Looking for "quiet" speakers! Any recommendation?

Slaugh · Post by **Slaugh** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 3:17 am

Hi there,

With the precious help of SPCR, my computer is nearly silent now!

But there's one last thing I have to deal with: my speakers, and particularly the subwoofer... My subwoofer is making an irregular and very annoying hum and my front satellites are hissing slightly... It's time for a change!

I'm looking for good quality speakers, and I'm willing to spend less than $300 CDN. I bought a good set of speakers last year (Altec Lansing 641), but I had to RMA them because the subwoofer was defective, and because these speakers were no longer available, I got my money back. I'm back with my dying speakers (Altec Lansing ASC56)... One of the rear satellites is completely dead, so I'm only using the front speakers right now... But it's mainly because of the noise that I'm changing them...

Here's what I'm looking for:

Good quality speakers with a subwoofer. I had a 4.1 setup but it was a PITA to place the rear speakers in this room. So I prefer buying 2.1 speakers, but 4.1 and 5.1 are OK, but only if they come with "long" cables for the rear speakers...
Very important: I'll use these speakers mainly at low volume, so I want speakers that sound good at any volume, including very low volume.
If possible, I'm looking for speakers that are silent when not playing anything (subwoofer and satellites). Right now, I have to unplug the subwoofer from the wall to fully enjoy the silence...

I don't have a specific brand in mind, but I can have very good prices for any Altec Lansing, Creative Labs, Cambridge, Logitech and Harman Kardon speakers. A friend told me about the Altec Lansing FX6021, which look good... Does anybody use them?

Anyways, the brand is really not important here! I just want something that sounds good at any volume, that will last more than a few months, and only makes noise when I want...

Thanks!

yanukav · Post by **yanukav** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 4:56 am

you can try listen to TAPCO S-5.
It is normaly used in audio-studios. And in a price of 350$, I know its a little pricy for u but for its price range, u'l get the best.
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nici · Post by **nici** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 5:07 am

Those Altec Lansing FX6021 speakers use many tiny elements in ht e speakers, this on not normally a very good thing..

I would go for some studio-monitors and add a subwoofer later if you cant afford it right now. You should also look into the used market, sometimes you can get really lucky when someone just wants to get rid of "old" stuff

<My Logitech Z-2200 speakers also hiss and the subwoofer hums when idle, both are irritating to i have to turn them off everytime i dont listen to anything...

silent_partner · Post by **silent_partner** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:38 am

I would very strongly recommend Acoustic Energy AEGO2 if you can get them.

They are excellent but very hard to find. I bought my set for 99 GBP and I absolutely love them. Sound quality at very low volume is excellent and you won't feel the need to turn them up to appreciate the sound even though they are loud.

afrost · Post by **afrost** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 11:52 am

don't get a Logitech setup.....mine hums like a bastard and is very annoying.

anyone have experience with klipsch? (spelling?)

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:12 pm

logitech makes good mice/keyboards/joysticks/gamepads etc... but not speakers.

i really enjoy my cambridge soundworks speakers. they dont make any hissing when i turn the volume down. its a 5.1 speaker system, but i only use 2.1. creative labs is the same as sound blaster is the same as cambridge soundworks. their all owned by the same people.

i heard klipsch used to be good when they first came out. but ive heard bad things about them lately as far as their computer speaker line goes. their high end (multi thousand dollar) setups are still good though.

chirs · Post by **chirs** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 2:23 pm

Slaugh wrote: Here's what I'm looking for:
Good quality speakers with a subwoofer.

You should probably consider the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 series.

http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=924

The Logitech Z-2300 is likely also worth a listen.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/produ ... ENTID=9372

I can't speak to the performance of either of them, but both are THX certified for whatever that's worth, and both have gotten good reviews.

I use a set of ancient Altec Lansings that were their top of the line computer speakers at the time. My next setup will be a set of unpowered bookshelf speakers with a real amplifier--forget this "multimedia speaker" stuff...

sensei · Post by **sensei** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 2:41 pm

I know I'm stating the bleeding obvious, but the noise might be emmanating from your sound card/wiring... but then I'd be surprised if you hadn't tried unplugging the audio jack while they were connected to the mains...

</waste of bytes>

on a side note, I run my sound through a sony amp into a set of B&W DM601 S3's

don't really need a sub (I live in an apartment building, and if my neighbours don't already want to kill me, they most certainly would if I got a sub)

Devonavar · Post by **Devonavar** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:08 pm

Avoid the Logitech Z2300, the transformer inside the subwoofer hums loudly. Also, the remote volume control is terrible quality; the potentiometer inside of mine wore out within a year and a half.

In general, I found the bass and treble overpowered, with little in the middle. I paid far too much for these speakers; they're poorly made, and don't sound especially good.

Slaugh · Post by **Slaugh** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 9:07 pm

The noise definitely comes from the subwoofer. It hums even if no cables are connected to it (except for the main power cable). The hissing isn't that bad because I can always turn off the satellites to stop it, but it's not the same for the subwoofer. There's no power switch on the subwoofer, so I have no choice but to disconnect it from the wall to stop that annoying hum.

Looking at the Klipsch website, I came across the Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0, and NCIX is selling them for $147.88 CND. If they sound very good and are silent when idling, I may consider them also. Does anybody have experience with Klipsch speakers and particularly those ProMedia Ultra 2.0? The Klipsch Promedia 2.1 also look good but they are a little bit pricey. Those Acoustic Energy AEGO 2 are hard to find here, and I heard too many bad things about Logitech speakers that I'm looking elsewhere...

Thanks for the feedback so far!

silent_partner · Post by **silent_partner** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 1:55 am

It's a pity you cannot get hold of the AEGO2's - they are great. Come with high quality gold-plated cables/connections also.

I'm tempted to buy another set just incase they get even harder to find over here.

vertigo · Post by **vertigo** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 9:28 am

In general, I found the bass and treble overpowered, with little in the middle.

This is very common because most satellite speakers (in these products) are too small. I would say you will find this in almost any system with satellite cones smaller than 4".

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 10:16 am

Best buy sells klipsch speakers. just go over there and listen for yourself. take some cd's with you so you can hear them with the style of music that you prefer.

also mabey check google for some reviews or "round-ups" for computer speakers. cnet or tomshardware or somthin like that may have one. and see what they say about them.

jivetrky · Post by **jivetrky** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:51 pm

I'm quite amazed at the negativity toward logitech speakers in this thread.
I can really only speak for 2 systems (z-5300e and z-5500) but those 2 systems are both HIGHLY marked by any reviews that I have ever seen.
I can tell you from experience that both sound amazing at ANY volume. I'm currently listening to my z-5300e's at the lowest volume setting (with my audigy 2 ZS card set to 94% of maximum) because it's late and the kid is asleep
I usually listen with the Audigy 2 EQ set to either "Acoustic" or "Techno" and it sounds AMAZING (they *ARE* THX certified). I have never heard a hum coming from either system (my G/f has z-5500s)

I am in the process of building myself a new PC which will basically spare no expense and will be top of the line...and I plan on keeping my z-5300's because they are MORE than sufficient.

When I was researching speakers before buying, I found several reviews saying that Klipsch's has hissing/humming (I can't speak personally of course) I know that home audio Klipsch's sound amazing..but I can't say anything for PC
.....but search for reviews on either logitech system (z-5300(e) or z-5500) via google and you will find only good things said about them. heck z-5500's have been the best rated 5.1 system since they came out. (rated that way by many good sources ie: tomshardware, maximumpc ..etc)
AND the z-5500's are within your 300 CAN price range.
Again, I can't say enough good things about them. Good luck in your search!

BTW...I do remember hearing one bad thing about the z-5300's ....that the bass is too strong. first of all I don't see how that is a BAD thing....but I can tell you that the level at which they can be adjusted on the speakers lowers the bass to a level that should be acceptable to my grandmother. not to mention the fact that most output from a PC has the ability to pass through an equalizer. (mine are usually set to HIGHER bass...but I love bass)
As you might notice from my Sig I actually have Dual z-5300 subs. The story on that is that I have my rear speakers setup on poles overhead of my desk...the poles are removeable and one when the were removed (they usually rest on my monitor when not attached) I moved my monitor and the came crashing to the ground (yeah ick is right!) ....after that one of them rattled...so I RMAed them and logitech only had me send my satellites and the remote module. So I had a perfect sub sitting there when they sent me a brand new system (logitech has AWESOME customer service and warranty service, BTW). So what I did was make a custom cable to connect the remote to both subs...I split the audio inputs and now I have a slick dual sub setup. They sound INCREDIBLE. I used them for a halloween party last week and they THUMP quite nicely. A couple of my tech/computer savvy friends were amazed.

But anyway....you really cannot go wrong with logitech speakers! (again I can only speak for the z-5300 and z-5500 series) ...but if you have the cash go for the z-5500's....they blow away my system (which I think is pretty impressive)

jivetrky · Post by **jivetrky** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 10:07 pm

BTW...if you are going to listen to Klipsch's at Best Buy....I think they carry the z-5300e's ...take a listen too

(make sure the CD player they have hooked up to it has the volume at about 85% and that the speakers are set to 2.1)

when I tried them out at best buy that wasn't the case and I was at first unimpressed....then I found out that the jackasses had them set to 5.1 coming from a 2.0 source that doesn't quite work right

SmallOffice · Post by **SmallOffice** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 11:17 pm

You may want to check these out...

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4041660

http://www.academicsuperstore.com/marke ... tNo=730208

Good luck

jivetrky · Post by **jivetrky** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 12:22 am

Something else to consider is to be sure you know where that hissing/humming is coming from.....I have had others PCs in the past that had SUPER noisy motherboards. If you are using onboard sound...you could be getting interfearance from that....I don't know if that is your situation...but it's worth thinking about.

maybe you should look into getting z-5300's (which you can get now for around $100-$120 if you are a decent shopper)
and then get a creative audigy sound card.....my audigy 2 Zs was like $90 6 months ago...you might be able to find it cheaper
and I can tell you pairing the THX certified sound card with THX certified speakers is a winning combo.
But I'd think you could get by with a lesser sound card....just as long as you get if off the onboard (if that is infact an issue for you)

anyway....goodluck!

autoboy · Post by **autoboy** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 12:57 am

sensei wrote:on a side note, I run my sound through a sony amp into a set of B&W DM601 S3's

Me too! actually I think i have the S2s not the S3s on a sony amp. Forget 2.1 for low volume and get a sweet 2.0 sor 4.0 system and you will get more accurate sound. Even though low frequencies are less directional than higher frequencies, I can still tell the difference. For higher volumes if you have the desk space and like music and games, nothing beats the sharp bass of a 6 1/2" speaker right in your face. When the gunshots hit you can really tell a difference when it comes from right in front of you.

Mar. · Post by **Mar.** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 4:05 pm

Keep the wires away from any sources of interference, and most of those issues will be solved.

Slaugh · Post by **Slaugh** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:14 am

I know I could go to any store and listen to some speakers, but it's pretty hard for me right now... My tolerance to sounds is very low and if I had to go to such places, I would wear earplugs, so it's not an appropriate way to compare or choose speakers. Also, the ambient noise in these places is a bit loud to hear any hum coming from a subwoofer... These speakers will mainly play at around 50dbA or less, so any annoying hum is out of the question. BTW, my current subwoofer is humming, but this has nothing to do with wiring, the whole set is falling apart. My previous subwoofer didn't hum like that... I really need to change these speakers, and I'll probably buy the new ones online, as it's easier for me...

Right now, I'm tempted by those Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0 speakers, and they are less expensive than the other 2.1 or 5.1 solutions, so I could spend more on christmas gifts. I was unable to find a good review about them, and none of my friends has experience with Klipsch speakers. What do you think of those ProMedia Ultra 2.0 speakers? They will be used to play music and for gaming, but at low levels only. However, I want something that decently plays at higher volumes, but not for right now, my ears need to rest a bit...

Thanks for the inputs!

Looking for "quiet" speakers! Any recommendation?

Looking for "quiet" speakers! Any recommendation?

Re: Looking for "quiet" speakers! Any recommendati

Shocking :)