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My school wants to spend $400 on a 5.1 Logitech system

post #1 of 23
11/19/09 at 9:41pm
Thread Starter 
The title says it. We have a lounge at my school, where around 30 or 50 kids hang out at lunches. The school has a $400 budget to buy a surround system for the lounge. The moron they put in charge of buying the system decided to buy a Logitech 5.1 in a box. Assuming I'm able to change his mind, what should I suggest instead? Must be new, $400 is the absolute maximum, should be as simple as possible (powered would be preferred), and take into consideration that we'll probably be running MP3's off of some kid's ipod. It would be preferable if it was available at some local store. Help me out with some suggestions - I can't let this injustice take place!
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post #2 of 23
11/19/09 at 9:45pm
Most everyone has fast reservations against shopping anywhere but big-box electronics stores (Best Buy, WalMart, etc) for any major electronics purchase. With that in mind, I don't think you're going to do much better than a crap Logitech setup.

However, if you can convince him to shop elsewhere (specialized audio store) then that opens your options up, and if you can convince him to do a 2.0 or 2.1, then you're really in business.
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post #3 of 23
11/19/09 at 9:50pm
Thread Starter 
I don't think I'll be able to convince him to get a 2-channel system, but I should be able to get him to buy it at any store, including specialized audio stores, so long as it's local. My knowledge of audio, while still pretty limited compared to people on this forum, is still miles ahead of anyone in my school, so there are some people who can vouch for me, and that I know what I'm talking about.
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post #4 of 23
11/19/09 at 10:49pm
$400 on a logitech system? i didn't even realize logitech had such expensive sets.
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post #5 of 23
11/19/09 at 10:52pm
Explain to him how much better quality audio he'll get with a $400 2.0 or 2.1 audio system.

Who the hell wants 5.1 for music anyways...

And aren't they kind of worried about it getting stolen? I'm assuming you're in high school or college, those speakers will be gone in a week or two.
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post #6 of 23
11/19/09 at 10:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Necrolic View Post
Explain to him how much better quality audio he'll get with a $400 2.0 or 2.1 audio system.

Who the hell wants 5.1 for music anyways...

And aren't they kind of worried about it getting stolen? I'm assuming you're in high school or college, those speakers will be gone in a week or two.
There aren't many thefts at my school. I have left things around by accident and found them when I went back hours later. Not all schools are equal.
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post #7 of 23
11/19/09 at 11:42pm
The Logitech Z-5500 is a pretty respectable bit of "turn-key" 5.1 computer audio:

Amazon.com: Logitech Z 5500 Digital - 5.1-channel PC multimedia home theater speaker system - 505 Watt (total): Electronics

...


...

No such systems are what you'd call "audiophile" sound quality ... but they are uber fun, great for gaming and movies ... and pretty decent for music as well.

Sounds like a decent choice for a school.
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post #8 of 23
11/20/09 at 12:27am
If you cannot convince him that a 2.0 system will sound much better (at that price point), then have him look at Onkyo HTIB systems like this:

Onkyo Ht-s5200 7.1-channel Receiver/ Speaker Package Black | Accessories4less



If he doesn't like refurbs, then this:

Amazon.com: Onkyo HT-S3200 5.1-Channel Home Entertainment Receiver/Speaker Package: Electronics

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post #9 of 23
11/20/09 at 12:41am
I would be careful about recommendations. If you recommend something higher quality, I'm sure a lot of students would not appreciate it and perhaps complain that the bass isn't loud enough. Then they would all blame you for their "bad" system.
I understand what you're saying about not wanting them to pick something bad though. Just keep the general populace in mind.
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post #10 of 23
11/20/09 at 1:26am
For that budget and the targeted audience, I think it's a fine and safe choice.
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post #11 of 23
11/20/09 at 1:48am
I agree with Zorander, might as well just roll with it.
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post #12 of 23
11/20/09 at 2:57am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Necrolic View Post
Explain to him how much better quality audio he'll get with a $400 2.0 or 2.1 audio system.

Who the hell wants 5.1 for music anyways...

And aren't they kind of worried about it getting stolen? I'm assuming you're in high school or college, those speakers will be gone in a week or two.
The reason we're getting a 5.1 is because everyone kind of sits all over the lounge, so it would be better to have a bunch of speakers fill the room from all directions than 2 speakers from only one direction.

I'm not really worried about it getting stolen. Theft isn't really a big problem at my school. We have a computer lab right next door full of 22" LCD monitors and computers, not locked up during the day, and nothing gets stolen.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gevorg View Post
If you cannot convince him that a 2.0 system will sound much better (at that price point), then have him look at Onkyo HTIB systems
Do you think these will offer significantly better sound than something from Logitech?

Quote:
Originally Posted by squid+ View Post
I would be careful about recommendations. If you recommend something higher quality, I'm sure a lot of students would not appreciate it and perhaps complain that the bass isn't loud enough. Then they would all blame you for their "bad" system.
I understand what you're saying about not wanting them to pick something bad though. Just keep the general populace in mind.
I'm not too worried about this. I mean, you can always crank up the subwoofer if they think there's not enough bass. Plus, the kids in my school couldn't tell a pair of skullcandy's from an HD800

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zorander View Post
For that budget and the targeted audience, I think it's a fine and safe choice.
You may be right. I just hate Logitech, and I hate the idea of buying into commercial audio systems. If we're getting logitech, we may as well collaborate and throw in some Monster cables and a badass Bose sub. Logitech makes mice and keyboards. Nothing else.
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post #13 of 23
11/20/09 at 3:06am
I've heard lots of good things about Onkyo. I've read in many forums that they're one of the best bang for the buck, usually.
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post #14 of 23
11/20/09 at 3:07am
Pair of active monitors, done.
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post #15 of 23
11/20/09 at 4:58am
If you are just looking to fill a room, you should just use a 4 speaker setup with 2 pairs of stereo speakers instead of trying to use some fancy DSP effect with 5.1.

Some of the computer systems used to come like that. I don't know if they still do.
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