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Can anybody recommend a decent 2.1 set of PC speakers? All I've found have been off-brands, Creative Giga-tech, and Logitech speakers.

The last good set I had was Cambridge Soundworks, but my now ex-wife spilled chocolate milk down the back of the desk, and shorted out the connectors on the subwoofer. I haven't seen a set of those in forever.

I'm looking at a budget of $150 or less. My ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 doesn't seem to have the beefiest of bass response (well, at least thru the headphone jack with Skull Candy ear buds). My laptop with beats audio blows it out of the water, audio-wise.

Any suggestions?

Cheap Chinese solid state amp driving a pair of Pioneer BS22 bookshelf speakers gets my vote. Great bang for the buck.

I have the M-Audio AV 40s, and have loved them. However, they don't have a subwoofer, but they're on Amazon for $119 w/Prime shipping (currently on back order). You can also pay $149.99+shipping if you don't want to wait Amazon to restock their supplies. You can always add a subwoofer later, but I've honestly not bothered with it because of how good the speakers sound.

Swan M10.

I have a set of these and love them for the price, multitude of connections options as well.


http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=0SD-0019-00002CVF&cm_re=edifier_speakers-_-0SD-0019-00002CVF-_-Product

Massdrop only gets them once every few months, but ya can snag some AudioEngine A2+ speakers for under that price when they do. Always tons of speakers on Massdrop at any given time.

Klipsch Promedia 2.1 set, if you want some bass .

Look for any $150+ set of powered studio monitors. No use going for 2.1, as any "subwoofer" will actually be a woofer, at most, since it's so small.

I used to have a pair of cheap creative 2.1 speakers that were surprisingly good given their low price.

They were really small on the desk, unlike my BX8 monitors so although the sound quality was a bit hiss-and-boom they were no worse than many other 2.1 systems and came with the advantage of a remote volume and bass control that included a headphone pass-through. Build quality was good and the

I'd recommend Creative speakers as a good budget option, as long as you're not expecting too much.
For what it's worth, Creative bought Cambridge Soundworks about a decade ago.

I would recommend the JBL creature speakers. I don't know if JBL still makes them but, I have the Creature II and I have had them for over 8 years with no problems. Best money I've spent on computer speakers.

For $150 budget, I'd probably get something like:

These speakers:Micca MB42X

And this amplifier:SMSL SA50

If you want to spend a little more to get a built in DAC (so you have the option to connect via USB) and don't mind sacrificing a bit of power (which you probably don't need if this is for nearfield use) then perhaps the Topping TP30

A setup like this will get you better sound fidelity than any computer speaker system I have heard for the money. I own a set of the Micca speakers, and while they don't work miracles, are pretty great for $80.

If bass is a priority, then you probably won't do much better than the Klipsch Promedias as already mentioned.

Thanks for the suggestions everybody!

Since the onboard Realtek HD has rather wimpy output (even after adjusting the equalizer a brazillion times), I'm going to save up for a Xonar DX, and look for Edifier, Klipsch Promedia, or AudioEngine A2+ speakers when I can find them on sale.


Thanks again!

*heads back to the dunce corner*

As others have already mentioned bookshelf speakers and an amp would be your best bet. Unless you want a boxed setup. I recommend reading this thread on building your own 2.1 setup.

morphine wrote:

Look for any $150+ set of powered studio monitors. No use going for 2.1, as any "subwoofer" will actually be a woofer, at most, since it's so small.

This.

Dizik wrote:

I have the M-Audio AV 40s, and have loved them. However, they don't have a subwoofer, but they're on Amazon for $119 w/Prime shipping (currently on back order). You can also pay $149.99+shipping if you don't want to wait Amazon to restock their supplies. You can always add a subwoofer later, but I've honestly not bothered with it because of how good the speakers sound.

I also have the same. No sub either. Need to get around to getting one. Best speakers ever. Speaking of which anyone have any ideas on a sub to go with the M-Audio 40s? (not to thread jack)

I actually have a pair of the M-Audios hooked up to my TV until I get my HTPC hooked back up post-move (and new baby which is slowing things down tremendously for all the best reasons-babies beat the pants off any movie any day) and I haven't been feeling the urge to stick a knife in my ear like I do with the built-in speakers on the TV and it gets loud enough (cleanly) that I can still enjoy a movie when everyone has gone to bed. Plus the second input on the front is fantastic when I just want to hook my phone while I unpack boxes. These are the kind of things you will always find a use for.
(Currently replacing a set of JBL Control 5s and a Pioneer AVR until I have time to run my cables).

Hz so good wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions everybody!

Since the onboard Realtek HD has rather wimpy output (even after adjusting the equalizer a brazillion times), I'm going to save up for a Xonar DX, and look for Edifier, Klipsch Promedia, or AudioEngine A2+ speakers when I can find them on sale.


Thanks again!

*heads back to the dunce corner*

Quick FYI - I tried the Xonar DX and took it back. Had all kinds of issues - even blue-screened my system. When the dust settled I still couldn't get what I needed from Optical out. Switched to a Sound Blaster Z, and have been pretty happy. http://www.soundblaster.com/products/so ... ter-z.aspx (Note: Used on a media center PC with Optical output. Tested using 5.1 video games, iTunes HD, Windows Media, YouTube, etc.)

I managed to get the Xonar USB thing to output encoded 5.1 over optical- but the driver interface/app is a pain in the ass.

From the X-Fi on, Creative's drivers (and hardware) just works.

JdL wrote:

Hz so good wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions everybody!

Since the onboard Realtek HD has rather wimpy output (even after adjusting the equalizer a brazillion times), I'm going to save up for a Xonar DX, and look for Edifier, Klipsch Promedia, or AudioEngine A2+ speakers when I can find them on sale.


Thanks again!

*heads back to the dunce corner*

Quick FYI - I tried the Xonar DX and took it back. Had all kinds of issues - even blue-screened my system. When the dust settled I still couldn't get what I needed from Optical out. Switched to a Sound Blaster Z, and have been pretty happy. http://www.soundblaster.com/products/so ... ter-z.aspx (Note: Used on a media center PC with Optical output. Tested using 5.1 video games, iTunes HD, Windows Media, YouTube, etc.)

Wow! I only was looking at the Xonar, since it's been featured in TR's System guides for, like, ever *even the newest guide). Guess I'll check out the soundblaster z, as well. I don't really listen music on the PC, just watch anime and play games, when I'm not running some crazy network simulations or doing 3D modeling/rendering or illustrating.

JdL wrote:

Switched to a Sound Blaster Z, and have been pretty happy

Tangent: please keep us posted about this. A quick Google search reveals problems with the drivers.

Xonar bloat reduced and functionality improved here:

http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

Captain Ned wrote:

Xonar bloat reduced and functionality improved here:

http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

+1 for the uni drivers. I use them and they rock.

Captain Ned wrote:

Xonar bloat reduced and functionality improved here:

http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

The Uni drivers are great work and I used them for a long time, but they can't fix what is fundamentally broken. Ever since I removed the Xonar D2X from my system, I've been a happier man.

My problem right now is finding a good sound card (external if possible) that will actually work like it's supposed to. That's becoming increasingly rare.

Airmantharp wrote:

Klipsch Promedia 2.1 set, if you want some bass .

I was pretty happy with my old 5.1 set up until one of the speakers died. I soon discovered that the 5.1 speaker market had shrank over the years to pretty much just Logitech. I have never had any luck with Logitech speakers so I went shopping for a 2.1 setup. I ended up with a set of Klipsch Promedia.

I was surprised at how good they sound and the sub woofer can put out some bass when its called for. You just gotta love the desk jumping and rattling when an explosion goes off in a game or movie. Don't worry, this set has more than just bass going for it. It sounds dang good with music as well. You can dial the bass down if you think its too much.

Edifier also has a few, although I'm not exactly convinced they're much better or worse...

Zoomastigophora wrote:

Swan M10.

That's a good price. I luv mine - got 'em for $89 B-stock, look brand new. M10 + Xonar DS and I'm very happy.

If you really need the subwoofer, you want the Klipsch 2.1's. If you want a head start on a good set of bookshelf speakers, the Dayton Audio B652 speakers and amp bundle will serve you well.

I've gotta give it up for the Klipsch Promedia 2.1's as well. I had a set for over eight years. The amp in my sub just recently died, although I'm pretty sure that was my fault. They're well worth the money...in all that time I never felt the need to replace them, and will be replacing the failed set with another of the same.

Also, I haven't seen this mentioned, but I did only skim the thread...the right speaker has a headphone jack on it in case your PC happens to not have a front headphone jack.

The Egg wrote:

morphine wrote:

Look for any $150+ set of powered studio monitors. No use going for 2.1, as any "subwoofer" will actually be a woofer, at most, since it's so small.

This.

The other perspective is that if you already have a system with compromised bass output and want to round out the response below 60-80Hz, and don't have a lot of room or money, a compact "subwoofer" unit can still be worthwhile. Is it technically a subwoofer? Perhaps not. But for example, I have a desktop setup where the 4" woofers in the 2-way bookshelves (Audioengine P4s) don't go below 65Hz. I picked up a sealed 8" compact sub for relatively cheap. I know it only reaches down to about 35Hz with any sort of output, but it still did wonders to add in some lower end response. Will it get me great low-end LFE or let me hear the lower registers of organ music? No. But it does it for just about everything else, which is plenty good for my desktop requirements.

Airmantharp wrote:

Klipsch Promedia 2.1 set, if you want some bass .

This! Still the best 2.1 computer speakers for my money, even 10 years later. Really can't be beat. You might even still be able to find them in a Best Buy to hear 'em for yourself. They pack a serious wallop.