Sound System

Next month I'll probably buy  my sound system, but I am clueless about which one I should buy. Any suggestions?

This is my suggestion to you:

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-X-540-Speaker-System-Black/dp/B000JJM8XE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1260698321&sr=1-1

I'm serious ... hook it up to your computer, maybe spend some money on a Creative X-Fi soundcard too. I personally guarantee you that the result will blow you away. Now, I'm fully aware that Audiophiles will be rolling on the floor laughing when they read this. Unfortunately I can't demonstrate to you how it sounds over the internet, so you'll have to make your own decision. But have a look what 500+ customers have to say about it:

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-THX-Certified-505-Watt-Digital-Surround/dp/B0002WPSBC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1241888553&sr=8-1




Edited by Mr ProgFreak - December 13 2009 at 03:59

^Despite owning several Behringer products, I would stay away from their speakers and power amps if possible.
It's true that you don't get good speakers and a good power amp if you aren't prepared to spend a decent.
Pretty much every I know that uses the Behringer sound reinforcement speakers has compared them to higher end stuff and the limitations are revealed quite quickly.
Frequency drop offs and humps throughout the frequency spectrum tend to only be worse with lower end equipment and Behringer is no exception.

Dean wrote: (in fact I'd recommend NAD amps - I've owned one since the early 80s and it has outlived several higher priced units).

It's also really important to listen to your music int he store to make sure it's what you want - any audio store worth it's salt shoudl allow you to spend some time listening to CDs you have brought in to get the best fit. I spent an hour trying out different things when I was there, as typically in the store they only really pumped in classical radio - I like classical don't get my wrong, but at the same time I spend more time listening to Black Sabbath than Bethoven - so when I went to shop around I brought Volume 4 with me to test out - I couldn't be happier with my purchase in the end.

mono wrote: Will you use your system for playback? recording? mixing? all of them? How much are you willing to spend?

The OT was in May - if he was intending to buy it the following month - I assume he's already done it.

Dean wrote: mono wrote: Will you use your system for playback? recording? mixing? all of them? How much are you willing to spend? The OT was in May - if he was intending to buy it the following month - I assume he's already done it.

Hehe, didn't notice that... Maybe he hasn't bought anything and has more money to put in a sound system now?

From what I've heard, sound system preference can be different for each person.  All depends on what you want it to sound like and all.  Not sure if that's true or not though, I've not really experienced many different setups. 

Henry Plainview wrote: Are speakers really higher sound quality than headphones? How can an expensive CD player exist, doesn't it just read things correctly or not? I understand vinyl, but CDs are lasers! Will CCVP ever respond to this thread?

Speakers are different from headphones and are not comparable in my opinion (to a certain extent of course).There are as much quality speakers as there are quality headphones.

The main difference is acoustic: headphones deliver strictly one channel/signal per ear, whereas with speakers, you get on each ear, a global signal composed of a mix of left and right.
The audio image is outside your head with speakers, whereas with headphones, it's inside (unless some headphone spatialization effect is applied...). We get used to this quite fast, so it doesn't bother us...

Speakers are more recommended for mixing in principle (quality being ruled out of the equation), simply because they are more common than headphones, although mixes are often checked on headphones.
Headphones are practical for recording and monitoring, because (if quality is good enough) you can distinguish more detail with them. They are also practical sometimes for reverbs and EQs.

Difference is also noticeable when you see that there are many (if not most) manufacturers that produce either speakers or headphones, but rarely both.
Beyerdynamics and Sennheiser for example, don't make "speakers" (monitors of stereo systems) because those are a different task and a different technology.

For CD players, check this thread: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63013