Need Newbie Speaker Recommendation? Low Budget

[Buckeyefan 1]

A friend of mine got in on those Insignias when they were something like $40/pair. They're marginal. I'm far far far from an expert, but they didn't sound as good as my R15s to me.

Those speakers shine with jazz and classical. They're terrible for loud rock,and don't sound that great blasting movies. They are a very, very good laid back type of musical speaker.

They also didn't sound as good as my RTi4's, but there's a huge price difference. The Polk towers listed at the beginning of this thread are a gem of a speaker if one can find them on sale.

 

[drawde84]

I actually really like the Logitech Z-5500s. I was going to buy either that or the Z-2300s for the longest time... But that was when I was only thinking of personal use on my computer. When getting speakers for the common room of an 5 person apartment/rowhouse, I started thinking of home audio.

What are the main differences between using computer speakers for this, and using real home audio speakers? I know home audio gives you flexibilty to upgrade and allows you to centralize everything with the receiver (convenient, but not a must for me), but what else? How about quality-wise? Does anyone know roughly which will produce better sound for music? Logitech Z-5500 or the Polk R15 Speakers I'm looking at plus the Dayton Sub-100 or Sub120? Thanks!

 

[jonnythan]

My Logitech Z-2200s (very similar to the 5500, just a 2.1 system) provide pretty good sound, but they have a hard time really filling a room with quality sound. The R15s are much better at it.

 

[jcPanny]

Bookshelf system

A pair of Athena Audition series or Bic Venturi bookshelf speakers ($100/pair) and a refurbished receiver ($100) would be a good start. If you check out thrift stores or the local pawn shop, you might be able to get a stereo receiver for next to nothing and budget more on the speakers.

I have some Athena AS-B1.1s and an AS-C1 I need to get rid of. Let me know if you are interested.