5.1 for £50 ish

daveyg

daveyg

daveyg

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Joined
17 Jul 2006
Posts
126
Location
Bristol, UK
I want to update my very old Cambridge Soundworks 4.1 system, I have a budget of about £50, i.e a few quid here and there don't matter for the right product.

I've seen the Creative T6060 and the Logitech X-530. Both look pretty good and are in budget.

I like the fact that the logitech has the controls built into the right speaker as the trailing creative ones get on my nerves, but I think the Creative looks better and I am also worried about the length of audio cables from the right speaker to reach my PC on the left.

What do you reccomend? Either of these or something else? I'm not bothered about flashy extras like breakout boxes, remotes, etc just good compact speakers that are desk or wall mountable.

I'm currently using the HD onboard sound of my Gigabyte DS4 (ALC883) as my Audigy 1 died when my old mobo gave way forcing the rebuild. I plan to probably get a new soundcard later in the year, but not for now.

Also if I was to double my budget to £100 will this make much difference to quality, taking into account a lack of dedicated soundcard at the moment. (recommendations for those as well is you wish!)

Ta,

Davey G
E6600, GB DS4, 2GB@533, 7900GT Golden Sample, 250gb SATA, Enermax Liberty 500W, LG4166, Dell 2007WFP
 
I seriously don't reccomend the T6060s, my brother has them and we both think they sound terrible (we have an equally cheap 4.1 set down here which is far better). If you really want 5.1 then doubling the budget is wise. Well, you may need to go a little over £100 for a set like the Creative I-Trigue 5.1 5600 or Logitech Z-5400, which will be far better. If you can't increase your budget this much, out of the two, go with the Logitech.

If you can live without 5.1, your money will get much better sound quality from a 2.1 set. Consider the Creative I-Trigue 2.1 3400, or for a bit more the highly praised Acoustic Energy Aego M 2.1.
 
X530 aren't too bad, just the rears are a little underpowered. Case on the left could be a problem. The wire that goes to your soundcard comes from the front right speaker and it's not much over a metre long. They're not high fidelity but they're not awful either once you've turned the sub down. For £50 I was happy with the sound they put out when I owned them.

I think the Aego M 2.1s are a good idea if you can live without 5.1.
 
Thanks for the response guys.

From what you are saying I really need to push my budget to £120 to make 5.1 worthwhile, or go with 2.1, a step down from my 4.1 at the mo, although they are probably very poor in todays terms.

I only use my PC for gaming, not movies, so I really need to decide if 2.1 will do, although if I'm honest the rear of my 4.1 in games has never been outstanding.

So 2 more questions I guess:

Will £100 speakers benefit from a dedicated soundcard?

Would you reccommend 5.1 or 2.1 for use only with gaming?

Discuss!
 
For gaming only, you want the surround sound experience, so 5.1 is nicer compared to a 2.1 - especially most cheaper 5.1 have over powering sub for boomier effects.

2.1 = Music and good gaming experience IMO, a cheap 5.1 for music can be iffy if it's not up to scratch.

I'm using a 2.1 Aego M, fricking awesome build quality and sound is just brilliant - best speakers I've owned since my Creative 5.1 3 years ago (that was for hardcore gaming - sounds awesome coupled with an Audigy 2 Sound Card; my new 2.1 is for Music and light gaming)
 
I've recently ordered the very cheap and discontinued Creative Labs P5800 5.1.

I'd consider myself a severe audio critic going by the amount I've spent on my car stereo but these are really very good especially for the money.
 
I have just bought the Acoustic Authority/Cyber Acoustics A5640 5.1 PRO Surround Sound Subwoofer / Satellite sys 140W. Awesome sound quality and just been reduced to £55 as well. Not from here, obviously.

The subwoofer is rather large though at 14.5" square with a 10" driver and a very large port too. It's also made of wood. Wicked bass for explosions etc. :D

See their website here for details and piccys. I really like the fact that the remote has a front/rear fader on it.
 
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