Speaker Setup!

Hey, I've just bught a Dell XPS M1530 and i really need o get a good set of speakers to compliment it!
I'd love it if i could get wireless ones, but I dont rellay know much in this area!
Any reccomendations?

If not then im goin to have to have wired ones (obviously) But the thing is... if i uses the 3.5mm Jack to connect to the laptop (i dont want it) I'd prefer USB! The thing is, i cant stand wires and having one poking out of the front of my lapop will make me mad! I coul just about cope if it was to come out of the side (where myUSB ports are)

Thanks!!
So basically anything bluetooth/wirefree is what im after, then if there aren't any/they dont exist then reccomendations of wired ones please!

 

hello! may i ask your price point?

 

anything up to £300

 

well actually, saying that, i'd spend a bit more if it was something really good!

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Digital-Multimedia-Theatre-Speaker/dp/B0006HBCL8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1203789246&sr=1-2

...expensive (£199)

 

You're gonna lose some audio quality using wireless.

The best setup (quality-wise, although more wires) would be to get a surround sound audio hub that connects through USB to your computer & a surround sound preamp w/ speakers.

I connect to my surround sound DVD player through a 3.5mm and it is a waste because 3.5mm only pumps out 2 channels.

 

i wish i knew how much £300 is in U.S. dollars

but heres a bose system, not wireless but connects to the PC through USB.

im not really on top of wireless devices... especially audio.
as greg says, Audio quality is diminished.

as soon as i find out how much £300...

 

£1 = about $2 (just a little over).

So that would be about $600

 

You're going to get a £300 set of speaks... to listen to sound onboard sound?

Do you have the mobile X-Fi? I'm curious about whether it actually provides a sizeable boost in audio fidelity and lowers the strain on the CPU. I know that it's supposedly not quite up to par with the desktop version.

 

If i were you i really would buy some decent stereo speakers with an amplifier.
For that amount of money you can get some pretty nice speakers. If you don't want to have surround sound, the sound will be much better with just two speakers. And when you compare it with Creative or Logitech speakers the difference will be huge.

 

Cor thanks for all your responses...

Oh... I really wanted a wireless setup, as the whole idea of having the laptop was to free myself away from the desk, but as it results in quality decrease it seems like my only option is wired...

So, i've been thinking... is it possbile to have a setup with multiple input points?

e.g. one on my desk, one near my TV & 1 near my bed? Or is it only possibe to have one input point?

Also...

* How would I connect stereo speakers to my laptop?

&

*Would it be at all possible to connect the speakers to my TV?

Thanks, you've all enlightened me so much!

 

The M1530 doesn't come with a Line Out port, so I guess your only option is to find a headphone jack -> stereo RCA cord.

http://www.shoptronics.com/sthe3pltodur.html
https://www.cedarsys.net/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=401
http://www.dogstarradios.com/headphone-to-rca-cable.html

Note that you'll have to make sure the cable is for stereo, as opposed to mono. Check the number of rings on the 1/8" male headphone jack end; a stereo cable should have 2 rings, as opposed to a mono cable's 1 ring.

Anyone have any better solutions...? I'm not entirely sure about this myself. Largely, I think you'll find that the quality of the audio output from most notebooks or even PCs does not warrant a connection to a high-end speaker set.

You could probably connect the speakers to your TV, or split the setup into multiple input points, through any number of splitter devices and cables found on the net. Not entirely sure how this will affect the audio quality; splitter boxes will probably give you better quality than splitter cables, though.

 

Hey, i've been thinking, and I thought, perhaps if i got a set of speakers that I could connect my ipod aswell as use as my pc speakers! Then i can be anywhere in my room and listen to my music!

One question though, how many watts do you reccommend to play loud music, is 6w per speaker enugh? Also what about the subwoffer? Anything I need to know?

 

You will want a sound card (Creative Audigy 2 NX or the mobile XFi are probably good enough, though not stellar) and either a set of Swan M10s or Klipsch ProMedias. I would go with the ProMedia 2.1s if you can find them. Excellent speakers.

 

You want 2.1 or 5.1?
Are you a fan of bassier sound, or more clarity (aka, what music do you listen to)?

Your budget is quite gorgeous, you can get a pair of studio-grade monitors for that, and add an external audiocard which you can plug in via USB while your computer is stationary.

For your iPod you can get a dock that connects you to speakers separately, avoiding compromising your sound/choices. Or, Dared (audio company) makes amplifiers with iPod docks, which you can use with passive speakers (think bookshelf speakers). And then it would have separate input for your computer (and whatever audio solution you want for it).

In short - lots of options, and if you are interested in good sound and don't mind a small box sitting on your desk, you can get some very interesting things going on that will leave your most marketed products (like Klipsch ProMedia) startled and crawling behind.

 

Concerning wattage, it would mostly depend on ROOM SIZE and how FAR you are from the speakers.

-if you would like to hear clear and loud around your entire room, i would suggest a little more wattage on the mains.

is this a 2.1 computer bundle or a component system?- component systems have a greater chance of sounding much better, are much more flexible, and more expensive.

-the subwoofer, what would you like to know? placement? wattage on that too? or how large a woofer it should be?


If your budget it large enough, try something like this:

The Heart of it all, the Receiver:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Onkyo-TX-SR304-5-1-Home-Theater-Receiver-TX-SR304/sem/rpsm/oid/178237/catOid/-12949/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
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-I have the silver version of this 5.1 surround sound receiver and its simple to set and gives out solid watts.

The Speakers:

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-The bigger the speakers, the better.-although that doesnt apply to Bose- but these babies have far greater everything(except compact-tivity) than those little puny single driver satellite systems. -just use 2 if you want stereo or 2.1 and simply add 3 more for a complete 5.1 surround sound experience.

The Subwoofer:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Velodyne-10-VRP-Series-Subwoofer-VRP-1000/sem/rpsm/oid/92859/catOid/-16883/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
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-Bass is the life of all music and music wouldnt be music without lower frequencies.

-these products are simply for reference, although i support Polk audio and Onkyo.