laptop Speakers

[mail.souravbiswas]

Hi,

I found this forum while researching for my speaker needs and needless to say its awesome in terms of information content. So I joined immediately.
I want to set up a decent speakers mainly for my laptop but which can be connected to a cd/dvd player as well. I am totally clueless about the variety of products available in the market. I am not at all happy with the normal computer speaker we get like creative etc. My main requirement is for music and then movies....I am not sure what kind of speakers would be good for my requirement. My budget is around 10-15 K not more than that. Any info will be very valuable

 

[mridulgoel]

Dear Sourav

Welcome to the forum buddy...!!!

Have a nice stay here...!!!

Buddy please let us know, that what basically you are looking at...
a pair of speakers..i.e. 2.0 channel or a 5.1 channel...???

in any case you need to go in for the satellite speaker package which you can connect through your computer as well as DVD player... as in most of these both , the output, is RCA...
Or in case if you have 5.1 Sound Card, in that case, you can easily go in for the 5.1 Channel Satellite system.

Why you need a satellite system is because, if you use any regular speaker system, than you will not be able to connect them with regular computer sound card nor from your regular DVD Player....

You will easily get a 5.1 satellite computer speakers, under Rs.15K...

So, search the market there is a lot to go...

 

[mail.souravbiswas]

Thanks Mridul for such promt reply. Actually I do not have any sound card right now. I was thinking of getting one. What I was confused between is whether I should go for some kind of speakers using a sound card or is speakers available which we can connect using the stereo to 3 jack converter cable. I actually tried 5.1 and 2.1 speakers of creative, altec lansing but ws not happy. There is one speaker system of Bose at around 13 K which I felt was good. But not sure if anything apart from that is available. My basic requirement is a good music and movie system. as I have a laptop and all my movies and music was there in laptop so was thinking of going that way...if anything u can suggest with normal system within that range, it would also be great.

Thanks again
Sourav

 

[mridulgoel]

Thanks Mridul for such promt reply. Actually I do not have any sound card right now. I was thinking of getting one. What I was confused between is whether I should go for some kind of speakers using a sound card or is speakers available which we can connect using the stereo to 3 jack converter cable. I actually tried 5.1 and 2.1 speakers of creative, altec lansing but ws not happy. There is one speaker system of Bose at around 13 K which I felt was good. But not sure if anything apart from that is available. My basic requirement is a good music and movie system. as I have a laptop and all my movies and music was there in laptop so was thinking of going that way...if anything u can suggest with normal system within that range, it would also be great.

Thanks again
Sourav

Buddy...

Bose, is nothing more better than a high range computer system...
you would be surprised to know, that Bose systems, are not considered a part of HT systems...
Though in your range if you find them good, then you can go in for the same...
But keep in mind, that in Laptop you just have the 3.5mm Headphone out, nothing else...
So in any case you would require a device that can take a input and then get you a output for the 2.0/2.1/5.1 system...

And, when you say you didnt like Creative and Altec Lansing...
See there prices, they are ranged between Rs.2K to max Rs.6K...
where bose is still Rs.13K...
so again... a point...

Because if i will suggest you other systems, for making them compatible with your laptop, you will be spending more...

So, its better, you do some research work...

 

[mail.souravbiswas]

Buddy...

Bose, is nothing more better than a high range computer system...
you would be surprised to know, that Bose systems, are not considered a part of HT systems...
Though in your range if you find them good, then you can go in for the same...
But keep in mind, that in Laptop you just have the 3.5mm Headphone out, nothing else...
So in any case you would require a device that can take a input and then get you a output for the 2.0/2.1/5.1 system...

And, when you say you didnt like Creative and Altec Lansing...
See there prices, they are ranged between Rs.2K to max Rs.6K...
where bose is still Rs.13K...
so again... a point...

Because if i will suggest you other systems, for making them compatible with your laptop, you will be spending more...

So, its better, you do some research work...

I think you are right Mridul....My choices are getting narrow down because I am trying to look for something which could be connected to Laptop. I feel it would be better to go for a HT system rather without thinking about being able to connect to the laptop...do you have any suggestions if I keep my budget around 20-25 K. I will be listening to music more and then movies.

Thanks
Sourav

 

[samsailo]

hi

I have using the Altec lansing MX 5021 in my laptop for the last 1 year. Hey they are great, good stereo for music and the THX certification for movies is worth trying out. It pumps out 90 RMS, enough for a personal room. I dont know whether you have tried them or not but if you havent, it is worth trying out. At 7200 - 7500, its a steal.
Otherwise is you wanted to go for a 5.1 system and great power then look for the Logitech Z 5500. Its THX certified, 10 inch sub woofer, digital and 550 RMS This system is damn powerful and would blow your mind off. It is retailed around 22500.
I have auditioned both of these products and opted for the Altec, with better VFM and power just as i needed. You may go thru the bestcomputer speakers test in the April edition of Digit. Both these products scored a perfect 100% in their respective class.

Cheers

 

[kaushik]

if you really like to have a quality 2 channel audio setup i suggest:

Audio Engine AE2:very good speakers around 9k

HOTusb1 DAC :[+headphone amp]..it uses BurrCrown DAC ,i one of the best in audio DAC:approx 3k incl shipping
here:HotUSB1 USB DAC High-Performance Headphone Amplifier - eBay (item 260273632034 end time Oct-09-08 20:45:27 PDT)
This DAC has got lott of good reviews in HeadFi forum,see the ebay page.
This setup will be better than the creative external cards.

Normal laptop sound card will be poor as to cut the laptop/pc cost companies use low quality DAC and components.
so Audiophiles normally use a setup like this
LAPTOP/PC >[USB]>ExternalDAC>HiQ speakers

this bypasses the soundcard.Also windows drivers are poor at audio performance.So just add ASIO4All package..rest
just enjoy all smooth audio output.

 

[mridulgoel]

I think you are right Mridul....My choices are getting narrow down because I am trying to look for something which could be connected to Laptop. I feel it would be better to go for a HT system rather without thinking about being able to connect to the laptop...do you have any suggestions if I keep my budget around 20-25 K. I will be listening to music more and then movies.

Thanks
Sourav

Sourav Buddy

If you can wait...just wait for sometime...

Check out this link...
The product has good pretty good reviews...

Hercules - Speakers - XPS-5.1 70

They are prices at something between Rs.8-9K...
But this will require a 5.1 Sound Card...
That will cost you something.. Rs.7-8K (A good one, not the locals)

So, go on with it...

 

[sisharma80]

Hi Sourav,

I'd purchased follwoing soundcard for my laptop few months back.

"Creative ExpressCard Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook" (ExpressCard Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook SB0710EF - Sound Blaster - Your Music and Movies. Way Better.)

This is pretty good for music and movies. This one needs an Express54 slot in the notebook, so make sure you have this slot, in case, you want to purchase this card. You can connect this card to a 5.1 speaker set, for example Creative Gigaworks, via optical out or "Surround Sound Upgrade Kit" (Sound Blaster ExpressCard upgrade kit - Sound Blaster Accessories - Upgrade to multichannel surround sound for your music, movies and games).

Creative has another notebook soundcard "Creative PCMCIA Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook Sound Card" (Amazon.com: Creative PCMCIA Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook Sound Card: Electronics). This one is much more expensive than the former but it has better reviews.

-Siddarth

 

[mail.souravbiswas]

Sourav Buddy

If you can wait...just wait for sometime...

Check out this link...
The product has good pretty good reviews...

Hercules - Speakers - XPS-5.1 70

They are prices at something between Rs.8-9K...
But this will require a 5.1 Sound Card...
That will cost you something.. Rs.7-8K (A good one, not the locals)

So, go on with it...

Hi Mridul,

Are these speakers available in India? In their site, there is no option for India has been given. It looks quite good and reviews are also great.

--Sourav

 

[anup]

Hi dear

The kind of speakers which u looking at is Multimedia which can be used wd any source like ur laptop , cd , dvd etc within your range u can check JBL speakers cos they have wide range in multimedia speakers which gives you better flexibility to work wd . They start wd 8k and goes upto 12 to 13 k with usb , line out and line in conectivity and some of there speakers also works on battery so u can enjoy good sound anywhere .

 

[mail.souravbiswas]

Hi dear

The kind of speakers which u looking at is Multimedia which can be used wd any source like ur laptop , cd , dvd etc within your range u can check JBL speakers cos they have wide range in multimedia speakers which gives you better flexibility to work wd . They start wd 8k and goes upto 12 to 13 k with usb , line out and line in conectivity and some of there speakers also works on battery so u can enjoy good sound anywhere .

Thanks Anup...yup I am looking exactly that only.....

 

[mridulgoel]

Thanks Anup...yup I am looking exactly that only.....

Buddy...
did you checked out the link i sent you...
what do you think of them...???

Anup...
Which JBL multimedia speakers are you mentioning here...???
And where is your introduction...???

 

[mail.souravbiswas]

Buddy...
did you checked out the link i sent you...
what do you think of them...???

Anup...
Which JBL multimedia speakers are you mentioning here...???
And where is your introduction...???

Yup Mridul,

I checked the link and felt its really good. Reviews are also great. But I could not see India in the country list mentioned in the site. So was wondering where will I get them?? Do you have any idea of any distributors.

--Sourav

 

[mridulgoel]

Yup Mridul,

I checked the link and felt its really good. Reviews are also great. But I could not see India in the country list mentioned in the site. So was wondering where will I get them?? Do you have any idea of any distributors.

--Sourav

Buddy

Well we are importing the same in India...
but we are only importing the speakers of the same not other products as all other are completely IT...

The sample is expected to arrive on 20th Oct.08...

 

[ajinkya]

The Harman Kardon Soundsticks are also a good candidate with excellent sound quality:
Amazon.com: Harman Kardon SoundSticks II 2.1 Plug and Play Multimedia Speaker System: Electronics
Do not know current INR though. You should get them in a good computer store.

 

[Rem]

Add the Klipsch Promedia to the list its awesome I own them and when compared to other Comp specific speakers its way ahead check them out.

But the original promedias are no longer available the ones which are there now are called Promedia GMX 2.1.

Check the link below

ProMedia GMX A-2.1

If its 2.1 you are looking for you cant get better than this for comps.

 

[Rem]

Since you are in Bangalore you can see these Speakers at Reliance Timeout in Cunningham rd. I dont know whether there are other Klipsch Promedia dealers in Bangalore