I've finally got my PC all setup with bluray and HD-DVD, music all ripped to VMC.... happy days. I'm now trying to leap the last hurdle, that being sound.

At the moment I've just got some crappy Altec Lansing speakers (2x side and 1x sub), but they're a weak link so I'm looking to upgrade! The system I can't seem to get my mind off of is the Bose Wave Music system, just great room filling sound with a simple 3.5mm jack from my PC.

After looking around, I've found LOADS of reviews of a "Creative Soundworks 745" and they all say it's a cheaper, better, fuller featured version of the Bose. Which do I go for, or is there another option?! It needs to be a similar size too, as space is limited.

I want to use it mainly for music, but also for films.

in my opinion either of those is a glorified clock radio and if you want something that offers "room filling sound" you need to invest in actual speakers.  while larger that what you are looking for, these are cheaper and will easily sound much better.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/StudiophileBX5aDeluxe-main.html

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Marvin on Disapproving Rabbits

I've got to agree with masteroffm. The units you mention would not do you justice. A set of Behringer MS40's get my vote at ~$130 with coax & optical inputs too.

If you want your speakers for music and movies, go for a Z-5500 kit from Logitech, you can get them at 200$ if you search well...

I've got 2 kits at home.

kakofonik:

If you want your speakers for music and movies, go for a Z-5500 kit from Logitech, you can get them at 200$ if you search well...

I've got 2 kits at home.

I've got 2 friends with that speaker set, and it sounds really pretty good

+1 on the z5500, I've got a set myself

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http://www.spore.com/view/profile/Vengence_IRL

Damn you, damn you all!!  lol

I had a nice choice of two, and now you've given me a few more to look at, cheers for that (He says, gritting his teeth).

The problem I have is space, I don't have much space to play with and the Bose and Creative systems would sit nicely in a gap under my TV. Did I mention that this is all for use in a bedroom? 5.1 isn't a big draw for me, just solid, distortion free sound would be great.

 

Been looking at those Z-5500's, hmmm. I think I could cable those rear speakers without too much hassle. The speakers I have generate a soft hum from the sub even when turned off (Standby) which is annoying when trying to sleep, have to unplug the damned things. Can you tell me whether the 5500's have this problem or are they silent?

I know I said 5.1 wasn't a draw, but you're all saying they're worth it and I can't imagine you're all wrong!

logitech also makes a set identical to the 5500 except with wireless rears

5450 i think?

I took your advice, and got the Z5500's! Yep, they're definately the right choice so cheers for your help on that one.

I've connected the system to the PC via the 3.5mm jacks on the motherboard which are giving me 5.1, but it's obviously analogue. Would connecting them up from a digital source (Optical or Coaxial) be better, or improve the audio at all?

Assuming digital is worth it, I'd need to invest in an external soundcard (no more PCI slots), so are there any you'd recommend? Would need to have a Coaxial connection too, the Optical input on the speakers is already being used by my Xbox360.

the only real reason to make that change is if you want the receiver unit to decode the audio streams

if your pc does a good job with it, then using the analog ports is just fine


lots prefer to push the decoding to the receiver and that's where the spdif port comes in

Oh fair enough, aslong as I'm not missing out on anything. Cheers.

depends on your ears

I'm no where near an audiophile, but on certain movies, I can tell the difference between the normal 5.1 audio track and the DTS track


you don't lose anything going from analog to spdif, but it might be possible to miss out on something by not going to spdif

(unless your pc does a good job of decoding the higher end audio codecs, then it's a moot discussion)