2.1 vs 5.1

benji182 · 18 Jul 2006 at 12:39

hey guys, my speakers blew up last week ago or so after playing killswitch engage too loud and now they constantly make a distorted noise and have this high pitch squeek randomly coming and going.

my question is tho do i buy a set of 5.1 speakers or 2.1 speakers?

I've got about £100 but i don't really want to spend all of it although i'm open to maybe having to do so.

i don't have much space so a 5.1 setup would be a pain in the backside. as my rooms a bit small and on the cramped side. how far away would the rear speakers have to be away from the desk also ?

the Altec Lansing MX5021 THX 2.1 from OcUK have looked rather good and what i've read from reviews.

would you suggest anything better but not more expensive as they're on the £90 mark

many thanks for your time

benji

ps. ((i play a lot of counter-strike source incase that makes a difference in what speakers i should go for)

squiffy · 18 Jul 2006 at 12:46

For that budget, I would spend it on the left & right speakers alone. No amplifier in that budget either. In fact I wouldn't bother with a subwoofer in that budget. PC speakers aren't much cop.

Have a look on the bay for £50 speakers and £50 amplifier, perhaps NAD, Cambridge Audio, or Rotel . Kef, B&W, Mission speakers.

I would save up bit more money

Dr.EM · 18 Jul 2006 at 14:28

Squiffy is right. A Hi-Fi will serve you much better, and has far less chance of "blowing up"

If you really don't have space for one though and want to spend up to £100 on PC speakers, the Acoustic Energy Aego M 2.1 are a better choice by all accounts.

Meatball · 18 Jul 2006 at 19:11

Aego M's 2.1

benji182 · 3 Aug 2006 at 23:09

the amp and book shelf speakers sounds like a good idea - would you recommend anything that you've heard/tried/seen ?

squiffy · 3 Aug 2006 at 23:41

I would suggest visiting local hifi shop for a demo, probably looking at the largest discount hifi retailer, or search the bay for Rotel or Nad stereo integrated amplifiers

benji182 · 4 Aug 2006 at 14:11

cheers dude, quick question - do HIFI amps support 5.1 ?

cos atm i've only really got room for 2 speakers and maybe a sub but do many have the support to add more speakers or is that not really a HIFI thing.

i know a hifi shop could tell me but living in a village its a trek just to get anywhere :-p

squiffy · 4 Aug 2006 at 14:17

No Hi-Fi amplifiers are only 2 channel (left and right) you can add a subwoofer from the high or low level outputs. Look for a "stereo integrated amplifier"

AV amplifiers are 5.1/7.1. Course you can still have 2 channel setup with these but generally they don't sound as good as a Hi-Fi amp

benji182 · 7 Aug 2006 at 12:35

thanks a lot guys

Egosh · 14 Aug 2006 at 01:42

ive got the the altec lansing speakers in black and they're absolutely amazing well worth the money and id definatly recommend them..ive got mine on an on board sound card and they already sound really good and i cant imagine how good they will sound on a x-fi or something similar...

Participant · 14 Aug 2006 at 09:12

For CS you need 5.1 or 7.1, you don't need much space as you can alter the settings depending upon position.

IMO forget Hi-Fi for that budget - I notice in your OP that you don't mention music only video games! I would look at the Creative Labs T5900 and put the rest towards a modern sound card if you don't have one.

Obviously people quite rightly say that HI-FI and av receivers are a better option, but they don't take account of the other factors i.e. price and what you want it for. PC speakers are comparitively v poor there's no doubting it, but let's be honest - you have £100 not £500 and you're mainly interested in gaming from your OP.

Cheers

benji182 · 2 May 2007 at 21:21

Robbie G said:
For CS you need 5.1 or 7.1, you don't need much space as you can alter the settings depending upon position.

IMO forget Hi-Fi for that budget - I notice in your OP that you don't mention music only video games! I would look at the Creative Labs T5900 and put the rest towards a modern sound card if you don't have one.

Obviously people quite rightly say that HI-FI and av receivers are a better option, but they don't take account of the other factors i.e. price and what you want it for. PC speakers are comparitively v poor there's no doubting it, but let's be honest - you have £100 not £500 and you're mainly interested in gaming from your OP.

Cheers

its been a while, i've been using VERY cheap speakers for the past 9 months or what ever its been and i've had enough now.

with regards to music, they must be good for music as thats how the last ones broke. i'm think that the hi-fi idea is pretty good. might pop into richer sounds or another hi-fi store.

>> any recommendations for a pair of speakers costing about £150?

>> also what about the monitors that they have in recording studios? i did music technology at college and they sound great although they've not passive powered so don't need an amp. (forgotten most of what i was taught)