Alright, I am a noob for the most part. I am going to go over my situation briefly that way if someone can add really good advice that doesnt put me over $200.00 including additional cables and sound cards cards if they have any. My girlfriends Tivo died some time ago and we have been dealing with a dvd recorder (sucks). I have purchsed an ATI 256mb all in wonder video card for what I am going to now call the "TV Computer." This will eliminate the dvd player and I will be able to edit out commercials and play it back to the tv trhough S-video or normal video. I was originally going to purchase a cheap non-PC 5.1 stereo system. After some deliberation I decided to just go with good 2.1 speakers. Computer is a Celeron 3.06 Ghz 512 MB Ram Factory Sound Card (that might change at some point) At this point I have made up my mind just to go with 2.1 sound running from the computer. 80% of the tv we will be watching will be recorded on the HD of this computer so I dont want to deal with running speaker cables down through the walls and floors, through the basement, back up through to the computer, and then have to spend the cash to buy the hardware to make everything tun properly (I.E. reciever, sound card, fiber optic cable, sound system, and anything else needed.) What I am looking for is ample power combined with good sound for all ranges. I will be keeping this under $150 bucks. I would like to avoid a sound card if necessary (this computer just isnt worth upgrading in my opinion). This will not be a gaming PC but if a sound card would make for a night and day difference for everything played through a speaker then I would take it into consideration. It doesnt need to be movie theater quality but I want it to sound above average and far better than the tv speakers. I am currently looking at 3 systems. (Feel free to add suggestions that are under $150.00 shipped and are equal to or better than anything I have mentioned) Creative Labs I-Trigue L3800 Pros for me are the non-corded remote, really nice. Looks fine Cons are power when compared to the next two. Logitech Z 2300 Pros are twice the power at 200 Watts and a larger 8 Inch subwoofer. Looks fine Cons- Corded remote BOOO Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Pros are power- 200 Watt Amplifier Cons- Speaker knob volume control. Its really ugly to look at. I currently own the Creative labs L3800 system which I just hooked up this evening. The system was purchased for $50.00 after rebates so its the cheapest of the bunch. It sounds nice, has nice power, looks nice in the room, easy hook up and seems very user friendly. It left me wondering if the extra power of the other systems would be worth the extra $. This system has 100 watts and 48 Watts total rms. The Klipsch I threw in because on paper it on a level playing field as the other sound systems at 200 Watts and a 6.5 inch subwoofer. I dont know if I can get over the complete lack of a remote. Thats pretty crappy. The Logitech Z2300 System on paper would seem to be dominant. The corded volume control would be a pain but I could simply get over it if was a superior system. My only functional concern is the size of the 8 inch subwoofer. I am concerned that there would be a deficiency of medium range and I this is where I would like some knowledged advice and possible experience. I found a good review of this system but unfortunately I havent found any for the other to systems to compare and contrast so I am kind of stuck. Thanks in advance for any advice, I look forward to figuring this out. Dave
Watts really aint in the main thing, you should listin to the sets first, i would go for th Z-2300, proberbly is the best seen as its got an 8" sub.
Agreed. Specs only tell part of the story, but they simply don't account for personal taste in sound. Depending on what you're looking for in a set of computer speakers, what you have may be plenty. I've always found Creative to offer some pretty decent speaker packages for the money, but again, it comes down to personal taste and what you'll be listening to.
