Building a 2.0 or 2.1 PC speaker system

[walrusfoxtrot1]

Hey everybody,

I'm considering building a new 2.0 or 2.1 speaker system for my PC.
Before I get into more detail I have three requirements:
1. The speakers must fit comfortably on my desk and not be too large (no taller than 7" or 8" no wider than 4").
2. The system must either have a sub woofer or be upgradable to a subwoofer in the future.
3. Everything must cost no more than $130 USD.

I've never built a speaker system and have only the roughest understanding of what is required. I get that I need two speakers, an amp and possibly a subwoofer. However, I don't know what to look for in an amp and am confused about what speakers would work best. It's been suggested to that I pick up a pair of bookshelf speakers but they seem to be than larger what I can comfortably fit on my desk. I'm not sure what constitutes a good amp as well.

Thanks in advance!

 

[getochkn]

For a $130, you're not going to get an amp and 2-3 speakers. You're better off looking at powered speakers. Most PC based speakers are powered, as our some studio monitors. Mackie makes a cheap set that is still decent.

 

[walrusfoxtrot1]

For a $130, you're not going to get an amp and 2-3 speakers. You're better off looking at powered speakers. Most PC based speakers are powered, as our some studio monitors. Mackie makes a cheap set that is still decent.

How much ball park would a decent 2.0 speaker set up cost to build?

 

[getochkn]

http://www.amazon.com/Mackie-CR4-Pair-Reference-Multimedia/dp/B00KVEIY4O/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1451872915&sr=8-9&keywords=powered+speakers

could grab a pair of those.

 

[walrusfoxtrot1]

http://www.amazon.com/Mackie-CR4-Pair-Reference-Multimedia/dp/B00KVEIY4O/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1451872915&sr=8-9&keywords=powered+speakers

could grab a pair of those.

Hmm, thanks for the post but those are far too large.

What about this set up?
http://www.amazon.com/Lepai-LP-2020A-Tripath-Class-T-Amplifier/dp/B0049P6OTI
http://www.amazon.com/JBL-Loft-Two-Way-Bookshelf-Loudspeaker/dp/B00DKPJR06/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1451873509&sr=1-1&keywords=JBL+Loft+30+Two-Way+4%22+Bookshelf+Loudspeaker&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011

 

[getochkn]

The ones I listed are only like 1/2 wider than the JBL's you listed and like 1/2 taller, so if the Mackies are too big, how are the JBL's.

And no, that amp sucks. It's barely and amp and would sound like crap when you tried to turn it up past 2. It's a project amp, not an amp for real audio.

As I said, for your budget, you're not going to get a good amp and speakers, nor do you need it. Size and budget, you want powered speakers.

 

[walrusfoxtrot1]

Hmm, According to the Amazon page the JBL's are 7 x 5.1 x 8.3 inches while the Mackie CR4 are 12.5 x 16.3 x 9.5 inches. What do you know about the CR3?

What 2.1 powered speakers would you recommend?

 

[Karadjgne]

If you have a halfway decent motherboard, it'll have rear outputs for surround sound. I ran a cheap set of regular powered pc speakers 4" tall and 3" wide. This in the green front speaker port. Then I ran a simple powered sub from the black center/sub port. Grand total was maybe $30 and did everything I needed it to. Of course I now have my tuner and towers hooked up, the wife didn't want them in the living room anymore, but that's a different story.

Try the Logitech Z623 or Z313 sets

 

[walrusfoxtrot1]

If you have a halfway decent motherboard, it'll have rear outputs for surround sound. I ran a cheap set of regular powered pc speakers 4" tall and 3" wide. This in the green front speaker port. Then I ran a simple powered sub from the black center/sub port. Grand total was maybe $30 and did everything I needed it to. Of course I now have my tuner and towers hooked up, the wife didn't want them in the living room anymore, but that's a different story.

Try the Logitech Z623 or Z313 sets

I have a cheap ass pair of Logitech 2.1 2-220s. My complaint about them is the treble is horrible and the right speaker has had a short since day 1 that is only getting worse. I've heard good things about the Z623s. Would that be the way for me to go?

 

[getochkn]

Hmm, According to the Amazon page the JBL's are 7 x 5.1 x 8.3 inches while the Mackie CR4 are 12.5 x 16.3 x 9.5 inches. What do you know about the CR3?

What 2.1 powered speakers would you recommend?

That's shipping dimensions for both in 1 box.

https://gyazo.com/632813224ab3150c8db343236aff07c4


That's the actual per speaker dimensions.

 

[Karadjgne]

So you have a sub already, a decent pair of bookshelfs is all you need. A lil different than trying to fit a sub in to the price.