The Best Computer speakers under $200?

[hansnothanz]

Im new to the LinusTechTips forum and i need some help deciding what speakers to buy, i currently use some old altec lansing speakers that my father gave to me a long time ago and now that ive saved up some money im thinking of buying new speakers that will sound great for music listening (top 40 listener, don't judge me  ) and for gaming ( Battlefield 4, Dota 2)

 

Im currently drawn to the Harman Kardon Sound Sticks III...

 

Can you guys post some of your recommendations? that would be appreciated

 

 

UPDATE: im looking for a 2.1 set up 

[hansnothanz]

forgot to add in my post im looking for a 2.1 set up :3

[Lutkeveld]

Logitech Z632, Corsair SP, Klipsch ProMedia

[hansnothanz]

how do they compare to the Harman Kardon ones?

[ShearMe]

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 if you can find them.

[smjpl]

@BansheeDee

 

Can I make a suggestion? Buy $50 speakers and $150 headphones?

 

Gaming, music and movies will all sound way better on headphones at that price range. I find you need to spend a lot of money to get a really nice speaker setup. Spending $200 won't get you a far superior listening experience than $50 will. On the other hand, $150 will get you something like a pair of Sennheiser HD558's or equivalent which will sound way better than a $200 speaker set up. The main benefit of the expensive speaker systems is that you can play music a lot louder with much less distortion than cheaper speakers.

 

If you mainly use your computer on your own, go with open ear headphones (something like HD518/HD558). You won't regret it.

[hansnothanz]

i see, so what do you think is the best pair of headphones for $150? 

[Lutkeveld]

I find you need to spend a lot of money to get a really nice speaker setup. Spending $200 won't get you a far superior listening experience than $50 will. 

 

You can say the same about headphones. Above 100-150 dollar 'better sound' will get subjective very fast. 

If you're spending >150 dollar on speakers, it's more important to set them up right or get room treatment than to spend more money.

Huge bonus of proper speakers are that you can 'feel' the music/sound. Feeling the rumble when an explosion hits is amazing .

[smjpl]

You can say the same about headphones. Above 100-150 dollar 'better sound' will get subjective very fast. 

 

That is why I am saying get headphones. It gets very subjective past the $150 range. $1000 headphones aren't way better than $150 headphones. The same is not true for speakers. $1000 speakers setup (amp + speakers) will be much better than $200 speakers but $200 ain't that much better than $50.

 

 

 

 

Huge bonus of proper speakers are that you can 'feel' the music/sound. Feeling the rumble when an explosion hits is amazing .

 

 

While this is true, the flip side is what you don't get is the pin point accuracy from the huge soundstage you get with open ear headphones. I find you miss out on the finer details with speakers. I suppose it depends on the person and what they like. You seem to love the 'feel' (bass rumbling) where I love the finer detail (hearing singers almost whisper into your ear, hear sounds you will have never have heard before). I love when songs use fade to alternate whether the sound is coming from the left or right speakers. Sounds so good in open ear headphones. You can really hear the music travel into the distance getting more and more quiet as it travels.

 

Again it depends on the person. I would advise normal speakers and top quality headphones vs an okay set of speakers (in the grand scheme of speakers). To be honest I am not a fan of computer speakers anyway. I think most don't sound very good to begin with. Haven't tried any top of the line ones but I do have a pioneer amp (A-209R) and a set of cube/satellite speakers from wharfdale and D.A.S (similar size to computer speakers) and these still don't cut it. They are decent but still not what I would expect from a high end setup (well high end compared to computer speakers). TBH they are better, but nowhere near the improvement that I get when listening to my AD700 headphones. I still drool over my headphones.

[smjpl]

i see, so what do you think is the best pair of headphones for $150? 

 

Sorry I didn't see your reply. You should use the 'quote' button on the message you wish to reply to or you can notify people by putting the '@' symbol directly in front of their username (like I did in my first post).

 

I would advise the Sennheiser HD558 currently $117 or the Sennheiser HD518 for $79

 

There are definitely others out there that are worth considering but if you are not arsed doing research, these are a good choice. The 518 being $79 means you could put nearly $120 towards speakers and the 518's are very similar to the 558's. I think that would be a very good compromise. Shop around though and ask other peoples opinions too.

[Lutkeveld]

Agree, speakers have much higher production cost than headphones.

 

The choice really depends on the person, but a simple 2.1 set from Creative or Logitech with a proper ~100 dollar headphones will certainly give a good experience.

I'm the type of person that has good headphones laying around but prefers the freedom of speakers, even if that comes with the cost of lower quality sound.

I probably use my speakers : headphones, 7 : 3.