Computer Speakers

[Fusion]

alright folks, i'm in need of some advice.

for my soon to be delivered Mac Mini, i'd like some new speakers.
a couple of high quality satellites, and a major (and i mean major) sub would do. 5.1/7.1 isn't important. quality and power is.

the thing is, speak to me in watts, and i've not got a clue.
you know when you're sat in a car, and the bass reverberates through you, or likewise when one goes by and you can feel it, what kind of wattage are we talking there? how much money are we talking there? could i get something like that for my Mini? and would that kind of power cripple my Mini (obviously the setup would have it's own power supply...but still)?

On this here PC i have a ?40 Creative 2.1 setup, but the sub isn't up to much, barely shakes the desk it's sat on.

anyway, limit's about ?100, but i'd be willing to spend a bit more to get what i really wanted.

all help appreciated.

Thanks.

[superkully]

If you can find the aego 2 that would fit your bill. However, what you seem to want would only be acheived with a hifi amp and speakers, I'd go for a 2nd hand amp (20wpc up) and some Eltax Monitor 3s with no subwoofer.

[Fusion]

regarding the latter option;
where would the Amp plug into?
would the EM3's plug straight into the Amp and give me sufficient bass?

[Harmony]

Nothing beats headphones for games IMHO.

[superkully]

Disregard the hifi amp route.

If you're after a good 2.1 setup, have a look at either the aego 2s (but hard to find) or the Harman JBL Creatures II (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...032125-9393210).

Not only would they look rather natty with your new Mac, they also sound grand.

But don't go on what I say, they way I like my music won't be the same as the way anyone else likes it, check out reviews for these both.

EDIT: What Harmony says, if I want loud bass for my gaming, I use my Koss Porta Pros, ?35 and the best sounding headphones I've ever owned (that includes the ?80 Grados and ?60 Phillips HP890s).

[Fusion]

they do indeed look very nice - but they're not gonna give much more bass than my current ?40 set are they?

i'm not too fussed about gaming - it's more so i can experience my music collection in all it's glory.

[huxley]

http://www.macworld.co.uk/mwexpo/ny2000/pix/soundsticks.jpg

i have the sound sticks. The bass is clean crisp and loads of kick

[Firsty]

Sound sticks are niiiice!
Why do you want so much bass?
Lots of bass sounds so ****.

[Kotatsu Neko]

You could try some Creative iTrigues

I have the black versions on my PC and they sound pretty good for the price.

[Taurine]

you know when you're sat in a car, and the bass reverberates through you, or likewise when one goes by and you can feel it

When I feel the bass coming from someone else's car I think to myself "the insurance for that Vauxhall Corsa must be killing him, 17 years old, zero no-claims bonus, just passed his test, and I wonder if he told the insurance company about those tasteless wheels, the farting exhaust and that he has lowered it by hacksawing the springs? After that lot I'm surprised he can afford so much Burberry!"

e.g. http://www.modpolice.com/index.php?act=ST&f=5&t=335

[Fusion]

When I feel the bass coming from someone else's car I think to myself "the insurance for that Vauxhall Corsa must be killing him, 17 years old, zero no-claims bonus, just passed his test, and I wonder if he told the insurance company about those tasteless wheels, the farting exhaust and that he has lowered it by hacksawing the springs? After that lot I'm surprised he can afford so much Burberry!"

e.g. http://www.modpolice.com/index.php?act=ST&f=5&t=335

yeh i was expecting the chav posts to come flooding. luckily they didn't.

how about a better comparison - when you're in a club.

and firsty, i want to feel the bass, not hear it.

[Taurine]

and firsty, i want to feel the bass, not hear it.

This is a question that interests me too. I've been wanting to get a sub for my home cinema setup for some time, but I ONLY want to feel the bass. I want it to add a physical texture to the air, not the chavtone to set my neighbours on DEFCON1.

But every time I look at the specs for a sub the frequency response seems to be in the audible region. And the only time I heard a sub in action was at a chav's house, so of course it was audible.

So is it possible to achieve silent bass textures? Can anyone recommend such a sub for home cinema? I'll be plugging it into a DSP-A5 and I'd prefer not to spend more than ?300, and the less the better.

And just maybe answering the OP, would these things sound any good? The look quite stylish, which is important with Macs

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/SpeedLink.html (3rd item on page)

[Willei]

If you want sounds quality and power, you more or less have to get a proper amp + speakers combo. Don't bother with computer speakers if you're planning to spend a reasonable sum of money, and especially don't bother with fashion speakers, they're almost always a waste of money. If you're on a budget though, spend about ?50 on a set of 2.1 computer speakers - the satilites usually provide a reasonable amount of detail, and a sub whacked up high can give the impression of power. Personally I recommend Logitech speakers without ever hearing them in my life, only because I've had 2 pairs of Creative ones (5.1 and 2.1) in the last five years that have both given up the ghost on me. Videologic ones are fairly good too.