Best PC speakers...?

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Ruahrc

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So I own a set of Klipsch ProMedia 5.1s which I bought probably five years ago. As I recall I got them from newegg and even got free shipping (w00t) :). They're not currently with me anymore as I gave them to my cousin on indefinite loan because I moved away from where I was and didn't have the space to bring them with me. He's got them hooked up in his living room and they made a great small living room home theater setup.

I'm curious though, what happened to the PC speaker market recently? Klipsch has stopped producing the 5.1's, and only sell the Promedia 2.1s now, Creative's Gigaworks are no longer available, does Logitech still produce/sell good speaker sets for PC's? I am sure they all carry a bunch of low end stuff but do any of them produce any higher end units anymore?

If I were (hypothetically) in the market for a good quality 5.1 sound system for my comptuer today, what would my options be? What if I wanted a hardware 5.1 decoder? Or has all of that just been moved into software nowadays with the advances in processing power?

What speaker system(s) do you all use? Currently on my PC I have a set of Yamahas which are just a standard little 2.0 speaker set, nothing fancy. I do have a logitech subwoofer that I kept from an old 4.1 system I had, I kept it because the Yamaha speakers I have feature a built in crossover and thus I can plug the sub direct into the Yamahas and get subwoofer action from it (the sub output was originally intended for a Yamaha subwoofer that was sold separately). I don't have my subwoofer set up though as I don't need that kind of sound from my PC anymore.

Ruahrc
 
Logitech Z-5500s. I believe you can use that for a home theater setup since it has decoders on it. I've seen the unit in Cheapy's videos setup in his living room.
 
Yeah, the Logitech z-5500 line is the highest one they have. They came out with the G51, which replaced the z-5300 series that I own. I don't know about the other brands, since Logitech seems to own the market right now.

Look on Amazon and newegg for reviews.
 
Read up a little on the Z5500s. The decoder on the Z-5500 looks great, and is the kind of thing I would want in a speaker setup. DD5.1, and DTS24/96 are great features. What I didn't like though was the design of the speaker wire. They are not standard wire rather some proprietary thing that can only be extended using RCA cables? Rear speaker wire runs can be really long and if the rear wires aren't long enough it is going to be expensive to extend those because they're RCA. And you can't just buy a spool of real speaker wire and extend it to the correct length, you have to daisychain RCA wire all over the place.

From what I have read, the Z5500s are the best currently available speakers but it seems that the general consensus is that you need to look elsewhere if you are concerned about musicality. The Z5500s apparently have lacking midrange and muddy bass, with some harsh highs.

It's really too bad Klipsch no longer makes the Ultra5.1s. What else is really too bad is that there doesn't seem to be any hardware decoder alternatives on the market, and the one included with the Z5500s is tied to the system.

Ruahrc
 
Z-5500s use regular speaker wire. I don't know what site stated they use RCA cables. All speakers tie into the sub and the sub is tied to the control panel.
 
I have the z5500's and my only complaint is the stock enclosure that the subwoofer comes in. It could be much louder in a custom box, but that's just nit picking. If I didn't suck so much at designing things I'd try and build one.

Oh, dell.com has the best deal that I've seen by the way. It's $220 with free shipping.
 
[quote name='SteveMcQ']Z-5500s use regular speaker wire. I don't know what site stated they use RCA cables. All speakers tie into the sub and the sub is tied to the control panel.[/QUOTE]

This review (http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/z5500/index.php) shows some pictures which clearly show the speakers having RCA connections coming out of them, and RCA inputs on the sub where the speakers plug into. See pages 6 and 7 for the most relevant photos if you don't want to go through the review yourself.

I guess that considering that the review was written in 2004, perhaps they have come out with an upgraded/revised version that replaced the wires with regular speaker cable and pinch connectors. Or maybe the unit the reviewer had was a preproduction unit that was not quite finalized. Anyhow I guess I was mistaken, the amazon.com picture shows speaker wire connections for their Z-5500.

That Dell price looks to be the best I've seen too- free shipping is actually significant on an item that weighs 60lbs.

Ruahrc
 
[quote name='Ruahrc']This review (http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/z5500/index.php) shows some pictures which clearly show the speakers having RCA connections coming out of them, and RCA inputs on the sub where the speakers plug into. See pages 6 and 7 for the most relevant photos if you don't want to go through the review yourself.

I guess that considering that the review was written in 2004, perhaps they have come out with an upgraded/revised version that replaced the wires with regular speaker cable and pinch connectors. Or maybe the unit the reviewer had was a preproduction unit that was not quite finalized. Anyhow I guess I was mistaken, the amazon.com picture shows speaker wire connections for their Z-5500.

That Dell price looks to be the best I've seen too- free shipping is actually significant on an item that weighs 60lbs.

Ruahrc[/quote]Yup, I'll guess that was an earlier version of the system. It's standard speaker wires and connections in the set I have. Even the 600 series I had before of Logitech's used regular speaker wires.
 
[quote name='Ruahrc']This review (http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/z5500/index.php) shows some pictures which clearly show the speakers having RCA connections coming out of them, and RCA inputs on the sub where the speakers plug into. See pages 6 and 7 for the most relevant photos if you don't want to go through the review yourself.
[/QUOTE]

That is really weird. I own the Z-5500s and they definitely use regular speaker wire. You are probably right saying that is an older model.
 
I picked up a set of RWTI Sicuro 670-XL this month. While I don't have a lot of speaker experience, I will say that the speakers are pretty good for the price I paid. They are 125 watts and well they are not as good as say the logitechs, but I got my set for $80 at a local store which I think is pretty good.

One thing I have to say about these speakers is the subwoofer doesn't have a lot of power compared to other sets. It doesn't bother me much because I don't like heavy bass in my music when I listen but it can for other people. Also the remote needs to hit the sub exactly to switch settings which can be annoying.

On the plus side it can emulate 5.1 if you are using it as 2.1 speakers. Whats really cool is it lights up to the music you are listen too or sounds you are hearing perfectly. It's really cool to look at. Overall I love them though, but I haven't had hands on experience with other brands.
 
Just picked up the Logitech Z-5500 today, completely 100 percent blows my z-640 out of the water. A steal at the 125 I got them for.
 
I have a secondary AV system hooked up to my PC and I love it. I know it might now be "budget", but if you have the space it is worth the money. Plus if you search around craigslist you can probably get a really nice non-hdmi receiver for well under $200.
 
personally i'd repurchase the klipsch set.. if you don't want the center and rear speakers get a 2.1 kit... Logitech is the next best thing though however i just think they have way too much bass in them and they really muddy up the sound where as the klipsch speakers are very well balanced.. check ebay or amazon for 'em :whistle2:D
 
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