View Poll Results: Speaker SetUp Your Currently Using

Voters
100. You may not vote on this poll
  • The Crappy 2 (stereo) Speakers That Came With My Computer

    6 6.00%
  • 2.1 Speakers

    32 32.00%
  • 4.1 Speakers

    25 25.00%
  • 5.1 Speakers (Analog)

    14 14.00%
  • 5.1 Speakers (Digital)

    15 15.00%
  • 6.1 or Greater (O Ya I'm Better Than All Of You! :P )

    2 2.00%
  • Don't Laugh... My Speakers Are Built Into My Computer.....

    6 6.00%
  • Surround Sound Amp (Dolby Stereo/Prologic/Prologic II/Digital/DTS/etc.) + Many or Some Speakers

    12 12.00%
  • Believe It Or Not, I Live My Life WithOut Meaningless Things (I'm Too Poor)

    2 2.00%
  • Durr, like I'd Tell You!? (I'm Embrarassed To Say)

    2 2.00%
Multiple Choice Poll.
Page 3 of 9 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... LastLast
Results 31 to 45 of 121

Thread: Speakers

  1. #31
    Gone
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Posts
    5,713
    I disagree on watts not mattering. I make my own custom speaker boxes for car stereo's and home units. Using blaupunkts speaker deseign program. Watts on a cheapo amp at 400watts will be beaten by a good amp at 100watts. Its the real power of per watt that matters. Take a radio shack 400watt amp. Now run it compared to a alpine or kenwood 200watt amp. Betcha $1000 the kenwood and alpine push the speaker 10x harder than the cheap amp does. So watts does matter alot. But good watts are most important. Without high power you dont drive the speaker cone good. Not moving the woofer much creates less air movement = less sound.

  2. #32
    Ultimate Member Someone Stupid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    3,133
    P4 gamer: I think you took me a bit out of context. Like I said, watts matter per speaker, some high effiecientcy speakers lose some of it at high power, while some lowers ones gain it. Also comparing a high quality amp to a low quality amp is a rather unfair example if you know about amplifiers. Cheap amps (especially radio shack types), don't have the ability to store decent amounts of juice for bass hits. Alpine and kenwood amps do. Compare a 100 watt Kenwood to a 400 watt Kenwood (or it's nearest equivalent) - you'll see the 400 win. If you compare garbage to quality, quality is going to win. Also radioshack probably rates their amps at their peak, not RMS, so it's in reality probably a 200 watt amp. Wattage just doesn't matter as much as some people think - that's the point I'm trying to get across. You have to match the wattage to the speaker for best results, not just find the biggest amp you can find and find a speaker which is only rated to handle it, you have to know how it performs at that wattage - there may be others which handle just as much which handle much better or much worse.

    Just like with box design, it's easy to get double the output (3db) from a good box design for the said speaker than a generic sealed box design. If the box is ported, then you'll get a definate boost with a catch - sound quality. Ports only release sound at a certain frequency. That's why you see high end tower systems ported, but the ported frequency (involves a little math on tube diameter and length) is at the lower end, where the speaker can't hit as well (thus helping extend it's bottom end), instead of in db drag racing where it's at the mid lower end, which is easier to get good boost from porting (in the 40 to 60 Hz range) in addition to the speakers output at that frequency as well.

    As for that bet, I wouldn't take you up on it... now if you want to bet on a 400 watt kenwood losing against the 100 watt Kenwood I'd be game, but I'm no sucker. Your pitting a Pinto against a Mustang in your wattage evaluation.

    -----------

    As for treble, that's all in the tweeter's design (if it has any - it may just have a midrange speaker that hits the lower upper frquencies). Metallic and ceramic tweeters generally give you more sharpness while polymer tweeters give you a more smooth tone. Though both types can do what the other does depending on design, it all boils down to quality. Neodium tweeters generally sound much better as the magnet is smaller with a stronger field (which in turn fits the small tweeter better) that Iron Ferrite magnets on tweeters. The higher the frequency, the less watts it pulls, that's why you see subs pulling tons more watts than midranges and tweeters. Crossovers matter a great deal in tweeters as well, as lower frequencies really screw with a tweeter. 6 db is horrible, 12 is average, 18+ is ideal, though I've seen up to 48db crossovers, doesn't make much of a difference over 24's except at EXTREME volumes. You won't see 48 db crossovers outside of car audio, or studio setups - as car audio needs it due to the loudness, and studio's need it for clear recording.

  3. #33
    Just bought a set of Klipsch Promedia 4.1's, I love em!!

  4. #34
    Ultimate Member Someone Stupid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    3,133
    I've heard they had good sound quality, just not the rumble... but Klipsch wasn't going for heavy bass, they were going for accuracy. Logitech goes for more rumble on the bottom end than accuracy (at least fom the last ones I heard). There is nothing wrong with that. To each his own. Some people might not care if that all their very bottom end notes in music sound off, nor will many notice, as the very bottom and the very top ends are the hardest to decipher note wise, the midrange is where most people get whether something is on or off pitch.

  5. #35
    Ultimate Member stix_kua's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    My spoon is too big...
    Posts
    2,884
    I have a 2.1 set up(subwoofer included) with a total of 60 watts and then i have two other bass reflex speakers (80 watts a piece)...more than enough for me...If it makes the floor rumble, then it makes me feel humble
    Last edited by stix_kua; 12-24-2002 at 02:50 AM.
    "I'm no technical supervisor, I'm a supervising technician."
    --Homer Simpson

  6. #36
    Ultimate Member stix_kua's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    My spoon is too big...
    Posts
    2,884
    and then I attached an old PC beep speaker that I yanked out of a dead machine and used it as a center speaker. man is it loud...and obnxiuos..
    "I'm no technical supervisor, I'm a supervising technician."
    --Homer Simpson

  7. #37
    Ultimate Member Someone Stupid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    3,133
    ****, your center channel must sound like **** - as all the PC speakers I've seen were of the lowest possible quality imaginable. But if it gets you by, then it works. Though I imagine that will be the first piece of the system that gets replaced.

  8. #38
    Ultimate Member x51out's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Tucson AZ, 22 Dec. 2012
    Posts
    1,434
    Man, any decision regarding purchase should be difficult. Since I'm finally ditching my aweful SB PCI 128 for an Audigy 2 next week, I'll also be needing speakers. But the more I read, the more I realize that I'm not gonna be able to make a decision. The only barriers I have are no place to put any speakers behind me, no more than $150. What do you guys think of those Creative 6600? Otherwise I'd just go for brute force Logitech z560's.

  9. #39
    Ultimate Member Someone Stupid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    3,133
    What are you looking for in your setup? That is probably the most overlooked question when people by speakers. Do you want a level even sound across the entire spectrum or do you want certain parts of your sound highlighted at the expense of sound quality. Sharper highs and louder, though rougher, lows. Maybe you want the midrange to stand out. Do you just want them really loud? You really need to think about what you want from a system before anyone here can truly recommend one to you without it just being, "I like them." They can tell you what those speakers sound like, and with your budget constraints, you might have to make some sacrifices depending on what you want. Letting others know what you want out of the speakers will help them help you, as the last thing you want is to get speakers you really don't like when you could get speakers which you do like, or at least consider tolerable compared to the other one.

    Last time I heard Logitech's they had deep bass that was inaccurate (though it's hard to tell with bass), but they had a good solid midrange and a decent high end that wasn't overly metallic sounding, but fairly crisp and a bit sharp. Seems they sacrificed a bit of bass quality for loverall output. But a great deal for the price. Don't kow about the Creative's.

  10. #40
    Originally posted by Someone Stupid
    I've heard they had good sound quality, just not the rumble... but Klipsch wasn't going for heavy bass, they were going for accuracy. Logitech goes for more rumble on the bottom end than accuracy (at least fom the last ones I heard). There is nothing wrong with that. To each his own. Some people might not care if that all their very bottom end notes in music sound off, nor will many notice, as the very bottom and the very top ends are the hardest to decipher note wise, the midrange is where most people get whether something is on or off pitch.
    They do have good sound quality, as for the low end, they do produce a powerful pretty accurate "kick" more so then a consant rumbling "boom" that Z-560 causes. I did like the the highs/midrange and crossover a lot better then Z-560 as well, although Z-560 did have decent midrange.

  11. #41
    Ultimate Member AllGamer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Posts
    16,305
    Originally posted by bdmst16
    the Z-680 are sweet, but I cant fork over $300 at the moment either. AG, how good are the 560's? Recommended?
    on Rating and Review pages

    the 560 is at the same Level as the Kiplish

    and the Z680 are even better



    and personally speaking from Experience the 560 are kick a.s.s. if you love Sub sonic alot like me

    but my neighbour hates it

  12. #42
    Ultimate Member AllGamer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Posts
    16,305
    Originally posted by x51out
    Z-680's are $300odd, but do they s o u n d like $300? Klipsch makes serious 5.1's, guess it depends on the sound card, speaker placement, etc.
    Believe it or not 560 were at the same level but not better cuz the 560 was really a 4.1 and not 5.1

    now the 680 brings them at the same 5.1 level but as for quality, definitely better

    you should really go to a computer or sound store that carries them and try it with your favorite CD to check them out

    it's like the first love kind of feel

  13. #43
    Ultimate Member x51out's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Tucson AZ, 22 Dec. 2012
    Posts
    1,434
    70% gaming and 30% techno and trance. I need concussive bass, relatively sharp highs, at least not flat, and a mid-range that is not overpowering. I HATE with a passion flat sounding speakers. Also, I do alot of gaming with headphones, so often do speakers sound not-so-good after headphones. Would be nice to be able to spend $400, but THAT aint gonna happen. Those $250 Creative Inspire 5700 are nice, very nice indeed. And probably exactly what I need?
    Last edited by x51out; 12-24-2002 at 06:07 PM.

  14. #44
    Gone
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Posts
    5,713
    Originally posted by tking
    You need 4.1+ on a home theatre, but I've never understood using them on a computer. I love fragging as much as anyone, but the yamaha 2.1's punch out great bass, good stereo and emerse me in a game.

    Next time I'm out at an electronics shop I'll give surround a go on a gaming system (if they even have one set up). Maybe it will be so good it will change my mind.
    No, No,. You need 5.1 on home theatre. Whattcha doing without bass cannon. Me I gots two of'em. front left & rear right cannons

  15. #45
    Ultimate Member AllGamer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Posts
    16,305
    Originally posted by x51out
    70% gaming and 30% techno and trance. I need concussive bass, relatively sharp highs, at least not flat, and a mid-range that is not overpowering. I HATE with a passion flat sounding speakers. Also, I do alot of gaming with headphones, so often do speakers sound ****ty after headphones. Would be nice to be able to spend $400, but THAT aint gonna happen. Those $250 Creative Inspire 5700 are nice, very nice indeed. And probably exactly what I need?
    Well the set is awesome for Games and Dance/Techno/Trance

    but as far as Treble goes, the review are quite rite i'll say

    the MidRange is good sound, the HighRange is decent, no distortion at all

    so far i've been reluctant to turn my system to the max cuz i don't want to get deaf

    even with the Speakers volumes at 50% - 60% it's so loud and clear that you can babely hear yourself speaking

    I never cared buch about Treble so i can't give you a good review on that part

    but when it comes to what the Singer sings or the Plates/and all those high pitch tones goes (treble) they are good and clear

    so as i said before

    take a CD with your best song compilation and test it in a store



    I love base + sub, cuz it does a real nice Sonic Massage it feels so gooooood, after an hour or so, totally relaxed like a new person
    Last edited by AllGamer; 12-24-2002 at 05:38 PM.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •