Speakers :)

[apollos]

K, used the search feature and found nothing relevant on the first page so please don't spank me for asking a question that might have been asked before


I currently have a Creative 5.1 setup, 5watt sattelites, and 25watt subwoofer, but it lacks balls, distorts when I turn it up too much, and generally it doesn't give the best sound... even with EAX 4.0 enabled.. it's good but no good enough.

14 feet x 10.5 feet (4.3m x 3.2m) is the size of my room.

I was wondering, I need recommendations for some quality speakers, preferably wooden cased, I remember my old ones were nice, big and wooden, and they had quite a bit of power to them. I was wondering if 4 speakers, one in each corner of my room is good enough, or whether I need 4.1, for a subwoofer to give me some richer bass?

Do I really need anything over a couple hundred watts? Any specifics technically I should be looking for, I really want a system that gives rich and accurate sound, and I need an amplifier right, if I want to connect my TV and my PC to my speakers, and maybe something else like a hi-fi system if I buy one.

Thank you all

[shakey_snake]

same size room (a dorm room) and I've got the 75 watt creative 5.1 analog system, and it's nice. And I think running the Kx drivers helps.
7.5 to each satalite I think and 37.5 to the sub.
[edit]And remember. lossy formats probably create more Total harmonic distortion, than any half-decent audio system

[apollos]

Kx drivers... I've heard about those in the past, but no EAX support if I am correct?

[shakey_snake]

Yes.

[gaekwad2]

Depends on what you want, for music playback I'd rather invest in one pair of good speakers than a mediocre surround setup.

[mysterious_w]

I would have no idea, I've only got generic PC speakers.

[apollos]

Originally posted by gaekwad2
Depends on what you want, for music playback I'd rather invest in one pair of good speakers than a mediocre surround setup.

I'm looking to spend around a thousand pounds on speakers and maybe the amplifier, I want some real quality speakers, I don't really mind how much they are, I just want quality, I've settled with mediocre speakers for too long, I want power, rich bass, accurate sound and no distortion.

[CaboWaboAddict]

I have the 5.1 line outs hooked to a Technics 120 watt surround amp feeding a pair of Bose bookshelf speakers for the front channels and Kenwood's for the surround, center, and sub.

Real nice sound and it will shake the house.

If your on a budget, I recommend buying two real good speakers. Later add an amp. Then still later add the surrounds.

[gaekwad2]

Find a shop that lets you borrow some and test them at home. If you're willing to pay that much they should do it.

[apollos]

Originally posted by CaboWaboAddict
I have the 5.1 line outs hooked to a Technics 120 watt surround amp feeding a pair of Bose bookshelf speakers for the front channels and Kenwood's for the surround, center, and sub.

Real nice sound and it will shake the house.

If your on a budget, I recommend buying two real good speakers. Later add an amp. Then still later add the surrounds.

hmm Bose... somebody else reccomended me those, I'll take a look around now, being on a budget isn't so much an issue, I'm getting this new setup in 6 months once my room's totally redone.

[deeder7001]

i hear newer infinity speakers are nice. i have an older pair of infinity speakers. they are very very nice. they sound awsome.

[apollos]

Originally posted by deeder7001
i hear newer infinity speakers are nice. i have an older pair of infinity speakers. they are very very nice. they sound awsome.

yeah, I want some like the ones I had a few years ago, I made the mistake of throwing them out thinking they were old and crap, the fool I am. Something I really don't want is the silly little 5.1 systems... I have absolutely no use for 5.1 anyway, the center speaker effectively destroys stereo, as I mainly listen to mp3s or watch divx films in stereo anyway.

thank you for mentioning this, the bookshelf speakers on the infinity site look pretty much like the kind of thing I want... now to look at some specs

[edit] the floorstanding Infinity BETA 50 looks really good, 250 watts too... only thing is it'd probably vibrate a little too much on the floor, my parents might moan when watching TV... I might just get some anyway, they do look really nice


"The Infinity Beta 50 also features an improved tweeter that delivers extended high-frequencies out to 40kHz. Perfect for SACD or DVD-Audio" that sounds very promising

[deeder7001]

if you want a 5.1 system just buy 4 infinity speakers and a center channel speaker and hook it all up with a 6 channel amp.

[Russ]

Don't buy Bose. There's a reason they're a running joke in the trade.

In general, you get what you pay for, but in many cases with audio kit you don't even get that. If it sounds like bullshit, it probably is. And bullshit is especially prevalent in the high-end consumer audio market.

Buy from Richer Sounds. Really. Do not buy from anyone else unless there's a well-researched valid reason for doing so . They are so much cheaper than anywhere else.

[deeder7001]

what's wrong with infinity speakers?

[Russ]

I didn't say anything about Infinity, from what I've heard they have a fairly good reputation, especially for home cinema type stuffs.

[apollos]

hmmm... Russ has raised an interesting question... do I get two good speakers for stereo or do I get 4 for surround sound, because I like the whole room to be filled with music, from infront and behind me...

[deeder7001]

the two infinitys that i have fill the room just fine. even though they are bookshelf speakers.

[simon snowflake]

apollos, i'll leave you my addres incase you want to lose your old spealker set.
I currently don't even have speakers.

[CaboWaboAddict]

Originally posted by Russ
Don't buy Bose.

I disagree. I like a lot of their products. There's a running joke about a lot of other things too. Sometimes it stems from jealousy.

But aside from all of that shit... apollos, you need to go make a side by side comparison of the sound in an environment that approximates your room. That's the only way you'll be happy with what you buy.

[apollos]

CaboWaboAddict, good point, I'm gonna go down Richer Sounds and ask a little, I want to find out a little bit about amplifiers too... and how I can have an external hard drive where I can dump my mp3s too so I can listen to music without my being being on at all.

thank you all for your advice, it's really helped, if there's anything else that needs be said, makes recommended, I'd be very grateful indeed. cheers guys

[shakey_snake]

For a quality sound system, just buy anything that sounds Really Japanese.

[CaboWaboAddict]

Reawee?

[Phyltre]

replacing L's with w's is Chinese, not Japanese. Japanese would pronounce it more like a cross between L, r, and d.

Oh: and for anyone who wants to spend the money on a good pair of computer speakers, I strongly recommend getting one of the PHILIPS stereo systems that allows USB input. They have a really cool (but probably not too scientific) set of glowing sound meters on the front, great great base response, sound tweaking options, 5-CD (MP3 CD) playback, nice radio, etc. for around $150.00. It also has a video-game-in slot in the front with left-right audio, and allows you to blend the video game sounds in with your favorite music through the stereo, with several equalizer presets for different types of video games. And an impressive Bass Boost option.

The computer automatically recognizes it as a sound output (no drivers actually needed, though the instructions ask you to install a MusicMatch CD, which is just something they do to get money from MusicMatch) and you can buy like a 20-foot USB cable to put the sound from your computer wherever you want it, through your GOOD speakers. I got my FW-C577 model on discount (display model) for $100.00, and they're absolutely great.

[shakey_snake]

Lip my hose! Lip them!

[Phyltre]

Do you mean hoes?