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So...yeah, I'm looking for a 2.1 "surround" system that can hook up to my computer, or (I don't know about this part) could be hooked up to a medium sized TV for a decent improvement over the built in speakers. It'd be in the ~$100 range, and hopefully without a gigantic subwoofer....See this beast for an example. This looked kind of interesting, but I don't know if the 2004 date means better versions have come out in the meantime or it means I can score a sweet deal somewhere.

The pair of computer speakers I use at home were bought by my parents in the mid 90s to go with their Macintosh Performa, running System 7.5, so I'm not that familiar with the current home speaker market. Any useful experiences/reviews/ideas?

You can get the Logitech X-540 5.1 system for 80 bucks. The subwoofer isn't too big, and if you only want to use it as a 2.1 system then simply don't plug in the other speakers. I have the X-530 set myself, which is identical except that the speaker housings are rounded and the volume control is on the left speaker instead of on a wired remote. It's about the best you'll get in the price range IMO.

What are you using these speakers for? Music, films, gaming? Even a cheap hi-fi system is almost always better than little computer speakers, but maybe you're space-constrained.

Starglider wrote:What are you using these speakers for? Music, films, gaming? Even a cheap hi-fi system is almost always better than little computer speakers, but maybe you're space-constrained.

Mostly music and gaming for the computer, suitably for a small/medium sized room. The subwoofer size is kind of a vague secondary concern, I can be flexible about the overall size of the speakers. The more pressing question I have is just sounding out what people have been satisfied with.

LMSx wrote:The more pressing question I have is just sounding out what people have been satisfied with.

I have some Creative 2.1 speakers on my main work PC, which suffices for playing trance music and Youtube audio, but previously I have always used hi-fi systems with my main PC. When I was 19 I had to buy the amp and speakers cheap from second hand electrical stores; they may have been 10 years old, but they were good equipment for their day, and they were vastly better for gaming than crappy little computer speakers. Modern kit has improved somewhat, but you still won't get good full range reproduction from tiny speakers or their underpowered integrated amps and unsmoothed power supplies (computer speakers usually quote PMPO aka fake power levels and have fairly horrible harmonic distortion).

Ill second the X-530s/540s.

JointStrikeFighter wrote:Ill second the X-530s/540s.

Wow, Amazon appears to be selling them for $61, too. I'll definitely put this on the list.

LS21 - cheap as chips and good for the price. For serious work however (home theatre) I have the Z-5500, which I got for a steal at about 350 AUD.

I really, really like my Klipsch ProMedia speakers if you're looking for a 2.1 set to put on a desk in a small room. They're out of production now, but you can occasionally find them at a Best Buy or some place similar if you're lucky, and they're usually steeply discounted.

I'm going to be the guy who tells you to get something other than what you asked for: Behringer MS40 Near field monitors Got the recommendation from arstechnica. It's not a 2.1 system, nor is it less than $100. However, it's going to deliever better sound quality than the 2.1 system, simply because the woofers on each speaker are going to be size of the driver on the subwoofer on a 2.1 system.

Objections (and responses):
Too big - you need a certain size for good fidelity.
Too expensive - Quality costs a bit. Besides, they also include a D/A chip, so you don't have to worry about how crappy your sound card is.
Too heavy - weight is a good thing for speakers. Keeps the speaker housing from vibrating, rather than the driver.
Not enough power - power is overrated. Most amps would blow your speaker if you actually operated them at the quoted (fake) power. You need a 10x increase in power to give a percieved doubling of loudness, so you don't need much power for decent volume anyway.

Personal note: Like Starglider, I use hi-fi speakers that I've hooked a seperate amp to. Cost at the time was ~$150, but my speakers were being discontinued. Full price would have been ~$350.

Vain wrote:I really, really like my Klipsch ProMedia speakers if you're looking for a 2.1 set to put on a desk in a small room. They're out of production now, but you can occasionally find them at a Best Buy or some place similar if you're lucky, and they're usually steeply discounted.

Seconded. Been using the same set of these for almost 10 years and I've never heard another PC sound setup that could equal its loudness and clarity.

Starglider wrote: I have some Creative 2.1 speakers on my main work PC, which suffices for playing trance music and Youtube audio, but previously I have always used hi-fi systems with my main PC. When I was 19 I had to buy the amp and speakers cheap from second hand electrical stores; they may have been 10 years old, but they were good equipment for their day, and they were vastly better for gaming than crappy little computer speakers.

Yeah, good speakers/amps won't ever be "outdated" (if you're talking stereo, that is, of course home cinema / surround is another issue). It's not like there has been real progress in speaker technology over the last, I don't know, 30 years. No cheap 2.1 "system" with subwoofer can beat a couple of nice bookshelf-size speakers. If it's raw power you want, Klipsch speakers are a good choice, horn makes for nice in-your-face dynamics. I have a couple of those on my desk:



Klipsch RB 25, not expensive but great sound for music and gaming, and more than enough bass. You only really need a subwoofer if your main speakers are tiny tiny boxes not capable of producing any bass, anyways. (Not counting home cinema, again)

charlemagne wrote:It's not like there has been real progress in speaker technology over the last, I don't know, 30 years.

Actually there has been significant progress, due to two factors; improved materials and computer aided design. Modern drivers are lighter, have more efficient magnets, and are placed in housings that permit a considerably more even frequency response (modern crossovers are also more precise). However that's all incremental, and certainly the rate of progress has been extremely modest compared to progress in say displays or computers.

Starglider wrote:However that's all incremental, and certainly the rate of progress has been extremely modest compared to progress in say displays or computers.

Ok, but that ^ was the point I was trying to make: a good pair of speakers from 25-30 years ago will still sound good today.