Where to begin?

[StevethePirate]

I have an antiquated yet tenacious Dell Dimension 8300 w/ integrated sound. but I am soon to get a decent laptop. Where should I begin looking toward a versatile and reasonably priced sound system suiting either machine. It should preferably include tweeters, midranges, and a woofer considering many of my audio files are in FLAC ~1,400kbps.

 

[StevethePirate]

To elucidate my criterion, my budget is $50-150. After devoting a moderate amount of time in personal research, it seems such a budget will suffice for decent quality 2.1 sets. Here are some appealing models:

-- Newegg.com - Logitech Z-2300 200 watts RMS 2.1 Speaker System

-- http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Lab [...] 285&sr=1-8

-- http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Lab [...] 43&sr=1-19

-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

-- http://www.amazon.com/Sony-2-1-Per [...] 353&sr=1-1

-- http://www.amazon.com/Sony-2-1-Spe [...] 353&sr=1-2

 

[Oreo]

This is a long shot but..

What are the chances of me convincing you to increase your budget to, lets say, $400 ?
Big increase i know, but computer speakers are a joke. Every single one of them. Good PC speakers do not exist. For $400 you could get an external sound card and a pair of powered studio monitors with sound 10x better than you will ever get out of a PC speaker set up. No offense but anyone that tells you PC speakers are good on any level are either lieing, or are unfortunate enough to of not heard anything better, or don't really care about sound quality in the first place.

Unless it is an absolute impossibility, it is something i think is worth concidering.

IF it is an absolute impossibility, Logitech is about your best bet.

 

[KSoD]

Oreo's right. Sorry but you will always be Oreo to me no matter how many times you change your name.

PC speakers are down right junk. Logitech has some decent sets, but they are for use with a PC only and not for heavy movie watching.

 

[Oreo]

Sorry but you will always be Oreo to me no matter how many times you change your name.

Lol okay

Stevethepirate, just let us know if and what you can increase your budget to and we will try our best to get you the best price/performance sound possible.

 

[Crysalis]

Kman's back. But not like you knew him.

AAAHAHAHA!!!

I sure hope not

The best bet with a smaller budget is to go to the local stores and find the models you're interested in and listen to them. If you like what you hear, get them. If not, save your money.

 

[Oreo]

AAAHAHAHA!!!

I sure hope not

The best bet with a smaller budget is to go to the local stores and find the models you're interested in and listen to them. If you like what you hear, get them. If not, save your money.

Sound advice.

See what i did there ? Comedic genius.

 

[StevethePirate]

I'm currently in the process of applying for jobs, so my budget is indeterminable until I'm confident that a source of income is solidified. I will, however, make it apparent that I am a university student, and lack of affluence is an inherent and ubiquitous particularity of it. Regardless, a $400 quality sound system seems superfluous; I'm not fastidious enough or care to be with my auditory sense. While I do not foresee creating immaculate music/ tabs for every instrument via listened interpretation, I revel in playing by ear. Something that is practical in value and quality is sufficient. In addition, I live in an apartment, and the last thing I need are fingers pointed toward me of ostentatious activity, so 3 of the satellites on something like a 5.1 ss will merely collect dust. Iterating for purposes of emphasis, bear in mind that my desktop is >7yrs old w/ no dedicated sound hardware, and I'm not aware of any laptops renowned for their sound devices. Thanks again guys!

Nevertheless, I'm not unanimously dissuaded, but it will require a myriad of evidence to convince me to invest several hundred $ into a sound system with my financial disposition.

What a folly on part. I completely neglected to realize the majority of the model's links are unusable. To be surefire, here are the models and another I found worthy (Sony's models lack particular identification):

--Logitech Z-2300 THX-Certified 2.1

--Creative Labs I-Trigue 3300 2.1

--Creative Labs I-Trigue 3000 2.1

--Creative Inspire T3130 2.1

--Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified

--http://www.amazon.com/Sony-2-1-Personal-Speakers-Black/dp/B001QXDSMM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277794353&sr=1-1

--http://www.amazon.com/Sony-2-1-Speakers-Radio-Black/dp/B001QXDSMC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277794353&sr=1-2

 

[SapperX]

I would never consider myself an audio expert of any sorts; however I do feel as though the Logitech Z-2300's are more than ample for your specifications. What they lack in mids (to be sure, they do leave something to be desired in their middle range), they more than make up with highs and lows.

I have owned the Z-2300's for about 3 years, 2 of which were spent in collegiate apartments. They sound fantastic, although not audiophile grade, and have some serious volume to them. Perfect for gaming, music, or a college party.

 

[StevethePirate]

After dedicating a reasonable amount of personal research and receiving recommendations via other tech forums and an electrical engineer scholar, there are substantial red flags indicating 2.1/5.1 PC designated audio systems ranging from $50-150--id est: the ones listed previously--are inferior to more costly monitor/bookshelf systems. Out of pure curiosity, why is this; superior enclosure architecture, driver engineering, et cetera? If this is further corroborated, it seems increasing my budget will reciprocate favorably.