Who makes the best 5.1 (or 7.1) system for the price

[EverydayDiesel]

Who makes the best 5.1 (or 7.1) system for the price?

 

[SuB]

as in? speakers? or as in a card to output it?

 

[°TheMadDutchDude°]

I think he means speakers bud.

I would personally go with Logitech, they are some of the best I reckon.

 

[Rastalovich]

I`ll nail down the soundcard option - Auzen Prelude 7.1, not just cos it works very well, but it seems to have the least flakey driverset.

(they`re practically all from Creative)

 

[Pat123]

I have a set of Z5500 by logitech.. Best speakers for the price i reckon. 5.1

 

[FarFarAway]

For what price?

 

[mrapoc]

Logitech? bleh

Even creative probably top them lol

For the price - hmmm

Possibly some other brand - audio specific

 

[FarFarAway]

Jamo are pretty good with an Arcam AMP. If you want cheaper then a Denon?

 

[SuB]

Auzen X-Fi Prelude for the output from pc (has the best drivers and is pretty much problem free on Vista 64 now) (and comes with a nice DDL license )

Creative for the speakers. I've not been impressed with Logitech's offerings but i have since moved to a more professional AV setup which cost lots so i won't mention that lol.(a little contradictory there i know)

 

[Hyper]

I have a set of Z5500 by logitech.. Best speakers for the price i reckon. 5.1

This man speaks nothing but the truth!

 

[Rastalovich]

Auzen X-Fi Prelude for the output from pc (has the best drivers and is pretty much problem free on Vista 64 now) (and comes with a nice DDL license )

Creative for the speakers. I've not been impressed with Logitech's offerings but i have since moved to a more professional AV setup which cost lots so i won't mention that lol.(a little contradictory there i know)

I dunno, for desktop offerings, logitech are pretty darn good.

I'd promote the creative-sound works dtt 5.1 setup I got now, but I couldn't say whether or not they are the same manufacturing people now. Bought em freaking decades ago and they still boast. Best purchase ever tbh.

(just discovered Apple's speech option and it effing rocks)

 

[SuB]

i think its a case of buy and see tbh.. if you can push for 7.1 it's nice, but you will need the soundcard to push it

 

[rammedst]

Jamo are pretty good with an Arcam AMP. If you want cheaper then a Denon?

Thats more like it, real speaker talk, Jamo speakers are very good, i have a pair of their floor speakers that sound like the most beautiful things ever, little old denon sub and fills out very well...

logitech speakers are you get what you paid for, bundled up, easy, loud but not the best of quality, since they are cheap, it doesn't matter.

 

[FarFarAway]

Thats more like it, real speaker talk, Jamo speakers are very good, i have a pair of their floor speakers that sound like the most beautiful things ever, little old denon sub and fills out very well...

logitech speakers are you get what you paid for, bundled up, easy, loud but not the best of quality, since they are cheap, it doesn't matter.

Agreed on both of them. I've had Missions but they're a little style over substance compared to some other makes. I love MS speakers myself

 

[gotmaxpower]

Ah speakers, now we're talking about something fun.

The Z-5500's are renowned for quality, although, if you're after something slightly more powerful, you could look at getting the Creative Gigaworks S750. AFAIK, its the most powerful 7.1 system to date.

Could someone provide some more information as to making your own DIY speaker setup, as I'm interested in getting a proper setup around Christmas time, and I want to get the best possible value for money. I was thinking about getting the Z-5500's, but it'd be nice to get a sub and a set of speakers and see how they go.

 

[FarFarAway]

Go for something basic at first if I was you. A nice set of Gales and a decent 5.1 AMP like a Denon, Sony or possibly Cambridge Audio for a bit less cash.

For more ££'s, get either Arcam or Onkyo or something and a nice set of Mordant Short speakers or B&W's

Personally I love the sounds from a set of floorstanders at the front, then a centre and either small bookshelf rears, or proper surround rears if you can afford it. Sub not needed tbh

Richer sounds is a good place to look at

 

[gotmaxpower]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm a complete beginner at these sort of things, so I don't understand any of the lingo nor do I know how to put a small system together.

Here are a couple of questions I felt like asking;

Will these speakers plug into the back of the PC with a 3.5mm jack or will they need some sort of connector or splitter?

Will they use my X-Fi?

Will they offer better quality and will they be louder than the Z-5500's?

Do you have any links or guides to putting a small system together?

How much will it set me back?

Thanks once again for the help.

 

[FarFarAway]

Nope, the AV Receiver will most likely have Optical or Coaxial in and be a Dolby/DTS decoder so you connect your X-Fi to em via one of those (assuming you have a digital out on it)

I would say almost any seperates you buy will be superior to any PC speaker setup, mine certainly is and that didn't cost me a bomb. Louder? Depends on how you crank it but mine fills a whole house with sound easily. The sounds from a proper set of speakers is a different kind of loudness from any PC setup IMO

Guides - see AVForums I suppose

Depends really.

1/2 Decent AV Receiver - £200

1/2 decent floorstanders - £150-200

1/2 Decent Centre: £50

1/2 decent rears - £50

Cables etc - free if you go into Richer sounds and wrangle some

Obviously these are prices for starter kind of kit, but it will last for years and years if you buy right and you won't be disappointed

 

[gotmaxpower]

Alright, I'll check out the forums and see what I can find out.

Thanks alot for the help mate, its appreciated.