I've tested a number of speakers for there different areas: Living Room, Office, and my Desk at Home.
After trying (and returning a number of well reviewed choices) I settled on the following:
Living Room - Logitech Z-2300 THX-Certified 200-Watt 2.1 Speaker System
This system had the best overall power of everything I tried. Everything else sounds good when you're close enough to the speakers, but as you move away it gets pretty weak. For the living room you definitely need a 2.1 system. Even the M-Audio StudioPro 3 Desktop Audio Monitors, which seem the be the best of the 2 speaker systems couldn't handle a real room. As mentioned in a number of other reviews, the subwoofer unit is larger than others out there. I expect that's part of the reason these have good power. Make sure you've got a good place to hide it. Sound is very good comparatively. Nothing is going to sound like a real 200w component stereo, but this comes pretty close. I find that the imaging, or perceptual soundstage is a little lacking, not as clearly defined as with the JBL Creature II 3-Piece Powered Speaker System or the M-Audio Studio 3. This got better when I added 6' RCA cable extenders to the satellite speaker wires which allowed me to separate the satellites a bit. But still not great. The volume knob thing is nice, and it's nice to have both volume and bass adjustment handy. I guess you could have easily put the controls on one of the satellites like everyone else though. The headphone jack on the volume control seems pointless to me, but maybe you'll like it. What I wish was that you could have an aux input on the volume thing to plug in your ipod or something else.
Office - JBL Creature II 3-Piece Powered Speaker System
These 2.1 speakers don't have the total power of the Logitech Z-2300, but they have much clearer and better imaging. Since my office is smaller than my living room, and shares a wall with someone, I don't need as much power. These were perfect. The high end is crisp, and the subwoofer clean. The volume control on the satellites is handy, but the bass adjustment is on the subwoofer. I thought this would be an issue, but you actually kind of set it and monkey with it a bit in the beginning, and then leave it alone. The satellites are much smaller than the Logitech and less cheesy looking, which makes them nicer on your desk. I have to say again how killer the sound is. Imaging is great, and it's crazy how they manage to do it with those tiny satellites.
Desk at Home - M-Audio StudioPro 3 Desktop Audio Monitors
These simply have the best sound and imaging of everything I tried except the higher end M-Audio reference speakers. No MP3 is going to sound ever as good as a CD through a component stereo(or an LP, but don't get me started). But I am amazed at the quality of these speakers. They wouldn;t have the power to fill a living room, or even an office. By the time you're 6'-8' away from them, the imaging settles out a bit. But for your desk or as satellite speakers for a TV that didn't come with great ones already, they are perfect. They are a little bigger than many desktop speakers overall, but since many desktop speakers are oddly shaped with leaning towers and wide stands, they actually don;t take up as much more footprint comparatively. The volume and headphone jack and aux in are all on one of the speakers, very handy for access and for plugging in your iPod at your desk. I tried several of the higher end M-Audio speakers, and while I found them to be even better with more power and clarity, it just wasn't enough better to justify the additional size and expense.
There you have it. Enjoy
Michael Peachey
Get more detail about Logitech Z-2300 THX-Certified 200-Watt 2.1 Speaker System (Silver).
No comments:
Post a Comment