recommendations for computer speakers?

[Mulehead]

I hope this is the right place for this. I'm looking for recommendations for
computer speakers. I want to get a system with 2 satellites and a subwoofer.
I need them for music, games and general computer sounds. All at moderate
volumes. I want as close to audiophile-grade sound quality as possible.
Going all over the place to hear different systems is not practical for me.
I'd like to narrow it down to two or three possibilities if I can.

Any suggestions?

[Arny Krueger]

"Mulehead" > wrote in message

> I hope this is the right place for this. I'm looking for
> recommendations for computer speakers. I want to get a
> system with 2 satellites and a subwoofer. I need them for
> music, games and general computer sounds. All at moderate
> volumes. I want as close to audiophile-grade sound
> quality as possible. Going all over the place to hear
> different systems is not practical for me. I'd like to
> narrow it down to two or three possibilities if I can.
> Any suggestions?

If they weren't attached to a computer but part of a
standard audio system, what would you want?

That would then be my recommendation.

[Mulehead]

"Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
...
> "Mulehead" > wrote in message
>
>> I hope this is the right place for this. I'm looking for
>> recommendations for computer speakers. I want to get a
>> system with 2 satellites and a subwoofer. I need them for
>> music, games and general computer sounds. All at moderate
>> volumes. I want as close to audiophile-grade sound
>> quality as possible. Going all over the place to hear
>> different systems is not practical for me. I'd like to
>> narrow it down to two or three possibilities if I can.
>> Any suggestions?
>
> If they weren't attached to a computer but part of a standard audio
> system, what would you want?
>
> That would then be my recommendation.
>

I don't follow you. I'm looking for self-powered speakers that I can plug in
to my computer. If you mean I should go with the same brand as my home audio
speakers, that isn't a good option in my case. I have an old pair of Boston
Acoustic speakers in my home system, but I don't believe B.A. currently
makes computer speakers. Plus, the only time I heard a pair of B.A. computer
speakers I really didn't like them.

[Todd H.]

"Mulehead" > writes:
> I hope this is the right place for this. I'm looking for recommendations for
> computer speakers. I want to get a system with 2 satellites and a subwoofer.
> I need them for music, games and general computer sounds. All at moderate
> volumes. I want as close to audiophile-grade sound quality as possible.
> Going all over the place to hear different systems is not practical for me.
> I'd like to narrow it down to two or three possibilities if I can.
>
> Any suggestions?

These are teh best sounding computer speakers I was able to find when
I was shopping about a year ago:
http://www.alteclansing.com/product_details.asp?pID=MX5021

Another avenue would be to shop at Guitar Center, Sam Ash, or whatever
the largest musicians store that is in your area and audition some
monitor speakers aimed at the home recording sorts of folks.


--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | Todd H
\ / | http://www.toddh.net/
X Promoting good netiquette | http://triplethreatband.com/
/ \ http://www.toddh.net/netiquette/ | "4 lines suffice."

[Arny Krueger]

"Mulehead" > wrote in message

> "Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Mulehead" > wrote in message
>>
>>> I hope this is the right place for this. I'm looking for
>>> recommendations for computer speakers. I want to get a
>>> system with 2 satellites and a subwoofer. I need them
>>> for music, games and general computer sounds. All at
>>> moderate volumes. I want as close to audiophile-grade
>>> sound quality as possible. Going all over the place to
>>> hear different systems is not practical for me. I'd
>>> like to narrow it down to two or three possibilities if
>>> I can. Any suggestions?
>>
>> If they weren't attached to a computer but part of a
>> standard audio system, what would you want?
>>
>> That would then be my recommendation.

> I don't follow you. I'm looking for self-powered speakers
> that I can plug in to my computer.

Why do they have to be self-powered?

Why do speakers that are used with computers be in any way
special?

[Mulehead]

"Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
...
> "Mulehead" > wrote in message
>
>> "Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> "Mulehead" > wrote in message
>>>
>>>> I hope this is the right place for this. I'm looking for
>>>> recommendations for computer speakers. I want to get a
>>>> system with 2 satellites and a subwoofer. I need them
>>>> for music, games and general computer sounds. All at
>>>> moderate volumes. I want as close to audiophile-grade
>>>> sound quality as possible. Going all over the place to
>>>> hear different systems is not practical for me. I'd
>>>> like to narrow it down to two or three possibilities if
>>>> I can. Any suggestions?
>>>
>>> If they weren't attached to a computer but part of a
>>> standard audio system, what would you want?
>>>
>>> That would then be my recommendation.
>
>> I don't follow you. I'm looking for self-powered speakers
>> that I can plug in to my computer.
>
> Why do they have to be self-powered?
>
> Why do speakers that are used with computers be in any way special?
>
>

Because computer and sound cards don't have amplifiers. At least not in the
same way that a home stereo has an amplifier. You couldn't just plug
standard home audio speakers into the output of a computer sound card. In
the same way you couldn't plug most home speakers into a home preamlifier
and have it work.
>
>

[Arny Krueger]

"Mulehead" > wrote in message

> "Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Mulehead" > wrote in message
>>
>>> "Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> "Mulehead" > wrote in
>>>> message
>>>>> I hope this is the right place for this. I'm looking
>>>>> for recommendations for computer speakers. I want to
>>>>> get a system with 2 satellites and a subwoofer. I
>>>>> need them for music, games and general computer
>>>>> sounds. All at moderate volumes. I want as close to
>>>>> audiophile-grade sound quality as possible. Going all
>>>>> over the place to hear different systems is not
>>>>> practical for me. I'd like to narrow it down to two
>>>>> or three possibilities if I can. Any suggestions?
>>>>
>>>> If they weren't attached to a computer but part of a
>>>> standard audio system, what would you want?
>>>>
>>>> That would then be my recommendation.
>>
>>> I don't follow you. I'm looking for self-powered
>>> speakers that I can plug in to my computer.
>>
>> Why do they have to be self-powered?
>>
>> Why do speakers that are used with computers be in any
>> way special?

> Because computer and sound cards don't have amplifiers.

Neither do standard home audio tuners, turntables, CD or DVD
players. Has that ever stopped you?

[Mulehead]

"Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
...
>>> Why do speakers that are used with computers be in any
>>> way special?
>
>> Because computer and sound cards don't have amplifiers.
>
> Neither do standard home audio tuners, turntables, CD or DVD players. Has
> that ever stopped you?
>

A person couldn't plug non-amplified speakers directly into tuners,
turntables, CD or DVD players either. At least they couldn't do it and get
any kind of usable volume. The signal from those things need to go through
an amplification stage first.

[[email protected]]

Mulehead wrote:
> I hope this is the right place for this. I'm looking for recommendations for
> computer speakers. I want to get a system with 2 satellites and a subwoofer.
> I need them for music, games and general computer sounds. All at moderate
> volumes. I want as close to audiophile-grade sound quality as possible.
> Going all over the place to hear different systems is not practical for me.
> I'd like to narrow it down to two or three possibilities if I can.
>
> Any suggestions?

Klipsch Promedia aren't bad for what they cost.

Jeff

[Dave Bachmann]

I take the outputs of my computers and run them thru an old pre-amp and then
to a pair of Altec-Lansing ACS-48. I have the satellites mounted to the
window frame at ear height and pointed toward me. They are definitely good
enough for the sort of listening I do around the computers, but it would be
easy enough to grab another amp and a pair of "real" speakers if I felt the
need to upgrade. This setup gives me the option to listen to whatever
computer I'm currently working on (there are 4 around my desk) if so
desired, or to listen to the tuner or CD player that I have also plugged
into the amp.

--
Invert name and ISP in order to respond
"Mulehead" > wrote in message
...
>I hope this is the right place for this. I'm looking for recommendations
>for computer speakers. I want to get a system with 2 satellites and a
>subwoofer. I need them for music, games and general computer sounds. All at
>moderate volumes. I want as close to audiophile-grade sound quality as
>possible. Going all over the place to hear different systems is not
>practical for me. I'd like to narrow it down to two or three possibilities
>if I can.
>
> Any suggestions?
>

[Kendall]

"Mulehead" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
> ...
> >>> Why do speakers that are used with computers be in any
> >>> way special?
> >
> >> Because computer and sound cards don't have amplifiers.
> >
> > Neither do standard home audio tuners, turntables, CD or DVD players.
Has
> > that ever stopped you?
> >
>
> A person couldn't plug non-amplified speakers directly into tuners,
> turntables, CD or DVD players either. At least they couldn't do it and get
> any kind of usable volume. The signal from those things need to go through
> an amplification stage first.

Exactly. Since you aren't seeing Arny's point, and he doesn't seem inclined
to be more blunt about it, I'll step in here. He's suggesting (in a round
about way) that you get a good set of speakers of the unpowered variety, and
then a receiver to run the signal into, and then to the speakers. In other
words, use a home stereo, and use the PC as your input source.

Arny, shame on you. He was obviously determined to only see the side of it
where he needed powered speakers for his computer, not realizing that you
were implying that he use an outside source to power them, and you were
quite well aware of it. You *could* have just come out and said what you
meant instead of making him come back for more obtuse answers. (Bad pun
alert) He wasn't ready to think outside the (speaker) box.....

Kendall


>
>

[Dimitrios Tzortzakakis]

--
Tzortzakakis Dimitrios
major in electrical engineering, freelance electrician
FH von Iraklion-Kreta, freiberuflicher Elektriker
dimtzort AT otenet DOT gr
Ï "Mulehead" > Ýãñáøå óôï ìÞíõìá
...
> I hope this is the right place for this. I'm looking for recommendations
for
> computer speakers. I want to get a system with 2 satellites and a
subwoofer.
> I need them for music, games and general computer sounds. All at moderate
> volumes. I want as close to audiophile-grade sound quality as possible.
> Going all over the place to hear different systems is not practical for
me.
> I'd like to narrow it down to two or three possibilities if I can.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
>
and teac powermax 100 arent't a bad choice, I got'em for only 12 euros...

[Arny Krueger]

"Mulehead" > wrote in message

> "Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
> ...

>>>> Why do speakers that are used with computers be in any
>>>> way special?
>>
>>> Because computer and sound cards don't have amplifiers.
>>
>> Neither do standard home audio tuners, turntables, CD or
>> DVD players. Has that ever stopped you?

> A person couldn't plug non-amplified speakers directly
> into tuners, turntables, CD or DVD players either. At
> least they couldn't do it and get any kind of usable
> volume. The signal from those things need to go through
> an amplification stage first.

Of course not - they'd plug the source such as the computer
into an amp, and then use the amp to power the speakers.

To make things a little more clear, I have a computer whose
1/8" sound card output jack is plugged into the CD input of
a Pioneer SX205 receiver using a standard kind of patch cord
that is readily available. The receiver drives a pair of
ordinary home audio-style KEF speakers.

I've tried just about everything from sound cards with
built-in power amps, to a power amp that is powered off and
fits inside the computer, to driving a power amp with a
sound card, to using regular PC speakers, to using pro
audio-style self-powered studio monitors.

What I'm recommending is the alternative that I found
delivered the best sound quality for the price. Second place
went to the self-powered NHT A10 studio monitors. If you go
that way, let me recommend the Behringer B2030a, if they
aren't too rich for your blood.

[Todd H.]

"Arny Krueger" > writes:
>
> Why do speakers that are used with computers be in any way
> special?

They don't.

Except that most folks are a) cheap and b) lazy and aren't necessarily
willing to hook up a receiver or poweramp alongside the computer to
power them.

But if great sound is the goal, that is what should be done.

--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | Todd H
\ / | http://www.toddh.net/
X Promoting good netiquette | http://triplethreatband.com/
/ \ http://www.toddh.net/netiquette/ | "4 lines suffice."

[[email protected]]

Mulehead wrote:
> I hope this is the right place for this. I'm looking for recommendations for
> computer speakers. I want to get a system with 2 satellites and a subwoofer.
> I need them for music, games and general computer sounds. All at moderate
> volumes. I want as close to audiophile-grade sound quality as possible.
> Going all over the place to hear different systems is not practical for me.
> I'd like to narrow it down to two or three possibilities if I can.
>
> Any suggestions?

"Computer speakers" are a scam, selling you something you think you
need rather than something better that may cost less.

Note you speak of "2 satellites and a subwoofer". In the realm
of real speakers, that would mean decent speakers that have reasonable
bass coverage, and an added speaker that can handle especially low
frequencies. In the realm of "computer speakers" that means two
puny speakers that often have only one driver in each, which can't
really reproduce bass frequencies, and a relatively small speaker
that is supposed to compensate for the lack of those bass frequencies.
But they are often samll enough that they can barely reproduce bass
frequencies that a decent bookshelf speaker can handle, and can't at
all handle the frequencies that a real subwoofer is intended to handle.
I suspect there may be other issues here too; with real speakers, one
can get away with a single subwoofer because by the time they are
called
in to handle frequencies, those low frequencies are non-directional and
you won't get a stereo effect, hence there's only a need for one
speaker.
Many of those "computer speaker" subwoofers" are called on to reproduce
frequencies that are still directional, so you lose stereo effect
with only one subwoofer.

You later clarify, suggesting that "computer speakers" are defined
as having built in speakers. But the marketing is such that many
believe they need "computer speakers" for their computer.

I've never had "computer speakers" and never will. I want a real
stereo system with real speakers attached, not something cheap
with the only redeaming value that it has an amplifier built in.

For a number of years, I was using a pair of car speaker that were
encased in metal cabinets (I paid five dollars used for them), and a
Delco car radio run off a 12V power supply. I was using the Delco
because I wanted an am/fm tuner, and they have wonderful radios
in them (and they are cheap, I've bought them used for as little
as $2 each). Note that I treated it as a "stereo system" that just
happened to be near the computer, and which I could feed the soundcard
into, rather than "computer speakers". Likely it wasn't so great
a system, but I paid less than a decent "computer speaker" system,
and those speakers definitely were better than a lot of the "computer
speakers".

I later switched to a pair of Radio Shack Minimus-7s, which the car
speakers resembled but I had a better idea of the specs. I paid
twenty for the pair, and certainly if I tried to buy a pair of
"computer speakers" for that little, they would be horrible. I
switched
over to Sony "mini-stereo" amplifier, more for convenience, which I
bought
at a garage sale for five bucks.

Lately, I switched to a pair of Minimus-11s, that are somewhat bigger
than the Minimus-7s. But again, I got them for $12.

There is an awful lot of old stereo equipment around that is just
waiting to be hooked up to your computer. And it's really cheap.
It makes a lot more sense to buy an amplifier or receiver at a garage
sale, and use it with a pair of regular speakers (bought at a garage
sale too, or since you've saved money, bought new) than spending
money on "computer speakers". Then you aren't limited to something
that may not be all that great.

Michael

[stealthaxe]

(Todd H.) wrote in :

> "Arny Krueger" > writes:

>> Why do speakers that are used with computers be in any way
>> special?

> They don't.

> Except that most folks are a) cheap and b) lazy and aren't necessarily
> willing to hook up a receiver or poweramp alongside the computer to
> power them.

> But if great sound is the goal, that is what should be done.

actaully this is not exactly true.

computer speakers are magnetically shielded, so that they don't cause
problems with a CRT display. most of them have amplifiers included also,
but in fact my soundblaster card can drive

if you have a flat panel display, this doesn't matter.

--
stealthaxe

[[email protected]]

stealthaxe wrote:
> (Todd H.) wrote in :
>
> > "Arny Krueger" > writes:
>
> >> Why do speakers that are used with computers be in any way
> >> special?
>
> > They don't.
>
> > Except that most folks are a) cheap and b) lazy and aren't necessarily
> > willing to hook up a receiver or poweramp alongside the computer to
> > power them.
>
> > But if great sound is the goal, that is what should be done.
>
> actaully this is not exactly true.
>
> computer speakers are magnetically shielded, so that they don't cause
> problems with a CRT display. most of them have amplifiers included also,
> but in fact my soundblaster card can drive
>
This assumes the best place for the speakers are right on either side
of the monitor.

Note one reason "computer speakers" are often so crummy is because you
have them right up close, practically like headphones. They need to
be placed right in front of you, ie on either side of the monitor, in
order to get anything close to decent sound. Place them like you might
place any old speakers, and the sound falls apart.

Decent speakers allow more flexibility of placement, and thus don't
require magnetically shielded speakers.

Note also that you can buy magnetically shielded speakers that aren't
computer speakers. My bedside speakers, Radio Shack that are descended
from the Minimu 7 (I forget the exact part number these are), are
magnetically shielded. But even if I was using those as "computer
speakers" I wouldn't necessarily place them next to the monitor, for
reasons of sound rather than worry of messing the monitor up.

Michael

[Arny Krueger]

"stealthaxe" > wrote in message
.188
> (Todd H.) wrote in
> :
>
>> "Arny Krueger" > writes:
>
>>> Why do speakers that are used with computers be in any
>>> way special?
>
>> They don't.
>
>> Except that most folks are a) cheap and b) lazy and
>> aren't necessarily willing to hook up a receiver or
>> poweramp alongside the computer to power them.
>
>> But if great sound is the goal, that is what should be
>> done.
>
> actaully this is not exactly true.
>
> computer speakers are magnetically shielded, so that they
> don't cause problems with a CRT display. most of them
> have amplifiers included also, but in fact my
> soundblaster card can drive

There's a lot of home audio speakers and pro audio monitors
that are also magnetically shielded. Magnetic shielding is a
very common feature of speakers used for surround sound
beause they are often placed very close to TV set CRTs.

My idea of good computer speakers has merged with my ideas
about good monitor speakers for audio production. I used
NHT Pro A10 powered pro audio monitors as computer speakers
for a number of years.

[stealthaxe]

wrote in
oups.com:

> stealthaxe wrote:
>> (Todd H.) wrote in :


>> computer speakers are magnetically shielded, so that they don't cause
>> problems with a CRT display. most of them have amplifiers included
>> also, but in fact my soundblaster card can drive

> This assumes the best place for the speakers are right on either side
> of the monitor.

yes it does. but in a lot of cases, it is the best place. i help people
with computer issues, a lot. most people have their speakers and monitor
crammed into a very tight space.

> Decent speakers allow more flexibility of placement, and thus don't
> require magnetically shielded speakers.

not arguing that computer speakers are "good". only explaining why
people use computer speakers. many don't devote much space to the
computer and they just don't care for better.

> Note also that you can buy magnetically shielded speakers that aren't
> computer speakers. My bedside speakers, Radio Shack that are
> descended from the Minimu 7 (I forget the exact part number these
> are), are magnetically shielded. But even if I was using those as
> "computer speakers" I wouldn't necessarily place them next to the
> monitor, for reasons of sound rather than worry of messing the monitor
> up.


On my computer at home I use M-Audio powered mini monitors. They aren't
shielded, but I have a flatscreen :-). They're small, and my desk is
deep enough that they're not right in my face. In the end, you have a
good point, but as far as answering the question of what the differences
are...well there you have it :-)


--
stealthaxe