I think picking speakers is really hard..

[Keen_Interest]

Picking new speakers is really hard in my opinion. I live in the country side in the UK, so there's nowhere near me to go and LISTEN to any of the speakers, I just don't know enough about speakers to pick the best. I've looked at so many set, so many reviews, but with the way speakers are reviewed, SO MANY of the sets of speakers sound like they're the same as each other! 

 

How are you meant to work out what's best?! (I have a £170-£180 budget..)

[Fox]

2.0, 2.1 or 5.1?

[Keen_Interest]

2.0, 2.1 or 5.1?

2.0 or 2.1

[Fox]

2.0 or 2.1

Have you looked at the Corsair SP2500? Linus has some videos about them and they seem to fit your budget.

[Keen_Interest]

Yeah, I looked at them, and I was thinking of getting a set, then some people started suggesting other speakers, so I took a second look around superfi and whatwifi and stuff, and I'm confused again..

[Old_Guy]

I can highly recommend the Corsair sp2500. But also a good suporting soundcard compliments them or any similar speaker system.

[Keen_Interest]

I can highly recommend the Corsair sp2500. But also a good suporting soundcard compliments them or any similar speaker system.

 

I have a Xonar Essence STX.. :)

[Old_Guy]

I have a Xonar Essence STX.. :)

With that soundcard and sp2500 Im sure you will be satisfied. There are some videos on youtube about the sp2500 where you can get an example of sound. sp 2500,s have very good reviews.

[notenoughtv]

I highly recommend the Audioengine 2 speakers. They are pretty compact and have amazing reviews. I have a pair myself. You can also get them in black

[Bazingaman18]

Just get the corsair sp2500 you will not be disappointed.

[FluffyNuggets]

I highly recommend the Audioengine 2 speakers. They are pretty compact and have amazing reviews. I have a pair myself. You can also get them in black

I have the A2's and they are amazing. They are so loud I only have them at like 15%!!! They sound really good after you break them in. 

[Keen_Interest]

So it seems either A2's or SP2500... Is that right?

[t0wer]

I'd go lepai amp and whatever speakers fit your budget.

I'm not a fan of "computer" speakers.

[NVgamer]

its so hard choosing sound card /speakers but I guess its all on the budget for the best sound.

 

Some of the little speakers just sound tinny and the sub just sounds over done when I had my sp2500 paired with xifi audio card, I've now switched over to a set a near field studio monitors( KRK RP 6's ) with my M-audio box for trs balance inputs on my speakers and gaming with movies just sound million times better.

 

Imo alot of these pc speakers are gimmicky with maybe a select few like Bose might be alright, but as the op stated his budget I would push for  set of studio monitors like Maudo , alesis, fostex

[Fonil]

I have the A2's and they are amazing. They are so loud I only have them at like 15%!!! They sound really good after you break them in. 

 

 

I highly recommend the Audioengine 2 speakers. They are pretty compact and have amazing reviews. I have a pair myself. You can also get them in black

 

These guys know what they are talking about absolutely some of the best computer speakers around.

[FluffyNuggets]

So it seems either A2's or SP2500... Is that right?

If you can live without the sub then I highly recommend the A2's. They do have a sub that goes with them but it's pretty expensive. 

 

The fun thing about the A2's is the Kevlar cone. You can just poke it over and over again and it's quite entertaining. Not too mention you can turn the speakers up and watch the papers on your desk get pushed around from the air coming out of the speaker.

 

I personally don't miss having a sub with my speakers anymore since the A2's have much better clarity then most those 2.1 gimmicky speakers. You can crank these bad boys up till your ears bleed and it doesn't distort. I can almost bet the Sp2500's will distort if you crank the sound up. You probably won't hear it though since the sub is there to cover up the awful highs on the speakers. 

[Fonil]

If you can live without the sub then I highly recommend the A2's. They do have a sub that goes with them but it's pretty expensive. 

 

The fun thing about the A2's is the Kevlar cone. You can just poke it over and over again and it's quite entertaining. Not too mention you can turn the speakers up and watch the papers on your desk get pushed around from the air coming out of the speaker.

 

I personally don't miss having a sub with my speakers anymore since the A2's have much better clarity then most those 2.1 gimmicky speakers. You can crank these bad boys up till your ears bleed and it doesn't distort. I can almost bet the Sp2500's will distort if you crank the sound up. You probably won't hear it though since the sub is there to cover up the awful highs on the speakers. 

 

HardOCP Did give the Sp2500's a Gold Award which is actually pretty damn impressive. Heres a link to the review

[G.Freeman]

Speakers are all a matter of opinion and taste.

[FluffyNuggets]

HardOCP Did give the Sp2500's a Gold Award which is actually pretty damn impressive. Heres a link to the review

Not sure I trust reviews that don't mention any negatives. At least I didn't see any negatives in that review, except for them being made of plastic which wasn't really a negative. No product is perfect, without any sort of flaws. It just doesn't ever happen, with anything. 

 

I can list plenty of negatives about the A2's but they are still great speakers. The sp2500's are good speakers but without flaws? I'm so sure. 

[Lyons]

Not sure I trust reviews that don't mention any negatives. At least I didn't see any negatives in that review, except for them being made of plastic which wasn't really a negative. No product is perfect, without any sort of flaws. It just doesn't ever happen, with anything. 

 

I can list plenty of negatives about the A2's but they are still great speakers. The sp2500's are good speakers but without flaws? I'm so sure. 

 

They're a computer hardware review site, not an audio equipment review site. I wouldn't get SP2500's in the beginning, let alone read a review on speakers by HOCP... I have no faith that Corsair could put together a decent set of speakers (especially at that pricepoint, jesus...) Get A2's or M-Audio AV40's if you want an compact active system. If you want a passive system, there's THOUSANDS of options out there.

[FluffyNuggets]

They're a computer hardware review site, not an audio equipment review site. I wouldn't get SP2500's in the beginning, let alone read a review on speakers by HOCP... I have no faith that Corsair could put together a decent set of speakers (especially at that pricepoint, jesus...) Get A2's or M-Audio AV40's if you want an compact active system. If you want a passive system, there's THOUSANDS of options out there.

Yeah I kinda figured that out reading their review. Testing really old games and watching DVDs? Yeah, that truly represents good sound lol. 

 

I agree, there's plenty of good speakers out there for way cheaper. I don't really see the sp2500's being worth $250 in all honesty. Nothing about them makes them worth more then other 2.1 speakers, well except the name. 

[Fonil]

Not sure I trust reviews that don't mention any negatives. At least I didn't see any negatives in that review, except for them being made of plastic which wasn't really a negative. No product is perfect, without any sort of flaws. It just doesn't ever happen, with anything. 

 

I can list plenty of negatives about the A2's but they are still great speakers. The sp2500's are good speakers but without flaws? I'm so sure. 

 

I guess I did not give it that thorough of a read, however I've met Kyle and the crew from the [H]ardforums, and they do take it very seriously and are as unbiased possible.

 

On a side note I've listened to both the A2's and the SP2500's side by side and the A2's are a much flatter/clear, the SP2500's tended to be a bit more washed in the highs and accent the lows with a pretty meaty sub. 

 

However they both get louder than you would want at max if your in the same room. 

[FluffyNuggets]

I guess I did not give it that thorough of a read, however I've met Kyle and the crew from the [H]ardforums, and they do take it very seriously and are as unbiased possible.

 

On a side note I've listened to both the A2's and the SP2500's side by side and the A2's are a much flatter/clear, the SP2500's tended to be a bit more washed in the highs and accent the lows with a pretty meaty sub. 

 

However they both get louder than you would want at max if your in the same room. 

It's funny that you say that since I said that earlier and I've never heard the SP2500's before lol. I've heard enough 2.1 systems to know exactly how they tend to sound in the highs. I prefer the clarity of the the A2's since having muddy sound complete ruins everything you listen to. For me that's more then worth giving up the sub and saving $50. Plus, you can always add a sub to the A2's and I think even other brands subs work with them but I'm not 100% sure on that. 

[Fonil]

It's funny that you say that since I said that earlier and I've never heard the SP2500's before lol. I've heard enough 2.1 systems to know exactly how they tend to sound in the highs. I prefer the clarity of the the A2's since having muddy sound complete ruins everything you listen to. For me that's more then worth giving up the sub and saving $50. Plus, you can always add a sub to the A2's and I think even other brands subs work with them but I'm not 100% sure on that. 

 

Is there an output on the A2's?

[FluffyNuggets]

Is there an output on the A2's?

What kind of output?

 

Here's how it works with the Audioengine subwoofer

 

So you plug into the input of the sub and then run the output to the speakers. I'm assuming other subs with an input and output like that will work.