Good 2.0 Speakers?

[AStaley]

I have an aging pair of Creative Labs 2.1 speakers which although they still work perfectly I'm considering if it's time to replace them. I mainly game on my PC, what would be a good set of speakers to get? I don't have a budget set, but don't want to hundreds of £s either.

 

[AStaley]

To be honest it's just a bit of a whim at the moment, hence no budget. Probably be prepared to spend up to £150 maybe a little more, thought about some sort of virtual surround system but not sure how effective they are.

 

[AStaley]

What about the Razor Nommo Chroma speakers, just got a Chroma mouse/keyboard so would go nice with those. Also frees up a little space and gets rid of my sub.

 

[AStaley]

Various reviews for them seem to be good, any particular reason for no?

 

[AStaley]

Saw the T40’s on another site and have to admit I’m very tempted, the do look a good option. And the more I think about it the more I like the idea of getting rid of the extra subwoofer.

 

[AStaley]

I'm limited for space at the moment and although the Ruarks and Whalfedales look good I don't really have the space for them, I think I'll pickup a pair of the T40's for now and look at some better speakers down the line when I have room for them.

 

[AStaley]

Got the T40’s this morning and am returning them. The sound isn’t as good as what I’m currently using, voices in games sounded like they have to much bass. And sounds in general are off, almost as if to much reverb.

If I was looking to splash the cash a bit more and went with active speakers such as the Ruarks do they have to go through a sub or are they good without? And how about connecting them to the PC, would an optical cable be best?

 

[AStaley]

I am assuming you are getting the sound from your SoundBlaster Z soundcard? Have you made sure you have not have the surround or other effects switched off?

I have the T40 II along with Monitor Audio BX2 and Q acoustics 3010. Whilst the latter 2 are better, I don't think the T40 II is as bad as the way you described it...something much be amiss. Have you already tried turning down the bass dial on the T40 II, rather than having it all the way up? For my T40 II, I turn the bass dial down to around 40%, as I feel that the bass as default (50%) is affecting the mids and highs of the sound slightly. I would advise play around with the bass and treble dials a bit before making up your mind.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I tried different bass/treble settings and also played with the audio settings within the SoundBlaster software and couldn't get it to a level I was comfortable with. It was either to much bass or certain sounds or hallow in others, nothing in between.

 

[AStaley]

From the way you described, I cannot help but to feel it is a sound card issue rather than the speaker issue.

What about have you tried connecting the T40 II to other audio device; like your phone for example?

No, just the PC. I disabled all enhancements on the Soundcard as well. Mute point now as I've returned the speakers, I'll wait until the end of the month and then pick up a pair of the Ruarks MR1's as the reviews for those look really good and they are about the right size.

 

[AStaley]

Fairly certain it's not driver/sound card, might even just be me I've had my current speakers for such a long time I've probably grown accustom to them. Also I'll probably pickup a AE-5 in the not to distant future as I'll probably build a new PC.

 

[AStaley]

Interesting, not something I would ever have given any thought to but it does make sense. And, yes you are right in your assertions about my setup.

 

[AStaley]

Tempted to just order the Ruarks now, whats the depth on them 11cm plus something for the cables?

 

[AStaley]

Got my Ruarks MR1 MK2 connected to the SBZ with an optical cable. So far the sound is okay, still feels a little hollow in game so not sure if I need to change anything. I’m certainly more comfortable with these than the T40’s, music when the volume is turned up is awesome.

On the Ruarks I’ve turned the inputs up to 3 which seems to help, all SB control panel settings are on defaults. Within the sound settings for W10 do I need to enable any higher sample rates (set at 48kHz), think it’s currently on 24bit48kHz? Also do I recall correctly because I’m going through optical the settings with SB control panel aren’t applied?

 

[AStaley]

I think it’s the games I’ve been trying, playing Wolfenstein 2 the guns sound very flat, this seems to be a criticism of the game. The shotgun in Doom 2016 also sounds weak, remember it being way stronger. Played BF1 for a little while and the weapons and explosions do have much more depth to them. WoW also sounds better.

Overall I think I’m happy with the Ruarks, they are very good speakers for their size. Having had my previous set for so long I think it’s going to take me a little time to acclimatise to these. I’ll be adding a SoundBlaster AE-5 to the mix shortly, interesting to see if that makes a noticeable difference.

 

[AStaley]

Thanks for the suggestion. If the speakers are sitting on the pads wouldn't that interfere with the bass, looks like it's a cone up the middle of the speaker?

**edit* What about something like, AudioSerenity ISO-9H Gel Isolation Pads?