Good speakers for below 100

snowdog · 18 Feb 2007 at 22:53

Hello,

I'm looking for a new 5.1 system for my pc, will be using it for about 1 hr of music a day, approx. 1 film a day and a lot of gaming, what would be a nice speaker system for 100 quid max ?

Atm i have some nasty cheap Trust 5.1 with just a 12 w RMS sub and 2 w sats, because i fell for the 2000W pmpo rating

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I need something that has a bigger sub/louder bass and something of wich full volume isnt just about 5% louder as half volume.

Would i be better of to go for an amp and custom stuff, or a standard 5.1 set, i already have 4 leftover speaker from a car wich aren't the best but they're definatly a lot louder than my current sats (and they're also bigger as my current subwoofer), together with them i'd just need 1 more speaker, 1 sub and an amp, would this be a better option?

Soundcard I'm using is onboard Realtek High Definition Audio...

snowdog · 20 Feb 2007 at 12:23

squiffy · 20 Feb 2007 at 12:45

For that budget, look at stereo only. £100 passive speakers and £100 amplifier should get something reasonble second hand.
Forget £100 quality 5.1 system.

snowdog · 20 Feb 2007 at 12:58

squiffy said:
For that budget, look at stereo only. £100 passive speakers and £100 amplifier should get something reasonble second hand.
Forget £100 quality 5.1 system.

I want a sub tho on its own channel from the soundcard, my parents have a high end stereo with an amp 2 huuuge speakers (130 w rms), wich costed them over a 1000 when they bought it (very long ago) but even with loudness and bass on max I personally dont like it as i think there should be a sub deticated to bass, in that case my 25 quid 5.1 sounds better on low volumes than the stereo thing ( its totally owned at high volumes though ).

However if an amp isn't an option, what 5.1 speakers for pc would be best?

squiffy · 20 Feb 2007 at 13:19

You can easily plug a active subwoofer into your soundcards subwoofer out jack. I very much doubt a cheap subwoofer can compete with a good set of floorstanders. You probably think the boomy bass from the "subwoofer" is better, but it's not. It shows as you have bass on maximum. As for the bass at lower volumes it is true that a pure stereo system can lack bass usually have to ramp it up. But if you use a loudness feature then that sorts the problem (at lower levels it increases bass frequency)

You can also use a subwoofer in stereo system too, usually have to do more adjustments on the back panel (adjust subwoofer variable crossover) if sending the subwoofer full-range.

I would not recommend any £100 5.1 speakers. Add a 0 to your budget and you have quality. £100 will get you ok-ish active PC stereo speakers, and budget Hi-Fi standmount speakers, second hand.

james.miller · 20 Feb 2007 at 13:22

yuo could just about fit some mission m73i and a nice amp in for £100 second hand if you were lucky. more realistically, it cant be done unless you're willing to go with a 2nd hand amp and bookshelf speakers which i don't think would give you the amount of 'bass' i think you want.

£100 5.1 speaker certainly wouldnt.

snowdog · 20 Feb 2007 at 14:39

Hmm thanks, ill stick with my current stuff then and spend the money on a bigger monitor ( basicly i have 250 quid wich i planned on splitting for a 17'' lcd and new speaks but now i suppose ill go for a 20'' WS Monitor.

willhub · 21 Feb 2007 at 12:35

squiffy said:
You can easily plug a active subwoofer into your soundcards subwoofer out jack.

About that, if i got a BK Monolith sub, could i plug that straight into the sub out jack on my SB X-Fi seen as the Monolith has its own Power Supply.

naro · 21 Feb 2007 at 14:12

for 100 quids, the Accoutic Energy Aego-M is one hell of a speaker!!

squiffy · 21 Feb 2007 at 15:04

willhub said:
About that, if i got a BK Monolith sub, could i plug that straight into the sub out jack on my SB X-Fi seen as the Monolith has its own Power Supply.

Shouldn't think why not, although is the subwoofer output on the X-Fi a shared centre/subwoofer jack? On the other end you'll need a single RCA. And as long as all outputs are linked to master then master should ramp up L/R and subwoofer relative to each other.

willhub · 21 Feb 2007 at 16:18

Which one would be for the sub in sub/center, red rca or white? i will send the center one to my z5500 as i will still use the z5500 at same time.

squiffy · 21 Feb 2007 at 16:36

Just plug it in and run the speaker test, you should be able to work it out straight away.

I would not use the Logitech subwoofer at the same time as the Monolith, it'll sound terrible. Just use the sat speakers and turn the bass down on the Logitech sub all the way. You will need to spend time with crossovers on the soundcard for the sats and subwoofer to integrated well, and depending on configuration bypass the subs own crossover (if sub out on the soundcard is filtererd out relative to sats) or use the subs crossover if sending the monolith full range.

willhub · 21 Feb 2007 at 17:56

Ok, thanks for the help

, sorry for going off topic, but squiffy, what do you think i should get, a Nvidia 8800GTX, or go buy the Monolith?

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my graphics currently are extremly outdated with an x800xt, but sound is equally important as games.

squiffy · 21 Feb 2007 at 18:47

Neither. Get proper Hi-Fi speakers. No point having a good quality subwoofer if your mains aren't up to much. Get Hi-Fi speakers and a stereo integrated amplifier, then if you need a subwoofer buy one then.

willhub · 21 Feb 2007 at 20:02

I wanted to buy the Monolith now for heaps of bass as I expect it could easilly perform a lot louder than my Z5500 sub, I know, your proberbly gonna say, if you want tons of bass get a car sub, but i dont want a car sub because probs crap quality bass compared to a Monolith, Bass comes first, so good sub, then amp and stereo speakers for me, I could get an Amp and stereo speakers in summer for my birthday but that would leave my computer in the dark ages.

james.miller · 21 Feb 2007 at 20:06

willhub you've always wanted to do things backwards. this is like a timewarp, ive told you this before. getting a £500 sub will only highlight the problems with your current speakers and i can guarantee it being complete waste of time./

but since i can also guarantee you wont listen to us this time either, i'd suggest we dont mention the subject any more.

willhub · 21 Feb 2007 at 20:35

No one has ever told me on this forum anyway it would be a total waste, but i have just thought about the crossover and I just remembers the Z5500 sub goes all the way up to 120Hz so i would be missing loads of the music so I am actually going to take Squiffys advice...

squiffy · 21 Feb 2007 at 20:50

At least one other person has told you to buy the subwoofer last. When I went into HT the subwoofer was the last thing I purchased. Thing is it would have been ok to buy the subwoofer at the same time as the L/R because the main speakers were ok quality.

You on the other hand are using a cheap PC system and attempting to use a decent subwoofer into that. Ok bass will be better but the general sound quality of the soundfield will be no better.

Take this from someone who's built up several stereo and home theatre systems.

In fact in some cases you might not even need a subwoofer, in a small room a good standmount pair of speakers will provide all the bass you need. You might find a subwoofer just introduces too much bass boom into the room, so you might need to switch the subwoofer off. A pair of standmount speakers reach down quite low, once you get room gain. Do not compare your Logitech speakers to decent sized standmounts. In a 4mx4m room I use speakers to reach to around 50hz. When I play music bass is plenty. Only on the HT do I need a subwoofer due to dynamic range/frequency of movie soundtracks, and I already have the rest of the speakers.

I just remembers the Z5500 sub goes all the way up to 120Hz so i would be missing loads of the music so I am actually going to take Squiffys advice..

I don't get you. :confused:

You don't want a subwoofer to be set that high on the crossover, although the sats probably go around 120hz it would make sense to buy larger speakers all round, and use crossover around or below the standmount F3 point, and using the same crossover on the av amp crossover, disabling the sub's own crossover.

Just buy the 2.0/5.0 speakers and stereo amp/av amp then sub last. :rolleyes:

james.miller · 21 Feb 2007 at 21:15

willhub said:
No one has ever told me on this forum anyway it would be a total waste, but i have just thought about the crossover and I just remembers the Z5500 sub goes all the way up to 120Hz so i would be missing loads of the music so I am actually going to take Squiffys advice...

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17663165&page=2&pp=60

squiffy said:
james.miller said:

that will sound awful. decent amp and front speakers first! its not all about bass you know.

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Totally agree, sub is bought last.

james.miller said:
you said:

.....Yes, i would either buy the front speakers and amp first, or but the front speakers, amp and subwoofer all at once, which i hope to be doing, dont see how front speakers, amp and subwoofer will sound awfull :s

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because a £400 subwoofer will only highlight the shortfalls of your current satalites. Plus im suspecting it will be horribly peaky at 150hz+. spending £400 on a sub wont magically transform the sound quality. you'll just have tonnes of bass, no midrange and a shrill treble. trust me and everybody else whos been there already, music is nothing unless you have the full package. Go for the amp and speakers first. worry about the sub last.

you dont remember that then? that was two months ago willhub.

willhub · 21 Feb 2007 at 22:04

Ok,Ok i remember that but it seems more like 6 Months ago.

I will take your advice on Speakers but I do like bass and i cant see some £200 and below speakers been able to provide the total submerging bass capable of blanking out the sattelites and stuff like that, thats why i was wanting a sub first.