I’m looking to put together my first sound system, I’ve been using a Philips 2.1 setup I got for $18 for about 5 years now and since it just died on me I can finally justify upgrading. I’m looking to spend under $150CAD for speakers and an amp. I will use it primarily for music and movie watching on my PC, and occasionally for gaming when I don’t want to wear my Audio-Technica ATH-AD700X headphones.
I’ve read a couple other threads where people are asking similar questions and a lot of the recommended speakers either don’t ship to Canada for less than $70 or I can’t find a Canadian retailer at all. This is what I’m currently considering.
I’m also not opposed to buying used, so long as the speakers can be demo’d as working prior to me buying so I’ve also added these two to my list.
As for the size of the speakers, its a minor concern. I’m willing to move things around a bit to fit the right speakers, but ideally they’d be bookshelf speakers under 8" tall. I’m also willing to add a subwoofer later on, but I’m not in a huge rush so I’d like something that will sound decent as a 2.0 setup with the potential to be upgraded to a 2.1 later. Hopefully that’s enough information to get started.
No one has any suggestions or advice? I'm getting sick of using my headphones for music so I'll probably order speakers today. I'd really appreciate some input before that though. Thanks.
Yeah, I watched them a couple times. The amp and the Monoprice speakers I've linked are actually the ones from their low end video. The Fluance ones are the same brand but slightly smaller and less expensive versions of the ones from the middle tier video. I've just read a few people on here recommend against the Monoprice ones, which were my first choice, so I wanted a couple more opinions.
I would have liked to go to a dealer and listen to some speakers before picking ones but I can't find any Fluance, Wharfedale or Monoprice dealers in my city and I don't know enough about other brands to not potentially fall victim of a commission salesman. That's not to say I'm stuck on these brands specifically, I just don't know of any others in my price range.
I am a big fan of DIY, so you may totally disregard this post if that is something that you are opposed to doing. This site ( http://projectgallery.parts-express.com/category/speaker-projects/bookshelf/ ) Is a great site that will have many projects that others have done. I myself have had great luck with Dayton products for their price. There are also blueprints there for you. The great thing about DIY, Is that you can add in Things like ports to tune your speakers properly; a step that too many bookshelf speakers lack. FYI, do yourself a favor and get at least a 60 watt soldering iron. The $5 30 watt irons are not very good for this type of work. I think that you will, at the end of the project, have the ability to build a much better system for the price.
Honestly I don't think you will get much for $150 Canadian. As far as pc hardware goes, speakers should be a one time purchase (every 10 years or so), especially considering the outrageous shipping we have to deal with. Since the audio experience can bring almost as much to the table as video for gaming, I generally recommend to come close to what you would spend on graphics card upgrades over 10 years for a sound system budget.
Those little amps aren't really good. Home theatre receivers/amplifiers are big for a reason. Not just more power, but they have better quality amps (don't distort the sound as much), with a proper power supply to match. Yes they are 5 times the price as you have listed, but it is a piece of equipment that will give you a much better experience overall, and something you can 'grow into' if you ever get around to building a stand alone home theatre.
If you are on a budget, you would probably be better served with a set of powered speakers. Other than that, I would recommend saving up a few hundred more for something you would be satisfied with for a long period of time.
For example a few months ago I got a set of 5.1 speakers, and a 5.1 av receiver for PC gaming. I spent $500us/$700cnd on something that should have been in the 'higher end' of PC 5.1 setups. The truth is: I wish I spent a little more money for better speakers.
$700 is expensive, and you may thing that is too much for PC speakers, but it is not. A PC can leverage a home theatre setup better than a blu ray can. Games make more use of surround sound, especially AAA RPG's like the Witcher. That being said, diminishing returns for home theatre doesn't start until around the $10000 mark. Of course a PC setup wouldn't need as much raw power, but I think you can understand my point.
Since you're only going to be using this from your desk chair, I would recommend none of that gear... All those speakers are designed for a distance of 5-10' from the cone.
Imho, ditch the amp and get some active near-field monitors. With most you don't need a sub and they will sound tremendously better for sitting at your desk.
Here's an example setup:
Mixer to control them and plug in any other inputs... ipod? phone? microphone? etc...