Please help. Looking for some 5.1 speakers

[natdeamer]

Im looking for some 5.1 speakers for my laptop. I have a budget of about £70.

Ive found 3 sets.

Creative Inspire GD580
Creative Inspirte T6060
Altec Lansing 5100

The Altecs have slightly more power i believe, only just compaired to the T6060.

Which are the best speakers out of those 3? Or can anyone else recommend some good 5.1 speakers for £70 GBP.

Thanks

[Google]

[fussnfeathers]

I'm not familiar with the 6060's, those appear to be a Europe-only model.

The GD580's look good, but I've never been a fan of Creative's speakers. I know, I'm a snob. The decoder is nice, but I've always found Creative's to be a little weak in the midrange.

I've listened to the Altecs, and I really don't care much for them. The sats only have two 1" drivers each, so there's not alot of midrange there, and the sub just doesn't really put out too much. Move a foot or so out of the sweet spot, and the bass disappears.

If you can get Logitech near you, I would look at the Z-5300e's.

http://tweaknews.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=4267902/fd=1

Those are in your price range, and are better sounding speakers (and more powerful) than the ones you mentioned.
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[natdeamer]

I did see the Z-5300e's But i cant get them anywhere.
I dont think they are available in europe/uk yet.

Any other suggestions?

[fussnfeathers]

Well, then........of the three you can get, the GD580's look to have the best specs. They do sound pretty good, just be aware that they might sound a little thin. Nothing an EQ tweak can't fix.
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[natdeamer]

I thought the T6060's were better specs?

the GD580 has 6w per channel @ 5 channels. 17w Sub

The T6060 has 8w per channel @ 4 channels. An 18W Center Speaker. and a 22w sub.

Do i actually need the decoder? And as for the remote, that doesnt matter because i have a wireless logitech remote.

Thanks

Nathan

[fussnfeathers]

Those couple of watts make very little difference, they'll be equally loud. The best piece of advice I can give is to not be swayed by pure wattage.

I would pick the GD580's for the decoder, as this will allow you to hook them up to your soundcard's optical output (if it has one), allowing the outboard decoder to do the work. Typically, this will be better than your soundcard's decoding. It also allows individual adjustment of each speaker, where the T6060 doesn't.

Reading the specs, it's pretty much a trade-off. Soundwise, they'll be pretty similar, but the versatility of the GD's would lean me in that direction.

I would suggest listening to each, if you're buying from a local store. Check their return policy, so you can bring one home, set it up, listen for a day, then exchange for the other.
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[natdeamer]

I think i know someone who has the GD580's.
I think i might just buy them anyway. because of the decoder, and the remote.
My sound card has got optical, so does it make it better quality?

As for the T6060's theres nowhere i can find them that isn't online.

[natdeamer]

Just been looking some more.

Creative T5900? T7900?
They seem to get pretty good reviews

[natdeamer]

After reading reviews on the logitech Z5300. Im going to spend more money.

Logitech Z680 @ £130
Logitech Z-5400 @ £140
Creative Megaworks 5500 @ £110 (2nd hand - but that doesnt really matter)

Which ones?

[fussnfeathers]

It's a toss-up between the Z-680's and the 5400's. Apparently, the 5400's are a Europe only model, but they look similar (at least sub and front sats) to the 5450's, specs also look very similar.

I would go for the 680's, myself. If the sub on the 5400 is the same as the 5450, the bass on the 680's is a bit tighter......not a huge amount more, but noticable. They're also technically a step above the 5400's.
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Big enough to scare you

[natdeamer]

Hey

Thank you very much for your help.

I just brought myself the Z-680's :)

Just waiting for them to arrived.