Which set of speakers?

[kavern]

I can't decide on which set of speakers to buy. I have an audigy 2 card.
Use for gaming, movie, music (anything related to sound)
Here's the list:

1. MegaWorks THX 5.1 550
2. Inspire 5.1 Digital (5700)
3. MegaWorks THX 6.1
4. Inspire 6.1 6600
5. ADA 890
6. ADA 885

[saphalline]

I haven't heard good things about the Inspire 5.1's and lower, but the 6.1 set is supposed to be good. Also, a lot of people on the forums here like the Logitech Z-640/680.

If you want speakers for many audio tasks, it's a good idea to research the little details. Like, how long are the wires between speakers, does it have a headphone jack, does it have a built-in hardware decoder (for THX, Dolby Digital, DTS, etc), what is the rated output wattage per speaker & for the subwoofer, etc.

[kavern]

so does this z-680 still has the hissing sound which i have read in people's review. After they upgraded the pod?

[Whyzman]

There are a number of us here who sport the Z560 Logitechs and are very pleased with their performance.

The 560s are the precursor to the Z680s...

What I suspect the reviews you're reading have in common is that the sound output levels in the Play Control had been elevated resulting in a sound level hitting the speaker amplifier that was excessive...

I had to make adjustments for this myself when I experienced a constant hissing and humming when I powered up the speakers...

The amplifier for these doesn't really need any more than a line-level input to rock the walls...;)

The sheer weight of the subwoofers in the 560 series tells you they mean business...:p

[josemavicente]

i noticed Altec Lansing was not in the list?

I own 3 sets of Altec Lansing speakers. Pretty good for me since the balance of high,low and mid are great. I think Logitech lacks mid.

Well its just my opinion :)

The disadvantage of my choice is that I dont really know what else is good out there :)

[kavern]

Since the Z-680 has the built in decoder, so does that mean it's no point having the audigy 2 card? Or it does make a different.

[saphalline]

Speakers with a built-in decoder are nice to have, but they don't make up for a fully dedicated hardware DSP! The Audigy2 is better at decoding than any consumer speakers could hope to achieve.

In other words, no you didn't waste your money. :p

[steveo]

I use Logitech THX 4 speaker and bass bin (400w) with the Audigy2 and quite simply it rocks. My speakers have wire connectors so I can make the cables any lenght I want. I've never had any hissing problems with my setup.

[kavern]

i am confuse. i went to the logitech website and it says to enable 5.1 digital bla bla bla..do this:
select->SPDIF Passthrough (dolby digital/DTS out)." This will turn off your onboard decoder and let the z680's do the work.

That means the audigy won't be doing the work right?

Does that means not to use the SPDIF to let the audigy do the work?
but if so, then it will not be digital out but analog?

[pave_spectre]

SPDIF should be digital regardless of whether the speakers or sound card is doing the actual decoding of the signal.
Disabling the Audigy's onboard decoder should just send the fully coded 5.1 digital signal to the logitechs which then decode it and direct it to the correct speakers.

[sleddog]

josemavicente mentioned Altec Lansing and I agree they certainly deserve a look. I only speak from personal experience, not technical knowledge, as I know diddlely-squat about the subject (most of the discussion in this thread is beyond me!)

Recently I helped organize a conference attended by about 100 people. Some people gave presentations from their laptops (attached to a projector). A few presentations were multimedia, incorporation sound clips and video clips with a soundtrack. We used a set of Altec Lansing AVS-500B speakers (4 speakers plus a subwoofer) fed directly from the headphone output of the laptop. These speakers filled the room -- the audio quality was crystal-clear even for people at the very back of the room. This speaker set cost about Canadian $60 (US $45) :)

[saphalline]

SPDIF is pure digital. It uses fiber optic cables to carry the signal so it's really an optical connection to the speakers. However, current SPDIF signals are limited to stereo. There is no SPDIF surround sound yet and while a stereo signal can be played on all your speaker satellites, they won't have separate channels.

Until SPDIF is at least 4.1 surround, I would not recommend it for a full speaker system (stick to the analog wires). Stereo on 4 or more satellites? Talk about tacky!