What would sound better on a computer system?

[007webgod]

Currently I have the Logitech Z-2300's connected to a Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity sound card. It's OK but it's not great considering this setup cost me about $250. For that kind of money I was hoping for more. The Z-2300's are loud and they're definitely capable of some booming bass but they're lacking in overall sound throughout the volume knob. If that makes sense? After doing some reading and lots of searching on this forum and others I've read a lot of good reviews about "monitors" or "book shelf speakers". I always thought a monitor was something you looked at. Who knew?

Anyway, I don't understand amps, and receivers and DAC's and all that stuff. My understanding is these Swans are self powered and wouldn't require anything else. It's also my understanding that these Swans sound really good but may be lacking in the bass dept and a subwoofer is recommended.

My questions are...

1) What do you all think of the Swans M200MKII? Would these alone sound better than my current setup? Would the Swans combined with a subwoofer sound better than my current setup?

2) What other speakers, or monitors, would you recommend in this price range? Keep in mind I have space constraints and don't want some huge mother honkin speakers on my desktop and I don't want to buy amps or receivers or any other special gizmos.

I'll mostly be using them to listen to music - classic rock, hard rock, etc. - and an occasional game. I want the sound to completely fill my 15 x 20 bedroom and be capable of loud thumping music that sounds good throughout the volume knob.


Swans M200MKII


OR


Logitech Z-2300

 

[mpilchfamily]

The larger the speakers are the better range of sound you will get. Likewise the quality of the amp built into the speakers will determin how good the sound is throught the volume range. But for the most part all amps are very similar. In that they start to produce bad sound towards the upper range of the volume. If the PC is set oh high and the speakers are on high you start to push the limits of the speakers themselfs making them sound bad. As the volume is lowered the sound gets softer and you will start to loose some quality as the speakers receive less power to produce the full range of sounds. Speaker systems are made to have there best sound at the mid range volume settings.