No speaker improvements in 4 years?

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johnje

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Sep 6, 2008
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I have been using the Logitech Z-5500 set of speakers for years now. No complaints. They are great speakers. I just wonder why, with upgrades to cpu's, mb's, memory, hard drives, etc,....that I haven't seen any high end speakers for the computer. I saw a recent bose offering....two computer speakers for $400 but I don't really count that as they are overrated. But what about it? Just seems like with such a big focus on cpu performance, etc, that the market is just begging for a better speaker system.

What say you?
 
The way speakers work hasn't really changed in 4 years. Sure, there's incremental stuff, but they just don't change the way that CPUs do. My dad still has his stereo set from the 1980's, and it still sounds quite good.

Of course, it is too bad that nobody has come out with a truly good speaker setup for computers. I have my comp hooked up to an external amp and speakers because there simply aren't any computer speakers that can compare.
 
As cjl stated, you'll have to buy a separate amp/receiver and real speakers/sub if you want better sound than the Z-5500 give you.
 
^+1 for what cjl said. Most computer speakers are not so good. Last year I bought Logitech's g-51 and they sounded good for games but horrible for music and movies. Now I have 2 TOA speakers that came with a professional pa system. They sound great for games, music and movies.
 
that's a bit like keyboards and mice i guess. i mean there really hasn't been any major advances to the mouse except the move from optical balls 🙂lol:) to lasers. increases in dpi are not much these days, and higher dpi doesnt necessarily mean better. things like these just don't NEED to be changed much.
 
laser technology sucks for mice

I went from a g7 to a mx500

the difference is astronomical... thats with the mx500 polling rate at default...

change the polling rate to 1000 hz instead of 125... and it just gets better

Seriously though... its so much smoother and more precise now... at a certain speed lasers just get really glitchy...


Onto speakers now... hehe... how can you really improve on something thats already been improved a lot and no matter what you do still really requires the same setup... I mean a cpu theres always ways to improve things... but with speakers... its a magnet... you can upgrade or make this magnet as nice as possible... but at a certain point... its still just a magnet and as far as i know... thats not going to change any time soon
 
laser technology sucks for mice

I went from a g7 to a mx500

the difference is astronomical... thats with the mx500 polling rate at default...

change the polling rate to 1000 hz instead of 125... and it just gets better

Seriously though... its so much smoother and more precise now... at a certain speed lasers just get really glitchy...
Click to expand...


The laser mouse tech just like optical has had several bumps in the road. Cheep optical(and laser) mice loose track at even moderate speeds.

I have 2 MX 518's(Both of them do not pass 500 reports/sec(lucky you with the 500 😛) even with the USB ports set to 1000[the kicker is with logitech's software it FORCES 125 to make the other mice look better, BASTARDS]) and they are the BEST thing in the price range(i got one for $20 at staples and the other was an RMA for a MX700 when I said NO MORE to wireless), but i do use a G9 and like it(with the exception to the fact that the rubber on the comfort grip is wearing right though).

One of the biggest differences with a laser based mouse is that its not only sensitive to side to side, but also up and down moments. I rest my hand rather heavy on the mouse and it would cause a clear jittery moment on my soft mouse pad. Getting a hard mouse pad did solve this problem. I also have a MX 400 and it can not keep up with fast moments.

Onto speakers....

Since not much changes are made to the systems they do not need to release new ones often. Most updates now are just for "Cool" features. A good stereo will always sound better, but i still use an old pair of 4.1 speakers(Alteclansing 641[sounds great to me :)]) and will continue to do so until they die.
 
i have logitech z-560 4.1 speakers, they sound great, have had em for like 4 years

if you want better than that then you need to get a separate amp and a good set of speakers + sub which is lots of $$ hehe

if you want better than that then you need to get studio monitors with studio equipment, which is even more $$$

if you want better than that then yea i dunno, watch the band live hehe
 
why don't you get a nice headset? nothing beats circumaural silence...

and headphones have improved more than speakers have in the past few years, possibly due to surge of apple garbage.
 
Well, as you can see from the other posts you do have an alternative. You could connect your pc to a high end audio system. I tried it with my pc. I simply ran an S/PDIF (fiber optic) audio cable from my pc's rear i/o panel to my Yamaha amp. It's awesome. It's a good thing I live alone because I can literally rock the house anytime I want to.
 
dude, why improve? we are humans and have a limited hability to feel diffrence in sound quality and dB. its like i dont know, DVD and blue ray, diffrence is possible to see, but not needed at all.

besides speakers u ahve have same max sound as a jet plane starting ( if u dont belive me google it), i doubt anyone wants to listen it that high.
 
Interesting responses. I can definitely tell by the posts who has experience with sound. I have used many different sets of speakers and believe me, there is a big difference between average computer speakers and higher end. Of course, higher end for me would be the Logitech Z-5500. While they are loud, I don't believe they are as good as the sound (particularly music) can get. I don't particularly care for headphones although I do have some Sennheiser noise canceling headphones but I mainly use them when traveling by plane. My head is so large (7 3/4") that its hard to find ones that don't hurt my ears. I've tried ear buds, on ear, and over the ear but just don't feel like the sound is the same. Particularly the bass.

I have the luxury of being able to play my music louder if I wish. I have a 40x60 shop next door to my house with a 13'x15' office inside.

Well, I think I am going to look into an a quality amp with some nice speakers. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
I'd be the one with no experience 😀

I have rather large hands... 10 inch span... so I wouldn't be able to use the g9 laser mouse as it is WAY to small for my hand... as it is the base of my palm on the mx500 is on the mouse pad and the tips of my fingers can touch the other side of the mouse pad across the mouse...

What are you saying about forced polling rate? Does logitech force it back down even if you manually changed it? ugh... i hate stupid stuff from logitech... luckily their mouse ware that is for the mx500 doesn't install any processes/bloatware


 
I am not a fan of Logitech Z-5500s even when they are hooked up to a good sound card through highend silver/non-oxidized copper thread mesh cables. They just are not good in any particular way, just kind of average. The only PC speaker setup I kinda like are these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836113140

I am using this sound card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132005

I am using this receiver:

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/rr2150.html

With these speakers:

http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-3-Way-Floorstanding-Loudspeaker-Finish/dp/B0006DPQBE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1226279741&sr=1-3

All connected with $200 worth of custom cables

I like highend audio, but I can't afford the best, but this setup is good enough for my PC. If I want to really listen to music I use my Grado SR325is through my receiver (thats why i have a great receiver and average speakers). With my Cowon D2 I run Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pros. Not a bad collection for a teenager that makes $8.50 an hour I think, took me forever to save up for this!

Edit: Onto the mouse conversation, I find the Razer diamonback Plasma to be the most comfortable mouse I have used yet, maybe some day I will upgrade to a newer version but I am happy with what I have.
 
Cables make a large difference, also since the receiver is the only part of that system I most likely wont replace I wanted great cables for any future upgrades. I also got a great deal on them from the guy who makes them. I have been meaning to upgrade the speakers, but honestly they are pretty good for gaming and decent for movies. Music is a little less than stellar, but I use my Grado's for music anyway.
 
Cables make zero difference, assuming that they are of sufficient size. Fatter cables are better, but fancy, extra shielded ones are only good at liberating audiophiles from their money. Spend the extra money on speakers and amps if you want better quality, not on cables. It'll make a lot more difference (especially if you spend it on the speakers).

See this article for details:

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

Note: the exception to this rule is for cables over 50 feet, where cable capacitance and inductance begins to noticeably cut into high frequency content. However, I'm assuming that your cable run is under 50 feet, in which case you don't need anything better than standard cables. I'm running basic 14AWG speaker wire (admittedly biwired though) for mine.
 



I say if you're a gamer, or audiophile you won't find anything any better than this, for the money!

http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=4&subcategory=789&product=14661

Creative fan or not, these speakers flat rock!!!!

My wife has the same speaker system as you, and there is no comparison in the performance between the 2 systems, Creative rules this area!

And they should, as I'm pretty sure Cambridge Soundworks makes these speakers for Creative, at least they did in earlier days!


 
Theyve been making high performance speakers for decades, while cpus only a few decades, if that, in current form. So speakers have reached their peak in performance. The only things thatd make them better is small incremental improvements and costs savings
 

It's psychological. My dad heard a large difference too, until I did a blind test with him (not double blind unfortunately, but it still was effective).

Of course, if the cables you were using before were too small, it wasn't psychological, but it also didn't require $200 cables to fix (just larger cheap cables).
 
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