When I'm using the Macbook at home, I'd like to get reasonable quality sound without going to a pro level.
(The speakers in my BenQ monitor are crap.)
What's a good set with, say, integrated amp and subwoofer?
I've been told Logitech are good.
I've tried a TDK set and it's not the best.
Any good experiences out there?



mct

For general music, Logitech and Altec Lansing seem to get good reviews. The last set I used (not just listened to at work or in a shop) was the old and good Yamaha kit. At present I have a Bose set that's only available in Japan, though there are some Bose kits that compare well to everything else.

A general rule of thumb seems to be, get a set with 2" cones, not 1" cones for better sound. If you care about your music, you'd take something vocal along, like Norah Jones, Jeff Buckley or the like, as many kits sound very impressive with a lot of base, but on vocals sound crap.

$120 will get you a good stereo amp from tandy or tricky dick's. (say 80 to 120 watts per channel).

$10 at a garage sale (if you've got the time to shop around) will get you a good pair of '70s speakers (say with 10" cones and 3 or 4 " tweeters), with a well-built enclosure. They will probably be 2 or 3 feet tall.

$12 at a swap meet or $19 at tricky dick's will get you a 3.5" --> rca cord (from computer to amp).

You will then be able to leave logitech and their ilk in your dust.

decryption had a similar thread a few months ago you could search for, it's not your exact question but does have some helpful comments on various brands of computer speakers.

Officeworks have a great special (50% off) on the Logitech R20 speakers (2.1 sound).
I bought these for a friend at work and they like the sound.

Have the Monsoon Planar Media 9's myself and they do put out very good sound. Great design to boot.

Review here
http://www.insidemacgames.com/reviews/view.php?ID=281

Just seen them advertised at $165, I paid $228 from Next Byte in '03.
see http://www.cworld.com.au/product_info.php?ID=112016

Edit Just read review and its not as much a glowing one as was the review I had bookmarked but proved to be a dead link. I'm really impressed with the sound though, I tried out the Creature cones when I bought the Monsoon speakers and THEY sounded tinny in comparison.

decryption says good things about them too. Don't understand his comment re not manufactured anymore.

RTC already posted pretty much what I was thinking. The 2.1 channel Logitech and A-L setups that people are describing sound OK, but to me just seem to lack strength. Generally speaking, the bigger (and heavier) the better. Nothing moves air like a 8" woofer cone - even if it is 30 years old and cost you 5 bucks at a garage sale.

The cable that's $19 at DSE is about 3 bucks at red dot or whatever. I have a soldering iron so it works out that I can make them myself pretty cheaply, to whatever length I want.

It's good karma, too (recycling, that is).

- Jeremy

I have the JBL Creature 2 speaker system. Not only does it provide adequate sound quality, but the colour and design match perfectly with the white Macbook. I purchased on the look, and am more than happy with the sound.

Some buy speakers for colour or looks or visual design cues....

personally I place more importance on the sound they churn out.

I'm not a Total Dumb arse dear, The colour and design was what attracted me, the brand and specs are the details that sealed the deal. Besides, now I have the best of both worlds, Great Sound, and great Asthetics!

Thanks to everyone for these helpful tips.
I actually have a pair of really old AR7s (70s rock n' roll speakers) but the amp has no spare sound out jacks.
I'll go shopping over the weekend in the big smoke (Perth!) and see what I can find based on everyone's ideas.
My thanks again to all.


mct

Not sure what you budget and space situation is but IMO it might be a good idea to steer clear of the all in one computer type set-ups. I have previously owned the z5500 setup for an office set-up and while they are easy to set up and go quite loud they are very "tinny" sounding and the sub, while very loud, is very muffled and not very tight at all.

A common mistake heaps of people make is spending their money on everything else but the speakers. In any system the speakers are by far the most important component. Agreat set of speakers will still sound great with a mediocre amp while crappy speakers will still sound crappy with a top end amp.

If you really want to build a system that can grow with your needs and build upon over time my advise would be to buy separates. You will never regret buying separates and in the long run will be happy you did. It will sound infinitely better as well and you will be able to set up multiple components & have audio and video switching as well.

Start off with the amp itself along with two front speakers (most important for music and general music). Centre (most important for surround) next, followed by the rears and sub.

The entry level Denon and Yamaha amps are great value. Denon at this level is better than some of the Yamaha amps you see - especially the ones that come with speakers etc.

Try to source some quality bookshelf speakers that have a matching centre when the time comes. Dick Smiths have some not bad 8" subs for very cheap if you need a bit of doof doof to get you through before you can afford a better one.

Best advice is to go into a fair few dedicated audio/visual hifi stores and listen and ask questions. You will soon forget about the Logitech set-ups

Ebay is a great place to buy speakers and amps second hand and I have seen some go for very cheap prices.

Check out this forum for some great advice http://www.dtvforum.info/

They are very friendly and there is heaps of advice if you search the forums properly.

Good luck with what ever you decide upon.

I've done a bit of research on this and apparently the best bang for buck is a T-Class amp and a pair of bookshelf speakers. The Trends Audio TA-10 amp is $200 and sounds amazing according to a few reviews. Match that up with a pair of bookshelf speakers like the $60 ones at Dick Smith or the M4's ($200 for the pair and they're DIY) from The Loud Speaker Kit (Perth based dudes) and you're cooking with gas

If considering that kind of money, then just consider Klipsch or, if not wanting computer speakers, a NAD amplifier.

A NAD amp costs much more than the $200 for the Trends amp and the Klipsch multimedia speakers, despite made by Klipsch, are still multimedia speakers

I didn't read of a requirement for new equipment, and reasonable NAD amps regularly go for less than $200 on eBay. Only multimedia speakers? They're only being driven by a MacBook....