I'm getting a new set of surround sound speakers and I was thinkin of the Altec Lansing FX5051 system. I've heard mixed reviews about this item but thats all that i've really found right now so should i go ahead and get them or could any of you reccomend something else in the 200 or below price range

Klipsch ProMedia GMX D-5.1 and Logitech Z-5300e are being discontinued. but if you can find them they're now less than $200 and they're good quality speakers for the price. Their original prices are close to aroun 300 dollars.

im useing logitech 5.1 dont know the model type though ,with sub and they are loud,had them for 1 year so far with no problams,great for games,  i think i payed about £120 <pound> for them ,

please stop spamming the forums with advertisements.

Logitech Z-5500 THX Certified 5.1 Speaker System with out a doubt for surround sound sytstem there still the best out there , for 2.1 system has to be razer mako , gonna get the razer setup soon , i dont like all the wires etc of multi speaker systems tbh.

I'm going to recommend you something quite different to what they have said above, as you are wanting to buy speakers for gaming. Its called the Philips amBX Premium kit, which gives you a 2.1 set of speakers, with a wall washer, a wrist rumbler and 2 fans. The speakers and the washer both have ambient lighting on them which change colour (there are around 2 million different colours) whilst you are playing games, the fans will blow into you when running in a game or flying etc. and the wrists rumbler will activate and make you feel like you are firing a bullet from a gun. Not to mention, the speakers give great surround sound and bass. I've played Call of Duty 4 with and without them and believe me, it changes so much and really makes you feel like you're really there, firing a colt or a sniper rifle and hiding in the jungle. They have recently dropped in price, and for all of the above it only costs around £170 from play.com.
 
If you want to take your games to the next level, please give them a go. You can find out more details at www.ambx.com.

So it's glowing, blowing, and shaking, therefore you have to pay twice as much?
 
 
I'd go for a good quality sound system instead of something like that.

well you do get a quality set of 2.1 speakers which give clear clarity surround sound, and it really does add a lot to the gaming. It may seem like its just a set of lights that glow, some fans that just blow and a rumbler that just shakes but trust me when I say you really have to try it to see and feel how much it can add to your current games.

2.1 gives stereo sound, not surround sound and without knowing who makes those speakers you can't really say what sort of sound they make especially as getting a good crossover between the subwoofer and speakers is not usually found in cheaper speakers.

For the price, though, you can get a MUCH better sound system than it comes with.

Oh, and if you want to feel like you're really there, hiding in the jungle, just fill your house with mosquitoes

I think you should try out the ambx stuff, you'll be more than pleasantly surprised

strangestranger obviously you havent heard the razor mako system , even though its 2.1 it does give surround sound , a tad expensive i know , but good god! the sound is awesome . very clever system imo and looks the biz too  
 
http://www.razerzone.com/p-90-raze [...] audio.aspx
 

p.s i know your gonna say its not true surround , but 'omni directional' gives the sense it is  
 
and common! dont they look stunning

that is physically impossible.
 
impressive claimed specs but still, not surround, surround speakers have to surround you, trickery does not count.

 
Heya,
 
This greatly depends on what soundcard you're using or plan to use. What's the point of getting expensive speakers that can really crank it out if you're just feeding them a noisy analog signal from your motherboard's built in audio? Need to know what you're using. If you have a quality card, then the latest from Logitech and Klipsch are fantastic for the cost. However, if you have a card that does digital-out, then I recommend you go spend your money elsewhere in the home-theater department; you don't have to use `computer speakers' when you have dts or spdif out. It opens up a whole new ball game for getting great sound systems without being limited to computer stuff.
 
Very best,

 
it is not really omni directional though.
 
Directional sound waves when reflected will not arrive at the same time.
Phase difference will occur. So it is not really omni directional source.  
Electrostatic speakers can only claim they are bi-directional and they are not cheap.