Good Speaker Setup

[JLCitadel]

How many speakers, what positions, (Standing, shelf, floor[bass]) I know nothing about this area. is there someone who could inform me a little bit on a decent speaker setup?

 

a setup for different possible price ranges?

 

100$

 

250$

 

500$

 

1000$?

 

What the recommended price range is for quality:price

 

I'll be doing gaming and watching movies.

[deguzi]

im not much to advise on desktop speakers, but linus did a couple of reviews in the $400 and $500 range if you havent already seen

 

[JLCitadel]

im not much to advise on desktop speakers, but linus did a couple of reviews in the $400 and $500 range if you havent already seen

 

 

I was thinking this might be alright.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121044

 

Doesn't look like you really need to put much into it to get a decent quality.

[NannerBeans]

I was thinking this might be alright.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121044

 

Doesn't look like you really need to put much into it to get a decent quality.

 

At that price, surround is pretty bad. You are better off going to a 2.0 system. For sub $100 I suggest either Creative gigaworks or passive bookshelf speakers (Dayton B652 or Pioneer SP-BS21 gets my vote) and a Lepai 2020A+ amp. Closer to $200 to $300 either Audioengine A2+ or CEntrance 2504 with the same Lepai amp. The A5s are great at $350 but above that I do not know. Note that the audioengines come on Massdrop a lot so you have save a bit by waiting for when it comes up again. 

 

Edit: I think you could get a pretty good surround system at $500 but I do not know of one and personally, I do not think it would be worth the investment. 

[xyza]

SPEAKERS
Budget end speakers (below $150)

- Altec Lansing VS2621($47 – $60), 2.1, better bass than most at this price.
- Creative Gigaworks T20 ($75 – $80), 2.0, better overall sound and detail than most at this price.
- Edifier M3200 ($70 – $100), 2.1, Cleaner than many in the price with a half decent sub for the price.
- Altec Lansing FX3021 ($109 – $150), 2.1, Good speaker if you can get it cheap. I don’t want to pay $150 though.
- Edifier M2600 ($109 – $150), 5.1, Possibly the best low budget 5.1 around.
- Swan M10
- MicroLabs C6 Solo or any other solo model

~$250 Range

- Edifier S330D (~$180), 2.1, Very rare speakers. Great sound for the price and decent amount of bass. Possibly better than both Altec and Creative below.
- Altec Lansing MX6021 ($180-$220), 2.1, Good amount of bass (not as tight as Creative), clean for the price. Goes very loud.
- Creative Gigaworks T3 (~$210), 2.1, Great tight bass, good sound, but lacks a little in the mid (hence some people has described them as tinny). Goes very loud, and is similar in quality to MX6021.
- Audioengine A2 ($219), 2.0, good balanced sound, not “gut shakingly bassy”. You can buy a sub (Works well with Audioengine S8 according to tisb0b, ~$399) module for them for a lot of money.
- Behringer MS40 (~$209), 2.0, a “studio monitor”. Good clarity and flat response. A little lacking in emotion (I’d also consider the Truth version [ B1030A ] for about $50 more).
- M-Audio AV40 (~$230 – ~$269), 2.0, another “studio monitor”. Bit bassier than MS40, but slightly less detailed. More suited to electronic music than acoustic.
- Harman Kardon Sound Sticks II/III ($250ish), 2.1, a pretty good package for the price as you would expect from HK. Great sound, but lacks a little clarity. The bass is pretty good, but some people find the artistic appearance a turn off. SSIII is supposed to be an improved version, especially in the subwoofer.
Swan D1080-iv ($249), 2.0, Excellent sound for the price. Smooth, detailed, strong mid range presence.

~$400 Range

- Klipsch Promedia/Promedia GMX 2.1 ($280 – $320), 2.1, Discontinued import to Australia. Great detail and one of the cleanest bass in anything of this type. Some background hum, and may annoy some people.
- Swan M50W ($299 / $349), 2.1, Great detail, good all rounder with superb sound. Stylish brushed metal wired remote. Strong performer in "Value for money" sense.
- Edifier S730 ($350 – $450), 2.1, One of the best sounding "PC speakers". Not as detailed as some of the Swan above, but a good balance of everything.
- Audioengine A5 ($349 – $399), 2.0, One of Whirlpool’s favourites, you can add a sub module (Audioengine S8, ~$399), but it is pricey.
- Edifier S550 ($330 – $350), 5.1, One of the better sounding 5.1 around for the price.
- Logitech Z5500/Z906 (~$400), 5.1, Okay sound, but not so much a recommendation on the basis of sound quality, but one of the only 5.1 with digital inputs.
- M-Audio BX5A (RRP $399), 2.0, Supposed to be a “studio monitor” but it’s not that flat in response. It is actually quite bass heavy, and more suited to DJ monitoring and parties than studio use. Each speaker is powered and amped individually. Great sound.

Above $400

There are many options above this price point, but you are starting to set foot into Hi-Fi region. You may wish to consider some things like a small T-amp module (off ebay starting at under $100) and a set of “Bookshelf speakers” (starting about $300, you can get beginner hi-fi ones such as the Wharfedale Diamond 10.1).
- Aktimate Mini (~$550 RRP599)), 2.0, Great all around. Starting to get into the Hi-fi sound. Made in Australia. iPod dock.
- Swan M200 MKIII ($450 – $500), 2.0, Has bass and treble controls, similar level of detail to Audio Engine A5's.
- Swan H4 ($500 – $600), 2.0, Dedicated DAC with volume control recommended because each speaker has its own volume control on the front and only has RCA input. Smaller than the MKIII's and Audioengine A5's and a step up in sound quality.

- Swan M60 5.1 ($949) - The strong point of this system is the subwoofer which features x2 6 inch subs, satellite speakers suffer due to it being a 5.1 system.

 

Subs

- Audioengine S8 ($399)- probably the best for the price, I've heard better though

- Swan H10 ($869) - I trust any Swan product so this is here as well

 

Most of it are Whirlpool recommendations with some of my own. I own the Swan D1080-IV, Audioengine A5+ and S8 

 

My recommendations in bold

[NannerBeans]

Those Swan D1080 Mark IV are the ones on Massdrop I mentioned. Those are really tempting but I already have speakers and those are too big for my taste.

 

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/swan-d1080-mk-iv-speakers

 

Edit: JK I mentioned those in another thread. 

[xyza]

Those Swan D1080 Mark IV are the ones on Massdrop I mentioned. Those are really tempting but I already have speakers and those are too big for my taste.

 

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/swan-d1080-mk-iv-speakers

 

Edit: JK I mentioned those in another thread. 

What speakers do you have? I have some pics so you could compare them with the well known A5+

 

http://imgur.com/a/V2idF#4

[NannerBeans]

What speakers do you have? I have some pics so you could compare them with the well known A5+

http://imgur.com/a/V2idF#4

I have CEntrance 2504 with a lepai amp.

[Paralectic]

im not much to advise on desktop speakers, but linus did a couple of reviews in the $400 and $500 range if you havent already seen

 

Honestly these are trash, @LinusTech isn't really knowing what he's doing speaker wise ( opinion )

These are overpriced fashion speakers, same as Beats. Sure they won't sound bad but you get way better audio solutions at these price points.

 

I'd get a pair of Audio Engine speakers paired with a good subwoofer, it will cost you like 600 bucks.

[deguzi]

Honestly these are trash, @LinusTech isn't really knowing what he's doing speaker wise ( opinion )

These are overpriced fashion speakers, same as Beats. Sure they won't sound bad but you get way better audio solutions at these price points.

 

I'd get a pair of Audio Engine speakers paired with a good subwoofer, it will cost you like 600 bucks.

he makes a damn good salesman then

[JLCitadel]

@xyza i'm having a hard time find any speakers you listed available in america

[NannerBeans]

@xyza i'm having a hard time find any speakers you listed available in america

Swans are hard to find. Here is one on massdrop and it should be great.

 

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/swan-d1080-mk-iv-speakers

 

I think the only place to get the other swans is audioinsider. Just google swan speakers and they should come up. Almost everything else can be found on Amazon. I really recommend either the Swan speakers in the Massdrop or audioengines. 

[JLCitadel]

Swans are hard to find. Here is one on massdrop and it should be great.

 

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/swan-d1080-mk-iv-speakers

 

I think the only place to get the other swans are audioinsider. Just google swan speakers and they should come up. Almost everything else can be found on Amazon. I really recommend either the Swan speakers in the Massdrop or audioengines. 

 

What's a good bass to pair with those speakers?

[NannerBeans]

What's a good bass to pair with those speakers?

 

You mean sub? Subs are kinda hard because the good ones are very expensive and big and any cheaper and they are not good for music. The Audioengines especially the A5 are fine without one. The Swan probably fine without one as well. But SVS subs are suppose to be pretty much the best but the cheapest one I think is $500. Also, subs need to be tuned to your specific setup. 

[JLCitadel]

You mean sub? Subs are kinda hard because the good ones are very expensive and big and any cheaper and they are not good for music. The Audioengines especially the A5 are fine without one. The Swan probably fine without one as well. But SVS subs are suppose to be pretty much the best but the cheapest one I think is $500. Also, subs need to be tuned to your specific setup. 

 

Alright I'll pick up those speakers this summer. will they still be on the site? looks like limited quantity

[NannerBeans]

Alright I'll pick up those speakers this summer. will they still be on the site? looks like limited quantity

No Massdrop only has sales for a week once it's up because its a group buy. However Audioengines are on Massdrop quite often so if you keep checking it like once a week they'll come back on. 

[JLCitadel]

No Massdrop only has sales for a week once it's up because its a group buy. However Audioengines are on Massdrop quite often so if you keep checking it like once a week they'll come back on. 

 

Could you explain the group buy a bit? it confused me.

[NannerBeans]

Could you explain the group buy a bit? it confused me.

Well how massdrop works is that depending on how many people buy it, the price goes down. You just commit to buy and you pay Massdrop and at the end of the drop, the retailer sends a giant shipment of all of them to Massdrop and then they ship it out to you. Audio stuff on Massdrop is usually cheaper because the retailer is willing to sell at a lower price since it's a group buy.

[xyza]

What's a good bass to pair with those speakers?

Hey, if you plan on buying the swans don't geta sub straight away because you may find that you don't even need a sub which is why I prefer the swans over the a5+ if I had to buy a new set of speakers. Just leave the bass knob at 12 o' clock and the treble to max or 12 o' clock and handle the bass with a software EQ (with foobar IIR filter recommended).

 

The bass knob increases everything from ~50hz to ~250hz and starts to found muffled when you turn it up