Well, first of all, I want to say that I did not decided yet if I'm going to buy anything or not, I'm still thinking if it's worth it (as I don't watch movies here and LFS has no surround, etc). I'm just checking what the market has to offer me

My personal preferences:
- I'm looking for something around 80€, the less the better really. (could pay more if it is really worth to spend more money)
- I don't want a speakers set that sounds like crap (since new or after some months), though I am not an audiophile, so don't need top-quality neither.


Today I've been looking Logitech X-530 and Z506, and I must say that in the official specs I find better the cheaper one
On the other hand, I think I've only heard bad things about Logitech sound products.

And as I really don't know anything about mades or what to look for in the specs I need some advices



What I have now:
- Cuadraphonic sound in Windows*
- 2.1 speakers. Philips SPA2310/00 if you want to know hehe
- Moving the volume control stick produces cracking (noise through the speakers)
- I have the volume at 20% and don't really like loud sound, so W are not a priority.
- 2 rear speakers cheap as hell


*cuadraphonic works in Call of Duty and Richard Burns Rally for example, but in many other games it just doesn't output sound (TDU2, demo xD) or behaves like normal stereo (Tricky Truck). So is a bit dissapointing.


Hope that after this wall of text someone has still energy to reply

You ain't getting a 5.1 for 80E, not even for double of that.
Microlab Solo 6C would be a good option for you.

Also, just set sound to 7.1 in games, leaving it as 2.0 in Windows. Providing your sound card is any decent (X-Fi HD / X-Fi Titanium HD / Essence ST / Essence STX / other things like that) it'll sound awesome.

He can get a 5.1 PC speaker set for half of that
I've read good things about Edifier speakers, you can get the "Edifier Multimedia System M1550 - black" for around 60 euros, but if you want something better for 80 euros, and surround sound isn't important, I'd get a 2.1 set from Edifier. I know you've asked for 5.1 speaker set recommendation, but if you ain't gonna use the surround sound that much then I think a good sounding 2.1 system would be better for you.
If you really want to save money, go for some cheap-ass Genius 5.1 system :P

I myself have recently upgraded from a first-gen Hercules XPS2.100 (2.1) to a Logitech Z-5500 (5.1) - the difference is massive :O

Reiljans, and what about games that only check Windows setting? That's why I have it that way.

I'm not gonna change my 2.1 that sounds OK for another 2.1 set. I don't know even if I could hear the difference between them. And I won't buy a 7.1 because it's only for the computer, and there is no physical space for the extra speakers


Ok, both of you say 80€ are not enough, how much money should I set as my budget then?

Quote from Whiskey :

Reiljans, and what about games that only check Windows setting? That's why I have it that way.

"Windows setting" is actually DirectX setting (DirectSound), IIRC there's some tricky way to configure it separately.

Quote from Whiskey :

I'm not gonna change my 2.1 that sounds OK for another 2.1 set. I don't know even if I could hear the difference between them.

lol'd.

Quote from MataGyula :

He can get a 5.1 PC speaker set for half of that

Have you missed word "decent" or smth?
Also,
>Logitech speakers
>upgraded

nope.

He didn't use the word decent in his post, perhaps you should read twice, too. ;]

Not everybody has a 1000 euros to spend on audio equipment. Logitech provides good quality for the price (and by quality I mean 500 watts, and by price I mean cheap compared to other equipment with comparable specifications).

80-100€ is well enough for casual movies/games/music, imho.
If you'll be listening to music mainly @ low volumes, then a 2.1 or even a simple stereo set (for example "Edifier Studio R1600T-plus 2.0 System - black" or " Creative GigaWorks T40 II. HiFi 2.0 28W" or "Genius repro SP-HF 2020 wood 60W") will suffice.
If you are more into gaming/movies, get any 5.1 set that fits your budget and gets good recommendations in reviews around the internet.

The bottom line is, you have to try out some of those "cheap" 5.1 sets because you may be surprised how much you can get for "little money".

I stand behind mata's choice, those Logitechs are decent speakers to buy, for those money you get good quality.
You can consider spending few € more though and buy some Geniuses, i got mine for 90€ year ago (Genius SW-HF 5.1 5050) and i don't dare to complain!

Maybe an option you've not considered yet, how about a surround-sound headphones, or headset?

Steelseries would then suit you very well, since the sound is decent, but not on an audiophiles level perhaps since the bass is a bit weak for my ears .. You can get a pair of Siberia V2's for about 80 Euros.. 84 from their official website if that's not too far a push

Edit; Before anyone says the V2's are not surround, i'm referring to the USB Version which is 7.1 surround. http://steelseries.com/product ... teelseries-siberia-v2-usb
Just a suggestion

Thanks for your idea tommer, but I dont feel really confortable with headphones. I use them only when I need them because someone is watching TV in my room and I am uncorfortable with them after a while.

I'm checking every suggestion you made, guys.

Are the Logitech the speakers with more quality by 80€?
Also, I'm starting to see that 80€ could be a limitation to find any good set. What about if I increase to, lets say, 120€? (and this is would be hard limit, I really wouldn't want to go higher than this)

Quote from MataGyula :

..Logitech provides good quality for the price (and by quality I mean 500 watts, and by price I mean cheap compared to other equipment with comparable specifications)..

1) Logitech does not provide good quality. What you're actually paying for is cheaply made mass production electronics.
2) 500 watts? What's up with the fact that my 2x35w RMS (real watts) speakers outperform z5500 in any way possible? (Ive owned z5500 and ive compared them side by side).

It's just marketing. You guys should stop being so stupid and look at it from another point of view. Just saying..

Edit: If i was u, for 120€ i would get an used amp+speakers.

Be more specific, please. What do you mean by "outperform"?

I'm sure a set of stereo studio speakers for the same price (~ €350) would be miles better for listening to music, but I also seriously doubt they would "rock the house", so to speak. One set outperforming another can mean a lot of things. Comparing Hi-F/studio equipment to PC speakers is pointless, imho, as they are aimed at different markets. I hope to get a nice set of Hi-Fi equipment at some point in my life, as of yet I'm not in a position to afford one that would really stand out.

@whiskey
You'll find good speakers for €80, you'll find better for €120, etc. The more you spend the better it'll get, the hard part is getting the _best_ for your budget.

Quote from MataGyula :

@whiskey
You'll find good speakers for €80, you'll find better for €120, etc. The more you spend the better it'll get, the hard part is getting the _best_ for your budget.

Exactly. I know that, but if I could spend as money as I wanted I'd have 3 monitors, 7.1 speakers and a big house to place all those things hahaha

I know that for 80+ € I won't get any hi-fi set, so I look for some budget but (with enough) quality set. On the other hand, I don't want to gain 5.1 while losing quality listening to music or stereo content

http://www.richersounds.com/information/hifisystems

About half way down the page is a budget amp/speakers set (Hi-Fi System 1). Over your budget but great sound quality, you would get used setups like this for well under 80 euro from folks upgrading.

A better set of stereo speakers is another option, use your current pair as rear speakers. An off the shelf 5.1 setup will sound better but any surround system needs to be set up properly to work well. Imho getting seperates would be the way to go, after the initial cost you can upgrade components as needed and I dont think you can beat big speakers for sound quality (neighbors might not feel the same way )

Quote from stan.distortion :

A better set of stereo speakers is another option, use your current pair as rear speakers.

That's what I did when I bought the ones that are now my 2.1 front speakers, but turned out it does not work as spected in every game...

I must enfatize once more that I want a 5.1, not a stereo set, because I don't need top-quality sound, so any decent thing should do the job. Anyway, I check every suggestion you are making

I don't quite like the idea of buying an amplifier and then upgrade over time the speakers. I rather prefer to buy a whole set whenever it brokes (hopefully after more than 10 years xD)

Are you seriously expecting cheap Logitech crap with Fuhjyyu capacitors and under-rated (by a large margin) MOSFETs to last 10 years? And I'm not even starting on all other components.

|:

Quote from E.Reiljans :

Are you seriously expecting cheap Logitech crap with Fuhjyyu capacitors and under-rated (by a large margin) MOSFETs to last 10 years? And I'm not even starting on all other components.

|:

No, not really
But I'll keep using the speakers until they start to fail, what I mean is that I don't plan to upgrade part by part during the years. So I'd like it to last at least for 5 years, hopefully 10 xD.

And there is always that random factor of durability. You may buy some cheap thing and it'll last forever or buy an expensive one and break it in 2 years hehe

Quote from Whiskey :

And there is always that random factor of durability. You may buy some cheap thing and it'll last forever or buy an expensive one and break it in 2 years hehe

If you use your Logitech speakers 1 minute a day - yep, it MAY last 10 years.

Quote from E.Reiljans :

If you use your Logitech speakers 1 minute a day - yep, it MAY last 10 years.

True.

Speakers usually dont have materials that u might have luck on. I mean, getting the product that has more of this (adds durablity? lol) or that. They all have same material membranes, coils etc. So it just comes up to how you actually use it.