[RobotBanana]

I'm looking for a set of 2.0/2.1 speakers to hook up to my computer for gaming, music, video... the whole shebang, but mostly music. They'll be in a small room, not a livingroom or anything.

Right now I have a 7 or 8 year old Sharp mini component system plugged into my PC that probably cost around $200 tops way back when I got it from a Walmart shelf, so I assume a newer system, whatever it may be, would be an upgrade from these?

I don't consider myself much of an audiophile, but I'd still like to get the best sound possible. I'm looking to spend around $200 max for the speakers.

The more I read, the more I lean toward mini monitors. In particular, the M-Audio AV40's have caught my eye. Another thing that is appealing to me is the 2.1 Logitech Z-2300 system.

So, my question is: For general purpose speakers (gaming, music, video... mostly music), would I be better off with the M-Audio AV40's or the Logitech Z-2300's?

Also worthy of mention is that regardless of which I get, the speakers will be plugged into a fairly good gaming sound card (at least when I bought it...

): A Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Xtremegamer FATAL1TY Professional Series Sound Card 7.1

 

[Mr. B]

The M-Audio speakers, no question. I doubt you'll find any love for Logitech here.

 

[Aiml3ss]

I used to have the Z-2300's and the only thing that was somewhat "good" with them was the bass. Since I have a lot of rap and hip hop the extra thud came in handy but keep in mind that this bass that comes from the subwoofer is very muddy and not so crisp. M-Audio for sure.

 

[RobotBanana]

Thanks for the responses. The M-Audios keep getting more and more appealing.

Also, I've come across the Creative GigaWorks T40 a few times now, which are in the same price range as the AV40's, but they seem more like a gimmicky "super awesome hifi buy these computer speakers" marketing type of thing. Any thoughts? Should I even be considering these speakers when the AV40s are in the mix?

Please, keep the opinions coming!

 

[Audio18]

The M-Audio, no question. The Logitech severely lacks clear highs and any real midrange. The bass is plenty, but poor. I have the T40, due to space constraints on my desktop, and it is not a bad system, built with some good quality and do really do shine with light bass music. Midrange is great for a "multimedia" system, highs are clear but the bass is rather anemic. You will probably be better off with the AV40 as they sounded more "full" to me.

 

[kite7]

You should also check out the Audioengine 2 speakers, they're in the same price range too. I have both AV40 and A2 at the moment and am doing some comparisons

 

[Adreneline]

AV40's light years ahead.

Had the Z-5500, they weren't good at all for music... maybe for games they were alright.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Yep, AV40 by a mile.

 

[iriverdude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adreneline /img/forum/go_quote.gif Had the Z-5500, they weren't good at all for music... maybe for games they were alright.

I don't even need to hear the two speakers, I can tell M-Audio will sound better.

Why give up high quality audio for gaming? If you've got a £5000 5.1 speaker system for the PC, and you game on it, it'll sound fantastic.

 

[RobotBanana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kite7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You should also check out the Audioengine 2 speakers, they're in the same price range too. I have both AV40 and A2 at the moment and am doing some comparisons

I've done some reading on these as well, since they seem to be one of the more popular sets. However, up here in Canada the A2's are $75 (i.e. almost 1.5 times) more expensive than the AV40's. Plus I could see the volume knob in the back getting annoying as these will just be used as regular multimedia computer speakers, although this is only a small little problem.

I'll probably end up buying the AV40's, and then if they wow me away and I suddenly become an audiophile-in-the-making, I'll consider spending the money to swap for the A2's.

 

[RobotBanana]

Well, I went and bought the AV40's, and WOW! Even to my untrained ear, these things sound much better than my old mini component speakers, despite being only half the size. I'm throughly impressed with these speakers!

Thanks for all the advice guys.

 

[Onkyo_1]

For the M-Audio AV40 owners.. I just got my set in.
1) Is there a break in period? Mine have awesome highs and mids but lacks the low end 'punch'
2) I noticed at the lowest volume that I'll only get sound from one speaker (the one w/the amp.) is this normal?

 

[UncleFestive]

Yeah they're not going to reproduce much below 80 HZ. That's an unavoidable result of the small speaker size used. If you want bass you'll have to add a subwoofer. Channel imbalance at lower volumes can usually be overcome by reducing the output level on your source and increasing the level on the speakers to achieve the same volume. See if that helps.

 

[sk3383]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onkyo_1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif For the M-Audio AV40 owners.. I just got my set in. 1) Is there a break in period? Mine have awesome highs and mids but lacks the low end 'punch' 2) I noticed at the lowest volume that I'll only get sound from one speaker (the one w/the amp.) is this normal?

1) Have you turned on the bass boost?
2) Follow UncleFestive's advise

Volume matching could assist. Turning down the volume significantly on the pc, and turning the volume higher on MAudio's should resolve it.

 

[Onkyo_1]

Thanks, I'll fool around with the volume on my sources. I do have the bass boost on as well.

If I'm running rca out from my nuforce udac to these speakers whats the best way to hook up a sub? RCA splitters on the DAC or finding a sub that has rca in and out? My guess is that it'll have to be powered.