2.1 vs 5.1?

[Behemoth]

Would sooner go Logitech now after reading about the current creative labs screw up with software drivers, shan't be spending my money with them ever again.

[crazy]

if the creative's T40 are really good then i'm not too bothered about their whole mess up on the software side

are there any other recommendations?.
for me it is currently between the z2300 and T40

[Parm]

Personally, I'd go for the T40s. Enough pondering, you know it makes sense, buy buy buy.

We want to see pictures and a mini-review by Friday at the latest!

[Uriel]

I don't understand how people could go back to gaming with stereo speakers after using surround sound. Makes a huge difference.

[slypie]

I don't understand how people could go back to gaming with stereo speakers after using surround sound. Makes a huge difference.

Because it's all the mess with wires that 5.1 system creates and the space it takes up.

[matty-hodgson]

I just wish they'd make some affordable 5.1 wireless speakers. It'd be handy for most people, so you could stick the rear ones on your chair

totally agree.. some rear speakers strapped to your chair (40 yr old virgin style) would be awesome!

[crazy]

Personally, I'd go for the T40s. Enough pondering, you know it makes sense, buy buy buy.

We want to see pictures and a mini-review by Friday at the latest!

maybe i will do when i get them ( maybe few weeks or few months) whichever ones i go for.
swaying towards the t40's but the 'THX' symbol keeps on pulling me back towards the z2300
not really sure whether to get speakers might even go for headphones as my primary use will be gaming.

[tom18230]

Only get 5.1 if you have the space. I was going to get surround sound, but realised I didn't have enough room for the speakers. 2.1 is always a good bet.

[staffsMike]

A like the look of those logitechs.. reading a few customer reviews though it seems they are great at base and lack luster elsewhere. This is where the gigaworks sell themselves for me.

The bass isn't huge but it's there, warm and it stays nice and clear however much you use. The mids and treble are excellent though, they really are a pleasure.

this is the T20's though i've never heard T40's

I think if the use is primarily games the locitechs will be the way to go, anything else the T40's.

[crazy]

primary use is gaming that is why i'm still considering headphones (except they always seem to stop working after a while)

ill give it some more thought and will let you guys know when i actually set out to buy them

thanks for all the responses

[slypie]

primary use is gaming that is why i'm still considering headphones (except they always seem to stop working after a while)

ill give it some more thought and will let you guys know when i actually set out to buy them

thanks for all the responses

Well if you are going to go for headphones then you can't go wrong with either Medusa or Steel Series headphones for around £50-60.

[Uriel]

A couple of things on the Medusas. One is they have a nasty habit of picking up interference - say mobile phones or wi-fi. You can work around it (but not entirely eliminate it) by turning up the amp and turning down the in-line controls. The other is using them with a soundcard that can control bass crossover frequency makes a huge improvement. Makes them go from sounding cheap and nasty to rivalling some of the stereo headsets in the same price range. Speedlink recommend that it be set to 100Hz. They don't really work as well as surround speakers but I find the effect better than Dolby Headphone or CMSS solutions.

[Mutley]

A couple of things on the Medusas. One is they have a nasty habit of picking up interference - say mobile phones or wi-fi. You can work around it (but not entirely eliminate it) by turning up the amp and turning down the in-line controls. The other is using them with a soundcard that can control bass crossover frequency makes a huge improvement. Makes them go from sounding cheap and nasty to rivalling some of the stereo headsets in the same price range. Speedlink recommend that it be set to 100Hz. They don't really work as well as surround speakers but I find the effect better than Dolby Headphone or CMSS solutions.

Thats good to know. I have the Medusa's and always thought they sounded inadequate! Not done much to fiddle with the setup.

As for speaker choice, as others have said, IF you can position the speakers appropriately, and IF you can route the cables so they are not a massive safety hazard, get 5.1 speakers. I have the Logitech Z-640s (quite old now). They are excellent for gaming, you can't beat the immersion. They're pretty crap for music though, but so are virtually all 5.1 speaker systems frankly.

I'd also agree with avoiding 2.1s as they rarely get the balance right with the sub, unless you look at some decent kit like the Aego M's - very nice. Big sub though.

I have to say though, I disagree with what others have said about the T20 and T40. Well, the T40 I can't speak about really, but I have the T-20s. Not impressed at all. Sounded like cheaper ordinary 2.0 speakers to me. Mushy bass, flat midrange, tinny top end. However, we all hear differently!

Just my tuppence.

[Uriel]

Another thing on the Medusas: the older sets have a switch for CD (stereo) and DVD(5.1) on the in line controls. I believe that some models don't have this switch. If you want to listen to music with them, set to CD and listen through a hi-fi amp. Unbelievable difference and it elimitates interference entirely. Just goes to show that the Medusa headphone amp is actually pretty poor. Without a hi-fi amp or setting the bass crossover, I wouldn't consider them for music.

[malfunction]

I picked up some T40s last night and am putting them through their paces this morning. So far I'm pretty pleased - they are a bit better than the cheaper 2.0 sets I've had in the past but they seem to be quite sensitive to the type of music you play. For what it's worth I don't think they are worth £60 considering that if you had an amp lying around you'd get much better speakers in the same ballpark (well maybe more like £100 but that's the same ballpark for me). I was actually considering a couple of cheap monitors (studio monitors) but even cheaper ones would have been far above the cost of the T40s. So far I've yet to settle on a single setting but have listened to:

The Orb (Aunty Aubrey's). Quite good but needed to turn the bass down to 11 o'clock and the treble up to 2 o'clock.

Bassement Jaxx - "Where's Your Head At?". A track that definitely misses a sub woofer! But not too bad on the T40s - better than I expected.

Arctic Monkey's "Favourite Worst Nightmare". These needed a higher treble setting to avoid sound muffled - moved it up to 3 o'clock - unfortunately they do sound tinny with higher treble but better than the muffled (flat) lower settings for me

I've got a pretty wide selection of music if anyone has any particular requests - just about everything apart from country and western! Note that I'm not exactly in the ideal listening environment (6' x 6' box room with the speakers either side of my monitor) and obviously it's very subjective but I'm happy to give my 2p if anyone wants it. For reference I haven't had speakers for quite some time and have been listening to music through full size headphones (fairly decent Sony ones) so I think I've got a pretty good reference point even if I do say so myself...

[timizere]

why does nobody on here ever recommend hifi seperates or powered monitors? slightly more expensive but leagues ahead of these little speaker sets.