PC speakers

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m considering buying some active PC speakers for $10-50. How is the quality for speakers this cheap? Should I go with the cheapest I can find, or is there a very significant increase in quality when you go a little higher?

Any suggestions for specific speakers to buy? I’m going to use them for music, movies and games for about 2 months. After that I’ll probably give them away or save them for another occasion.

2

This is more of an IMHO question than a GQ one.

The standard piece of advice for people thinking about buying cheap speakers is “get a pair of headphones instead”. If you’re the only person who will be listening to them, you’ll be better served by headphones, because they’ll give you much better sound quality than a comparably-priced set of speakers.

3

I won’t be the only one listening, and I already have headphones.

4

I have a set of Logitech z-640’s which I have been quite happy with - they cost $55. If you don’t want surround sound, then you might want to try the z-340 model - I have a friend with a set of these, and they sound pretty good, though I am no audiophile.

Generally, you want to stick with Klipsch, Logitech, or Altec Lansing, for computer speakers, IMHO.

5
      • You can find super-cheap generic desktop speakers that boast ridiculous wattages–I have seen as high as 300 watts–but the problem with these sets is that they only drive a pair of small speaker cones, and so while they are LOUD, they are extremely harsh and lacking in bass.
  • I have a triplet of Logitech-Z-somethings, 52’s I think, I dunno which exactly. They cost around $50 a couple years back. The one thing I don’t like about them is that it is a subwoofer (22 watts I thinks) and two satellites (five watts each), but they are hard-wired. One cable runs -directly- out of the subwoofer into the left speaker, and than another wire runs out of that to the right speaker. There are no “jacks” connecting them, the wires just run right into holes in the speaker cabinets. I found that I couldn’t quite place them spread out like I wanted due to the nature of their being permanently-wired together (newer ones might be different, mine are a few years old now). They were about the lowest-priced name-brand triplet I could find (Logitech and Altec were about the main two back then) but they do sound far nicer than any desktop-set of speakers I had heard. -And if you play games that have explosions, it’s something special to crank the bass and feel the explosions; somehow it makes the game so much nicer.
    …
  • The next time I buy speakers, I will get the same type (triplet) but I would want more power–mine is 32 watts (I thinks) and I would want at least 100 watts. They sound great sitting at the computer, but lack the power to serve as a regular stereo.
    ~
6

I would argue that PC speakers in this range tend to be fairly lousy - but frankly, most PC speakers, even the expensive ones, tend to be lousy. Commonly, the cheap speakers (anything less than about $30) have lousy fidelity and, as DougC mentioned, not much bass. The more expensive speakers tend to be the opposite - WAY too much bass - and it’s usually not even good bass, it’s muddy, distorted, and nausea-inducing (literally, at least to me).

There are some exceptions. I’ve got 2 sets of Creative T2900 PC speakers, and am quite happy with them. These run about $40-50 regularly, but they’ve been offering a rebate on and off over the past couple of months, which I used to get them for $19.95 per set. They seem very clear compared to most of the comparably-priced (that is to say, $50ish) competition, and the bass is adjustable to a reasonable level (though there’s plenty of room to crank it up if you wish). I’ve got a set hooked directly to my DVD player and also one hooked to the computer, so they seem suitable for both uses.

7

Off to IMHO.

DrMatrix - GQ Moderator

8

A couple of years ago, i got sick of the crappy speakers that came with my computer. I went out and splurged $99 on this little setup.

I know that this is more than you want to spend, but Altec Lansing makes a similar system with two front speakers and a base module, instead of five front speakers and a base module. It costs $50.

I’ve always thought that the sound from my five-speaker set-up was really great, and the review i linked to above says the same thing, as does this one. I remember listening to the two-speaker system in the store when i was making my decision (at the time, $99 was more than i really wanted to spend), and i thought the smaller system sounded good, too.

Anyway, the smaller Altec Lansing system is called the 221, and you can read reviews of it here and here. The first article is extremely positive. The second article compares the Altec Lansing speakers with Logitech’s Z340 set-up, and comes out in favor of the Logitech system.