What speakers should I buy?

[tophee]

A vague, open ended question I know... but bear with me.

Right, old speakers died. The buzzed and annoyed the crap out of me. So, need a new set. I don't have masses of desk space... though have been considering a 7.1 set, something like Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers. Price is ok. But having had my Logitech z-5500's plugged in for a week (usually attached to the media centre) I thought... is there really any point getting 7.1? In the space I have 5.1 would be more than enough I should think. And they did sound fantastic.

Would I miss surround if I only got a 2.1 setup?

Unfortunately I can't afford a second set of z-5500's.

I've a Creative Audigy 2 zx-platinum sound card.

Suggestions please.

Thanks

 

[tophee]

It's possible that I go for separates, I could always steal my floor standers from the other room ... but no, I think I need to keep the missus reasonably happy so they need to be discrete. Perhaps 5.1 headphones are the way forward...

 

[tophee]

Have you bi-wired your speakers btw? My home hifi is, (and while you get used to these things very quickly) when I fist did it... I was impressed.

My Hi-fi setup is mostly technics. I've a pair of floor standing Mission M702e's that I bought a few years ago. (Actually about 6 years ago.) And now they need some tlc. Unfortunately the panel the drivers sit in has come loose otherwise they sound sweet. Perhaps I'll buy some Kef Q5's. Ahh, decisions...

Anyhow back on topic. Thinking about it, I've realised I don't really like headphones for long periods. So 2.1 or surround? I'm thinking for games like oblivion...

Would I be better getting say the Logitech Z-2300 THX® Certified 2.1 200 Watts Speakers or Creative GigaWorks 5.1 G500 THX® Pro Gamer Speakers.