PC speakers

June 10, 2009 5:13 PM

New speakers for computer (PC). And a few questions.

The Altec Lansing speakers (and sub-woofer) that came with my previous Dell computer that I am using on my Dell XPS-400 are in need of replacing. The left speaker crapped out. So what to do now? Checking an older AskMe question, I saw something referring to "2.0 speakers". What does that mean? I assumed I just needed a pair of speakers and sub-woofer. Was I wrong?

I was hoping to spend less than $100. Is that unreasonable? There are many options at Best Buy, for example.

I have nothing planned to do more intricate than listening to music, and watching videos.

Thanks!

posted by ObscureReferenceMan to computers & internet (6 comments total)

The whole number refers to speakers, the decimal refers to woofer speakers. 2.0 would imply no subwoofer. I'd say under $100 is reasonable.
posted by dinx2582 at 5:15 PM on June 10

Was I wrong?

It depends upon the speakers; some 2.0 sets (two speakers with no sub) have better sound quality and good bass than cheap 2.1 sets (two speakers plus subwoofer, usually with no separate amp). 5.1 speakers (centre, left front, left rear, right front, right rear and sub) are generally overkill for most PC uses.

If you're not worried about sound reproduction too much, i.e. you're not watching feature films, listening to flac-rips of classical music, or playing online FPS, then frankly a set of fairly basic 2.0 or 2.1 speakers will do just fine.
posted by ArkhanJG at 5:38 PM on June 10

Look around on Craigslist. I got a perfectly serviceable 2.1 Altec Lansing setup for $5.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 5:40 PM on June 10

Doh! Forgot. I do some gaming on the PC, not too much. Portal sounded great (prior to losing the left speaker).

ArkhanJG - What qualifies as a "cheap 2.1 set"? Right now, I'm leaning toward something like a Sony 2.1 system for $50.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 6:00 PM on June 10

I use Behringer MS-40 speakers for my 2.0 system. This is mainly because my motherboard has digital audio outputs. I think I paid about $140 or so for them, so over your budget.

I don't like 2.1 (or any X.1) system because the attached subwoofer adds too much clutter, not to mention a mess of wires and (usually) sub-par sound. A nice 2.0 system is the way to go for me.

That said, for $100 or less your options are nearly limitless. Swing by your local pawn shop. You may find a nice set of speakers and solid integrated amp which would sound better than any out of the box, cheap, 2.1 system.
posted by wfrgms at 6:25 PM on June 10

I spent a lot of time trying to find some good quality amplified speakers for my computer. I settled on some studio monitors from M-Audio. Annoyingly they're discontinued, the current equivalent looks to be the AV-30 and there's other options from M-Audio on Amazon. I think the key thing is the enclosure is made out of MDF instead of plastic.
posted by Nelson at 7:42 PM on June 10