Speakers

[Ki-tat Chung]

im currently considering forking out for a creative gigaworks s750 speaker set, worth aprox $900AU. my mobo has nforce4, and thats the only sound i have. is it worth it? should i spend my money elsewhere, i.e. ATI X800/X850 worth around the same.

 

my specs:

AMD Athalon 64bit 3000+

512mb duel channel DDR ram

nForce4 mobo

X300SE PCI-E

 

edit: flip! i just realised that that speaker set costs more than my whole computer! (minus the monitor--i got my comp for around $800AU in the fine city of Hong Kong)

Edited April 20, 2005 by Ki-tat Chung

[Kernel]

What speakers do you have at the moment?

And what do you mainly use your PC for?

 

Unless your watching a lot of DVDs or creating your own music on your PC I would say a 7.1 speaker set is not worth it. Your probably better off with a cheaper 5.1 set.

 

7.1 speaker sets also need to be setup correctly to sound their best. I've heard some setups that sounded worse than my own 4 speaker setup! It's no good if your room is full of clutter, you won't get the best out of it.

[Jman4117]

$900? O.o

 

You can't find a decent set in the $100 range and upgrade your box later with the other $800?

[Ki-tat Chung]

ok, i must have been smoking something....just kidding!

seriously, i can't believe i thought that, let alone post it up. must have been extreem wishful thinking...even with nForce4, I don't think it would be worth it. prob better spending that money on a gfx card...

i currently have a choice of $20 cheap skeakers, TDK S40 2.1 speaker set, and the ones that came with the comp. amazingly, while they look like the $20 garden variaty speakers, they are actually worse, if it is possible. i've heard better sound coming out of my $20 headphones from target on full blast, than from that pathetic piece of junk. and after using it once, it died.

anyways, after some thinking, it's prob better if i jsut stick with my TDK speakers. hey, they ain't half bad.

[DoomMunky]

Dude, I'm using two Logitech plain-janes, and the only thing I miss is low-end sounds. I also have another, larger set at home that has a subwoofer with it, and that's cool for games and music. But hell, man, do you really need good speakers, or do you just want "The Best System Ever"?

 

It sounds like you realized you were smoking crack. Send the money to me, if you wanna throw it away so bad. I'll use it to fix my old-ass car.

[Bomb Bloke]

I find a pair of $2 headphones suit my needs just fine. I can always plug in my speakers if need be... Not sure of the specs, but they came with a computer my folks bought about a decade ago.

 

Seriously, if you can tell the difference between left and right channels, what more do you need?

[Jman4117]

Well, having a woofer is nice.... Beyond that.....

[Stun Grenade]

@DoomMunky.... Chungy is a girl... i think

 

Being an aussie i know the currency and such yada yada yada...

 

Plugging speakers in a mobo is a bad idea so I would purchase a Sound Card (one of the top of the range SB's..) and get speakers in the $100-$200 dollar range. At the computer swap meet i picked up $50 speakers 5.1 and they are bad... but doesnt matter...

 

So I would get cheaper speakers and a sound card!

[NKF]

I find my $20 to $30 (that's in New Zealand currancy, apply the necessary multipliers to get that in your own currency) headphones to be quite adequate. And I don't mean those the sort with little ear plugs, I mean with proper ear muffs and a comfortable head band.

 

You wouldn't want to be seen in public with these on (especially if it's plugged into a device smaller than it - like a key-chain sized flash key with optional built in mp3 player). 'twould be silly (but the sounds would be great - and you'd lose audio awareness of everything happening around you - a hazard indeed!).

 

Mind you, with most headphones, the sound output is only as good as the device you plug it into. However, spending a bit extra on headphones really does make a difference. No, no, that's not to say you should spend a lot of money. It need not be expensive or carry a flashy brand name - it just has to be good (although, well known brands do have slightly better quality control).

 

I hear there are 5.1 surround sound headphones as well, but they cost a lot of money. Sounds interesting, but how much do you really want to immerse yourself in whatever it is you want to use your speakers/headset with? Will your audio devices support it?

 

But of course, if you have the money, go for it. If not - get the best you can obtain, within your budget, but be prepared to hold off just a little longer as there's always the possibility of getting something much better by saving up and putting in just a little bit more. (Look at it this way, I've wasted a lot of money on dirt cheap headphones. They either snapped in half or had such weak cables that they were easily yanked out of the connector - after investing in slightly more expensive headset, it has lasted me for ages)

 

My preference for headphones is mainly because I don't want to make too much of a noise around me - and there's always the risk of offending neighbours who are armed with telephones.

 

- NKF