Logitech X 230 Speakers

northern_munky

I have discovered Limewire and am using the PC to listen to more and more music, my little speakers aren't upto the job, so after a search on here the Logitech X 230 seems to be a good buy, but can anyone tell me how they power up please, do they have to plug in the mains or do they run off the power supply at the back of the pc?

Also what are 2.1 and 5.1 speakers, my sound card is a Creative sound blaster, does this make any difference when choosing speakers?

Cheers for any help :T

Astaroth

The numbers are the number of speakers you get so a 2.1 is 2 speakers and a subwoofer, 5.1 is 5 speakers and a sub.

The sub produces the low frequencies which means you can have smaller main speakers as the base is covered by the sub (the theory is that anything below 70hz is non-directional so your ears cant tell where it is coming from but if the sound "matches" what is coming from the right your brain will assume that the base is also coming from the right)

2.1 is for normal stereo music/ films etc. 5.1 is surround sound - there are technologies out there like Prologic II and DTS:Neo which takes something that is less than 5.1 (or 7.1) and "works out" the missing channels

Some 5.1 setups have a decoder built in so that you can hook them up to anything and get 5.1 sound where as others dont and so you can only use them when you have something else that is capable of creating the 5.1 (or 7.1 sound)

As a personal preference, if you are listening to stereo music it is best to use 2.1 or 2.0 speakers - I dont like 5.1 for normal stereo but it is down to your own preferences.

Alternatively you can buy bigger speakers like the Cyrus Link ones where the speakers are capable of creating a low enough sound not to really need a sub. Some satalite speakers really dont intergrate with their sub very well (often because the sats arent capable of a low enough frequency so you can tell 1/2 the sound is coming from the speaker and the other half is coming from "somewhere else")

cwoodham

I bought the Logitech X-230 speakers off Amazon recently and can thoroughly recommend them.
They come wired so that the subwoofer plugs into the mains and the other two speakers plug into the subwoofer. They were no problem to set up and Im going to buy another set for another PC.

IvanOpinion

I am another X-230 owner and they are a great set of speakers .. sometimes though they can be too bass-ey (unfortunately the base adjustment is on the base box which is usually tucked out of the way). The satellites are good but are definitely at their best at head height. At Amazon they are £24 which is fantastic value for money.

Ivan

Astaroth

If the base is boomy then move it away from walls which will reinforce the base but can cause it to lose control and become boomy. Dont know the speakers personally but if the base is ported then make sure the port is pointing into the room and not at any solid surface - you could also try stuffing the port hole with foam which will help cut down the base too - given its price point though it could just be that it is a budget item which is stretching its capabilities slightly too far.