Best computer speakers

Leodido said:
well personnaly I gotta say I have a quite good hear, I've been djing for 5 years and to honestly I can't find much difference between that package and an amp and speakers. Sorry!

Maybe the quality is not exactly as good but saying they are "pretty poor" compared to them is a lie
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that made me LOL. no offence but that is ridiculous. I have the Logitech Z2300 and they are good as far as computer speakers. great for games etc... but honestly they are miles away from my Bower & Wilkins. BTW I am no sound expert and can clearly tell the difference between the two even in a blindtest.
 
I'd look at a second hand arcam amp something like an Alpha or maybe a Denon PMA 255UK AMP both of which should come in at less than £50 then for speakers you've got plenty to choose from personally I'd look for some mission, KEF or Wharfdale's in that price bracket.
 
Leodido said:
well personnaly I gotta say I have a quite good hear, I've been djing for 5 years and to honestly I can't find much difference between that package and an amp and speakers. Sorry!

Maybe the quality is not exactly as good but saying they are "pretty poor" compared to them is a lie
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Sorry but that's rubbish. It's easy to hear the difference between that and hi-fi gear, the logitechs have a much weaker mid production (yes I used to sell them and have to hear them day in day out), and even my modest at the time second hand setup blew them away. They're likely fine for you as they have bass and treble in abundance, but that doesn't make them comparative to hi-fi in sound quality. If you listen to wider ranged tracks, then the difference becomes more and more pronounced, particularly in the mid section, male vocals and guitars tend to be good tests of this.
 
a1ex2001 said:
I'd look at a second hand arcam amp something like an Alpha or maybe a Denon PMA 255UK AMP both of which should come in at less than £50 then for speakers you've got plenty to choose from personally I'd look for some mission, KEF or Wharfdale's in that price bracket.
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Thanks!

Think I might have found just the items!

Just for a pointer, though, would you generally say the best place to source 2nd-hand audio gear like this is online or through music shops or classified in music publications?
 
It's all much of a muchness to be honest, if I was spending megaa bucks I;d have a preference for collection so I could at least see/hear the items working but at this end of the market ebay is as good as anywhere. Might be worth putting a wanted thread on AVForums and posting here or there about any components you thinking about just to get some user experience. HIFI gear tends to be pretty ribust and it lasts pretty well, for example in one of my rooms I'm still using a pair of Wharfdale Diamond 7.1 bookshelf speakers I paid £100 for in 1998 which will blow any midi system or PC speakers out of the water. They can occasionally be found on the bay for about £20!
 
strumpusplunket said:
What would be the best bet for around the £100 the Logitechs cost? The Mackies and Genelecs are way, way too expensive in comparison. Any guides on good items to aim for new or 2nd-hand?
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Yep the Mackies are good if you have £1000 but not £100. ;) Something like the Tannoy F1 is pretty good for £100, but they need an amp also. :)
 
MikeHunt79 said:
Yep the Mackies are good if you have £1000 but not £100. ;)
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Yeah, I was all fired up there, thinking I'd got a tip for a good budget set-up. Nearly choked on my tea when I stuck those brands into Google! :D

This mega-bucks world of hi-fi equipment is a completely foreign affair to me.

Now following up a lead on a Denon PMA255 and a couple of Wharfdale speakers, though, so all is (hopefully) good...:)
 
strumpusplunket said:
Yeah, I was all fired up there, thinking I'd got a tip for a good budget set-up. Nearly choked on my tea when I stuck those brands into Google! :D
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The main reason those speakers cost so much is that they actually have an active crossover and 2 amps in each speaker, it makes them more complex and costly to produce, but gives a better sound especially around the crossover area... Some £100 tannoy F1's wouldn't be far off tho, so you don't have to spend a lot if you don't want to. :)

For a recording studio £1000 isn't going to break the bank but I can understand it's a lot to pay just to have some tunes while on your computer...

ѕнσσтєя didn't mention a budget, so I assumed money was no object. ;)
 
strumpusplunket said:
Thanks!

Think I might have found just the items!

Just for a pointer, though, would you generally say the best place to source 2nd-hand audio gear like this is online or through music shops or classified in music publications?
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Ebay
Avforums classifieds
Hififorsale

Just search for 2nd hand Hifi. An older arcam can be had under £100 easily, and look at Monitor Audio speakers too or maybe some older B&W 601.
 
Thanks again to everyone for their input.

Update: Managed to snag a Denon PMA 255UK Amp and pair of Wharfdale Valdus 200 speakers for £50.

Wouldn't have known what I was looking for without the advice I got here, so cheers all!

Step 1 in HTPC set-up complete! :D

37" TV next, then the HTPC itself...
 
£50, bargainous! Will sound better than logitech/creative/other computer speakers for music too... Enjoy!

My bargain has to be some Event TR8 studio monitors, list price is £499, they're like a budget version of the Mackie HR824's really. I managed to get a pair £75, with a blown amp in one of them. With a little soldering a new LM3886 chip, it was good as new and sounds sweet. :) I may upgrade the amp modules if I ever need a little more volume but I'm sat 1ft from them so they're fine for now.

I had a budget of £100 also, so I was rather pleased to say the least...
 
Duran said:
yeah but for movies and games the logitech z5500 will blow away a basic amp and bookshelf setup. they got so much value for their price tag.

well the OP is asking for PC speakers. the gigaworks and logitech z5500 are your best bets.
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For movies I dont think the z5500 is much good cos theres not nearly enough midrange in the centre speaker for speech and wot not, that was one of the reasons why ive changed from my z680s to bookshelf speakers
 
MikeHunt79 said:
The main reason those speakers cost so much is that they actually have an active crossover and 2 amps in each speaker, it makes them more complex and costly to produce, but gives a better sound especially around the crossover area... Some £100 tannoy F1's wouldn't be far off tho, so you don't have to spend a lot if you don't want to. :)

For a recording studio £1000 isn't going to break the bank but I can understand it's a lot to pay just to have some tunes while on your computer...

ѕнσσтєя didn't mention a budget, so I assumed money was no object. ;)
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Yeah I am going to spend quite a bit I think - I've pretty much decided on some AVI ADM9.1s as I've read so many positive things about them.
 
ѕнσσтєя said:
Yeah I am going to spend quite a bit I think - I've pretty much decided on some AVI ADM9.1s as I've read so many positive things about them.
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I must admit I've not heard of the AVI ADM9.1's but they appear to tick all the boxes, bi-amped, active crossover, and an internal DAC is good also.

The downside I can see if the woofer cone is 6.5" meaning you'll only have bass extension down to 60Hz, so you'll probably want to get a sub also.

Something like the Mackie hr824 has an 8" cone and goes down to 40Hz so these do not need a sub so it's worth considering these also. :)
 
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