[yeahman67]

The bass is pretty important to me, the thing I liked about the logitech's was the bass. This becomes important becuase I'll be using the speakers for gaming and movies in addition to listening to music, I liked that it shaked my windows and was very powerful. However, too much emphasis was put onto the subwoofer, and that was shown through the lack of mids in the satelites. Anyways, I want powerful bass, but I want the satelites too be good to. Also I'm also concerned with the wattage of speaker systems, does the wattage determine how loud the speakers are?

 

[yeahman67]

To answer your question, Xena, I've heard about it on reviews on cnet and such

 

[CyberInferno]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xena /img/forum/go_quote.gif Which people say that?

I can tell you that my roommate just accidentally rolled a chair over the cord of my Promedia 2.1s and suddenly I have only one working speaker. I think it damaged the pre-out cable, as both of the individual satellites are working fine if I swap the wiring on them. And that's why I'm here

 

[Bomo.is.ooc]

I've got to agree with getting a decent used receiver and some bookshelf speakers.These are really great and what I used for most of my freshman year of college. I bought a used yamaha 5.1 receiver off of ebay and the guy even threw in a decent front channel. I never used it for 5.1 listening, since I needed to save space as much as possible, but it worked wonders in comparison to the logitech speakers I had been using.

These are another alternative that I've heard decent reviews on and have a bit more of a punch than the Polk ones.

As for a receiverThis is a decent one that'll drive the speakers listed.

If you wanted you could add a sub later on (which I recommend, but it isn't necessary) like this one

This set up leaves room to upgrade should you decide to down the road, as well as add components and such. You'll obviously have to buy wiring somewhere, but if you're on a tight budget the cords walmart has aren't bad (that's the broke college side shining on through).

 

[electropop]

Ah, another "no" for Z-2300's. Haven't got much experience in that price-range, but Harman/Kardon's Soundsticks aren't bad... Not hifi, but not boring..

 

[yeahman67]

I'm not that experienced with speaker configurations, but are you saying that I need to get a receiver. My new plan is to get bookshelf speakers, and then add a subwoofer. Are you saying that I can't connect the bookshelf speakers to the sub to power them?

 

[Shadowghost6]

Passive bookshelf speakers would require an amp/reciever. Some speakers (such as Swan d1080mkII/M200) have built in amps.

 

[zambie]

I'm sure that a pair of good build bookshelves along with a proper amp could probably (read surely) beat what I'm going to suggest all ends up .. however, I doubt it'ld be able to do so in the budget that you're proposing ...
Check out the Klipsch 2.1 iFi... it's a great system and is even better than their famous 2.1 Promedias. The satellites are from their home system studio and are quite able RSX3's... while the 8" sub has a very good lower range.

They, however, are extremely hard to find... you'ld probably get the system at about USD200. I just got my iFi system 2 weeks back and I'm very happy for the timebeing. Ofcourse, over the next 1-3 yrs, I intend on saving to finally go in for a USD 1000 system, but for now I'm really impressed with my Klipsch's. They've got a crisp thumping bass (without having much distortion)... a very very vibrant mid range and a crisp enough treble line.

 

[moonboy403]

Look for vintage gears. They often go for next to nothing on craigslist and they sound very good, especially given their low price point.

Then get yourself a used receiver or a vintage Marantz and you're all set for audio heaven in which you can't do better with the same amount of money spent on new gear.

All this would set you back for less than $200 total.

 

[yeahman67]

Are you sure, because the subwoofer, which is the dayton ht-120, has a builit in amplifier, so should I be able to power the bookshelf speakers. By the way, the bookshelf speakers are the sony SS-B1000's.

 

[Predator88]

If they still make them or if you can find them...

Edifier S2.1D. They're just awesome. Absolutely incredible sound for the money.

 

[TheNewGuy8]

I had this same question a while ago. At firs tI went with the Audioengine A2s, but they lacked some punch for me.

Then I happened upon a used Marantz 2270 stereo receiver (this is a very highly regarded vintage piece). And I got a pair of Kef IQ1's to go with it.

It sounds out of this world. No comparison. However, I do miss some bass.


There are 2 problems though that I have not totally reconciled yet:

1) space. The bookshelfs take up space on my very limited desktop space.

2) Most passive bookshelf speakers are not meant for nearfield listening. If your speakers are 3-4 feet away from you it shouldn't be an issue, but putting your bookshelf speakers 1-2 feet in front of you, cantered at an extreme angle can do very funny things to the music. It throws off the soundstage and the direction. I'm still figuring out if I can handle it or not, because the SQ is amazing, but there are very strange "artifacts".