[jackdaw]

Hi
I have been looking for a cheap set of speakers (5.1)
I notice with Creative and Alt Lansing(?) their sets tend to be about 6W - 10W per
channel ??

Allthough when I look at the cinema systems with the DVD players
(i allready have a DVD player) they tend to be 60-100W per channel,

yet people have told me the creative / Alt Lansing (?) ones sound very nice
but surely with only 6W a channel (satellites - I think the woofer has about 50)
the sound can't be that great!!!
The alternative is to get an amp and decent speakers
but I don't want to spend 400€.

[mathias]

You shouldnt get hung up on watts , its a guide , but your ears are the best guide , now clearly the Creative sets and the Altec lansing will not match a real home cinema set , there is no comparison really , but may be fine for you at the moment.

One thing to be clear on , are the sets your looking at just speakers or is there a decoder and amp in there as well , Most Subs are active these days and fool a lot of people into thinking they are amps , they are not , and to use your DVD player you will need an amp or decoder to go with those speakers , that usually brings the price to around 200 euro for the set on average.

Its not much more to get a real home cinema package , ( those creatives and altecs are intended for offices or computer rooms )

The difference in power output may mean that the system will lose most of its punch in a big room , but if your are planning on using these in small setting they may well be fine.

The main thing is to let your ears judge.