Help needed in selecting a good sound card - speaker combination

S

Stalwarts, i need help in selecting a good sound card and speaker combination for gaming and music...........the budget is around 8-10k.........what would be the best combination.......i have Creative Audigy 2 ZS and Inspire M5300 in mind.............is it a good combo..........and what would be the price?????

The creative audigy 2zs is agood choice although if 5.1 is not a priority you can go for the altec lansing mx 5021 which are far superior to any creative inspire however if you strictly want a 5.1 system you can choose between the artis s-6600r *www.artis.co.in/products.html or a wharfadle 9.1 or the logitech z-5300.

B

creative is best

I think Altec Lancing rocks. I have ATP3 and couldnt be happier

sukhdeepsinghkohli said:
I think Altec Lancing rocks. I have ATP3 and couldnt be happier

yups , ALtec Lansing speakers r simply amazing , i too won an Altec Lansing n the audio is Crystal Clear .

when u buy Altec Lansing systems u can be assured that you'll get supeb audio quality.

Creative is Also very good , but they haven't come out witrh updated versions of their great products lately

i would suggest u go for an Altec lansing or a logitech an onboard HD Audio will suffice ur needs .

i would suggest logitech 5.1 models.
x530 - 6000/-
x540 - 7500+ (not yet available)
z5300e - 10k-11k/-

G

saud_khan said:
Stalwarts, i need help in selecting a good sound card and speaker combination for gaming and music...........the budget is around 8-10k.........what would be the best combination.......i have Creative Audigy 2 ZS and Inspire M5300 in mind.............is it a good combo..........and what would be the price?????

Dats a good combi...

Audigy 2 zs shud be worth it.. X-fis're costlier...
I've an Inspire 5200 bot 3 yrs back... Still d drivers're rockin...
But I guess ATP shud be the best coz they deal with only speaker systems...
ATP3's a 2.1 and a good one... Else the MX5021...

U can't realize the difference b/w onboard and a sound card unless u have a gud speaker[at least Z5300] which cud produce all sounds at its meant to be heard.
For speakers under 10k, normally onboard HD audio will do fine. If u still want a sound card, get the creative audigy 2 value which is up for 1.7k.

For speakers, i wud recommend X530 or its new model X540. X540 has more features like a control pod etc. Power ratings and perfomance of X530 nd 540 are somewhat same.
These speakers are simply amazing. One of my friend owns it[X530]. Its simply much much better than my Creative T6060[prices just 300 bucks less than X530]. Logitech has neodimium drivers which is gud at treble.

aravind_n20 said:
U can't realize the difference b/w onboard and a sound card unless u have a gud speaker[at least Z5300] which cud produce all sounds at its meant to be heard.
For speakers under 10k, normally onboard HD audio will do fine.

couldn't agree more .

I can' help notice , but why does people brag about their ATP3 so much ?? Would anyone of those care to visit my house anytime soon ?? I mean , it maybe the best in the 2.1 range .. but what the hell !! ... 2.1 hardly exists in actual terms .. it more like two speakers with a sub-woofer forced in .. it keeping on "bass-ing" even if there should be no bass .. lol .. and people call that bass

.. and wtf !! 7k's for a 2.1 shitto .. u can get a hell lot better 5.1 speaker set for that price ... and as far as clarity goes ... boom to those speakers ... 5.1 + good sound card > ATP3 by million miles ... try a Audigy2 ZS + Inspire 5200 combo .. lol ... thats under 7k's easily ... use CMSS2 , turn on "Acoustic" , set gain to +12 dB , use AudioburstFX for winamp ,,, and i challenge any ATP3 to stand up to that !! .. and u get 5.1 surround sound too .. lol ..

Creative Audigy 2 ZS + Creative Inspire 5200 (or any other , just stick to creative

) .. anyday ... u can also try to get an OEM Audigy 4 .. should be under 4k's ...

deathvirus_me said:
I can' help notice , but why does people brag about their ATP3 so much ?? Would anyone of those care to visit my house anytime soon ?? I mean , it maybe the best in the 2.1 range .. but what the hell !! ... 2.1 hardly exists in actual terms .. it more like two speakers with a sub-woofer forced in .. it keeping on "bass-ing" even if there should be no bass .. lol .. and people call that bass .. and wtf !! 7k's for a 2.1 shitto .. u can get a hell lot better 5.1 speaker set for that price ... and as far as clarity goes ... boom to those speakers ... 5.1 + good sound card > ATP3 by million miles ... try a Audigy2 ZS + Inspire 5200 combo .. lol ... thats under 7k's easily ... use CMSS2 , turn on "Acoustic" , set gain to +12 dB , use AudioburstFX for winamp ,,, and i challenge any ATP3 to stand up to that !! .. and u get 5.1 surround sound too .. lol ..

Creative Audigy 2 ZS + Creative Inspire 5200 (or any other , just stick to creative ) .. anyday ... u can also try to get an OEM Audigy 4 .. should be under 4k's ...

Mate that's y i Mentioned Crystal Clear Audio quality , it may not be as loud as other speakers but atleast it gives clear audio output at high volumes .

@deathvirus , i recommend you hear the audio as-is and do not use equalizer , that way you'll hear the song the way the creator wanted u to experience it .
ALso , we mentioned it to tell about Audio Quality n not speaker setup , you Altec Lansing too has 5.1 options available n u can go for em if u want

dude ... i wonder how u can get "crystal clear" audio from a 128 kbps mp3

.. and about uncompressed audio quality .. i don't think u can handle it without a sound card !! wonder how good the "cracks" will come from the ATP3 .. and about "crystal clear" audio quality ... like i said in the first line of my post ... care to visit my house ?? maybe i can help u wake from the dream ??

And dude .. i mean , why shouldn't i use a equalizer ?? I mean , if i have 7k's to invest .. would i invest it on an ATP3 alone .. or get myself a good soundcard , a 5.1 speaker set (which add surround sound) , and use the equalizer to get same or better audio quality ... lol .. u decide ..

Why stand on fair grounds ?? If i have options to surpass with a lower investment .. why should i stand in fair grounds ??? Simply because i have to admit something thats close to being stupidity ... lol ...

I don't wanna start a conflict .. but this is really annoying ... i mean .. WTF !! i can't understand why people vote a 2.1 speaker system over a good sound card + 5.1 system .. lol ..

G

Experience pays...

I personallu use an Inspire 5200 ( about 3 yrs old)...
Couple it with an Audigy ZS or Value, it'll sound gr8... Unless u're an audiophile...

(To my reality, I saw D creative Gigaworks 750 at a comp service centre... mannnn... The sub's too heavy to be lifted by a single person- Downfirin.. The satellite're the largest I've ever seen n those itslef're heavy as well...

22k fer dat

)

deathvirus_me said:
And dude .. i mean , why shouldn't i use a equalizer ?? I mean , if i have 7k's to invest .. would i invest it on an ATP3 alone .. or get myself a good soundcard , a 5.1 speaker set (which add surround sound) , and use the equalizer to get same or better audio quality ... lol .. u decide ..

7K, when where how

Sells between 2500-3000

S

What would be the approximate cost of Creative Audigy 2 ZS and Inspire M5300 in Lamington Road????????

i do have 7.1 on board audio ( Realtek )..........MSI K8NGM2 MOBO.............is that good enough with good speakers????????

S

whats the address of the website for that lamington road shop that displays the cost as well???????

@deathvirus_me: lol, u are comparing ATP3 with inspire 5200! ATP3 sells for 2.2k! it's quality is around greater than that of inspire 2100. to which it is compared.

and as for sound quality, u come to my home and listen to MX5021, then u will know what sound quality is all about.

as for the thread poster, if u want to listen to music, then go for 2.1. nothing better than 2.1 for music. altec lansing MX5021/6021 represent the best u can have for music. these ofcourse need a sound card to bring out their true potential, and creative audigy 2 ZS does fine for me.

deathvirus_me said:
dude ... i wonder how u can get "crystal clear" audio from a 128 kbps mp3 .. and about uncompressed audio quality .. i don't think u can handle it without a sound card !! wonder how good the "cracks" will come from the ATP3 .. and about "crystal clear" audio quality ... like i said in the first line of my post ... care to visit my house ?? maybe i can help u wake from the dream ??

And dude .. i mean , why shouldn't i use a equalizer ?? I mean , if i have 7k's to invest .. would i invest it on an ATP3 alone .. or get myself a good soundcard , a 5.1 speaker set (which add surround sound) , and use the equalizer to get same or better audio quality ... lol .. u decide ..

Why stand on fair grounds ?? If i have options to surpass with a lower investment .. why should i stand in fair grounds ??? Simply because i have to admit something thats close to being stupidity ... lol ...

I don't wanna start a conflict .. but this is really annoying ... i mean .. WTF !! i can't understand why people vote a 2.1 speaker system over a good sound card + 5.1 system .. lol ..

Well mate using an equalizer means that you're not listening to the song the way it was meant to be listened . by changin equalizer settings you're actually meddling with the song and tweakin it to your own taste rather than listen like it was made by the composer .

Any audiophile worth his salt will NOT use an equilizer if he wants to enjoy his music .

Also , who said i was using 128 kbps , ALl of my music is in Lossless FLAC format n i always rip my audio cd's into Lossless formats like WMA lossless or FLAC , so mind urself before making assumptiong .

Also i was tellin that Altec Lansing speakers r very good when compared with their counterparts , so other 2.1 speakers will sound like Crap in front of Altec Lansing MX 5051 .

@Blackleopard , i totally agree with you . Normal Stereo music files sound best on 2.1 Setups

@Deathvirus , i wasn't voting for a 2.1 system i was simlpy telling my experience with Altec Lansing speakers n was suggesting that the buyer go with altec lansing be it any setup

blackleopard92 said:
and as for sound quality, u come to my home and listen to MX5021, then u will know what sound quality is all about.

as for the thread poster, if u want to listen to music, then go for 2.1. nothing better than 2.1 for music. altec lansing MX5021/6021 represent the best u can have for music. these ofcourse need a sound card to bring out their true potential, and creative audigy 2 ZS does fine for me.

yeah
i totally agree with u

most music is stereo encoded
me too have mx5021 & audiligy2 & thompson hi fi amplifier
nothing cheap 5.1 set can meet mx5021 in 5.1 u atleast need z-5300 or z-5500

S

blackleopard92 said:
@deathvirus_me: lol, u are comparing ATP3 with inspire 5200! ATP3 sells for 2.2k! it's quality is around greater than that of inspire 2100. to which it is compared.

and as for sound quality, u come to my home and listen to MX5021, then u will know what sound quality is all about.

as for the thread poster, if u want to listen to music, then go for 2.1. nothing better than 2.1 for music. altec lansing MX5021/6021 represent the best u can have for music. these ofcourse need a sound card to bring out their true potential, and creative audigy 2 ZS does fine for me.

what would be the cost of mx5021 and audigy 2ZS bundled together in mumbai????

blackleopard92 said:
@deathvirus_me: lol, u are comparing ATP3 with inspire 5200! ATP3 sells for 2.2k! it's quality is around greater than that of inspire 2100. to which it is compared.

and as for sound quality, u come to my home and listen to MX5021, then u will know what sound quality is all about.

as for the thread poster, if u want to listen to music, then go for 2.1. nothing better than 2.1 for music. altec lansing MX5021/6021 represent the best u can have for music. these ofcourse need a sound card to bring out their true potential, and creative audigy 2 ZS does fine for me.

Yes totally agree with you on that count altec lansing mx 5021 is the best 2.1 on sale today and mine runs fine on onboard sound too,ok saud I got mine for 8.1k in delhi you can expect one for rs 7500.

yeah
i totally agree with u

most music is stereo encoded
me too have mx5021 & audiligy2 & thompson hi fi amplifier
nothing cheap 5.1 set can meet mx5021 in 5.1 u atleast need z-5300 or z-5500 14-06-2007 09:48 PM

How have you connected the altec lansing mx 5021 to an amplifier since they are powered speakers have you only connected the satellites to the amplifier since the subwoofer has its own amplifier.

saud_khan said:
what would be the cost of mx5021 and audigy 2ZS bundled together in mumbai????

MX5021 about 8k
audigy 2 ZS about 2k

aneesh kalra said:
How have you connected the altec lansing mx 5021 to an amplifier since they are powered speakers have you only connected the satellites to the amplifier since the subwoofer has its own amplifier.

dear
i have a thompson hifi set without speakers (it has huge in built amp)
as hifi speakers were damaged in transition i use mx5021 thru. headphone jack of hifi to aux in of mx5021.hifi is vcd/mp3/acd/fm capable
and my main music source is fm (fever104) and music albums..

S

Around 8k for 2.1 Speaker set...............are they worth it???

S

ax3 said:
Creative Audigy 2 ZS is the best ............ & try getting or reading the article from digit mag where AGENT001 goes shopping 4 Sound Cards @ lamington road .....

Which month dude???????

saud_khan said:
Around 8k for 2.1 Speaker set...............are they worth it???

these are the best u can have. sounds comming from these babies are simply outta this world. in fact, when someone comes to your home and listen to these, they will usually phone u afterwards that they can't listen to bull$hit that is comming from there speakers now!

blackleopard92 said:
these are the best u can have. sounds comming from these babies are simply outta this world. in fact, when someone comes to your home and listen to these, they will usually phone u afterwards that they can't listen to bull$hit that is comming from there speakers now!

BUt i think he shud go for FX 5051 which retails for the same price as an FX 6021(MX 5021 hv been phased out) .

Also , the FX 5051 doesn't need a dedicated sound card coz it can work directly through USB .

saud , i suggest u got for Altec Lansing FX 5051

S

Zeeshan Quireshi said:
BUt i think he shud go for FX 5051 which retails for the same price as an FX 6021(MX 5021 hv been phased out) .

Also , the FX 5051 doesn't need a dedicated sound card coz it can work directly through USB .

saud , i suggest u got for Altec Lansing FX 5051

Is the MX 5021 still available at Lamington Road?????????

Lol ... for the price of the MX5021 , i'd rather go for a Creative Inspire T6060 , along with a Audigy 2 ZS .... anyway .. seems i'm really talking to FOOLs here who prefer 2.1 (which doesn't even exist) with 5.1 .... no matter what company they belong to ...

S

deathvirus_me said:
Lol ... for the price of the MX5021 , i'd rather go for a Creative Inspire T6060 , along with a Audigy 2 ZS .... anyway .. seems i'm really talking to FOOLs here who prefer 2.1 (which doesn't even exist) with 5.1 .... no matter what company they belong to ...

Any comments people??????????

deathvirus_me said:
Lol ... for the price of the MX5021 , i'd rather go for a Creative Inspire T6060 , along with a Audigy 2 ZS .... anyway .. seems i'm really talking to FOOLs here who prefer 2.1 (which doesn't even exist) with 5.1 .... no matter what company they belong to ...

Dude MX 5021 is the best .. If u can buy .. A 5.1 like T6060 cannot withstand its amazing sound quality..

Note: MX5021 sheer performance none can beat it fro audiophile.
5.1 cheap for show off and low performance do not compare it with MX5021

saud_khan said:
Is the MX 5021 still available at Lamington Road?????????

but MX 5021 have been officially discontinued by Altec Lansing .

ALso , FX 5051 are 5.1 apeakers with buil-in SOund card so they'll work perfectly via USB n you won't have to buy an external sound card.

deathvirus_me said:
Lol ... for the price of the MX5021 , i'd rather go for a Creative Inspire T6060 , along with a Audigy 2 ZS .... anyway .. seems i'm really talking to FOOLs here who prefer 2.1 (which doesn't even exist) with 5.1 .... no matter what company they belong to ...

well 2.1 is The Best as long as you only want to hear music but for other things yeah , 5.1 has an edge .

that's why i suggested him Altec Lansing MX 5051 which r 5.1 Speakers

G

Well M a Creative user fer sometime n hav experienced frm d straight humble Sb series to d gigaworks...

Inspire 5.1 T6060 sux; heard it... N had a better xp with Altecs..

D best VFM wud be MX5051

One answer to all : PLZ. COME OVER TO MY PLACE ... and let me show u ur folly ..

gannu_rox said:
Well M a Creative user fer sometime n hav experienced frm d straight humble Sb series to d gigaworks...

Inspire 5.1 T6060 sux; heard it... N had a better xp with Altecs..

D best VFM wud be MX5051

No dude VFM no MX 5021 its pricey people pay for it cause its best .. I have 10k for speaker I won't buy 5.1 anyday cause the boss Z550 D cost 25 k

So MX 5021 the way is urs

deathvirus_me said:
Lol ... for the price of the MX5021 , i'd rather go for a Creative Inspire T6060 , along with a Audigy 2 ZS .... anyway .. seems i'm really talking to FOOLs here who prefer 2.1 (which doesn't even exist) with 5.1 .... no matter what company they belong to ...

nasty words.............
boy whom did u called FOOLS.........????
MX5021 owners......???

then i believe u dont even understand what quality sound is all about
INSPIRE are weakest speakers in any segment

people buy cheap road side shirts for rs 150 but guys also buy branded shirts for rs 1000

then what dou u think of that???

G

^^Hav money, spend it... Else Drool..

vivekbabbudelhi said:
nasty words.............
boy whom did u called FOOLS.........????
MX5021 owners......???

Read my post again ... and this time a bit more carefully

vivekbabbudelhi said:
then i believe u dont even understand what quality sound is all about
INSPIRE are weakest speakers in any segment

Hmmm ... ok .. i don't understand .. can u help me in details what "quality" sound means ?? ... and this goes for all who claims about "quality" sound from their speakers ... plz. explain ... i may be wrong .. so educate me ...

people buy cheap road side shirts for rs 150 but guys also buy branded shirts for rs 1000

If only computer peripherals would be same like the one of ur example .. ... so according to u , getting a 7900GT and oc'ing to 7900GTX speeds is worse than getting a 7900GTX .... hmmm ..

deathvirus_me said:
Lol ... for the price of the MX5021 , i'd rather go for a Creative Inspire T6060 , along with a Audigy 2 ZS .... anyway .. seems i'm really talking to FOOLs here who prefer 2.1 (which doesn't even exist) with 5.1 .... no matter what company they belong to ...

as far as i can percept ur post i can see u called all those people fools who prefer 2.1(even if its a damn piece like mx 5021) over 5.1 no matter what company they belong to ...

and by saying that 5.1 no matter what company they belong to ... you took some crap like intex , techcom & frontech in account too..

and for u guys who buy hi end 2.1 klipsch sets too are fools

so what do you wanna say is that for the price of the MX5021 , a Creative Inspire T6060 along with a Audigy 2 ZS would be worth buy..

its some thing like this "a guy buys a branded shirt for rs 1000/- other guy says i would prefer to buy a shirt & a trouser combo for rs 1000/- ....isn’t it like that?????

Another thing let me explain you what quality really means for me

quality is an inner feeling of pride something like that when u wear a park avenue attire & go to ur office

music quality means having a good rms set (90w for mx5021), a respectable brand (altec), respect giving genuine reviews(chip n digit for india),damn good looks that blend with interiors, boast & flaunt factors(like thx ) and most a top notch music playback capability

all above factors coupled with an original music album cd like konvicted satisfies one's inner pride and he calls it sheer quality

Pirated mp3's don’t dignify people but genuine albums do and that’s all sheer quality according to me

My advice for u "mature ur opinion for others boy , don’t use phrases like 'FOOLS' for others"

its some thing like this "a guy buys a branded shirt for rs 1000/- other guy says i would prefer to buy a shirt & a trouser combo for rs 1000/- ....isn’t it like that?????

U've got a extra liking for shirt and pants or what ??? And try to relate everything to it ??

music quality means having a good rms set (90w for mx5021), a respectable brand (altec), respect giving genuine reviews(chip n digit for india),damn good looks that blend with interiors, boast & flaunt factors(like thx ) and most a top notch music playback capability

OMG .. this is probably the height of insanity ... "quality music" judged by brand , reviews , looks , boast and flaunt factors ??? Then why get the speakers at all ?? Get some Bose headphones na .. lol ...

Go and learn something about "Sound" first particularly the about digital sound ... if u really have to test speakers .. then u should try some analog devices , and not digital outs ... if u use crappy onboard sound along with Altec Lansing .. i'll bet my whole life over the fact that a different combo (T6060 + Audigy 2 ZS duhh !!) will provide a much better alternative .. COZ OF THE BETTER SOUND DSP ... and since ur AL only has to 'portray' the sound rather than 'producing' it ... can you plz. explain me why the hell u still prefer the AL with onboard audio ??? And even worse is the fact that most here listen to MP3 rather than uncompressed audio .. lol .. i wonder if ur onboard sound can upmix mp3's !!!!

Its more like - i wasted my money , so i'll die trying to defend it ... and not ur favourite shirt and pant case ... loads of people do it ..

Wasting money is not a problem for me ... but i rather waste my money sensibly .. and particularly in case of computer peripherals ... and plz. stop comparing everything to shirts and pants ...

Oh btw .. do check the Creative T6060 speakers .. i mean .. its does have good reviews , looks and aesthetics ..!!! ...

Hash……..i just got a piece of ur mind………boy don’t deviate from topic

1. i posted on because u called all those people fools who prefer 2.1 over 5.1 no matter what company they belong to ...
So all guys who buy 2.1 are damn fools even if it’s something like klipsch

2.have some sense boy…… any guy who shells out 8k for mx 5021 JUST FOR MUSIC would definitely have 4 k to spend for blowing it off………..

3.let u know for music I bought a Thompson hifi back in 2001 and it has much more caliber than most of today’s creative sound cards in that amount..& more I too have audiligy 2…but I rarely use pc to listen albums so its almost useless for me…..i have hifi without its speakers ….they were damaged in transition so I just needed a powerful stereo set so mx5021 was the way to go…

4.you say altec lansing portrays music…….funny to learn……then all this digit team who yells mx 5021 are best in 2.1 in our market are some a$$ holes u presume it……… they are making money by misleading buyers….is that what u cry……..
Cheap pirated mp3’s sound better than uncompressed audio????a new revolution……..SONY BMG take a note here

5. u wanna make me learn what digital sound is & what dsp is

For ur kind info only dude im BACHELOR IN TECHNOLOGY IN ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATIONS that too not from any damn private college but from NIT
And more I have cleared UPSC to get a govt. job and im IES with INDIAN RAILWAYS

So boy don’t ever try to teach me what digital signal processing is all about

Now make some sense & justify it & don’t make irresponsible comments like this

deathvirus_me said:
.... anyway .. seems i'm really talking to FOOLs here who prefer 2.1 (which doesn't even exist) with 5.1 .... no matter what company they belong to ...

5. u wanna make me learn what digital sound is & what dsp is

For ur kind info only dude im BACHELOR IN TECHNOLOGY IN ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATIONS that too not from any damn private college but from NIT
And more I have cleared UPSC to get a govt. job and im IES with INDIAN RAILWAYS

So boy don’t ever try to teach me what digital signal processing is all about

Likewise .. me doing BTech in IT , and got a job in CTS (Cognizant in case u don't know) ... plz go ahead .. share ur knowledge , and plz. gimme a darn technical answer to my question : what is the darn "quality" sound ur referring to all this time ?? i mean real technical answer ok ?? sharing ur knowledge wouldn't be a problem right ??? u should be real good at it i hope .. unless of course u go bring in the clothings again ..

...

Once again .. i'm just asking someone to prove me wrong .. i have no shame in admitting my mistake .. but plz ... don't give me answers like :

music quality means having a good rms set (90w for mx5021), a respectable brand (altec), respect giving genuine reviews(chip n digit for india),damn good looks that blend with interiors, boast & flaunt factors(like thx ) and most a top notch music playback capability

I need a straight technical answer .. what u mean by "quality" sound from the MX5021 that even 5.1 speakers cannot achieve ?? And plz. for the last time .. give a technical answer , and not include clothing in ur answer again ..

1. i posted on because u called all those people fools who prefer 2.1 over 5.1 no matter what company they belong to ...
So all guys who buy 2.1 are damn fools even if it’s something like klipsch

Aahhh .. reasoning is a bad habit .. u can infact go even higher i think .. infact mere Bose stereo headphone cost around 5ks .. lol ...

4.you say altec lansing portrays music…….funny to learn……then all this digit team who yells mx 5021 are best in 2.1 in our market are some a$$ holes u presume it……… they are making money by misleading buyers….is that what u cry……..
Cheap pirated mp3’s sound better than uncompressed audio????a new revolution……..SONY BMG take a note here

Lol ... so ur speakers produces the music ?? and processes it too ?? And man , u got a problem with reading or what ?? Did i ever mention MP3 was better than uncompressed audio ?? ... hmmmm ... wonder where i wrote that ..

Oh btw .. ur words are so more matured than mine right ?? lol .. ... hmmm .. wonder when i said the reviewers are fools ... and oh .. plz. don't tell me some reviews are biased !!! ...

Ok………….dude……play it straight u want a straight technical answer….so ur on……..

let me compare some best known pc speakers in Indian market
Look back to digit review in May 2006 u have ur answer there

1.FREQ. TEST FILES
50/100/250/500/1000/15000 HZ

2.TREBLE/VOCAL/BASS RATIO

2.1 speakers
Altec lansing MX5021THX
4/4/3.8/4/4.2/4.3 (freq.file)

4.1/4/4.3(TREBLE/VOCAL/BASS RATIO)

LOGITECH Z-2300 THX
1.8/2/2.1/3.3/3.5/3.8

3.8/4.2/4.2

ALTEC LANSING ATP3
0.7/1/1.2/1.5/2.3/2.8

3.7.3.8/3.1

INSPIRE 2500
1/1/0.8/1.6/2/2.5

2.2/2.5/2.5

5.1
INSPIRE 5.1 5200
1.2/1.8/2/2/2.2/2.5

2.3/2.1/2.3

LOGITECH Z-5500D THX
4.2/4.3/3.1/3.5/4/4

3.3/3.2/3.3

Now boy if ur an engineering student then u would be able to understand what it means

Ability to produce a 50hz test sample is most difficult test for a speaker and all INSPIREs fail in that toooo badly .so u can see LOGITECH Z-5500D THX is best speaker in all above and everyone in India knows LOGITECH Z-5500D THX is best 5.1 pc speaker

Now coming to Altec lansing MX5021 THX u can see it can produce all freq. test files at good scores so correlate sound spectrum between LOGITECH Z-5500D THX & altec lansing MX5021 THX ……..

Any speaker is judged by its capability to reproduce a wide spectrum of sound……..TECHNICALLY

And THX is not just alone a gimmick if it was so then all inspires & sbs should too have it…..?

what conclusion u draw from there ???????????And yeah this was all technical stuff….u wanted…….boy…...LAME TECHNICAL STUFF………..

and plz. Don’t make me sick by crying foul that this test by TEAM DIGIT was a FLUKE coz. DIGIT IS MOST RESPECTED INDIAN DIGI MAGAZINE

plz go ahead .. share ur knowledge , and plz. gimme a darn technical answer to my question : what is the darn "quality" sound ur referring to all this time ?? i mean real technical answer ok ?? sharing ur knowledge wouldn't be a problem right ??? u should be real good at it i hope .. unless of course u go bring in the clothings again .. ...

U still don't answer the way i want it .. just slapping in some info from a review that even u didn't conduct urself is not what i am looking for .. it seems this topic (or argument) is going no where because ur too stubborn to share ur "knowledge" ... And oh , seems u really don't understand english now .. coz i wanted an answer from ur knowledge bank , and not from digit's .. or maybe ur knowledge bank is based upon Digit reviews

..

And oh since u bring in THX ... i guess u don't even have an idea of what ur talking about .. for ur little info ..

Excellent surround systems can be developed and installed with no THX certified components at all, or systems can be designed melding THX certified components and non-THX certified components with excellent results.

In order to achieve the greatest benefits of THX using a minimum number of THX components, one needs a good quality subwoofer, a THX certified preamp/processor, and some dipole or bipole surround speakers (they do not necessarily have to be THX certified). In order to create a true THX system, however, all THX components should be used throughout the sound chain.

...

Wonder what else u'll put forward ... now from Chip ?? or again back to shirts and pants ..

Any speaker is judged by its capability to reproduce a wide spectrum of sound……..TECHNICALLY

Likewise ,,, finally u say something i was trying u to understand so long .. speakers merely reproduce , and not PRODUCE ... so if u DSP is bad , even ur MX5021 cannot do wonders .. For simple testing try running a good quality audio stream , and then compressing it to the lowest and running it again .. I bet ur MX5021 wouldn't "reproduce" the same output quality both times ..

Look at this : *www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=4&subcategory=25&product=14090

Thats a 22W RMS sub woofer , 8W per channel (total 4) and a 18W Center Channel speaker .. so no way can u consider that bad .... and plus with the Audigy 2 ZS , u add in stereo upmix with CMSS2 (so it gets louder than 2.1 anyday) ... clarity with Acoustic Audio effects , proper Bass Redirection and a subwoofer gain of 12 dB ... so u really don't miss out much from the MX5021 , and u get 5.1 , CMSS2 , loads of effects processed by a dedicated sound processing chip , and surround sound , real THX effects and Dolby effects and EAX4 (or even EAX5 with XFi's) ... and so on (which i think the MX5021 cannot add in !!) ... not only will u enjoy ur music , but u'll ensure that u can get the best "quality" sound without any effect on the CPU's performance .. try running at audio stream at 24 bit , 192 KHz , particularly if ur hardware doesn't support it properly .. and see if ur MX5021 can rectify the jitters produced .. and even if ur onboard sound chip claims its does .. just make sure u check the CPU usage during the whole process .. wonder ur MX5021 will help reduce the CPU usage too ..

now would you give up all that just for a MX5021 , specially since ur not loosing anything noticeable , and gaining a lot more .. ??

I'd never be a fool to stop anyone getting a MX5021 if he/she can afford it .. but in that case too , i'd recommend him/her a sound card for the speakers , that actually has a hardware sound processing chip .. But with a fixed budget of 7k's .. u decide for urself now , would u get a MX5021 or a T6060 + Audigy 2 ZS bundle !!! .. (oh i think i know ur answer "coz ur too stubborn to accept facts i hope") ..

S

Well it all depends on what you listen to more...2 channel music or home theatre stuff(dvd-videos,games etc).
If it's music more and HT less,I would go with the MX5021 and look hard for a SBLive5.1(the emu10k1 dsp with kx-drivers rocks).This would be a killer combo for pure stereo pleasure.
If it's the other way round then the creative speakers and the audigy would be better.

who said one would buy a MX5021 without a soundcard??

as for your logic, it's reverse is also true. i.e. a good soundcard is a waste if paired with a bland speaker.
sub 10k 5.1 are super bland.. they have soo much of reproduction issues.. failing out here and there.. none of this happens with MX5021/ 6021.

just a simple comparison bwt the two (although there is no reason why one should do it, i mean mx5021 is too good for this T6060)
this is for MX5021.

SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL (SPL): 103 dB
TOTAL CONTINUOUS POWER:
90 Watts RMS
• Front Speakers: 20 Watts/channel @ 6 ohms @
10% THD @ 150 - 18000 Hz 2 Channels Loaded
• Subwoofer: 50 Watts @ 4 ohms @ 10% THD @ 40
- 150 Hz Single Channel Loaded
SYSTEM RESPONSE:
30 Hz - 22 kHz (-10 dB)
SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO @ 1 KHZ INPUT:
> 80 dB
DRIVERS (PER SATELLITE): One 1" hornloaded
tweeter and two 3" full-range
drivers

SUBWOOFER DRIVER:
One 6.5" long-throw woofer

T6060
Speaker Power: 8 Watts RMS per channel (4 channel)
18 Watts RMS center channel
22 Watts RMS subwoofer
Frequency Response: 40Hz ~ 20kHz
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR): 80dB

i mean.. i can't compare these two babies. one represents pinnacle of 2.1 and other is denominator of 5.1

also, i had little space in my home.. setting 5.1 was waay too space consuming. not to mention getting them accruately spaced at right angle was a problem too.

who said one would buy a MX5021 without a soundcard??

the budget is around 8-10k.

The MX5021 costs around 8k's inc. if i'm not mistaken .. so with 2k's , u'd not find any good sound card (as the original SBLive's are almost a gonner) ... seems a pretty tight decision ..

I think i'm pretty much done here .. it more like speaking to stone walls .. nothing will get through i guess .. but for a final comparison ...

MX5021 + pwny sound card (if u find one better for 2k's inform me) : better speaker specs ... eeer .. can't think of many more ..

T6060 + Audigy 2 ZS .. or for a matter of fact , for 10k's ->

T6060 + XFi Xtreme Music (should be tight but should just fit in) : not much inferior to MX5021 , albeit not better obviously ... 24 bit Crystalizer , CMSS 3D , a 24 bit, 96KHz DAC with a 4-channel mixer built in , Full hardware accelleration upto EAX5 , surround sound , better THX experience , Dolby Pro Logic , Awesome reverb .. more lively Bass Redirection , Bass Boost , Subwoofer gain (+12 dB with the Audigy 2 ZS alone) ...

Not to mention , most of these things are done by the Audigy 2 ZS too ..

And oh about space .. i think most speakers are wall mountable , so i don't think its 5.1 speakers are much space consuming ...

Oh , plus with 2.1 setups you lose out on the gaming experience too .. i would not call it a waste getting a MX5021 , but unless ur filthy rich , a nice 5.1 setup with a good sound is what i'd recommend .. Plus i do wonder how many of u actually run the MX5021 at >60% volume to enjoy it

..

And oh , do try running some nice plugins in ur media player .. I run Winamp with AudioburstFX ... and hell it makes a lot of difference .. wonder if any onboard sound accelerator would run audioburst at high settings without affecting the overall system performance ..

And likewise as i expected much earlier .. no one could actually come out with a proper explanation i was looking for, which would shut my mouth (one guy got close where he mentioned speakers "reproduce" and ... not "produce") .. in case of computers , u'll always come across many things where the hardware specs make ur jaws drop ... but unless its actually harnessed its pretty much useless .. plus if hardware specs would make two things comparable so easily , then this gadget world would have been so much easier to go through ..

I'm done talking to bricks and stones .. to people who compare computer peripherals to shirts and pants .. to people who are more driven by just a few specs ... crap anyways

... me wasted too much time puttin a little sense in people whose needs are more governed by money rather than desire ... chalo .. u guys go party with this "win" (if u consider it one).. i'm off to something better

...

deathvirus_me said:
U still don't answer the way i want it .. just slapping in some info from a review that even u didn't conduct urself is not what i am looking for .. it seems this topic (or argument) is going no where because ur too stubborn to share ur "knowledge" ... And oh , seems u really don't understand english now .. coz i wanted an answer from ur knowledge bank , and not from digit's .. or maybe ur knowledge bank is based upon Digit reviews ..

FREQ. TEST FILES
50/100/250/500/1000/15000 HZ

Altec lansing MX5021 THX
4/4/3.8/4/4.2/4.3

LOGITECH Z-2300 THX
1.8/2/2.1/3.3/3.5/3.8

ALTEC LANSING ATP3
0.7/1/1.2/1.5/2.3/2.8

INSPIRE 2500 2.1
1/1/0.8/1.6/2/2.5

INSPIRE 5.1 5200
1.2/1.8/2/2/2.2/2.5

LOGITECH Z-5500D THX
4.2/4.3/3.1/3.5/4/4

boy I was really afraid that u wont be able to make any sense out of my lengthy post….. so u are

Everyone make some observations:

1. All above speaker tests were done using a top notch sound card available (audiligy 2 platinum) with SAME test SOUND Files

2.Any speaker is judged by its capability to reproduce a wide spectrum of sound…….. so observe
1. INSPIRES ,ATP3 are weakest of them in reproducing a wide variety of spectrum
2. Altec lansing MX5021 THX and LOGITECH Z-5500D THX are best capable of reproducing a wide variety of spectrum so they are TERMED best in that test(DIGIT MAY 2006)

3. LOGITECH Z-5500D THX is best pc speaker in Indian market and it retails for 25k .. Altec lansing MX5021 retails for 8k and it has some what comparable capability to reproduce a wide spectrum of sound.. at just a fraction of price except LOGITECH Z-5500D THX is a 5.1,digital and is louder by tons….

3. u work in a capitalist corp. so know something about pricing strategy of pvt. Corps.

Creative lineup 1.sbs
2.inspires
3.gigaworks THX

Sound cards 1.live
2.audiligy
3.xifi THX

Have some sensible pairing
1. Sbs sound best on an onboard audio/live
2. Inspires sound best on audiligy 2

It wont make any difference if u end up paring inspires with xifi’s than a inspires with audiligy 2 value……I bet…..why???? because inspires don’t have capability to reproduce a wide spectrum of sound… so even a xifi THX cant help them in reproducing accurately it would be sheer waste…..inspires are not designed for that ….gigaworks thx are designed for that aspect…….dont end up doing something weird like sbs5.1 coupled with xifi xtreme music would take on Logitech z-5300 & audiligy 2 for that price……why ???? because inspires and sbs are not even capable of reproducing accurately what audiligy 2 feeds to tham……digest it off….inspires are budget speakers……and don’t say any thing about rms of inspires …..i have listened INTEX -4800W having 460W RMS sounding like crap with a audiligy2 card…..

Altec lansing MX5021 THX paired with an audiligy value 2 would be fully able to reproduce what audiligy value 2 feeds to it so that’s why they are best…stereo…at affordable price….for audiophiles….strict audiophiles….stereo.music lovers……only

blackleopard92 said:
a good soundcard is a waste if paired with a bland speaker.

that’s what im trying to say all this time

if creative were nuts to give u all in INSPIRES then why would they produce a class like gigaworks THX

my recommendation is Altec lansing MX5021 THX paired with audiligy 2 is good enough for audiophiles….strict audiophiles….stereo.music lovers at affordable price of just 11k…..and in terms of audio reproduction inspire 5.1 & audiligy 2 combo is a waste for 8k for audiophiles….strict audiophiles….only….for DVD video buffs at budget its ok

and no shirts & trousers this time it would be something like this : a guy buys transcend ddr2 800 another one buys ocz/cellshock …haha ….ask any enthusiast what cellshock is for him ……..same is mx5021 for me……and yeah don’t ask cellshock owner if he has a 946 or a p965/975x……coz any guy who shells out 8k for mx 5021 JUST FOR MUSIC would definitely have 4 k to spend for blowing it off………..

audigy 2 ZS sells for 2 k in nehru place.... as for gaming experince.. i hardly miss any i am not a super gaming freak that needs sound from exact position to keep me happy. the growl of a engine on MX5021 is enough to satisfy me.

however, don't expect 128 bit encoded mp3 sounding awesome on these.. the data lost is too much. alteast get 320 bitrate mp3/256 AAC, or flac if u can get your hands on them

as for 5.1 better at movies, well all the movies we see (ripped ones) are stereo quality only. only original DVD have 5.1 channels embedded in them, which i never buy.

deathvirus_me said:
U still don't answer the way i want it .. just slapping in some info from a review that even u didn't conduct urself is not what i am looking for .. it seems this topic (or argument) is going no where because ur too stubborn to share ur "knowledge" ... And oh , seems u really don't understand english now .. coz i wanted an answer from ur knowledge bank , and not from digit's .. or maybe ur knowledge bank is based upon Digit reviews ..
...

Wonder what else u'll put forward ... now from Chip ?? or again back to shirts and pants ..

I need a straight technical answer .. what u mean by "quality" sound from the MX5021 that even 5.1 speakers cannot achieve ?? And plz. for the last time .. give a technical answer , and not include clothing in ur answer again ..

Hmm….it seems to me that u are toooooooo much obsessed with t6060s ……& excessive obsession drives people to do crazy things ….so here is a crazy reply from my KNOWLEDGE BANK…..hope u can digest it……

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?p=554805#post554805

So what did you buy eventually saud and recently during one of my visits to nehru place I cam to know that the 2zs has been discontinued and even when it was in production it never retalied for anything less than 5 grand maybe here it has ben confused with the audigy 2 and has ben mistakingly quoted to have aprice tag of 2k.

S

Well.........I bought a MX5021 and beleive me its gr8!!!!!!!!!!! Got it for arounfd 7.5 k in Lamington Road