5.1 vs good 2.1 speakers

Brocon

Brocon

Brocon

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Joined
1 Sep 2004
Posts
103
Hiya guys,

First of all let me start by saying i'm not really an audiophile! Though I can not stand crackling hissing or distortion of sound and my music is encoded in lossless.

I have just managed to kill my old 5.1 speakers, and i'm in the process of going mac anyway, so I concidered that this would be a good time to change.

My new base is a macbook, I'm trying to decide between some good 2.1 speakers such as Sound sticks/Acoustic Energy Aego M 2.1 and 5.1 -Logitech Z-5500.

My main use is listening to music, tho not esspecially loud and watching dvds, though I suspect that as always I will lapse back into my old ways and use a PC for the odd game of cs.

I guess my main worry is if go 2.1 I loose the surround affect in films and the odd game but go 5.1 and you tend to loose the quality.

help!
 
You don't lose quality by going to 5.1...but if your primary use is going to be music then the 2.1's might be the better choice.

However.....the Z-5500s are awesome speakers...I had a set awhile ago and loved them...and when a DVD supported DTS they really did shine.
 
I would say my use is probably 50/50 between music and DVD. Hence why this is a hard choise.

Does anyone know anywhere where you can test speakers, I would like to be able to compare the Z-5500 with 2.1.
 
You don't strictly have to loose quality by going 5.1, but if you spend the same for 5.1 over 2.1 then you will do. You need to spend roughly double. For that reason, I really couldn't say if the Z-5500s are any worse than the Aego 2.1 set as they cost about twice as much and both are well thought of generally :confused:
 
DVDs don't sound bad in stereo... in fact they'll probably sound better in "good" stereo than poor surround. If you're willing to spend £200 or so on the Z5500's, would you be prepared to spend similar on a stereo only setup? You'd get some rather good results with an amp and some bookshelf speakers, especially for music.
 
i found the logitechs cant really handle music very well as the bass is to excessive, its even to excessive for films, you end up turning the volume down because the bass is to much but then cant hear the quiter parts to well. first immpressions are wow these sound great in films and the power can easily fill a living room but the longer ive lived with them the less impressed i am.
 
2.1 Aego M Speakers - got a set and never looked back. The build quality is brilliant and the sound is just... awesome. They are worth the money I paid.

If music is main, Aego M is your game ;)

Then if you want, you can stretch abit more on for surround sound headphone for your occasional CS or surround DVD viewing. So far, I find 2.1 sufficient for my casual gaming needs on my MacBook and DVD watching. And that's from me, I use to have a 5.1 Creative system that came along with my PC - was good for gaming rather poor for music - big bass, too big.
 
Does your macbook have the required ports for 5.1? Otherwise you'll be shelling out for a usb soundcard, and thats if OSX supports those.
 
Dr Jones said:
2.1 Aego M Speakers - got a set and never looked back. The build quality is brilliant and the sound is just... awesome. They are worth the money I paid.

If music is main, Aego M is your game ;)
Click to expand...

I got these speakers today, they are amazing, such a step-up from my £30 Creative's. Currently blasting Hell March 2 from the Red Alert 2 soundtrack at full blast :D
 
Good amp, and some good stereo speakers, i picked up some Kef cresta 10's from richersounds for £60, they are excellent for the money, although my amp isn't the best as its an old technics jobby, still sounds miles better than some poor "pc" speaker efforts.

Sounds great for music, and fills the room with sound for the movies which gives a good impression that the sound is all around you but still won't match an expensive "good" 5.1 setup.
 
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