speakers

[Deleted]

Hello,

I'm looking to get myself a pair of speakers, but having a hard time picking out a good set.

Main use will be music, since while gaming I would use my headset more often than not. Would be nice to have 5.1, but it depends. One of the main concerns is the size. I don't really have much space to place them, so a 5 piece system i out of the question. Regarding price, I was hoping to spend up to 130-150 euro on them.

[Deleted]

1. For music 5.1 is a waste as most (if not all) music is in stereo. For movies it can be an impressive experience if you have it configured properly and it's a good speaker setup.
2. If you decide on a 5.1 system, expect to pay about 60% more for the same sound quality.

At your budget, no 5.1 setup is worth it in my opinion. Get a nice 2.1 speaker system instead, especially since you said your main use will be music (and because you pointed out that you won't have space to place the 5 satellites properly).

I'd look into the Logitech Z623. They are a very decent pair of computer speakers that deliver a fairly nice listening experience. With your budget, I don't think you can aim much higher.

[Deleted]

If your main use case is listening to music you might want to consider trying some active studio monitor systems. Unfortunately decent monitoring speakers will cost 250€ upwards if new.

Also, if it's a traditional desktop speaker set, my advice would be to narrow down the possibilities to about 3 sets, according to your budget and optical preferences. Then order all three sets at amazon, test them at home and send back the ones you won't be using . Sound is highly dependant on the room that needs to be filled and just because something sounds good in a store, it isn't guaranteed it'll sound good in your room.

Edit:

Two links to studio monitor systems in your budget range:

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MAudioAV40.html
http://www.rolandus.com/products/pro...6&ParentId=105

[eErike]

Sound is highly dependant on the room that needs to be filled and just because something sounds good in a store, it isn't guaranteed it'll sound good in your room.

That have to do with how you set it up, not the speakers themselfs. Music waves can amplify and dampen each other, if you place them bad (mainly towards eachothers) or if you have a bad bounce with the sound waves on you walls (aka, waves bounces in different paces between the speakers making them even out before they reach you) you'll experience them as bad sound.

[Deleted]

That have to do with how you set it up, not the speakers themselfs. Music waves can amplify and dampen each other, if you place them bad (mainly towards eachothers) or if you have a bad bounce with the sound waves on you walls (aka, waves bounces in different paces between the speakers making them even out before they reach you) you'll experience them as bad sound.

You are - of course - right . Especially considering we aren't talking about four digit priced hifi components, but a near field monitoring application - i.e. direct sound will definitely reach the listener before any secondary reflections and those won't even be very strong. But angle of radiation and general frequency patterns of the speaker will have different effects in different rooms. That aside - only a few ppl will completely reconfigure their rooms to accomodate for some ~150€ speakers - so in my opinion it's more efficient to pick the speakers that sound the best in the given room.

[eErike]

You are - of course - right . Especially considering we aren't talking about four digit priced hifi components, but a near field monitoring application - i.e. direct sound will definitely reach the listener before any secondary reflections and those won't even be very strong. But angle of radiation and general frequency patterns of the speaker will have different effects in different rooms. That aside - only a few ppl will completely reconfigure their rooms to accomodate for some ~150€ speakers - so in my opinion it's more efficient to pick the speakers that sound the best in the given room.

Yea, supose not everyone is a sucker for physics as I am :>

[Deleted]

AV40 look promising, but what's the actual difference between Monitor Speakers and your normal ones?

[Deleted]

The OP asks for advice with a budget range of $120-150 and you start suggesting studio monitors for almost twice as much?

[Deleted]

Logitech Z623 best buy for that $

[Deleted]

Pay a tiny bit more and grab some Corsair SP2500's

[Deleted]

Erm, sorry but for a student extra 100 quid is not a "tiny bit more" >_>

[Deleted]

Erm, sorry but for a student extra 100 quid is not a "tiny bit more" >_>

Sry m8 was thinking GBP and not Euro's

[Deleted]

The OP asks for advice with a budget range of $120-150 and you start suggesting studio monitors for almost twice as much?

..., I was hoping to spend up to 130-150 euro on them.

The m-audio A40 are available at ~ 90€

Monitor speakers are tuned to reproduce sound neutrally and in a mostly linear fashion. They aim to reproduce the signal as true to the source as possible.

Most desktop surround sets are tuned to reproduce gaming sounds. This isn't really ideal for musical applications. Often the tuning aims to impress at first glance, overexaggerating certain bands of bass frequencies (via the subwoofer tuning) and ignoring mids and highs.

[Deleted]

Not to derail the thread, but I know plenty of people (read: audiophiles) who prefer the "exaggerated" sound of normal speakers over the "clean" sound of studio monitors. I did miss the euro part so thanks for that, which does make the M-Audio AV 40s a good pick around €100. You can always complement with a subwoofer later on.