Speakers???

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Okay, I'm looking for a set of good computer speakersfor my 24" imac. I've looked at the Creatures, the Sound Sticks and the Logitech X 530s. I'd like to not spend more than 100 on them. Anyone have any suggestions. I plan on using them for music, movies and the occasional game. I mostly listen to hard rock, punk, metal and light rock stuff, i.e. Damien Rice & Jeff Buckley. I currently have a crappy Phillips integrated stereo sysem plugged in, it takes up way too much space.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    I personally use the JBL Creatures. I think it depends on what you use them for. They're probably not going to power your home entertainment system, but just using them for your 24inch iMac should be more than ok. Bass isn't the worlds best sound, but it does the job well. And they look really cool in the process. I know they can be had for around $50 including shipping on Amazon.com. But thats just my opinion.
  • Reply 2 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RyanEan


    I personally use the JBL Creatures. I think it depends on what you use them for. They're probably not going to power your home entertainment system, but just using them for your 24inch iMac should be more than ok. Bass isn't the worlds best sound, but it does the job well. And they look really cool in the process. I know they can be had for around $50 including shipping on Amazon.com. But thats just my opinion.



    Thanks



    I just ordered a set just before lunch. I'd taken a listen to them at a friend's place a while back and remember being impressed by them.



    I'd like to have gotten a 5.1 setup but I'd have to buy an extra component to make it work for all the speakers, not willing to do that right now. Plus I can use the extra desktop space.
  • Reply 3 of 16
    smaxsmax Posts: 361member
    If you're willing to drop the extra few dollars, look in to the Logitech Z-2300. Sound great and worth every penny. I found mine for $100 shipped, but I guess that's on the upper end of what you want to spend.





    EDIT: D'oh! I completely overlooked the line where you said that you'd already grabbed some new speakers... Oh well.
  • Reply 4 of 16
    justinjustin Posts: 403member
    Dunno.



    I find most modern convenience speakers quite miserable.



    Did write a review on the Altec Lansing InMotion ($129US) which are very good value for the sound quality.



    Personally, I prefer to speak the money on a decent audiophile interconnect, and fuse one end into a 3.5mm jack phono and plug the other two ends into my hi-fi Aux input. The sound quality from the full-blown hi-fi even when music is played by my puny Mac cd player is superb. The 3.5mm phono goes into the Mac and the other two into the pre-amp.



    You might need to buy a 4 metre length interconnect cable though - and it's certainly not a portable solution - that's where the inMotions come in handy...
  • Reply 5 of 16
    First rule: never buy products marketed to audiophiles unless you're gullible or have a ton of cash. An 100% price increase often makes no more than a 1-5% difference when you're in the high-end range of things. Now the silicon is good enough to put digital all the way to the speakers with less resultant SNR than that from line-noise in a top-end analog system, and audiophiles are becoming more and more like the flat-earth society.



    Second rule: most 2.1 computer speakers are wretched for listening to most types of music. The satellites are usually tuned for human speech (and are too small anyway), and the sub is only good under 100Hz or so. They make decent speakers for watching videos, playing video games, or for listening to talk radio.
  • Reply 6 of 16
    Well. I'd like to get a full 5.1 or 7.1 system but with my recent purchase of the imac and lenses, and a upcoming purchase of a pistol I can't really afford as much as I'd like to spend. From what I understand to get the imac to get 5.1 or 7.1 I have buy an external gadget to facilitate this, another 100 dollars. I wish Apple would give us more sound options. Can you switch the sound card on the Mac Pros?



    Justin, what's an audiophile interconnect? It sounds like your doing some cutting and splicing to get the sound you want?
  • Reply 7 of 16
    I dumped my Altec Lansing 5.1 system when I got my MacBook for the Creative GigaWorks T20 2.0 system. Believe it or not, the Creatives have more bass!
  • Reply 8 of 16
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    I don't own these, but I believe they are superb!! $399 though. The Bose Companion 5 (5.1) link





  • Reply 9 of 16
    Ehhh skip the crappy Bose. Friends don't recommend Bose to other friends. They make very bad headphones and speakers.



    For your price tag the best you could do would be some logitechs. Have you ever thought of getting headphones instead? For PC/Mac gaming I find they work better than a surround sound setup. And cheaper for more bang as well. Good for LAN as well. Is this a viable option?



    Also for music headphones can be great for under 100. I'm getting a new pair that sound better than my 2000 HT system...for 95 dollars only. Supposedly good for movies and games as well.
  • Reply 10 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Shadow Slayer 26 View Post


    Ehhh skip the crappy Bose. Friends don't recommend Bose to other friends. They make very bad headphones and speakers.



    For your price tag the best you could do would be some logitechs. Have you ever thought of getting headphones instead? For PC/Mac gaming I find they work better than a surround sound setup. And cheaper for more bang as well. Good for LAN as well. Is this a viable option?



    Also for music headphones can be great for under 100. I'm getting a new pair that sound better than my 2000 HT system...for 95 dollars only. Supposedly good for movies and games as well.



    The headphones would be great if I were at my desk. Sometimes I like to sit at my bed or I like to listen to my music while cleaning my room. I guess I could just use my ipod for that but I'd rather not be hindered by the cord and be able to hear a knock at my door. Plus I really don't like headphones or earphones, they're uncomfortable for me. the only time I use them is for my phone in the car or for my shuffle when I run.



    Does anyone use the airtunes express? I'd eventually like to get 2-3 of these with speakers attatched to them located in several places around my home.
  • Reply 11 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by LiquidR View Post


    The headphones would be great if I were at my desk. Sometimes I like to sit at my bed or I like to listen to my music while cleaning my room. I guess I could just use my ipod for that but I'd rather not be hindered by the cord and be able to hear a knock at my door. Plus I really don't like headphones or earphones, they're uncomfortable for me. the only time I use them is for my phone in the car or for my shuffle when I run.



    Does anyone use the airtunes express? I'd eventually like to get 2-3 of these with speakers attatched to them located in several places around my home.



    Well there is an extension cord, and they have an open design so you could hear a knock at your door, but if it isn't alright for you, that's cool.



    I do'nt use airtunes express..to expensive for my needs/wants. Sorry
  • Reply 12 of 16
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    I use Airtunes/Airport Express. Love it. I've got my printer over by my stereo rig, so wireless base station/printer/music with no hassle.



    I have a cheap set of Creative/Cambridge Sound Works something or other for vanilla computer sound duties and send iTunes to the real stereo. Plus, I bring home the work laptop and use it as giant remote for the stuff on my tower.



    By the way, Cambridge used to have some great, cheap satellite/sub rigs, back before they were so ubiquitous, but when Creative bought them out the quality just went to hell. I used to by various flavors for installations and galleries and had to stop because they just stopped working after a while. Terminals would pull out, speakers would developed intermittent shorts somewhere in their innards, in line volume controls would get noisy then die, etc. It's a real shame because some of their designs- I'm thinking especially of the Model 12, which is a three channel amp and pair of satellites that pack into a little suitcase that does double duty as the sub enclosure-- sound amazing for the money. But, man those things die quick.
  • Reply 13 of 16
    Quote:

    Justin, what's an audiophile interconnect? It sounds like your doing some cutting and splicing to get the sound you want?



    Sorry for the delay - I missed this.



    An interconnect is a hi-fi grade wire to connect your music source [i.e. cd, cassette player, radio] to an amplifier/speaker set up. The suggestion is only useful if you have a hi-fi set up that you're happy with already, and want to add your iPod as a music source to play through the system. Doesn't sound like you have a hi-fi system if you don't know what an interconnect is



    I'm not overly impressed with Bose either - too much boom. A bit like those 1980's all-in-one portable music stations which boomed mostly.



    Sounds like you'd rather have a streaming device with satellite speakers around the house to spread the music. I prefer to listen to music in the lounge; already I have a smaller parallel hi-fi in the bedroom, and the iPod and inMotion speaker to move around where I go (i.e. kitchen, shower or workshop, or away from home). I guess money isn't an issue for you you've got a pistol so go for the Airport Express! If you get caught, then maybe go to an airport and head for Mexico!
  • Reply 14 of 16
    this is going to sound dumb, but tbh the imac 24" is going to have pretty decent builtin speakers right? I mean not fantastic but decent. So theres no point buying speakers unless they are somehow a big improvement on the imac built in speakers.



    Anyway I would recommend logitech - they last a long time and they sound great.
  • Reply 15 of 16
    The speakers will be decent, but there will be a huge improvement over them with even most basic speakers.
  • Reply 16 of 16
    loulou Posts: 43member
    Currently using a pair of Alesis M1 Active Mk2 speakers, they're flat studio monitors that i use for audio production, but sound great for general usage too.
Sign In or Register to comment.