Which speakers?

Hi everyone. Didn't know where to post this so I posted it here. I was wondering if the Z Cinema speakers are any good? They're on sale at Tigerdirect for 99$.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicat [...] CatId=2893

Are they worth it? Or should I pay 60$ more for Z-2300? Please reply ASAP. I'm going to be using these speakers mostly for casual listening (music, movies, etc.) but sometimes I'd like to blast them really loud. thanks.

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You have a tonne of customer reviews right there. How many more do you need?

The reviews were all over the place which worries me a lot.

Personally, I'd get the M-Audio AV40 stereo set. The AV30's may be great for the money but I'd consider spending the extra money and get the M-Audio AV40. Shop around.

There's absolutely no way to get GREAT sound at less than $100 with PC speakers. My speakers could easily last decades so is it really that much to pay? In fact, cheaper speakers might break or you'll get sick of them and buy another set so why not go quality in the beginning?

You might think not having a subwoofer is a big deal, but the bass for the stereo is pushing the air right at you from a few away (which is why you want a large woofer in your stereo speakers) whereas the sub is under your desk. A sub's thumping sound will carry throughout the house a lot more if that's an issue. It is for me.

The M-Audio are very high quality speakers. Any complaints are minor. Actually some of the complaints were later rescinded because people grew accustomed to the speakers. We are so used to listening to missing low frequencies (headphones, cheaper speakers) that actually getting that bass sounds odd. After a while, headphones and cheap speakers become annoying.

Here's an Amazon link for the AV40.
http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Stud [...] B000SDLNKA

Other comments:

The AV40 has a headphone jack and a 3.5mm (standard) input on the front of the left speaker as well as volume control. For late night gaming I can just plug in my headphones and the sound automatically shunts to the headphones.

I had another 2.1 system and the subwoofer produced a buzzing sound (the amplifier) when not unplugged. I'm glad it broke.

Sound will also depend on the source and having a good quality sound card. Some cards can take a Surround Sound source and output a virtual 3D signal. I did a test at the Dolby site and it made a huge difference, though I do need a better audio card than my Creative Audigy 2 which was great but now just okay; I'm considering a new Auzentech but a great card is pretty expensive so I'll probably wait until I build a new system. You need your speakers placed properly to get the best effect.
http://www.dolby.com/consumer/tech [...] eaker.html

Message edited by photonboy on 04-24-2009 at 03:30:49 AM

Reply to photonboy

for the same price you could get a pair of GigaWorks T20s from Creative.

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Gig [...] B000EUGX7A

I've had a really good experience with these - great sound (I'm not an audiophile, but I can tell the difference between a $40 iPod dock and quality, and these are the latter). They are dead silent when not playing (no clicks/buzzes while idle), and, like the AV40, have a standard headphone jack on the left speaker which auto-switches when plugged in. Also has bass and treble adjust knobs, which are nice for switching between movies and games.

I've got two pairs of these (one on the family computer and one on my personal rig) and I really like them. They're quite durable, too. I move them around some for LAN parties, using w/ other computers, etc. and they still look like new (one pair is two years old and the more used pair is a year and a half). I'd really recommend them.

One minor thing: if you have something against LEDs, make sure you have basic tools and a soldering iron - there's a pretty bright LED indicator light on the front panel which comes on when you turn on the speakers. I've considered putting a resistor in there to dim it. It's not super distracting, just a heads-up in case you despise LEDs.

Reply to Andhrimnir

Firstly, I wanna say is don't believe in wattage rating of speakers. They speak little of speaker quality.

The T20 and its brother T40 have good sound quality although it lacks bass at lower volume and the treble is watered out at higher volume. The new Series II version does not have the LED problem.

The M-Audio AV40 beat them down though although at bigger size. If you have the space this is what I recommend as you want loud.

Another good set is http://www.amazon.co.jp/ONKYO-WAVI [...] y_e_text_b but it's hard to get on your side of the globe I guess. It will go well with this sound card http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product [...] d_i=489986 . More like nothing has beat these for playback as far as I have sound on computer I have used.

I would recommend you to steer away from the Z-2300 though, or any 2.1 set, I don't believe in consumer level speaker set with a sub as it's hard to make them without having problem at the crossover between the sub and the satellites.

@Photonboy: I wouldn't recommend a Creative card, last time I got a X-Fi Titanium to test (yeah I bought it to see how Creative fare now), and it was bad, the sound is unnatural, lacking in both mid and high frequency and the bass is muddy, overall the clarity is bad and I say it sound worse than the typical Realtek onboard out there. For virtual speaker effect for movies and games, a card with C-Media Oxygen HD chip like the HT Omega Claro series, or Asus Xonar series will fare well. And between these card I like HT Omega side better.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by thuan on 04-25-2009 at 04:10:39 AM

Reply to thuan

thuan wrote :

Firstly, I wanna say is don't believe in wattage rating of speakers. They speak little of speaker quality.

The T20 and its brother T40 have good sound quality although it lacks bass at lower volume and the treble is watered out at higher volume. The new Series II version does not have the LED problem.

The M-Audio AV40 beat them down though although at bigger size. If you have the space this is what I recommend as you want loud.

Another good set is http://www.amazon.co.jp/ONKYO-WAVI [...] y_e_text_b but it's hard to get on your side of the globe I guess. It will go well with this sound card http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product [...] d_i=489986 . More like nothing has beat these for playback as far as I have sound on computer I have used.

I would recommend you to steer away from the Z-2300 though, or any 2.1 set, I don't believe in consumer level speaker set with a sub as it's hard to make them without having problem at the crossover between the sub and the satellites.

I wouldn't say all 2.1 are bad, although I will agree that the quality 2.0 sets such as the one from M-audio definitely sound better. If you care more about power and bass than sound quality, the 2.1 are definitely the way to go, as they definitely have the edge in that department. I would say that their main disadvantage comes from the manufacturers' desire for small speakers - they tend to skimp on the satellites and compensate with the sub. This gives an end result where the crossover frequency is up as far as 120Hz in many cases, which means that you can very clearly hear that some frequencies are coming from the corner where the sub is, rather than from your mains as it should.

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Reply to cjl

@cjl: I didn't say all, did I. You're right on the reason too and another another is what I said before. It's really hard to calibrate them without noticing some problem at the crossover.

If you want a cheap 2.1 set with good sound I'd say a Klipse Promedia 2.1 will fare "good enough".

Reply to thuan

Agreed - I have owned the Klipsch setup, and it is definitely among the better of the 2.1 computer setups out there. Of course, if you have the budget, the only way to go is a good amp and separate speakers, but that does put the price quite a bit higher than most are willing to go. I have my computer hooked up to a Denon 2808 amplifier with B&W 685 mains and an SVS 16-46 PC-plus subwoofer, for example. Even though this is 2.1, it avoids the problem mentioned above because it crosses over at 60Hz. IMHO, it is far superior to any computer speakers that I have heard, but you definitely have to pay more to get that level of quality.

Message edited by cjl on 04-25-2009 at 04:34:55 AM

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Reply to cjl

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