Good 2.1 speakers for computer?

[chicken_little]

Looking to upgrade my 2.1 speakers. I'm currently using the Altec Lansing 2100 but find it lacking in the mid range. Plus it has no headphone jack.

My history with pc speakers...

1. Altec Lansing VS4121: Audible hiss. Bass made booming noise when being turned off. I suspect that plugging and unplugging headphones repeatedly in headphone jack made things worse for the system.
2. Altec Lansing 221: Bass didn't sound good. Suspect same problems with headphone jack. Sometimes only one speaker is working. I have to put headphones in and out of the headphone jack to fix it. Weird I know.
3. Altec Lansing ACS33: No bass or treble control. No headphone jack. Yet I liked the sound on this the best. Hard to describe the feeling but the bass on these cheap speakers felt the most natural sounding to me.

I listen to all kinds of music from classical to rap. Also watch DVDs and play games like Enemy Territory religiously. But loud overpowering bass is not ideal for me. I've avoided certain Logitech brands just because the giant box of bass seems too much.

If you guys have any suggestion, please throw them my way. :cheesygri

[cavuu]

Logitech X230, sound good not expensive.

[skuntbehavior]

buy some nice bookshelves and a decent amp.
what is your budget like?

[here4yagurlz]

Logitech X230, sound good not expensive.

yip, they pound.

[najibs]

forget all those, get the Klipsch Promedia 2.1
200W of powerful, rich sound. THX-Certified. Beats the Logitech Z2200 or Z2300 by a mile. THey're the absolute best 2.1 speakers for the PC.

[chicken_little]

My budget is ideally under $100. Would be willing to spend up to $200 but it seems overkill for my Asus P4P800SE onboard sound card.

So you guys think the Logitech X230 would be better than my current Altec Lansing 2100?

[cnbc]

Check this out. http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210967

I paid $85 after shipping and taxes.

The sound is mind blowing (for desktop speakers).

[najibs]

Or check this link. $60+tax+shipping for the Klipsch 2.1's would bring it to less than $100. You can't go wrong. It will beat anything under $100 bar none. NCIX sells these babies for $199 + tax I purchased a set of Promedia 5.1's from this seller and have not had any problems. http://cgi.ebay.ca/KLIPSCH-PROMEDIA-2-1-PC-AUDIO-SYSTEM_W0QQitemZ8726008360QQcategoryZ3702QQtcZphot oQQcmdZViewItem

P.S. I'd suggest since you'll be saving well under your $200 budget that you get a nice Audigy2 OEM soundcard for around $50. It wil make a HUGE difference compared to the onboard sound. Trust me, otherwise it's a waste to get such good speakers like these to use with onboard sound.

[here4yagurlz]

Or check this link. $60+tax+shipping for the Klipsch 2.1's would bring it to less than $100. You can't go wrong. It will beat anything under $100 bar none. NCIX sells these babies for $199 + tax I purchased a set of Promedia 5.1's from this seller and have not had any problems. http://cgi.ebay.ca/KLIPSCH-PROMEDIA-2-1-PC-AUDIO-SYSTEM_W0QQitemZ8726008360QQcategoryZ3702QQtcZphot oQQcmdZViewItem

P.S. I'd suggest since you'll be saving well under your $200 budget that you get a nice Audigy2 OEM soundcard for around $50. It wil make a HUGE difference compared to the onboard sound. Trust me, otherwise it's a waste to get such good speakers like these to use with onboard sound.

for a guy who has 28 neg. fb's in the past month, some people dont find it worth the risk - like me.

[microBe]

for a guy who has 28 neg. fb's in the past month, some people dont find it worth the risk - like me.

Second that. Considering all the surprises received by many of those who jumped into that 'deal'... if only one person reported bad experience, ok. 2 people, fine. 3 or more people? I'm not so sure... I can't even recall how many posts about malfunctioning and problems. Of course there were also a few who reported no problems, but still... the guy's feedback on eBay speaks for itself. I wouldnt take the risk either.

[najibs]

28 negatives out of close to 3000 feedbacks in the past month. That's less than 1% unsatisfied customers. Based on that, I think it's worth a shot. There will always be unhappy people no matter what...

What if it was a guy what had 100 feedbacks and only 3 unsatisfied people? 3 doesnt seem like a lot, but it's 3%.Keep in mind when you deal with a large liquidator like this one, there will be unsatisfied people. A lot of the time its the customers own fault. For example I had a hissing problem wit my speakers,only to find out that it was because i had the speakers on 100% volume and the volume in the computer was at only 20%....It all depends on the type of problem. I'm not here to defend the seller, but hey, Im pointing out the facts, and 28 negatives isnt a lot when you consider its less than 1% of ALL the feedback from ALL the business he's done in the past month.

[cmge]

how about hte logitech Z3??.. well they go on sale every now and again... i got hem for under 80$ back in Sept... they mite go down in price again?

[here4yagurlz]

28 negatives out of close to 3000 feedbacks in the past month. That's less than 1% unsatisfied customers. Based on that, I think it's worth a shot. There will always be unhappy people no matter what...

What if it was a guy what had 100 feedbacks and only 3 unsatisfied people? 3 doesnt seem like a lot, but it's 3%.Keep in mind when you deal with a large liquidator like this one, there will be unsatisfied people. A lot of the time its the customers own fault. For example I had a hissing problem wit my speakers,only to find out that it was because i had the speakers on 100% volume and the volume in the computer was at only 20%....It all depends on the type of problem. I'm not here to defend the seller, but hey, Im pointing out the facts, and 28 negatives isnt a lot when you consider its less than 1% of ALL the feedback from ALL the business he's done in the past month.


Ya but look at the complaints, it only takes one bad complaint that can scare a customer away. its too much of a risk with this guy. you either get one that works, or one that wont. You buy stuff so you know that it will be working and working in 2months down the road. 48hrs warranty is a joke. What if it breaks the 3 days after buying? Youre screwed. And have fun shipping that to Klipsch back and fourth. Frankly, to me time is money. And I love my deals, but you get what you pay for. This is why i would just pay the extra $ and get it new. Plus you get a fresh new warranty through klipsch. Ive had these speakers and trust me, they are fragile speakers. Good, but prone to problems (knobs coming off over time, fuse blowing, etc).

If I was in TO, I might "might" consider. But no way Im taking the risk being from another city. Im sorry, but too many people on this board just base everything on price, and not outweight the pros and cons.

[najibs]

I can sell ya my Logitech Z-2200's THX-Certified for $90 if you're interested. PM me if ya are. They work fine. THey were replaced with the Klipsch 5.1's, but are in perfect working order.

[xwar]

I like the Logitech Z3s .. only $53 at www.sunnycomputers.com ... very stylish.

[cavuu]

x230 at Ncix (http://www.ncix.com/promo/promosale.php?webid=blitz2005) $43.99 & 5.99 delivery - good reviews

[chicken_little]

Checked out the X230 at staples on the weekend. I'm not entirely convinced that this is better than my Altec Lansing 2100 judging by the sound samples they had on hand. The Z3 looked awesome but I'm worried that it might be too much bass. My search continues. :cheesygri

[sleepyguy]

Pro Media 2.1 or Edifier... both are the best price/perf/quality for 2.1 for PCs. Swans is the next level up but you're gonna pay big $$$ for it.

[rayesyn]

i bought these a while ago.
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=008163&cid=SP

they're pretty good speakers, not the best but they're better than average.

[Takada]

Checked out the X230 at staples on the weekend. I'm not entirely convinced that this is better than my Altec Lansing 2100 judging by the sound samples they had on hand. The Z3 looked awesome but I'm worried that it might be too much bass. My search continues. :cheesygri

Check out the Z4 then, some reviews have said that the bass is too weak! The satellites are supposed to even bellow out mids and highs (not lows) better than the Z-2300 because they are designed well.

[chicken_little]

Picked up the Logitech Z-4 at canada computers for $90. :D

[Takada]

Can you give a little review of how they compare against the X-230s and the Z-3s that you heard?

[chicken_little]

Can you give a little review of how they compare against the X-230s and the Z-3s that you heard?
For sure. First I need to distract the gf while I slip the new speakers on. She's always complaining about me getting "unncessary" computer things. :cheesygri

[kcjchan]

Wait till boxing day, they're always on sale at futureshop (most speakers). I got my altec lansing VS3151 (5.1) for $49.

[GateGuardian]

I got the logitech Z3s from Futureshop for $50 when it was on sale. I'm very satisfied with it

[chicken_little]

I'm not noticing a difference in quality between my new Logitech Z-4 and my old Altec Lansing 2100. Maybe because I've got an Asus P4P800SE onboard sound. Do you think upgrading to a Creative Audigy 2 sound card would make a difference?

[SwiZz]

I like the Logitech Z3s .. only $53 at www.sunnycomputers.com ... very stylish.

i second that..i got these when they were like $115...and love it to death. very stylish indeed!

[7-Endless]

Ya but look at the complaints, it only takes one bad complaint that can scare a customer away. its too much of a risk with this guy. you either get one that works, or one that wont. You buy stuff so you know that it will be working and working in 2months down the road. 48hrs warranty is a joke. What if it breaks the 3 days after buying? Youre screwed. And have fun shipping that to Klipsch back and fourth. Frankly, to me time is money. And I love my deals, but you get what you pay for. This is why i would just pay the extra $ and get it new. Plus you get a fresh new warranty through klipsch. Ive had these speakers and trust me, they are fragile speakers. Good, but prone to problems (knobs coming off over time, fuse blowing, etc).

If I was in TO, I might "might" consider. But no way Im taking the risk being from another city. Im sorry, but too many people on this board just base everything on price, and not outweight the pros and cons.

I'm in TO and I still passed on it basically because the guy no longer accepts local pickups. I bought an old HP Laser fron this guy a couple years back and it still works great but if he no longer allows pickups then I'm not paying $30 to have something shipped when I live 10 mins away. I wonder why local pickups are no longer allowed - maybe he had too many pissed off customers??

[chicken_little]

Can you give a little review of how they compare against the X-230s and the Z-3s that you heard?
There's way better reviews out there on the net so I'll try to mention a few personal thoughts about the Z-4:
1. This thing pumps out a lot of bass. If there was a scale of 1 to 10 on the sub control, I probably have it at 2 most of the time. Anything higher and I'm afraid the neighbours in my condo would complain. Luckily when you set the sub to the lowest level, it's basically off. Even on the lowest bass setting, I could still a faint thump from my Altec Lansing VS4121. Not so for the Z-4.
2. The power doesn't need to be on when using the headphone jack. Volume is controlled through the volume dial. I've read complaints that the X-230 didn't have any headphone volume control other than through windows. Not the case with the Z-4.
3. Logitech's pressure driver technology on its satellites may be starting to bother me. I feel an annoying pressure on my ears that wasn't there with my Altec Lansing 2100. Kind of like going up an elevator to a very high floor.
4. The satellite drivers fail to produce a mid range that's pleasing to me. My old Altec Lansing 221 seems to sound better. I wonder if it's because they were 3" drivers versus the 2" on the Z-4. Maybe size does matter. :cheesygri

What I'll want for my next 2.1 speakers...
- smaller sub
- bigger satellite drivers

[Asun]

I'd chime in a recommendation for the Klipsch Promedia 2.1. I've been using Altec Lansing ACS 45.2 for the longest time (6 years+) until I saw the thread about Klipsch for about $100 after shipping. Really, there is no comparison, Klipsch just blow away my old and trusty Alted Lansing. Now, my biggest complain is that I can't really crank up my new set of speakers to realize its true potential because I'm living in a condo :D

[JeiJei]

I have an Edifier S2.1D and Klipsch 2.1 and some suggestion for you:

Edifier is more musical oriented, stock to stock (in term of cable used) they sound better for music that I listen (ballad, instrumental... etc) since the sound is cleaner. The bass on the Klipsch, although powerful enough to make your roomate angry, it's sometimes too strong in my opinion, the bass overtake the sound of singer voice really annoy me. Even setting the bass low couldn't really solve the problem.

Klipsch is good for pop and hiphop. I really enjoyed the time I was listening Jay-Z feat. Linkin Park CD. The bass was just there for you to feel the emotion of singers. One little thing though, I would suggest you to replace the 2 sat. cable, it does make a huge difference.

[chicken_little]

Edifier is more musical oriented, stock to stock (in term of cable used) they sound better for music that I listen (ballad, instrumental... etc) since the sound is cleaner.
Thanks JeiJei. This might be exactly what I'm looking for. The S2.1D has gotten some awesome reviews.

http://www.edifier.ca/products/s2141/s21d.html

I noticed that there is also an M2300 model out there. I can get this for about $60 in toronto but that sub looks questionable. Looks too loud?

http://www.edifier.ca/products/m2300/m2300.html

[JeiJei]

The S serie is supposed to be the top line as far as the lineup goes.

I'd stick to S serie.

[Takada]

Ah thanks for the review. I was going to buy the Z-4s because of reviews saying that it had good midrange reproduction. I'm upgrading over crappy x-230s that I have now and $90 seemed like a good price.

Hm I'm not sure whether to buy the Logitech Z-4s ($90) vs. Edifier R401 ($80) now. Everything else is out of my price range. The Z-4s have a remote and look really sleek though, and I'm not sure how they compare in terms of sound quality.

[itsyours]

I've had the Logitech Z 5300E, Z 560, X 230, X 530, Klipsch promedia 2.1, Edifier 2.1 ($50 budget set). I would recommend Edifier (good for music) and Klipsch.
Between the Logitech Z-4s ($90) and Edifier R401 ($80), go for the R401.

[chicken_little]

The Edifier R401 is only $58 at ncix. Too bad it's way out in vancouver. I'm assuming you got the $80 price from pac mall.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=15435

[Takada]

itsyours: Thanks, I'll take your word for it and see how it goes.

chicken_little: Yeah, price is from pmall. Edifier has it around NCIX's price as well, but it costs ~$40 for them to ship it :lol:

[chicken_little]

Come back and give us a review if you buy the Edifier. :cheesygri

[Takada]

Haha sorry, I actually decided not to buy it. I don't mind it not having a remote, but it doesn't seem to have a headphone jack even which pretty much kills it for me since I would have to crawl around each time I want to use my headphones.

I'll just buy the Logitech Z-4s when it goes on sale around christmas just due to lack of choice.

[sPiKyAZN]

I'm not noticing a difference in quality between my new Logitech Z-4 and my old Altec Lansing 2100. Maybe because I've got an Asus P4P800SE onboard sound. Do you think upgrading to a Creative Audigy 2 sound card would make a difference?

I'm also wondering whether upgrading my p4p800SE onboard sound to something like an audigy SE would make a difference? I have a pair of logitech z-3i

[TenzoR]

http://www.behardware.com/articles/493-1/comparative-test-11-2-1-computer-speaker-systems.html

here is a pretty good review on some of the 2.1 speaker system

[xwar]

I don't know if anyone else thinks this ... but the Logitech Z-3s asthetically look much nicer than their replacement models Z-4s. Actually quite a few of the new logitech models look like **** ...

[Takada]

Seriously? I think the Z-4 are extremely sexy. The remote is well-made too and doesn't look like it can be snapped in half easily like the Z-3 remote :P

[BEpsilon]

I've got a set of Panasonic SE-HDX2 (http://images.cinenow.com/reports/ces_2001/ces_awward2001_se-hdx2_zoom.jpg), award winner at CES Intl. 2001. Lovin it!

[Geologic]

I'm also wondering whether upgrading my p4p800SE onboard sound to something like an audigy SE would make a difference? I have a pair of logitech z-3i

Same boat. I'm looking to get the 2.1 Altec Lansing speakers that are on sale at FS/BB but since it's for a notebook.. I'm wondering if the onboard sound will destroy the purpose of the speakers.

I'm deciding whether or not to get a external Audigy 2 ZS notebook sound card.

opinions?

[Takada]

The difference is only noticeable if you get one of the higher-end speakers. Think Logitech Z-2300 and up.

[Geologic]

Which ones would be comparable? Would the Z-2300 be comparable to the Altec Lansing MX-5021?

[chicken_little]

If you like your subwoofer to really "thump" then i would suggest the z-2300.

If you like your speakers to hiss and crackle with the movements of your wireless mice, get the mx5021. :cheesygri

[qaplmz]

right here!

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239591&highlight=z-3

[sleepyguy]

I would get the altec lansing instead for $99 at fs.ca or bb.ca

don't rule out edifier or swans ($$$). edifer 2.1 was $99 on sale once at ncix.com... i didn't pull the triger and kinda regret it now :(

Which ones would be comparable? Would the Z-2300 be comparable to the Altec Lansing MX-5021?

[Takada]

As a note, I said earlier the difference between a soundcard/onboard sound is noticeable with higher end speakers. Even then, the difference is TINY unless you have golden ears or something, or are just fooling yourself.

As mentioned, Logitech subwoofers tend to produce very punchy bass. The Z-2300 apparently lacks midrange/treble though, comparing poorly to their predecessors, the Z-2200.

The Altec Lansing MX5021 has good midrange. The highs can sound harsh if with certain types of music. I have one song on my playlist that it sounds overly harsh with, sort of like the sound produced by a hard hit triangle. The subwoofer has little thump, if you turn the subwoofer bass level up, it just rumbles and doesn't sound good. Bass IS accurate though and I prefer it over the thumping of my previous Logitechs for almost all songs.

The Z-2300 is better for hiphop and other beat-heavy music. MX5021 is better for everything else.

There IS a hiss with the MX5021, but it can only be heard about 2 feet away when you AREN'T listening to anything from the speakers. It is not noticeable even then unless you are especially concentrating on listening for hissing :lol:.

And yes, I would get the Edifier instead if I could get it for $100 without paying $32 for shipping and if it had a headphone jack (I don't think it does) >:(

EDIT: I forgot to mention. Once you remove the grill on the MX5021, they turn out to be the best looking computer speakers that I have seen.

[Geologic]

I picked up the MX-5021's today. They sound amazing so far and I don't really notice the hiss.

I should've really looked at the item measurements though, the speakers and woofer are pretty damn big.. the thing just fit under my desk perfectly.

Thanks for the reviews!

[Wildfire]

I picked up the MX-5021's today. They sound amazing so far and I don't really notice the hiss.

I should've really looked at the item measurements though, the speakers and woofer are pretty damn big.. the thing just fit under my desk perfectly.

Thanks for the reviews!
I got them a week ago from BB and I love them. I rather have clarity than alot of bass so I chose them over the Z-2300's.
As for the hiss, it's not as bad as some people make it, you don't hear it during playback obviously, and I just put them on standby with the handy remote when I don't have any audio playing anyways, so I don't hear any hiss.

Plus, as Fat Bastard would say, they look dead sexy.