2.1 vs 5.1 speakers for gaming?

[IAEInferno]

Is the 5.1 better because 5>2 or are there any pros and cons to each?

I will mainly use the speakers for music, gaming and movies.

 

[little_me]

5.1 can add some more messy wiring since two of them are supposed to be behind you.
Unless said speakers use wireless and you just happen to have electric outlets for power all around the room.
only real benefit about 5.1 is that it gives better surround sound effect since two of them are really behind you.

Sound quality is affected more by the quality of said speakers than 2.1 vs 5.1 setup
If games/music/movies don't support 5.1, they give no extra benefit over 2.1
normal mp3's don't have 5.1 support.
most games/movies usually have support for that.

Edit: that being said, I myself would go for better quality 2.1 against same price 5.1 setup. I prefer good quality headphones though.

 

[MauveCloud]

I'd like to add that I discovered that 5.1 speakers that connect to the computer via multiple 3.5mm cables (e.g. Logitech z506) are a hassle, since the color coding used won't always match that used by the motherboard or sound card, and thus it's easy to make a mistake if you ever need to disconnect and reconnect them. Spdif or Toslink would presumably avoid that problem, but speaker sets that support either of those are probably a lot more expensive.

 

[ssddx]

given how convoluted the above statements are i'll clarify things:

5.1 vs 2.1 does not add quality, that depends on speakers.
5.1 vs 2.1 if using the same size / model speakers does add volume.
5.1 adds surround sound for better 3d experience
5.1 does need wiring to the rear but in many cases this is not a problem
5.1 is just as easy to hook up as 2.1. you just need two other cables. color coding is standardized as well for the most part.
for the same budget you can find higher end 2.1 sets than 5.1 as it costs more for those extra speakers if you want to keep quality
most movies and games are at least 5.1
some youtube is 5.1 while most is 2.0
most music is 2.0 and windows audio is 2.0
you can in most cases push 2.0 across the rear speakers for extra volume
there is no need for optical in most cases and it is no easier to set up than 3.5mm. not many speakers accept it but some do.

personally i use a 5.1 setup and even though much content is 2.0 i will not go back given that the extra speakers are very much wanted for games and movies or when i want to listen to music across multiple speakers.

if you want more tailored advice, i would suggest listing what kind of budget you have.

 

[MauveCloud]

Color coding standardized? That hasn't been my experience, though I'll admit I don't have much. Also, I know there's at least one sound card that has no color coding for the 3.5mm outputs at all, the Asus Xonar DX.

 

[IAEInferno]

My budget is under $200 and I need the wattage consumption to be below 100W

 

[ssddx]

a few options...

you could go with some powered speakers like..
mackie cr3, cr4
m-audio av32, av42
micca pb42x
for a bit over budget there are products like the rokkit 5 and a2+

you could go with some passive speakers paired with an amp like..
pioneer bs22
klipsch r14m, kb-15
micca mb42
dayton b652 (quality has varied over the years, not sure if its in a good cycle or not right now)
amps...
the dayton dta-120 is excellent for a budget amplifier
for cheaper and low power you may be able to make do with a cheap lepai-2020a or similar
keep in mind that for low price you get low power amplifiers and things like the lepai really are low end and are only so good.

if you wanted a subwoofer to a 2.0 system you could add...
dayton sub650, sub1000
polk psw10

may bring you a bit over budget depending on your choices though but its relatively in the same area as you wanted.

if you wanted something more in the line of traditional pc speakers...
klipsch promedia 2.1 (good set but the subwoofer needs to be turned down as its a bit overpowering)
creative t40 2.0 (no subwoofer so lacks bass but has good audio quality)
jbl creature iii 2.1
harman kardon soundsticks iii 2.1
speaker sets from logitech and creative in general are decent quality. average for sure but good value.
edifier has some decent speaker options as well. 5.1 sets are available if you wanted from a few manufacturers

if you had more budget, you could get into something like a home theater system.

i personally use a home theater setup for pc from klipsch and it works great. i decided on it after using the promedia 2.1 which wasnt quite what i wanted but i was still impressed so looked into their speakers. before that i had used logitech for years.

as far as wattage, i'll let you check on that yourself.

 

[IAEInferno]

a few options...

you could go with some powered speakers like..
mackie cr3, cr4
m-audio av32, av42
micca pb42x
for a bit over budget there are products like the rokkit 5 and a2+

you could go with some passive speakers paired with an amp like..
pioneer bs22
klipsch r14m, kb-15
micca mb42
dayton b652 (quality has varied over the years, not sure if its in a good cycle or not right now)
amps...
the dayton dta-120 is excellent for a budget amplifier
for cheaper and low power you may be able to make do with a cheap lepai-2020a or similar
keep in mind that for low price you get low power amplifiers and things like the lepai really are low end and are only so good.

if you wanted a subwoofer to a 2.0 system you could add...
dayton sub650, sub1000
polk psw10

may bring you a bit over budget depending on your choices though but its relatively in the same area as you wanted.

if you wanted something more in the line of traditional pc speakers...
klipsch promedia 2.1 (good set but the subwoofer needs to be turned down as its a bit overpowering)
creative t40 2.0 (no subwoofer so lacks bass but has good audio quality)
jbl creature iii 2.1
harman kardon soundsticks iii 2.1
speaker sets from logitech and creative in general are decent quality. average for sure but good value.
edifier has some decent speaker options as well. 5.1 sets are available if you wanted from a few manufacturers

if you had more budget, you could get into something like a home theater system.

i personally use a home theater setup for pc from klipsch and it works great. i decided on it after using the promedia 2.1 which wasnt quite what i wanted but i was still impressed so looked into their speakers. before that i had used logitech for years.

as far as wattage, i'll let you check on that yourself.

Hi I found these speakers on amazon with a high rating, what Sound spear should I choose for gaming in your own opinion.

Harman Kardon Soundsticks III 2.1 Channel Multimedia Speaker System with Subwoofer

Genius SW-G2.1 1250 2.1 Speaker System

Genius SW-G2.1 2000 2.1 Channel 45 Watts RMS Gaming Woofer Speaker System

GOgroove BassPULSE Computer Speakers with Red LED Glow Lights & Powered Subwoofer

 

[ssddx]

go groove sounds like flashy junk to me.

genius speakers really are so-so. somewhere around the quality of logitech or a bit worse. certainly nothing spectacular.

the soundsticks are old but certainly a pretty decent quality system. hifi, theater or monitor speakers will be better in many cases but it all depends on if you want to stay with pc speakers or go outside the box.

i gave you a list. i'm not sure if you are ignoring it or are not interested in certain products. i would suggest you make a few comments

 

[IAEInferno]

go groove sounds like flashy junk to me.

genius speakers really are so-so. somewhere around the quality of logitech or a bit worse. certainly nothing spectacular.

the soundsticks are old but certainly a pretty decent quality system. hifi, theater or monitor speakers will be better in many cases but it all depends on if you want to stay with pc speakers or go outside the box.

i gave you a list. i'm not sure if you are ignoring it or are not interested in certain products. I would suggest you make a few comments

I'm not ignoring them it's just that there are many to choose from them and I'm confused on what to choose from.

 

[IAEInferno]

go groove sounds like flashy junk to me.

genius speakers really are so-so. somewhere around the quality of logitech or a bit worse. certainly nothing spectacular.

the soundsticks are old but certainly a pretty decent quality system. hifi, theater or monitor speakers will be better in many cases but it all depends on if you want to stay with pc speakers or go outside the box.

i gave you a list. i'm not sure if you are ignoring it or are not interested in certain products. i would suggest you make a few comments

I'm not looking for too much bass but some bass that can shake my wooden table a little would be great and have great sounds that does not sound like static or an empty can rolling down the staircase in fact I would like it to sound majestic.

Will the Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II 2.0 Multimedia Speaker System with BasXPort Technology do the trick or nah?

 

[ssddx]

in short: home theater, hifi and monitors will sound better than pc speakers. things like the cr3/cr4 fall into that category as well as things from the passive speakers option.

in short: without a subwoofer you will lack a bit of bass. you can get down into some mid-bass on some units but no sub-level bass. for deeper bass a sub is needed

 

[IAEInferno]

in short: home theater, hifi and monitors will sound better than pc speakers. things like the cr3/cr4 fall into that category as well as things from the passive speakers option.

in short: without a subwoofer you will lack a bit of bass. you can get down into some mid-bass on some units but no sub-level bass. for deeper bass a sub is needed

What's the difference between the mackie c3 and c4 and c5?

 

[ssddx]

http/recording4.com/mackie-cr3-vs-cr4/

cr4 has bigger woofer so will be a bit thicker and fuller on sound.

 

[IAEInferno]

http/recording4.com/mackie-cr3-vs-cr4/

cr4 has bigger woofer so will be a bit thicker and fuller on sound.

Okay I'll pick C4 then thanks for the help!

 

[Marius Tudor]

Hey guys - just got to this topic through Google as I wanted to check if 5.1 would be better than 2.1 so I thought I would just share my issue with you maybe you can help.

I used to have a very old (6y old) 150W 5.1 Logitech sound system - 1 rear speaker's wire got damaged twice in 1 year(my fault not the product). Even with this issue, when I got the z623 as a gift for Xmas today, I still feel that the quality is poorer.
Until today, I've always thought as most people here: Always go for the newer/better quality 2.1 rather than the 5.1.

Now - I don't know what to think. Can anyone share some advice please?

P.S. This is not a software nor a hardware problem. I've updated my drivers and I'm using a Gene Maximus VI as a mboard so the sound quality should be top notch.


Looking forward to hearing some thoughts from you