Best Bookshelfs for under $200?

[rusty1285]

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to all this stuff audio stuff. I'm more of a computer geek myself, which brings me to my question. I'm interested in getting a nice pair of speakers for my PC. I'd probably run them right off my PC in the beginning but ideally I'd like to run them off a reciever or something to give them more power. So I was wondering what you all could recommend for a pair of speakers for under $200. I'd mostly be using them for music and movies, where as I'll use my headphones for gaming.

FYI: I did read that review of the bookshelf 2007 shootout. The Polks seem to have won in that price range but I was curious if you all could recommend anything else.

Cheers!

 

[mazersteven]

You tell me how to get my computer running better, and I will tell you what speakers to purchase.

I run Ad-Aware 07, AVG Virus, and CCleaner, and still it runs slow.

 

[abboudc]

You tell me how to get my computer running better, and I will tell you what speakers to purchase.

I run Ad-Aware 07, AVG Virus, and CCleaner, and still it runs slow.

Get a Mac. Seriously.

 

[furrycute]

Which version of Windows are you running, Vista or XP?

How much RAM do you have. 2 GB is sufficient of XP. 4 GB for Vista.

How much room is left on your hard drive? Less than 10% free will make your computer crawl.

How fast is your processor? Less than 2 year old is okay for Vista.

How many processes do you have running? I would turn off all the eye candy stuff, remove any unnecessary startup programs, disable automatic indexing, etc. Do a search on google, lots of info on how to do those stuff.

Defrag your hard drive.

 

[abboudc]

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to all this stuff audio stuff. I'm more of a computer geek myself, which brings me to my question. I'm interested in getting a nice pair of speakers for my PC. I'd probably run them right off my PC in the beginning but ideally I'd like to run them off a reciever or something to give them more power. So I was wondering what you all could recommend for a pair of speakers for under $200. I'd mostly be using them for music and movies, where as I'll use my headphones for gaming.

FYI: I did read that review of the bookshelf 2007 shootout. The Polks seem to have won in that price range but I was curious if you all could recommend anything else.

Cheers!

You're not going to be able to run them off your pc, then off a receiver. They're either powered or they're not. You'd be better off buying non-powered and adding a cheap stereo amp. A decent pair of bookshelves will blow away computer speakers.

 

[mazersteven]

Defrag your hard drive.

Something inside will not let me Defrag.

Xp
1.3 processor
1 gb of ram
80 hard drive 50%

 

[furrycute]

As to computer speakers. Seriously I would just stick with computer speakers. It's hard to beat the value and sound quality of a good 2.1 computer speaker setup.

Klipsch used to make a fantastic 2.1 Ipod speaker system, but it's discontinued now. Their Promedia 2.1 model is also very good.

 

[furrycute]

Something inside will not let me Defrag.

Xp
1.3 processor
1 gb of ram
80 hard drive 50%

1) Upgrade the RAM to 2 GB.
2) Do you still have your Windows install disc? Do a clean install. It will do wonders for your system performance.
3) How fast is that 80gb hard drive? If it's 4200 rpm, try to swap it out for a new one that is at least 5400 rpm. Will speed up the system considerably.

 

[rusty1285]

Alright, well if I got something to power a set of speakers, any suggestions as to a pair I should consider? I want something that I'll be able to play loud. I'd probably down the line add a sub somewhere but I'd rather skip PC speakers. Something that I could build upon maybe. I'm a college kid so thats why the budget is small.

 

[mazersteven]

1) Upgrade the RAM to 2 GB.
2) Do you still have your Windows install disc? Do a clean install. It will do wonders for your system performance.
3) How fast is that 80gb hard drive? If it's 4200 rpm, try to swap it out for a new one that is at least 5400 rpm. Will speed up the system considerably.

Thanks Furry

 

[rusty1285]

Oh I took care of you through a Private message

 

[furrycute]

You are quite welcome Maz.


As to computer speakers. I've been down that same road before, just a couple of years ago. So here's what I found out.

Seriously, unless you step up to big floorstanders, no bookshelf is going to give you the kind of bass you've come to expect from a decent 2.1 computer speaker setup. Those 5 inch or 6 inch woofers in those bookshelf speakers are just not going to cut it.

Real subwoofers give you REAL bass, the kind of bass that is mostly subsonic. So you are going to miss that midbass hump you've come to expect from your computer sub (technically most computer subs are not real subs, they are powered midbass woofers).


A couple of years ago I ended up shelling out close to $3000 before I settled on a real stereo system that I felt matched/exceeded the bass impact of my $200 2.1 computer speakers.

 

[furrycute]

If you really want to get real speakers, then consider the JBL's. They are dirt cheap, they are easy to power, and they play LOUD.

Get a pair of JBL bookshelves with big woofers (at least 6.5 inch if not larger). Those will play loud.

 

[rusty1285]

You are quite welcome Maz.


As to computer speakers. I've been down that same road before, just a couple of years ago. So here's what I found out.

Seriously, unless you step up to big floorstanders, no bookshelf is going to give you the kind of bass you've come to expect from a decent 2.1 computer speaker setup. Those 5 inch or 6 inch woofers in those bookshelf speakers are just not going to cut it.

Real subwoofers give you REAL bass, the kind of bass that is mostly subsonic. So you are going to miss that midbass hump you've come to expect from your computer sub (technically most computer subs are not real subs, they are powered midbass woofers).


A couple of years ago I ended up shelling out close to $3000 before I settled on a real stereo system that I felt matched/exceeded the bass impact of my $200 2.1 computer speakers.

Hmmm... I see your point. I do have a crappy ancient old PC 2.1 speaker system that in my opinion blows, so thats why I wanted to upgrade to something a little nicer. I guess I'll go try out that Klipsch set your mentioned.

 

[bitpoh]

Rusty you may want to also check out the following:
Swan M10:
http://www.theaudioinsider.com/product_info.php?products_id=89
Swan M200:
http://www.theaudioinsider.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_24&products_id=43
Audioengine A2:
http://www.audioengineusa.com/store/

 

[Warpdrv]

Get a Mac. Seriously.

Please....

 

[Warpdrv]

1) Upgrade the RAM to 2 GB.
2) Do you still have your Windows install disc? Do a clean install. It will do wonders for your system performance.
3) How fast is that 80gb hard drive? If it's 4200 rpm, try to swap it out for a new one that is at least 5400 rpm. Will speed up the system considerably.

+1,000 on all of that...

Ultimately that computer is old as dirt, I would suggest upgrading, but unfortunately that means your into a new machine with Windows Vista, and all the "Are you sure you want to do that? yes or no", "Did I ask you if you want to really do that? yes or no..." Cr@P I hate vista...

So in my opinion, blow away the OS and reload... upgrade ram, If your just using it for the internet, it should be fine... and stay off the porn sites...
If you not using Firefox for your browser instead of Internet explorer, change over... IE is a magnet for messing up your computer...

Also change antivirus to NOD32, that is the best out there.. hands down.

 

[Guangui]

A pair of PSB Alpha B1 are approx. $169.00/pr ($199.00 MSRP). These are excellent speakers at that price point. Don't know if you can run them directly from your computer, as they would probably need more watts than what your computer puts out, but if you run them from an amp or receiver connected to your computer they will sound very nice. They will sound much better than any $150+ computer speakers you can find.

 

[Rico]

For a PC based, You may wanna consider this:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4064450

Friend of mine got them, I tell you what, those little things got balls. Try them, if you don't like, return it. On ebay they go for average $80 bucks shipped.

Again, this is something clean and cheap.

 

[gmichael]

And I thought I was going to read ideas on budget speakers.