Which speakers should I get?

[bbarnes]

I am looking to get some good speakers (am thinking about Logitech's THX certified Z560 4.1 surround sound system) but I was going to ask fellow ATers...

What is the best set of speakers (no less than 4.1) that I can get for close to $150 shipped, if the price goes up to about $200, let me know anyways. I can save up a little extra...

 

[tritium4ever]

For your price range, get the Z560s. I have them, and they ROCK. Nuff said.

 

[VTBigBear]

"For your price range, get the Z560s"

yes...

i second that opinion

 

[Workin']

For an extra $35 over the Z-560's, the Altec-Lansing 641's sound much better for music. If you don't care about music, the 560's are fine. The 641's are also good for gaming, but they do a good job with music as well. The 641's are also better-constructed than the 560's, which seem a little toy-like.

 

[InsaneMorphius]

Z560's here as well, would highly recommend!

 

[bbarnes]

I was thinking about the Z560s...



<< the Altec-Lansing 641's >>

--- a friend of mine has the Z560s and I like the bass that they get, do the AL 641s get this much bass at this quality?

 

[bbarnes]

3 to 1, I guess I will go with the Z560s

Does anyone know how many watts RMS they get (I know they are total 400W) the Altec Lansing 641s get 400W total, 200W RMS and I was just wondering...

 

[Workin']

<< a friend of mine has the Z560s and I like the bass that they get, do the AL 641s get this much bass at this quality? >>

The bass quality of the 641's puts the 560's to shame. It's just as deep (actually the useable response is a tad lower), but there's some actual definition to the sound, not just a blob of low-frequency rumble. The midrange is also a lot better. IMO, the 560's put too much of the midrange through the sub, which makes the whole system sound unbalanced. It's fine for games but not so fine for music.

Don't get hung up on power ratings, that is no way to choose a system. Having more (or less) power is not the question - it's what you do with the power. For example, more efficient speakers need less power for the same acoustic output. So comparing 2 different amp+speaker setups on the basis of amplifier power is meaningless. Now if you could separate the amps from the speakers then it might make a difference, but each one is designed specifically for the speakers it is used with.

Put another way, there is no way you would be disappointed with how loud or how low the Altec's will play.

The other thing that worried me about the 560's was that in 4 out of 5 stores where I looked at them, the set on display was broken. To me, that didn't bode well for their longevity in my house, where they will certainly get a worse pounding than on the shelf at Best Buy or CompUSA.

 

[bbarnes]

Does anyone know how many watts each speaker/sub has on the Altec Lansing 641 set?

I know they have 400W (200W RMS) total, but I can't seem to find a breakdown of the wattage...

I like that word hehe, wattage!

 

[Workin']

<< Does anyone know how many watts each speaker/sub has on the Altec Lansing 641 set? >>

For what it's worth, the sub has 100W RMS, and each satellite has 25W RMS. But really, watt's the difference? Hehehe. It's way more than enough!

 

[bbarnes]

I am going with the Altec Lansing 641s.

Thanks a bunch Workin'

Will order them tomorrow night when I get back from my night class...

 

[bbarnes]

I went ahead and ordered them a few minutes ago.

Hopefully I will get them friday... maybe maybe not.

I will post how I like them compared to the Z560s **if I remember**

 

[Workin']

<< I am going with the Altec Lansing 641s. >>

Way to go. Buck the conventional wisdom for something better! I hope you like them, I really like mine. You'll never have to buy "computer" speakers again.

Of course now you are doomed to have to defend why you bought the 641's instead of Z-560's like the rest of the sheep. Besides all the real reasons, you could always say you would rather buy speakers from a company with a 50 year history of making legendary speakers, instead of a company with a 15 year history of making mice.

 

[bbarnes]

Just got done installing them!

Well worth the money!

 

[RyanB18]

you guys are forgetting one system, the Monsoon MH-505. 5.1 Speakers, UNBELIEVABLE sound state, imaging, better than anything else on the market IMHO. They dont provide as much bass if you are big into bass, but for sound quality, they are unbeatable.
-Ryan

 

[faye]

hi, i am living no where that is close enough for me to try out the Z560 and 641...

rite now i have Creative Lab FPS2000...
is it any better, much better, they are the same, blah blah blah...

want to change my speaker for a long long time,... someone gave me this set of speaker...
the sound is ok(satisfy)... just don't like the shape
i saw 641 online, and it looks awesome...

does z560 and 641 have remote control like fps2000? don't have to be cordless, but at least don't need me to reach for on/off.

thanks

 

[dejacky]

i'm currently listening to the 641's. I will agree that I like the bass & the midrange. I'm still trying to find a setting that really doesn't distort the high frequencies like i'm hearing currently. It reminds me of the crappy tweeters in my toyota camry-->good speaker system, but the high frequencies "Sizzle" & distort = i hate it = not accurate/pleasing sound reproduction. there's a thread somewhere about $200 speakers. u can check out my reviews later on. I really would like to hear better speakers, but I haven't found any in this price range except maybe my ancient altec lansing ACS90 speaker system that were VERY good imo. It never distorted the high frequencies, but it also didn't have tweeters. hope this helps.

-dejacky