speakers!! ARGH!

[Steve B]

power is measured in watts. unless your speakers have power amps, the stated wattage is just the maximum power that the speakers can transmit. 600W of total power output is capable of being driven by a much more powerful source.

[dave87]

I'm not very good at explaining this, but having tried cheap speakers, and then spending a fair bit more on a decent setup, I realised that you get much more clarity, much more definition in the sound. It also seems to be a lot closer to the sound the recording is meant to emulate. I'm pretty crap at explaining it but I would say spend the money on decent speakers, you will notice the difference.

[g8ina]

Only just caught up with this thread...

5.1 headphones ? Get real ! Complete waste of time and money.

My solution to PC sound : I bought a NAD 30watt amp and pair of decent hifi speakers off ebay. Amp cost me £30 and the speakers (JPW Mini Monitors) were also £30.

Yes, they need a LOT more space than a set of PC speakers, but the sound is superb. Yes, it has more volume than I need, but there is something called headroom, which means that explosions and gunshot sound don't clip, and sound very realistic (SPR in ordinary stereo is great!). No, it doesn't have Dolby or DTS, but with this level of quality I don't really miss it. PC sound cards are notoriously poor anyway (compared to "real" hifi stuff), so this may well be another route to investigate.

[Girdag]

Hmmm... sorry! I don't really understand what you're trying to say. To me, sound can have two overall properties, frequency and amplitude. What you're referring to definetly is amplitude (that's kinda like the 'hardness' of the sound) which is also the 'loudness'.

What he's describing in the post you quoted seems, to me, to be the effect you get from low bass frequencies, when the sound is too low to really be heard properly, but can often be 'felt' physically.

[redlight]

Never mind Creative or Logitech this will do you nicely without breaking the bank.

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...pid=ELTA-AMP70
http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...&pid=MISS-M2SS

[redlight]

Looks like the speakers are for shop only but these are a good alternative.

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...GALE-3010S-BCH

[Biscuit]

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...&pid=MISS-M2SS

I agree you should go to richer sounds but DO NOT buy those speakers. The face plate is plastic and it wears away where the screws go. This means that when you play loud music the cones bang against the face plate.
Try these speakers
http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...id=GALE-SILMON

I would go for a for a 'cambridge audio' amp if you can stretch the extra cash.

Remember when you are buying Hi-Fi stuff that its best to best to match the impedence of the Amp with the speakers

[Metier9]

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...t&pid=CAMB-S30
Cambridge Audio S30 (Per pair)

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...=CAMB-640P-BLK
Cambridge Audio 640P

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...B-AZUR340A-BLK
Azur 340A

meh or yer?

[AD-15]

hello,

I see quite a bit of creative/logitech bashing, why?

Any ideas on why the Logitechs have a higher SNR despite no DTS/Dolby and no Digital input support?

[redlight]

[QUOTE=AD-15;1025328]hello,

I see quite a bit of creative/logitech bashing, why? /QUOTE]

Brutal honesty here. Where folks get the idea that Logitech and Creative produce decent sound systems beats me. Overpriced junk not fit to play music on. Stick with known audio makers that are within your budget. a decent amp and speakers is a much better investment and will give you a lot more options of input and output than any garbage coming from those two and no I am not an audiophile I just like to listen and play games on a decent system. As you can see most audiophiles would laugh at mine but it fits my budget and I get a decent quality of noise.

System 1 for 42" plasma and my rig
Sony STR-DG500
http://www.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProdu...inema+Receiver
with 6 Sony speakers and 60Watt active bass

System 2 for the projector,tv,2nd rig,360 and Wii.
Sony STR-DE495 http://www.avreview.co.uk/review/rev...36485384357514
with 3 Sony and 2 Mordaunt-Short speakers and 60Watt active bass

[redlight]

Forgot to mention both rigs have HDA Digital X Mystique 7.1 Gold sound cards
http://www.custompc.co.uk/custompc/r...e-71-gold.html

[Biscuit]

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...t&pid=CAMB-S30
Cambridge Audio S30 (Per pair)

for £120 id go for tannoy, mordaunt short or gale

otherwise that looks fine

[AD-15]

hello,

Thanks guys

Very helpful info!!

I've decided against the more original speaker designs, and decided to go with the traditional choice for computer speakers.

I have narrowed it down to these four:

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/pr...CONTENTID=9372

http://www2.abit.com.tw/multimedia/products.htm (DS-500!)

http://www.alteclansing.com/product_...MX5021_OOS.asp

http://www.alteclansing.com/product_...asp?pID=FX6021


All would be purchased from Scan at these prices (respectively):

Logitechs- £89
Abit idome- £128
Antec Lansing no1- £92
AL no 2- £128

Now, despite the massive price differences, and depite having no DTS/Dolby/Digital Input, the Logitechs have a much higher SNR (>100db) than all the other speakers.

What could account for this? A higher wattage?

[Metier9]

Um AD-15 just incase your forgetting, i would check that your soundcard does or doesnt do, DTS/Dolby etc... Mehh to digital input, im on analogue baby

[kalniel]

Logitechs- £89
Abit idome- £128
Antec Lansing no1- £92
AL no 2- £128

Now, despite the massive price differences, and depite having no DTS/Dolby/Digital Input, the Logitechs have a much higher SNR (>100db) than all the other speakers.

What could account for this? A higher wattage?

SNR just indicates how clear the sound is with respect to any background hiss/distortion. It doesn't mean that it's producing the whole spectrum of sound at equal levels or whatever.

You can get cheap niodynium(sp?) speakers that produce amazingly clear and loud treble sounds, which would give a fantastic SNR, but the sound would be too bright and not as warm as speakers with an inferior SNR.

[AD-15]

hello,

I'll be using the X-Fi elite pro, which is digital, DTS/Dolby etc. Does this mean I wouldn't need Dolby/DTS support on my speakers if my soundcard can already do this?