[The_Blood_Raven]

Hey, I'm tired of my aging Logitech Z-3 set of 2.1 speakers which are noticeably worse than they were new. I looked around for a bit and was deliberating between a set of Logitech Z-2300s or Z Cinemas until I stumbled upon this forum once again and saw plenty of posts saying Logitech speakers are ****, well that is about right I suppose. I always just assumed PC speakers were bad and there wasn't a cost effective alternative. So this leads me to my conundrum:

Note that I own Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro earphones, while not top of the line they are quite good to me and so I know that sound quality can be so much better than Logitech Z-3s...

Also I wont touch PC 4.1/5.1/6.1/7.1 speaker setups as I know even the best can't compete with a cheap HTIB.

So my budget is limited to $130 including shipping... I know, I know but I am doing the best I can.

The problem is that I am running onboard sound because... well this is my system:

E6750 @ 3.6 Ghz
Gigabyte 680i w/ Intel High Definition Audio
3 9800 GTX in tri-SLI
4GB of DDR2 900 MHz RAM

As you can see I don't exactly have the space for a sound card and my budget doesn't really leave any room for one so with so many restictions what do you think?

I heard the HiVi Swan M10s were great but are out of stock right now so I can not factor in shipping and I have no idea whether theaudioinsider will charge over $20 for shipping.

Any opinions would be greatly appriciated because I am pretty damn confused now that I am looking past logitech.

Thank you!

 

[jh901]

at least check out the audioengine2 to see if u can find it for a great price...

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

Alright how about the M-audio Studiophile AV 40 or the HiVi Swan D1080MKIIs?

Will onboard sound make a huge impact on their performance?

Are they a lot better than Z-2300s or Z Cinema?

 

[eggyhustles]

ALOT better than anything logitech

 

[rjoseph]

While I was buying a pair of Mackies, I heard a small set of JBL speakers that really blew me away. It had so much surround sound that it looked like about four or 5 speakers were playing instead of 2. The sound was also pretty decent. Its $160. For your budget this would be a good fit. If you are in the US, try to listen to it at your local guitar center outlet.

JBL Control 1 Pro Compact Speaker Pair and more Installed Sound at GuitarCenter.com.

Just did a google shopping search for lowest price and there seemed to be an open box item here : http://www.audiolines.com/product.php?productid=18872

 

[BoseFan]

Spend $150 and get a pair of Audioengine A2s, free shipping. Try coupon code MW09 on the audioengine website to get them for $150. If money and space are in short supply, I don't think there is a better option out there. They're tiny. And with the M10s you'll need the sub on your desk, I believe. I don't think a soundcard upgrade is needed at all for A2s but you could always get one later.

 

[JMT391]

Tri SLI? That exists? Holy crap man, why not just grab one GTX2xx and call it a day? You can't possibly be getting THAT much improvement in FPS.

To be honest, although onboard sound has improved tremendously over the years, a good sound card will just always prevail - I think you could afford to sacrifice one of your GPUs for one

all disagreements aside though, that's quite the overclock you got there - nice job.

 

[taso89]

Swan M12's are up for $99.99. I believe these are the improved/newer version of the revered M10's.

Swan M12

 

[catachresis]

I've been using a pair of Yamaha YST-M8 2.0 speakers for about six years now. They are simple, powerful enough, and they have a pleasantly un-plasticky sound that may or may not be the consequence of Yamaha's use of "spruce-cone drivers." I think they're little classics, and you can often find them used. I saw a pair somewheres on Craigslist advertised for $30.00 plus ship. Seriously, for everything short of bombastic gaming, I'd recommend.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMT391 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Tri SLI? That exists? Holy crap man, why not just grab one GTX2xx and call it a day? You can't possibly be getting THAT much improvement in FPS. To be honest, although onboard sound has improved tremendously over the years, a good sound card will just always prevail - I think you could afford to sacrifice one of your GPUs for one all disagreements aside though, that's quite the overclock you got there - nice job.

I bought those 9800 GTXs when they first came out and yes there is a decent improvement with the third one.

I plan on buying a new sound card later, likely this:
Newegg.com - ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards

First I will need my new board (790GX), processor (Phenom II X4 955), and GPUs (2x 4890 Toxic/Atomic editions).

Anywho, right now I need new speakers as these ones are on their way out (frequently turning off, a lot of distortion at medium-high volume, and the sub seems to be slightly off) and the rest of my money wont be coming in for a couple of months.

So now I'm leaning towards the Swan D1080MKIIs or the M-Audio Studiophile A2s (audioengines are a bit out of my budget) and buying a powered sub and connecting it to a decent sound card later for some extra bass while gaming, possibly this one:
Newegg.com - Polk Audio PSW10 Black 10-inch Powered Subwoofer Single

Looks good to me. I don't want anything too powerful or high-end because I really don't want to overpower the speakers I'm planing on buying soon.

I acknowledge that there may be some major wholes in this plan and if you see any feel free to comment.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

Quote:

Originally Posted by taso89 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Swan M12's are up for $99.99. I believe these are the improved/newer version of the revered M10's. Swan M12

I saw that but it looks like a downgrade form the M10, just another PC speaker 2.1 setup.

 

[iriverdude]

Quote:

I don't want anything too powerful or high-end because I really don't want to overpower the speakers I'm planing on buying soon.

No such thing with a subwoofer that's too powerful or high end. I'd look into a second hand av amp and a pair of passive standmount speakers.

Don't even think about a subwoofer, buy the amp and the 5 speakers first.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iriverdude /img/forum/go_quote.gif No such thing with a subwoofer that's too powerful or high end. I'd look into a second hand av amp and a pair of passive standmount speakers. Don't even think about a subwoofer, buy the amp and the 5 speakers first.

My budget is not unlimited and why do I need 5 speakers? I'm confused.

Also your avatar is the most... interesting I think I've ever seen!

 

[iriverdude]

For multi-channel gaming. My pc rig is 5.1 about £1500 worth, if you're into gaming not just listening to CD's I'd go for 5.1. Can be completed over time.