5.1 PC Speaker set advice

KdjaCL

Looking for a set of speakers for my PC (AC 97 built in codec on Abit KV7 may upgrade to Audigy is this not good enough)

AC'97 2.2 S/PDIF extension compliant Codec

18-bit, 6 channel DAC outputs

1 Hz resolution VSR (Variable Sampling Rate) on all channels

Integrated IEC958 line driver for S/PDIF

S/PDIF compressed digital or LPCM audio out

Hardware downmix option to 2 channels

3D stereo expansion for simulated surround

18-bit independent rate stereo ADC

4 stereo, 2 mono analog line-level inputs

Second line-level output with volume control

External Audio Amplifier Control

Low Power consumption mode

Exceeds Microsoft® WHQL logo requirements

3.3V digital, 3.3 or 5V analog power supply

48-pin LQFP small footprint package

Budget of about 250 euro ,be nice if they Creative as i have a mate who works there 25% discount

Anyone got a decent set? dont want to buy and not be happy with what i got.
For Living room use and watching movies with correct speaker set up (height etc )

kdjac

aaf

Don't know the in's and out's of Speakers and that but I bought the Altec Lansing 5100 Enhanced 5.1 Speaker System from overclockers. I did a lot of research, reading a lot of reviews and found these suited my musical needs. Great sound from them and they look **** cool. I have them hooked up to my pc. Here's a pic:

Xithus

This is not a bad deal.

http://www.peats.ie/cgi-bin/shop/db.cgi?view=1&id=7264&type=6&sid=677780x0 be even better with 25% off.

KdjaCL

They seem to be very weak in terms of wattage , my old speakers for amp had 70 to 100 watts per speaker.

Would like to use it for music,movies ,home entertainment thingy.

kdjac

Pacifico

Got a set of these myself. Excellent sound. And hight wattage if thats what your looking for. And with that 25% discount it almost comes down to 250 or there abouts

KdjaCL

oh they look nice , i get 25% off the pre retail price so could get them for about 190.

Have to get the Audigy to get the best out of them.

kdjac

Pacifico

190! jesus nice price. I got them for 250 in Germany a while ago. Plus i had to bring tham back on the plane :rolleyes:

Twined with an Audighy the sound is Amazing.

_CreeD_

Using Wattage to determine loudness is a common misconception, expecially when you're dealing with the speaker wattage as it's just a statement of their max capacity, not the actual power going into them. The Sensitivity of the speakers will determine just what SPL you get out of them, of course the input power plays a part but High wattage into low sensitivity speakers is still going to be low. Look at the harmonic distortion and frequency response (not just the stated limits like the usual 20-20Khz, try to find the manufacturers freq. plot), human ears are more and less sensitive at certain frequencies and cheaper speakers tend to dip and peak in all the wrong areas - end result being you hearing a weaker signal than the initial power rating would lead you to believe. Computer surround systems are generally good for nearfield listening but don't work well spread around the average living room, they're just not designed for it, but if you plan on keeping them close to the PC and you'll be fine.

Civilian_Target

If you can pick up a Videologic DigiTheatre from somewhere, they come highly recommended. Unfortunately they went out of production a year ago, dunno why.

KdjaCL

Originally posted by _CreeD_
Using Wattage to determine loudness is a common misconception, expecially when you're dealing with the speaker wattage as it's just a statement of their max capacity, not the actual power going into them. The Sensitivity of the speakers will determine just what SPL you get out of them, of course the input power plays a part but High wattage into low sensitivity speakers is still going to be low. Look at the harmonic distortion and frequency response (not just the stated limits like the usual 20-20Khz, try to find the manufacturers freq. plot), human ears are more and less sensitive at certain frequencies and cheaper speakers tend to dip and peak in all the wrong areas - end result being you hearing a weaker signal than the initial power rating would lead you to believe. Computer surround systems are generally good for nearfield listening but don't work well spread around the average living room, they're just not designed for it, but if you plan on keeping them close to the PC and you'll be fine.

Previous living room set up was :

Sony Receiver STr 475
2 Radium
2 harmon kardon surround
powered woofer
Sony centre

Average of about 70 watts filled the room very well, most PC speaker systems i looked at had low watt on the surrounds (5-15) i reckon 40+ is needed.
no point in me buying the standard PC speaker systems as they powerful enough.
That THX one is actually better than my old setup
And i use the L and Rs for music ,loud music most of time so needed 70+ on them alone to shake the floor.

Hence me posting here in Home rather than tech

Ordered those THX ones find out price on monday when he back in work.

Kdjac