Quality 2.1 or 2.0 speakers

[Giant Lizard]

Hi everyone,

I'm having problems to find a good 2.1 to replace my JBL Creature III.

The sound that come out of the JBL is great and the speakers are really little, which allow me to put them under my computer screen. Also esthetically they are beautiful. The only HUGE problem (which is among most of the JBL speakers) is that they turn of automatically to save energy if they don't detect a strong enough signal, which means sometimes you just don't hear nothing because the sound is low that's honestly horrible.

I looked in internet to find an alternative and everywhere say that the Logitech Z623 is the best one. So I bought it and...they are really awful :| the sound quality is not comparable to JBL's. They are also big, too big (especially the subwoofer), so I gave them back.

But I'm still looking for something good enough can you help me? Even a 2.0 is probably good enough, I don't really need such a strong bass.

Thank you in advance

 

[JamesSneed]

Since you want good sound you are going to have to spend more to be perfectly honest. The entry point into decent sounding 2.1 speakers is the Audioengine A2+ or the larger Audioengine 5+. If you are using them for near field listening as in sitting at your desktop only then the Audioengine A2+ are pretty decent with the option to add a sub later. These are a huge bump in sound quality to what you have listed.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Since you want good sound you are going to have to spend more to be perfectly honest. The entry point into decent sounding 2.1 speakers is the Audioengine A2+ or the larger Audioengine 5+. If you are using them for near field listening as in sitting at your desktop only then the Audioengine A2+ are pretty decent with the option to add a sub later. These are a huge bump in sound quality to what you have listed.

+1 on this recommendation

Logitech and Creative speakers are toys compared to these.

Another option if you're willing to go big is M-Audio AV42, they are a little cheaper but size wise significantly bigger than the Audioengines. I have the AV40 setup and the sound is unbelieveable

 

[ThePopeinater]

I have Mackie Cr4 studio monitors, great speakers for the price. Then I bought a monoprice subwoofer to fill in the bass.

 

[ssddx]

the creature 3 is known as one of the better pc speakers out there. logitechs are good value but tend towards boomy bloated sound.

a potential fix is perhaps a constantly playing inaudible sound in the background to prevent speaker turn off.

otherwise i agree a powered 2.0 system like the cr3/cr4, av32/av42, a2+/a5+, m20, pb42x or similar are good options

 

[Giant Lizard]

thank you, the problem in this kind of market is that everyone has a different proposition, it seems there isn't one which everyone agrees is the best, and seems they are all pretty much expensive, it's difficult to choose :/

the creature 3 is known as one of the better pc speakers out there.

Creature 3 are really good for sound and look (the satellites are so nice under the screen) but that standby issue makes them, for me, the worst speakers I ever had. And I checked a lot around internet, there is no fix.

 

[ssddx]

audio is mostly about preferences so what someone thinks is best may vary. for example, i may love my klipsh speakers but some people may think they are too bright and prefer warmer tones. to each their own.

have you tried playing an inaudible frequency audio file to test if the speakers still turn off? i remember reading about this method to "fix" (bandaid) a similar issue.

there are quite a few solutions for your audio systems..

2.0 pc speakers
-generally light on bass though some cover mids decent. the t20/t40 are good quality speakers at least as good as the creature3 but lack bass.
2.1 pc speakers
-creative/logitech have decent sets but they will not have the clarity of the creature. the corsair set might be okay but its expensive.
2.0 powered speakers
-the sets i listed above are mostly this category. some may not have low bass but most of the hifi branded ones have decent quality. the ones i listed above are mostly monitors for recording studios.
2.1 powered speakers
-swan m10 or similar sets are nice but expensive. there are of course cheap options but are mostly similar to logitechs in quality.
2.0 passive speakers + amp
-while you need to buy an amp, there are many bookshelf speakers you can use as the vast majority of non-junk speakers on the market are passive.
2.0 passive speakers + amp + powered subwoofer
-same as above but with a woofer added. prices for a setup would likely be $250-300 but could be worthwhile depending on the person.

the only reason i suggesed the 2.0 powered category is A) the speakers i listed have good as or better clarity as you have now , B) are reasonably priced and c) arent large sized.

 

[Giant Lizard]

What's the fix you are talking about? What kind of audio file should I use?

Anyway, I checked in internet some speakers you and others suggested me and these are my results:

- Audioengine A2+: they look good, not too big, but sooo damn expensive :|

- Mackie CR3: still a little too big, but it seems they are really appreciated and not so expensive. What I don't understand is how to connect them to my pc, it seems they come without connection cables.

- Micca MB42X: they don't exist in Europe (I'm in France), probably only in USA. And anyway they seem even harder to connect.

- M-Audio AV42: they seem less liked than previous ones

- PB42X: they seem hard to find now, maybe discontinued? Anyway, can't find them in Europe either

- Edifier Luna Eclipse: great design (comparable to the Creatures) but I'm not sure the sound quality is as great. And they are bigger than what they seem

- Edifier R1280T: esthetically not really beautiful, but they seem really good quality and quite cheap.


Right now I'm torn between Mackie CR3 and Edifier R1280T. No one in this topic cited the last ones, why? Aren't they good enough?


Anyway, speaking of size, it seems nothing is as small as the Creature 3 :/

 

[ThePopeinater]

Mackie CR3 will have aux cables to plug in to your PC audio, and speaker wire to connect the speakers together, and isolation pads

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/aplusautomation/vendorimages/aec9c2ac-f3b5-4d0d-86b8-6e29c9564046.jpg._CB270418542__SL220__.jpg

 

[Rogue Leader]

I've honestly not heard of Edifier, so I can't reccomend them. The Audioengines I know sound awesome, as do my M-Audios.

I have heard good things about Mackie as well, but never listened to them personally. I would say they are worth the shot and as posted above they come with a connector cable or you can easily get a 3.5mm to RCA y cable to hook them up for a couple bucks on amazon

 

[ssddx]

i just recall reading that playing an audio file of a frequency outside your hearing range will trip the sensors to stay on but not be audible. you would need to research that more as i just recall reading it once.

a2 is good but overpriced, yes.

cr3 connects via rca to 3.5mm cable. pretty good deal for the price.

micca would be similar to cr3 with connections if using pb version. mb version needs a cheap amplifier like a lepai 2020

maudio have poor quality control. some great, some not so great. decent enough to list though.

dont know much about edifier though some people certainly say they sound okay. at minimum i dont think they should be better than junk speakers.

i've personally heard the cr3 or cr4 in person. i thought they sounded pretty decent. i compared it with the a2 and honestly i didnt think the a2 was worth much more despite being double the price. of course perhaps someone else would like the a2 more.. its all opinion.