problem you are. However, after reading this review and some others on newegg.com I'm going to purchase from the Z-640.

People say the 560 THX one is better, i'm sure it is, no questions asked, but I know the 5th channel will add so much.

The reason I went with 5.1 is cuz of the last reply in this thread.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=27&threadid=910850

EDIT

and go here when your done, I suggest everyone does, it has the perfect speaker compairson.


http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?Lancer
 
whats the difference between Philips Sonic Edge 5.1-Channel Sound Card and Philips Seismic Edge 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Card ?
 
He means the Z-640, not the Z-680. The Z-640 has a subwoofer with a some size woofer cone driver (must be a decent size, like 5", cause that is fairly decent output) in a Bandpass speaker enclosure. These contain two chambers with the baffle mounted in between them. The woofer uses one chamber as a sealed enclosure and the other chamber is vented to the outside. Logitech has simply replaced the port with an 8" passive radiator which is a mass-loaded cone without a motor structure. It behaves like a port because the mass loaded onto the diaphragm is the same as the mass of air that would be present in a similarly-sized port but the passive radiator sound sounds cleaner and better-defined than a port. (You all remember those disastrous Bose Acoustimass subwoofers with the loose, boomy bass that led potentioal customers to be so dissatisfied that they've come out with a better, more improved direct-radiating design. Well, the subwoofer in question here uses a simpler chamber and port configuration than the three-chamber Acoustimass module, so it will sound tighter and more punchy.)

I like the Z-640. It doesn't have the Tangband-made 3" full-range drivers or the long-excursion 8" subwoofer driver but it does offer good quality sound

Definitely go for it
 
And another thing: If you're going to shell out for a 5.1 system, get something better than Logitech's offering. It is good in the mid and upper ranges but its subwoofer has a lot of watts and that's about it. The bass is boomy and doesn't go low. It just delivers the response that most J6P (joe 6-pack) consumers will percieve to give the loudest bass, generally in the 60-100 Hz range rather than down in the 50-25Hz range where subwoofer bass lives.
 
Originally posted by: DarkManX
whats the difference between Philips Sonic Edge 5.1-Channel Sound Card and Philips Seismic Edge 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Card ?
Click to expand...

Sonice Edge = Philips Rebadged CMI8378 HSP Chip (Host Based Sound Effects)

Seismic Edge = Phillips Thunderbird Avenger DSP (Hardware based Sound Effects)

Spend the extra $ and get the Seismic Edge.

CH2

EDIT

BTW, the CMI8378 is the same chip that you will find on many integrated Mobo sound solutions... passible, but hardly equal to that of a true DSP solution.

 
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