Suggestions sought: Computer Speakers

[GA Russell]

Guys, I found another one that looks interesting - the Creative Inspire T12 2.0.

Anybody have an opinion of Creative Labs?

Amazon has these on sale for $45.50, which is $35/43% off.

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Inspire-T12-Multimedia-Technology/dp/B0028N6YH0/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1389497468&sr=8-15&keywords=logitech+z313

[Scott Dolan]

Another rock solid budget company along the lines of Logitech and Altec Lansing. A buddy of mine swears by Creative.

The only thing of theirs I have anyexperience with is the iPod dock my son has, which sounds absolutely amazing. Nice sturdy build, too. We take it with us when we go on vacation. It has serious room filling sound.

[Milestones]

Any thoughts on Bose speakers? I think it's Bose 2 series III that runs around $100. I've been using traditional Bose speakers for 15-20 years and have liked them. I'm hoping they make a good PC product.

[Scott Dolan]

Well, let me put it this way. I've never been a fan of Bose, but $100 for multimedia speakers from them?

I wouldn't have any problem pulling the trigger on that, sound unheard.

[GA Russell]

Guys, I found another one that looks interesting - the Creative Inspire T12 2.0.

Anybody have an opinion of Creative Labs?

Amazon has these on sale for $45.50, which is $35/43% off.

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Inspire-T12-Multimedia-Technology/dp/B0028N6YH0/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1389497468&sr=8-15&keywords=logitech+z313

Some of the Amazon customer reviews indicate that the Creative GigaWorks T20s at $78.99 a pair are far superior to the T12s.

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-GigaWorks-Multimedia-BasXPort-Technology/dp/B001RNOHDU/ref=pd_sim_e_7

[GA Russell]

I have decided to save up my money for the T20's. However, I note that the price of the Logitech Z130's has dropped to $16.99.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-980-000417-Speakers-Z130/dp/B003CP0OT2?SubscriptionId=AKIAJ7T5BOVUVRD2EFYQ&tag=camelhomealerts-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B003CP0OT2

[Scott Dolan]

Have you done any homework on either? $16.79 is hard to pass up if there isn't a huge difference between the two.

[GA Russell]

Scott, the comments on the T20s make them look very good for under $100.

Recent comments for the Logitechs indicate that more than a few stop working promptly, and need to be returned.

[Scott Dolan]

Ah, which likely explains the price drop.

[GA Russell]

I have decided to save up my money for the T20's. However, I note that the price of the Logitech Z130's has dropped to $16.99.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-980-000417-Speakers-Z130/dp/B003CP0OT2?SubscriptionId=AKIAJ7T5BOVUVRD2EFYQ&tag=camelhomealerts-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B003CP0OT2

I received the T20's, and after a burn-in period, I have found them to be quite satisfactory for my purposes.

Now let's consider again speaker cables. My question is this: I can save at least $7.00 by buying a 50 foot roll of in-the-wall cable. My cables will be out of sight anyway, so I'm wondering if I should splurge on "pretty" wire. Is the $7.00 amount so small that I will wish that I had spent it?

Edited March 16, 2014 by GA Russell

[Scott Dolan]

If they are going to be out of sight there is really no point in spending extra money on purdy cables. Just get the proper gauge for the length you'll be running and be done with it.

[GA Russell]

Scott, I think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill! I'll just pull the trigger tonight.

[Scott Dolan]

Now you're talking.

Good rule of thumb: only pay for purdy cables if you're going to be able to admire their beauty.

[sonnymax]

Now let's consider again speaker cables. My question is this: I can save at least $7.00 by buying a 50 foot roll of in-the-wall cable. My cables will be out of sight anyway, so I'm wondering if I should splurge on "pretty" wire. Is the $7.00 amount so small that I will wish that I had spent it?

Are you really saving money with in-wall cables? They are generally more expensive than "regular" speaker wire because their special jacket/insulation is designed to reduce the burn rate and the spread of toxic gases in the event of a fire.

Edited March 18, 2014 by sonnymax

[Scott Dolan]

I'm certain he was talking about regular speaker cable, since he was talking about the money saved. You can buy fully terminated and nicely jacketed speaker cable for far less than you'd spend on true in-wall speaker cable.

[GA Russell]

You might want to take a look at these:

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm

I never used them, but when I was looking for cables myself, this brand constantly came up in chat forums, mostly recommended. If your stereo is just "average," these may be the best you can do for the price.

Sonnymax, I think I will follow Stefan Wood's advice from the speaker wire thread and buy from these people.

My comment about saving money with in-wall wires was based upon what Amazon is offering.

This costs $30.44.

http://www.amazon.com/C2G-Cables-29172-Velocity-Speaker/dp/B0002J2BQA/ref=sr_1_26?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1395108238&sr=1-26&keywords=12+awg+speaker+wire+50+ft

This costs $24.99.

http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-2-Conductor-Speaker-Copper/dp/B00BWRX1MO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1395108362&sr=1-1&keywords=12+awg+speaker+wire+50+ft

[Scott Dolan]

GA, have you figured the overall length you're going to need? How long for each side?

[GA Russell]

Scott, I think that fifteen feet per cable will be enough. It looks like that bluejeans site sells the cable by the foot.

[Scott Dolan]

They do indeed. I think Monoprice does as well. I'd definitely recommend going that route.

[Tom in RI]

Any thoughts on Bose speakers? I think it's Bose 2 series III that runs around $100. I've been using traditional Bose speakers for 15-20 years and have liked them. I'm hoping they make a good PC product.

I've had the Bose 2 for a few years. I bought them at Sam's Club but I don't remember what I paid. I find them to be pretty good, no complaints at all. Once my son had a group of his friends over for a small LAN party. They borrowed the speakers and each one of them were amazed at how they sounded. Of course, they are all kids whose idea of music is MP3's and ear buds.

[Dave Garrett]

The Wirecutter's take on computer speakers:

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-computer-speakers/

For those who aren't familiar with The Wirecutter, an article from The Atlantic posted yesterday covering them and their sister site Sweethome:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/04/how-to-stop-wasting-time-comparison-shopping/360757/

[Scott Dolan]

Excellent articles, Dave!

I'd heard nothing but rave reviews of the powered Audioengine speakers (mostly the A5's), but had never heard of M-Audio before. Good to know.

[Dave Garrett]

I was familiar with M-Audio through their PCI sound cards, which usually tend to be among the recommendations for those looking to upgrade their computer's sound. Wasn't aware that they also manufacture a lot of other things like speakers and keyboards.

The Wirecutter's usually my first stop when researching a possible electronics purchase. My 15-year-old 36" CRT TV just gave up the ghost recently, and their piece on the best $500 TV (http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-500-tv/) was an invaluable aid in narrowing down the possibilities for a new set (although I disagreed with their conclusion that 720p was sufficient for the screen size in question and opted for the 1080p model at a slightly higher price).

[Scott Dolan]

Yeah, no matter the screen size, higher resolution is always the way to go.

And 1080p is so relatively inexpensive these days, there's really no reason to bother with 720 anymore.