# Best Speakers for under $100?



## onipar

Hey all,

I want to buy new speakers for my parents' computer for Christmas, but I'm having a tough time choosing.  I'd like to get the best possible sound for under $100, which I know is cheap, and that I could get much better sound for more, but I'm on a budget.

I've mainly been looking at 2.1 sets because there's no place to put "surround" rear speakers where my parents have their computer.

These are the ones I've read about so far, but any and all suggestions are VERY welcome:

Cyber Acoustics Subwoofer Satellite System (CA-3602)

Genius SW-G2.1 1250 2.1 Speaker System

Logitech Speaker System Z623

And finally, a related question:  Would sub $100 speakers such as these benefit from a dedicated sound card, or is onboard sound fine?

Thanks so much!


----------



## jonnyp11

i don't think speakers will get as much from a sound card as headphones unless they are maxing the volume on some fast music and all.

these seem to be good, clean and classy looking and a good brand i believe

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121036

hard to see any older people using a 2.1 fully, you sure they need more than a 50 buck 2.0 system?


----------



## onipar

jonnyp11 said:


> i don't think speakers will get as much from a sound card as headphones unless they are maxing the volume on some fast music and all.
> 
> these seem to be good, clean and classy looking and a good brand i believe
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121036
> 
> hard to see any older people using a 2.1 fully, you sure they need more than a 50 buck 2.0 system?



Thanks for the suggestion.  You mean minus the sub?  Wellll...my parents love music.  They listen to a lot of different stuff.  Maybe not bass heavy tracks like rap or dubstep, but still, rock that benefits from some good bass.  Grateful Dead, Dylan, Ben Harper, The Black Keys, The Stones, a lot of different blues and rock in general.


----------



## bomberboysk

First: Everything _can_ benefit from a dedicated audio card, but the return isn't all that great in the budget segment, and a dedicated audio card that's any significant upgrade won't be all that cheap. Rather than a dedicated audio card, you're better off putting a few more dollars towards speakers.

IMHO, at a sub $100 price point, you're best off putting together a 2.0 system for music. Normally I'd recommend scouring craigslist for an older receiver and set of floor-standers or bookshelves, but since it's a gift I'll give my suggestion on new things. I'd look at going with a set of bookshelves and a class T amp. Not going to be audiophile quality, but will end up with considerably better sound than any of the multimedia speakers you'll find from the likes of logitech.

*Amp*: 15WPC, hard to beat for the price. *$34.00*
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-380

*Speakers*: *$59.95*
5i's are a always a solid bet for the money, just throwing them in here incase someone comes across this thread later on:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=302-019

In your case, right now Best Buy has a killer deal on Polk T15's at $49.99/pair, hard to beat Polk when it comes to value for money, decently flat frequency response for the money, and plenty loud for normal listening levels (topping out a 15w Amp with the sensitivity of these speakers should put you ~95db @ 3 meters). Not a ton of low end, they'll struggle below ~60hz, but you can always add a sub later on, and you'll end up with better sound than any other setup at a similar price point.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Polk+Au...bolsp-app06-05?id=1207956903491&skuId=8828012

As far as a sub, for any "computer" speakers under $100 you'll probably end up with something <8" and <30W RMS, which won't help all that much with the low end anyhow. If you want to put a extra money into a sub either now or later on, I'd suggest this as it would round off nice with a set of bookshelves without breaking the bank too much:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-627

Lastly, speaker wire.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=100-118

Or if you've got prime:
http://www.amazon.com/AH1650SR-Feet...1353802002&sr=1-3&keywords=18awg+speaker+wire


----------



## onipar

bomber,

You rock!  Thank you so much for the suggestions.  I'm definitely going to go this route, as it seems much more legit than the speaker sets I've been looking at.  Couple quick questions:

Would you suggest the 5i's over the Polk T15's?  Because for $10 difference, I'll go with the better pair.

And second, even though this *is* a gift, do you thing I'd find better stuff going the Craig's list route as =you mentioned, and if so, are there particular brands/models I should look for specifically.

And finally, if you think I can get much better sound for an extra investment of another $50-$75 on different equipment, let me know.

Thank you again!  This was very helpful.


----------



## bomberboysk

Definitely go with the T15's, they're the better set of speakers, and they're on sale currently for a great price.  You won't get much better than the T15's for the current price new, The exception would be if you find a decent set of floor-standing speakers on the used market. However, what you can find some killer deals on in the used market is in the way of a reciever, which would give you a larger power output than a class T amp, and much lower THD values, as well as the ability to use either coaxial or optical input, which most decent AVR's will have a better DAC than an onboard audio chipset. Some of the better bands to keep an eye out for: Yamaha, Pioneer, Onkyo, Integra, Denon, among others. If you want, you can PM me your local craigslist and I can take a look at what's around in your area.


----------



## onipar

Sent a PM.  I appreciate all the help.  I'm learning about this stuff from the ground up.


----------



## onipar

I'm wondering if I should go for the Polk Monitor30 Series II instead of the Polk T15.

They are on sale for $80, so it is more money, but if they are much better, should I go for those?  Or would you still suggest the T15?

Edit:  Also, what do you think of the Lepai Tripath TA2020 instead of the Dayton Audio DTA-1?  I was getting a little worried about how well these t-amps will power the speakers.  Too bad craigslist didn't have any killer receivers for cheap!


----------



## bomberboysk

I'd stay away from Lepai products,cheap products with many of them being based on very cheap car audio amplifiers. On a budget, T-amp's or class D (of which T-amp's are a form of) would be the way to go. The cheap 15wpc dayton T-amp will provide a decent amount of power to a set of speakers.
For higher power output, there are two products that I can completely recommend. The first of which would be Dayton's 100W T-amp: 
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-383

Or Audiosource's AMP 50, 25wpc @ 8ohms:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=827134&is=REG&Q=&A=details

One thing to note: The difference between 25w and 50w is not nearly as much as it may seem. A doubling in power output is roughly equal to a 3dB gain in volume. So with 25w as a baseline, 50w would be +3dB, 100w would be +6dB, and so on. (a 200W amp would be just under twice as loud as a 25W amp on the same set of speakers)

If your budget allows, I'd suggest the T15's in addition to a sub over just the Monitor 30's, although the 30's are better speakers, it's a fairly small difference... Slightly better mid-high frequency response and moderately better low end frequency response. I personally wouldn't be able to justify the performance difference though when the monitor 30's are priced 60% higher.


----------



## onipar

Hmmm, sounds like for the money, your original suggestions are the way to go.  I think I'll just get those t15 speakers with the Dayton Audio DTA-1 and call it a day.  maybe add a sub for next Christmas, or Father's day or something.

It is just a desktop setup afterall.  It's just, once I get going with things like this, I want to get the best, which in the case of stereo equipment can mean  a lot of money that I don't have.

So yeah, I appreciate all the help.

One last question for you:  With the Dayton Audio DTA-1, would I just be using that little coiled up plug it comes with to plug into the back of the PC?


----------



## bomberboysk

If it's long enough, that cord will work fine. If not, you'll just need to grab a longer 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable (eg. http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=240-097 )


----------



## onipar

This Pyle PTA2 Mini 2x40W is currently $50 and has good reviews.  Would this be good?

I noticed on the Polk audio speakers site it recommends at least 20-100 WPS, so I'm trying to find an amp more powerful than that DTA-1, but the others you suggested are a little outside my budget.

So, what do you think about this one?

This one is even cheaper...  Pyle Home PCA2 2X40-Watt Stereo Mini Power Amplifier


----------



## bomberboysk

That's actually rated 2x40W peak, the RMS ratings are actually lower than the Dayton T amp. And Pyle isn't well known for making high quality products.

Pyle PTA2/PCA2
8W/Channel RMS(4ohm) @ 1% THD
10W/Channel RMS (4ohm) @ 10% THD. 

Dayton T-amp:
10W/Channel RMS(4ohm) @ 0.1% THD
15W/Channel RMS(4ohm) @ 10% THD

I'll keep looking around for a higher wattage solution in your price range, but currently I'm not really aware of anything. And I have a hard time recommending a product I don't have experience with or solid knowledge about, and I'm not aware of any better solutions in the ~$50 range.


----------



## onipar

Oh dang, thanks for catching that for me.

Yeah, I hear ya.  I'm not exactly working with the best budget for this sort of thing.  But if you think the 15WPS will be enough for those polk speakers, I'll just go for that and maybe keep en eye out for used receivers to upgrade to sometime in the future.


----------



## bomberboysk

When working around this budget in the past, I've used that amp with speakers of similar sensitivity in the past. For the intended usage, i really don't see too much of an issue with the wattage.


----------



## onipar

Great,thanks again!


----------



## AntimatterAsh

onipar said:


> Hey all,
> 
> I want to buy new speakers for my parents' computer for Christmas, but I'm having a tough time choosing.  I'd like to get the best possible sound for under $100, which I know is cheap, and that I could get much better sound for more, but I'm on a budget.
> 
> I've mainly been looking at 2.1 sets because there's no place to put "surround" rear speakers where my parents have their computer.
> 
> These are the ones I've read about so far, but any and all suggestions are VERY welcome:
> 
> Cyber Acoustics Subwoofer Satellite System (CA-3602)
> 
> Genius SW-G2.1 1250 2.1 Speaker System
> 
> Logitech Speaker System Z623
> 
> And finally, a related question:  Would sub $100 speakers such as these benefit from a dedicated sound card, or is onboard sound fine?
> 
> Thanks so much!



http://www.maplin.co.uk/acme-ss-111...h&utm_campaign=N97LH&utm_content=2.0+Speakers if you need something really cheap.


----------

