Recommendations for good computer 2.1 speaker system?

[superboyac]

I was wondering if anyone here had some good recommendations for a good 2.1 speaker system.  I'm going to use it here at work, so it will be at a fairly low volume, so pristine quality isn't necessary.  I want to keep it under $100, maybe even $50, if possible.

I have these speakers that go under my flat panel monitor from Dell, but there's no subwoofer, so I want something with a subwoofer (and I can't justify the company paying for it).  Anyway, I'm looking at the following, but any other recommendations are welcome:
-Dell A425, or A525 (by Altec Lansing, I can find some on ebay)
-Various Logitech 2.1 speakers

That's all I know of so far.  Thanks.

[Gerome]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone here had some good recommendations for a good 2.1 speaker system.  I'm going to use it here at work, so it will be at a fairly low volume, so pristine quality isn't necessary.  I want to keep it under $100, maybe even $50, if possible.

I have these speakers that go under my flat panel monitor from Dell, but there's no subwoofer, so I want something with a subwoofer (and I can't justify the company paying for it).  Anyway, I'm looking at the following, but any other recommendations are welcome:
-Dell A425, or A525 (by Altec Lansing, I can find some on ebay)
-Various Logitech 2.1 speakers

That's all I know of so far.  Thanks.

Frankly ?
The best i've ever seen is my actual config :
a good USB PC Link between my PC and my MP3/CDR/W Philips HIFI stereo Expanium techology with 75 WRMS
Why buying something else ? 

[superboyac]

Hello,

Frankly ?
The best i've ever seen is my actual config :
a good USB PC Link between my PC and my MP3/CDR/W Philips HIFI stereo Expanium techology with 75 WRMS
Why buying something else ? 

Please forgive me, but I don't understand exactly what you are talking about.  Do you mean you just attach a boombox to your computer?  Is there a link you can give for this?

Actually, if what you are talking about is a boombox, I don't think it will work.  I have to have small speakers so I can put it on my desk.

[Gerome]

Hello,

Hello,

Frankly ?
The best i've ever seen is my actual config :
a good USB PC Link between my PC and my MP3/CDR/W Philips HIFI stereo Expanium techology with 75 WRMS
Why buying something else ? 

Please forgive me, but I don't understand exactly what you are talking about.  Do you mean you just attach a boombox to your computer?  Is there a link you can give for this?

Actually, if what you are talking about is a boombox, I don't think it will work.  I have to have small speakers so I can put it on my desk.

I have an HI FI Philips with an USB PC Link, so i can plug my PC to it and i can stream my music onto my Philips  : no need to plug speakers, and the sound quality can not be compared to speakerz

[Cpilot]

Yeah I got a USB hookup on my Stereo and the sound is miles away from anything you can attach to your computer. 

[mouser]

i cant hear the difference between any of them, so i choose speakers based on their looks.
heresy i know..

[jgpaiva]

I have exactlly the same problem, i want to buy a 2.1 speaker system, but I can't decide between any of them.
For 100€, i've heard logitech z-4 and jbl creature II. Both are very good, but the jbl have a very clear sound, i might buy them.
I've also heard logitech's x-230, for 40€, they have a nice sound, not as good as the ones mentioned above, but still nice.
I think the better way to decide, might be just go to a store and hear them live, it takes out some doubts.

[Gerome]

Hi!

i cant hear the difference between any of them, so i choose speakers based on their looks.
heresy i know..

I advise you to consult an otho-rino

[superboyac]

I'm liking the logitech x-230, but the one negative about it is that it has too much bass even with the subwoofer turned all the way down.  That's bad for jazz, which is what I listen to, and what a couple of other users are complaining about on the web.  But it seems to be a good choice overall.

That Phillips Expanium one doesn't sound bad, if I can figure out exactly where to put it.  I remember that from 1994-2006, I just used an old 1984 Sanyo boombox to connect to my soundcard, and it was pretty good.  Now I use my Roland keyboard amp because I have an extra one.  It just goes to show, that like many other things, it helps to think outside of the box.  I've always been suspicious of these speakers that are marketed for computers only, as if they are a different kind of speaker that a regular speaker.  They are probably more cheaply made, and the only benefit is that they are plug n play and visually probably match the computer look.  But I guess the best thing to do is to get the best speaker in general, not the best computer speaker.

That being said, because this is not for my house, but for the office, I may have to put my elticism aside and just get a computer speaker.  But, like I said, I may do the boombox if I can figure out how.

[superboyac]

I have an HI FI Philips with an USB PC Link, so i can plug my PC to it and i can stream my music onto my Philips  : no need to plug speakers, and the sound quality can not be compared to speakerz

Gerome, I think I might go for that.  Could you give me a model number or a link where I can see a picture of it?  Thanks.

[Gothi[c]]

Just use an old but good stereo amp. The quality of these old amps far surpasses the new hifi crap imho.
I have an old Technics amp (100w/channel) hooked up to my pc which works great. I used to have 2 homemade rack mounted mono amps of 500W connect to it but that was kinda overkill. I've tried many surround systems but I still like old quadrophony or even stereo better.
Some of these old sixties/seventies/eighties amps are really cool looking, like retro-tech style.
Like this one has a tiny radar-like screen:



But you get the best audio quality with a tube amp.


notice the springs on the bottom which were used to generate echo effects
the spring sits in a coil on both ends.
pretty ingenious

[brotherS]

link=topic=2394.msg16465#msg16465 date=1139603075]
Just use an old but good stereo amp. The quality of these old amps far surpasses the new hifi crap imho.
I have an old Technics amp (100w/channel) hooked up to my pc which works great. I used to have 2 homemade rack mounted mono amps of 500W connect to it but that was kinda overkill. I've tried many surround systems but I still like old quadrophony or even stereo better.

I recently was able to listen to a new BOSE 2.1 system that was supposed to be some "virtual 4.1" or something... really small and really, really great sound!

...put probably not cheap.

[superboyac]

Good stuff, Gothi[c]!  Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, I bet it sounds great.  By the way, those springs are for reverb, that's how it used to be done.  I have the same thing on my Hammond organ.

But I can't use something that bulky for the office.  I'm leaning towards the Philips USB link thing Gerome was talking about, but I'd like to know the model of it first.  Are there other hifi systems that plug into the computer with USB?  That seems pretty cool.

[superboyac]

Wait...I was just thinking, why would I need a USB cable to connect to a Hi Fi speaker system?  Wouldn't it work if I simply went from the regular speaker connection of the sound card to the line-in of the Hi Fi speaker?  I don't understand.  Is the Hi Fi speaker even using the sound card?  SOmething's weird here.

[scorp]

Wait...I was just thinking, why would I need a USB cable to connect to a Hi Fi speaker system?  Wouldn't it work if I simply went from the regular speaker connection of the sound card to the line-in of the Hi Fi speaker?  I don't understand.  Is the Hi Fi speaker even using the sound card?  SOmething's weird here.

You can only attach directly to a HiFi speaker if it is 4ohm otherwise at full volume anything above 4ohm you will struggle to get sound out of .

The way i would do it is use your speaker output of the comp and using the appropriate connectors and cable connect it to whatever mini stereo you have assuming it has sound inputs(usually RCA  ), that's how i've connected my comp to my main stereo no more bloody changing discs

then it's a matter of adjusting the comp's soundcard volume output to whatever strength you want the stereo to produce, in other words if you set the comp's sound output to low you'll have to turn up the stereo volume to full to hear it etc

[superboyac]

You can only attach directly to a HiFi speaker if it is 4ohm otherwise at full volume anything above 4ohm you will struggle to get sound out of .

The way i would do it is use your speaker output of the comp and using the appropriate connectors and cable connect it to whatever mini stereo you have assuming it has sound inputs(usually RCA  ), that's how i've connected my comp to my main stereo no more bloody changing discs

then it's a matter of adjusting the comp's soundcard volume output to whatever strength you want the stereo to produce, in other words if you set the comp's sound output to low you'll have to turn up the stereo volume to full to hear it etc

Ah, I see.  Maybe I'll just take my Sanyo boombox to work and use that, it has RCA plugs in the back which I used with my computer's sound card at home for the last 10 years.  I never really complained about it's sound, so there's something to be said about that.

[Edvard]

Just as a side note... Check this out:
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/aopenax4btube/