Its not anything to do with sound cards, This much I am certain - they are just old and crap and I need to replace them. Since I am not an audiophile by any means I would just like a very cheap set of speakers from which I can get sound out of both ears, so can anyone reccomend me a new set to buy?

Logitech Z-5400 (about 200$) or Logitech Z-5500 (about 300$).

I have the Z-5400: it will blow your head off and sound quality is amazing for its price.

I recommend Edifier M3300/M3400 2.1 speakers($55)they have good sound quality,powerful(41 watt RMS) and cheap too.need cheaper one?take altec lansing BXR1121 2.1 spekear($35),though it's not so powerful, its sound quite natural and very cheap too.

not sure how cheap you mean, but for less than $150 the harmon kardon soundsticks II are a steal. Not the loudest out there, but are clear as a bell. Performance you'd expect from a much much more expensive set. All of the logitech, and altec lansing crap is loud as hell, but the sound quality is terrible. If all you do is game, they are cool, but listening to music is horrendous on them (unless you're some techno trance freak).

the Creative Gigaworks T20 2.0 Speaker System is very good for the price , if you want a no nonsense set up which looks good too for an awesome price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6836116006

Logitech is probably the best bang for the buck in all price ranges. I have three (cheap set, a fine mid-range 5.1 set, and a great 2.1 set with 200 watt). All have excellent sound and power for the price. I also have a nice mid-priced 2.1 set from Creative. Today I'd get the Z-2300 for $106 with free shipping if I wanted a 2.1 setup.

Yes I have the z2300 and they are killer speakers....It's amazing to feel the canon fire shake the room in bf2!
Also excellent for movies....which I watch quite a bit of.
If you have a best buy or future shop near buy take a trip down with your favorite disc and play with them....

Logitech Z-2300

I would suggest the Logitech speakers aswell, even though their sound quality dosnt compare to HK they usually have great value for there price.

Ice Tech ZERØ MK-460V 3.5mm Connector Supra-aural Behind-the-neck Headphone

It's cheap... it will get sound out of both ears...

<--puts dem on so he doesn't hear people shouting at him

How do you define cheap?

Do you want 2.0, 2.1, 5.1, or 7.1?

What's the primary use, gaming...music...movies or all of the above?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6836119008 ...we don't know if $170 is what you consider cheap, if so, these are a popular 2.1 system that are often recommended for the PC Multimedia application due to their audio quality.

The Logitech Z-2300 is cheap...both fiscally and aurally. ...but audio quality may not be paramount for you with this budget/application.

Can you give us a little info on your budget and intended use?

My experience with computers has always gave me the impression that the quality is not as high as even an entry level home theater system. On computer speakers, the treble never seems to have that crispness that the HT systems have. Of course the HT system will be much more, but depending on how much you are willing to invest, it may not be a bad option. Besides, if you end up getting a nice TV close to your computer, it can double its purpose.

by cheap I mean £25 and below, as I said all I really care about is not being deaf in my right ear in various games (ruins the atmosphere in HL2 when you can't hear what they're saying.... ). However I am anything but an audiophile so although better sound quality is nice, it is not the be all and end all and I'm not really willing to go over my budget for it..... and games is defintely the most important

Hey Spuddy, I don't what the conversion from US to Euros(?) is so forgive me that, however, around that bugdget you could consider: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6836116024

They're basic, but it sounds like that's what you're looking for.

pbrigido, you're right, if he has the budget and space for that, that's always a good suggestion. Even a lower end HT-in-a-box might do fine, if that's in the budget and you have the physical space for it and don't mind any aesthetic challenges it presents.

For £25 you're going to want headphones, speakers that cheap just aint gunna cut it i'm afraid. Get yourself some Sennheiser cans, they'll be MUCH better than any speakers you can get for £25. I don't understand how people can enjoy films/games with cheap audio - for me audio plays a much bigger part in the immersion than video. I'd say they ratio is about 60:40. Once you've started getting decent audio kit you'll never be able to look back - it increases your pleasure IMMENSELY!

Oh and Halycon the conversion rate for $ to £ (Not euros, Euros is € £ means Pounds Sterling, or GBP ) is about 2:1, although we pay more for things than you do. For example a game that's $60 in the US is £40 (About $80 ).