£150-£200+ 2.1 Speakers, any about?

Mr_White

Mr_White

Mr_White

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Hi there, I'm thinking of buying some new speakers just for listening to music really.

But I don't want or need 5.1, and at the moment I'm using JBL Creature IIs

But I can't find any 2.1 sets that are really going to be a great improvement, the most expensive are the JBL Soundsticks and Logitech Z2300.

But the Logitechs are just a shade over £100

And I was going to spend £200 on the Pioneer HTPGS1, but I like I said, I really dont want or need 5.1

And I would get much better quality spending £200 on 2.1 than 5.1

But the problem is, there doesn't seem to be any now days.

I've been looking on froogle and various competitors but I simply can't find anything above the Z2300s.

Do the more expensive 2.1 sets exist anymore?

They probably don't but I thought I'd ask.

Cheers :cool:
 
One word. Seperates.

Look for second hand stereo amps and speakers. Will get a LOT more for your money than buying PC speakers and if you buy right, most likely blow what you have already completely off the scale.

Haven't bought anything myself in recent times however and I'm a little out of touch whats good and such, someone else will most likely point you in the right directions though, helpful lot around these parts.
 
Separates for the win 200quid will get u a good 2 channel amp and a set of good
bookshelf speakers that will sound miles better than any 2.1 computer solution, i wouldnt even buy a sub woofer as the hifi speaker chuck out loads of base anyway.
I use an old marantz pm66se amp and some eltax liberty 5 speakers and they sound just like my hifi setup infact they are my old hifi setup :D
 
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Instead of jumping on the obvious *seperates are the best* bandwagon, I'll actually answer the question you asked. :p
The M-Audio Studiophile LX4 2.1 system is in the £150-200 range. If you wanna spend more than that you could go for a set of Blue Sky speakers. I think these are about the most ridiculous ones you can get:

The Media Desk 2.1 system may be a little more realistic.
 
The issue with 2.1 is that you have a big subwoofer and some tiny satellites. This basically means you get lots of bass and lots of top end, but nothing in the middle. It will probably sound impressive to the layperson though.
 
daz said:
The issue with 2.1 is that you have a big subwoofer and some tiny satellites. This basically means you get lots of bass and lots of top end, but nothing in the middle. It will probably sound impressive to the layperson though.
Click to expand...
Did you look at the page I linked to? Those satelites feature 6.5" drivers. They are more than adequate to reproduce a decent amount of mid range. What you say is true of cheaper speakers, but the more expensive models have a pretty even frequency response. And that is what the OP was asking about.
 
DeeJay-Mo said:
Did you look at the page I linked to? Those satelites feature 6.5" drivers.
Click to expand...

I didn't click the link (didn't realise there was one until just now) I just looked at the picture - it was hard to guage the size of the sub and satellites. Thinking the sub was a normal PC speaker size one, i.e with a ~6" woofer then the satellites looked tiny...

But as you say, the satellites are actually 6.5" and the sub itself is a hefty 12". Hopefully for the amplification and the quality of the other components is up to scratch. :)
 
daz said:
I didn't click the link (didn't realise there was one until just now) I just looked at the picture - it was hard to guage the size of the sub and satellites. Thinking the sub was a normal PC speaker size one, i.e with a ~6" woofer then the satellites looked tiny...

But as you say, the satellites are actually 6.5" and the sub itself is a hefty 12". Hopefully for the amplification and the quality of the other components is up to scratch. :)
Click to expand...


Is it a PC Speaker setup??? How much they retail for? If its £200 I think I may just get a refund for my Z5500, you think the sub can go louder than the Z5500?

Haha lol its £1000 :(, must be awsome quality and sound.
 
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dgmug said:
hifi decent amp and speakers for 200 youd get something pretty nice.
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Yea but unfotunatly I like lots of bass sometimes which a decent amp + seakers for £200 proberbly woulden't cater for, but yea when my Z5500's die then I will go the seperates way.

So depending on someones tastes, £200 may not be enough for some decent speakers :\.
 
You can increase the bass output on decent speakers by placing them closer to the wall. Note that heavy bass is sub-sonic and you can't actually hear it, so you probably like 'loud base' as opposed to 'lots of base'.

The daft thing about music is that everything is meant to be put in a specific location to get the best sound, whereas most people buy expensive speakers and stick them anywhere...

S
 
Thanks for the input guys, sorry I haven't checked the thread for a while.

It's not a main system so the hassle of seperates isn't needed, £200 wouldn't come near to even buying a decent CD player for my sort of tastes in seperates ;)

They'd just be for connecting to a MacBook and a 360 for listening to music in bed etc really, so I was just trying to get an idea of what sort of active 2.1 speakers I could get for the money to save hassle, but there doesn't seem to be much out there.

The M-Audio speakers looked ok, but I've ditched the idea now and I'm probably just going to buy a pair of Sennheiser HD-650s and then a headphone amp, since it'll give me far superiour quality, even un-amped than anything else at £200 will.

And it'll give me the ability to listen to music at silly hours in the morning and with my windows open without disturbing the whole community, it's getting hot now so it's nice to have them open ;)

Cheers.
 
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