Surround Sound Speakers

[nvening]

I am looking for some surround sound speakers for christmas. I have a budget of £100ish

I dont see the point in 7.1 as nothing uses it but i could be convinced.

I was looking at these http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=163824

They will unfortunately be used with onboard sound for now but i may get an xfi vanilla (its for christmas do it depends on what i ask for from santa lol)

[dave87]

What would you be planning to use them for? If your an audiophile youll only be disappointed with computer 5.1 sets (with a few notable exceptions) I went the 5.1 dvd route, then connected it to my pc, so might be worth looking at that?

Dave

[nvening]

Having never experienced good speakers i would not know, i mainly want them for gaming and listening to music while surfing/ working. I would be listening to wav files though not MP3s. It is either these or some 5.1 headphones, which have the bonus of having a mike and not annoying people, and of course i can listen to music (even through my PC) on my HiFi. The only disadvantage is i can not share my surround sound and isnt the constant use of headphones supposed to be bad (for your ears, authough so are rock concerts and i go to lots of those lol)? Also, with headphones, i cant attatch surround sound speakers to a tv if i ever get one in my study lo

What is 7.1 supposed to do?

[Thorsson]

Give you more wires to trip over?

As I always say, stay away from Creative Speakers. OK Megaworks are fine, just overpriced. The non-Megas are simply NVG. On a budget, go Logitech. With more dosh, if you can find them, get Klipsch, elsewise the Megas or top-end Logis.

On 5.1 Headphones - I've not been convinced by the reports on any of the buggers that have come out so far. In any case, wearing headphones for hours at a time is just TFM.

[athlon_xp_2800]

Give you more wires to trip over?

As I always say, stay away from Creative Speakers. OK Megaworks are fine, just overpriced. The non-Megas are simply NVG. On a budget, go Logitech. With more dosh, if you can find them, get Klipsch, elsewise the Megas or top-end Logis.

On 5.1 Headphones - I've not been convinced by the reports on any of the buggers that have come out so far. In any case, wearing headphones for hours at a time is just TFM.

Why, what's wrong with Creative? I have a set of Inspire P5800 and an Logitech X-530, both 5.1 budget speakers, but I actually prefer my Creative speakers over my logitech's.
Neither of them should cost more than £60, but have great sound for their money.

[[DW]Cougho]

ive used a pair of logitech z640's for years and they have always amazed me with their sound for such little money. However they fade badly beyond 3/4 volume.

This christmas im gonna treat myself to the z5500's MMmmmmmmMMMMM.

[dave87]

I was considering the 5.1 pc speaker route, but decided I wanted more flexibility. Realistically, how important is sound coming from behind you? I personally would go for decent 2.1s over cheap 5.1s - but then i watch most of my movies on headphones due to when I watch them.

Dave

[Moby-Dick]

indeed I'm a bigger fan of a nice set of 2.1's

go old skul and get a set of Altec Lansang ADA885's - you'll save money and be very happy

The 88'5 can be run as 2.1's or 4.1's , so once you've tried the 4.1 set up you'll go back to 2.1 as imo it sounded better ( with less wires too ! )

[mattyp]

I have the inspire GD580 DTS surround kit and in all honesty im not massively impressed by them. I would defo look to Altec Lansing or Logitech next time

[D-BEAR]

I have had 5.1 creative labs for a few years now ...they are the older square ones but i can honestly say they have been trouble free crisp sounding and would'nt hesitate buying again... oh and very loud.

[peterb]

Speakers are so much personal preference. The old adage with Hi-Fi was go to a good audio shop and listen to lots of pairs, taking your own music and preferably with them hooked up to your make of amplifier (speakers are just one component of an audio system). Not so easy with cheap low quality computer speakers, but then you aren't looking at spending £400 plus for a set of monitor speakers. For what it is worth, I have a set of Cambridge Soundworks - 4 speakers and a common bass unit Cost about £50 3 years ago. They are OK - I use them when listening to streamed audio, MP3 etc. Would they suit everyone - probably not. If I spent more, could I tell the difference? If I could, would spending 4 times the amount give me 4 times the enjoyment? Probably not - but hey - thats just my opinion... You aren't going to get Hi-Fi sound from a computer sound system anyway - does that matter to you? How good is your hearing?

[nvening]

i basically want the speakers for gaming so the quality is not hugely important, i have a sony hifi next to me for music, which as i said before can be hooked up to my pc for audio, mabe ill just spend like £60 but i do want surround for my games.

[dave87]

Well having said that I've got a panasonic SCHT-900 surround sound system linked up to the soundstorm audio on my nforce 2 board and its distortion free up to the highest levels. I would notice it if I had spent 5-6 grand on my hifi, but I didn't. Integrated audio is a hell of a lot better than it used to be.

Dave

[D-BEAR]

3 of my 5.1 speakers are in a bag in the closet...to much of a wirey mess ...still got a great sound with 2.1....and a cheap but good 2.1 speakers are the logitech x-230 around £30

[fredered]

given the sound quality aint that important as for you i geuss aestheics are important, why you suggested them over cheaper uglier ones, however for sound quality as said it is personaly although there are quite a lot of negative reviews regarding the sound quality of those speakers

[nvening]

I was just going by custompc, it does not matter to me what they look like as long as they are black, mabe ill get some 2.1 s, whats good for around £50? Then i may get some nice headphones, with 5.1, for games, ie the medusas (or whatever the best one is when i get them)