So, I'm planning on buying a new set of speakers. My price limit is around $300 NZD, so think around $250USD. It's flexible if something amazing is around $50 more or so.

What do you guys know about this kind of stuff? I'm not looking for anything super advanced, just something nice and simple that has good sound. A subwoofer is a requirement of course, but I don't think I really need to bother with 5.1. Though I wouldn't say no to a good pair around that price range.

Heard that Logitech is an excellent brand for speakers, and was pointed out these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002FU5QMK

Thinking of something like those, but just after a few more opinions.

Cheers.

 

Well, your price range is far above what mine normally is at, so I believe we normally just shop at different tiers of products

Anyways, here's one on tiger direct I was looking at myself not too long ago.

Tigerdirect

It's a pretty good deal IMO for 40$, and shipping is free.

 

Logitech is pretty good, but for the price of the 2.1 you've posted, you could already get a 5.1 from them, like this.

Aside from Logitech, you have Companies like Creative and, of course, Bose. All of those are pretty high quality when it comes to speakers.

For Bose, there would be this. Pretty expensive for a 2.1 system, but Bose is one of, if not, the best for speakers.

So, for Creative, there is also a 5.1 for around 70$, namely this. Like Logitech, this is the cheapest 5.1 there is on Amazon from Creative, so you can browse by yourself a little, and read the reviews.

Those would be the manufacturers that I would recommend you, of course there are others too, but those are the most well known, at least where I live.

 

I'm a big fan of bose.

 

Yeah, I have a pair of Bose 2.0 speakers now that are getting quite old. Still good, but I'm really after the depth of music that you just cannot get without a subwoofer.

Anyway, I did see the 5.1 surround speakers for $140, but I really have to doubt the quality, why are they so cheap? When the next 5.1 system is around 6 times the price?

I also find the price ranges to be very frustrating. You go from $100-150, to $500. There's no real in between when it comes to choice.

Edit: Anyway, so my choice seems to come down to between these two.
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=390591
and
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=391763

What are the differences between the two? I'm leaning towards the $200 2.1, as they just seem to be of a higher quality. So basically, is the difference with 5.1 really all that worth it?

 

I've found Soundsticks by Harman Kardon (~$160) to be decent quality and full enough sound for my office at work.

For my home computer, I use Bose 5.1 (about $400), outstanding in quality for what I listen to, though perhaps a little out of your price range. (Now that Bose has been mentioned in a favorable light, I'm sure someone's going to come in and bash as a matter of principle, but whatever).

 

It doesn't have to do anything with the sound quality, they could just be an older model, but you could look if there are reviews from a hardware/sound magazine or something.

 

The problem with 5.1 is that most people never put the speakers in the right place, so it's pretty much wasted money as you're not getting the advantage of more speakers. I'd go for a higher quality 2.1 system than a lower 5.1, but that's mostly personal preference.

 

2.1 is better for a small rooms or on computers, you should think about going for a 5.1 if you want that home theater experience and you can set up the speakers properly.

As far speaker companies, for your budget of $250 you can get a very nice 2.1 system from companies like harmon/kardon.

 

Yeah, I ended up going for the higher quality 2.1 system, seeing as I don't really have the best room for a proper 5.1 system.

 

What speaker system did you end up buying?