I desperately need great speakers.

[Shodan]

I've already posted here with no luck, now I did more research and I'm hoping I'll have more luck. Alright, so, I need great PC speakers with the best sound for the best price, as well as high quality and a good, well-known brand.

I want accurate, balanced and crisp sound overall and I really, really want loud, strong and clean bass, but definitely not boomy and overpowered. How much better would it really be with a subwoofer instead of kevlar woofers in studio monitors? Again, I want to hear that strong bass, I really do, just not boomy or overpowered.

I've been looking at both "computer speakers" and bookshelf speakers / studio monitors, here's what I found:


1) Logitech Z625 - bass is probably the only good thing, at least it seems good, and the price

2) Harman Kardon SoundSticks III - build quality of the satellites seems questionable due to the design, also not sure how good the subwoofer is

3) Bose Companion 50 - too expensive, but other than that, probably the best choice because sound is probably really great, as well as the surround effect thanks to the design of the satellites, also design and build quality and included subwoofer which should be powerful

4) AudioEngine A2+ - would've been perfect for everything except for the lack of a subwoofer; sound, price, design, reputation, size, but they aren't available here in Croatia nor does Amazon ship them here...

5) M-Audio BX5 D3 - they seem nice, kevlar woofers especially, but I don't really know much about them or the brand, also no subwoofer

6) KRK Rokit, whatever model - they look ugly and I've never heard of the brand, otherwise my only problem is the lack of a subwoofer


I could really use some help with finding ideal speakers for an ideal price based on what I said above.

Also, I would order only on Amazon and from Amazon itself to be 100% sure, never from random sellers or pre-owned.

Thanks in advance.

[Wampum Biskit]

Originally posted by _I_:

bose cheaps out on too many of their components
paper cones, foam surround, with short lifespan vs plastic/cf and rubber/silicone drivers

go anywhere else, bestbuy, walmart, any other audio store and get good components

paper cones are used for reasons (other then to "cheap out" as you call it) , which alters the sound and movement of the cone , foam suspension is again lighter and more responsive then a rubber suspension. there's a reason that high quality speakers use paper cones and foam suspensions , and trust me , plenty of them still do. and it has NOTHING to do with cheap.

I personally run a Denon receiver and have 2 bose 301's sitting beside the dual monitor setup , the 301's are about 6 or 7 years old and still sound as good as the day i bought them.

I have Bose speakers in my TV setup as well those are all 901's though and run off a Marantz receiver.

Bose is a very good speaker , known to re-produce very natural sounds (especially the 901's) , there's a reason they are popular and even the 2nd hand market on them is very good and can still fetch a premium price for them.

[_I_]

cf cone is lighter and stiffer than paper
silicone or rubber surrounds are softer and more flexible than foam

[Memes]

Get an actual bookshelf speakers, subwoofer, and an amp instead. I own a Logitech Z623 and its pretty good but if you're an audiophile and looking for an amazing speakers, look for bookshelf speakers instead. If you want a speakers from the list you have go with the Z623 or the Z625. Both of them are almost identical but the Z625 comes with an optical port unlike the Z623.

[Talby]

Agree, getting a sub with high-level inputs would make pairing speaker / amp much less painful - problem is getting a 15" brand-name active sub is going to run you quite a penny - here is a decent budget 2.1 example:

Polk Audio T15[www.amazon.com] <$90 sale
Yamaha R-S202BL[www.amazon.com] ~$150
Acoustic Audio PSW600-15[www.amazon.com] ~$200

Not to shabby under $450 all said and done.

[wbino]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333689715129
Seriously go for.....thank me later.

[_I_]

Originally posted by wbino:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333689715129
Seriously go for.....thank me later.

for the price of a htib, its not even close in quality

[lคzץรђ๏t™]

I cant listen to tunes if it aint crisp.

[Pocahawtness]

Edifer are surprisingly good.

Don't buy speakers made by computer manufacturers, they know nothing about sound.

You get what you pay for. Unless you want to pay A LOT then there will be weaknesses in the system.

It also depends what you are listening to. Most PC sound sources ( youtube, games and so on ) are just not good enough to justify a lot of money. BUT if you listen to high quality music tracks on them, then yes, it is worth spending money. For games and so on, £100 is enough. For music £100 sounds good, but £1000 sounds great, £20,000 is awesome .. and any more than that is just showing off!

[Tiberius]

If you wanna save money, buy used speakers. There arent any major breakthroughs in audio industry, so old instruments still sound really good.

I own b&w 600 series, i think you could buy the whole set for 2000$ now (used items).

I second what some ppl here said: Make sure you have adequate amp to drive your speakers.



For pc tho, i prefer using headphones. Audeze lcd2c with jds atom dac/amp is a great combination if you want clear and impactful bass

[Masque]

Originally posted by Talby:

Agree, getting a sub with high-level inputs would make pairing speaker / amp much less painful - problem is getting a 15" brand-name active sub is going to run you quite a penny - here is a decent budget 2.1 example:

Polk Audio T15[www.amazon.com] <$90 sale
Yamaha R-S202BL[www.amazon.com] ~$150
Acoustic Audio PSW600-15[www.amazon.com] ~$200

Not to shabby under $450 all said and done.

I have the Polk Audio T-15 pair, and I can attest to their quality. Made stands out of 6x6" posts by slicing them into cubes, to raise them up to ear level.

Also have a Yamaha RX-V385 receiver, and a Polk Audio PSW10 sub, and it's perfect for me.

[rezo]

A pair of wharfedale speakers, simple hifi amp and an active sub would do the trick.

stay AWAY from these cheap logitech or whatever 2.1 systems theyre all terrible.

[Masque]

Originally posted by rezo:

A pair of wharfedale speakers, simple hifi amp and an active sub would do the trick.

stay AWAY from these cheap logitech or whatever 2.1 systems theyre all terrible.

The last good 2.1 system I had, I still have, and use in a separate TV room. Made by Cambridge Soundworks back in the early 1990s, and they still work wonderfully.

They were made and sold as an inexpensive alternative to the new (at the time) Bose "Acoustimass" satellite speaker systems -- and they rocked the audiophile world because they sounded better than the equivalent Bose setup, and exposed the awful truth that people were largely paying for a Nameplate when they bought Bose.

Cambridge Soundworks speakers was like Two Buck Chuck beating out all the fancy wines in blind taste tests.

[Shodan]

As some comments above said, getting what I pay for is my biggest concern with Bose Companion 50. Of course they're great, but the question is how great, especially considering the really high price. The company has a reputation for higher pricing than it should be. Same with Apple, their phones and laptops are some of the best and they're really awesome to use, but still more expensive than they should be, at least here in Croatia. In the US, it might even be reasonable.

The Bose Companion 50 caught my attention more than anything else for these reasons:

-the speakers and the subwoofer (included, unlike bookshelf speakers and studio monitors) look rock solid and I care about quality and durability
-great design
-sound is definitely great, but how great?
-curved satellite design for a wider sound stage and a surround effect, but not real surround
-the subwoofer goes down to 20 Hz which is fantastic and something I care about
-very simple to connect
-control pod for volume, tap to mute, hold to disable automatic sleep mode

[Randy Lahey]

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

The best choice of "computer speakers" would be the Logitech 5.1 500 watts config

Yes, this. I'm still using a Logitech 4.1 Z560 setup from 2001 (!!). I use them mainly for music when I workout (hooked to my PC) and the sound from them is still excellent. I think they would make an outstanding, cheap 5.1 setup for a theatre room actually.

[Shodan]

I would rather have great stereo sound than average surround sound, also I wouldn't be able to place the back speakers behind me because of how my room looks.