Best speakers?

[rezenclowd3]

Genelec 1030As by far some of the best speakers in that price range

Edit: Oops, I misread the price range, I dropped a zero...In that case, I dunno, I love my 1030As, and so do many others ;-)

 

[rezenclowd3]

Hmm, Ill have to listen to some of those. However, the Genelecs I was referring to were about $900 per speaker... Still way out of the OPs range...

 

[ChrisA]

For 2.1 systems have a 'gap' between the sats and the 'subwoofer' (which isn't technically a subwoofer), meaning that if you played a sound starting off very very low and ending up very high (a frequency sweep) then there would be a point in the sound where you wouldn't hear anything at all.

I think it depends on the 2.1 speaker system. Some are like this and some are better. You have to research it before you buy.

If money and size of the system is not a concern and you want quality then a 2.0 system will always be best. 2.1 is a compromise to save space and cost but still it can be done "right". The thing is that a physically small speaker just can not produce bass sound and if the speaker is very small it can not even produce mid tones. To get a "full range" 2.1 system you are going to have to accept a physically larger left/right channel speaker enclosure that can contain a driver that is at least a couple inches in diameter. As the drivers get small, less then 2" you know that they can't produce any mid-bass so those frequencies must be reproduced by the center speaker Routing mid bass to the center compromises the stereo effect. Everything is a compromise. You just have to pick what you are willing to trade off for what. So your question "which are best" does not mean much unless you say what you want. In any case there are not $200 state of the art speakers the "best" ones are at least 10X more expensive

 

[astrostu]

Forgive my ignorance, but what are "full range standers or book shelf speakers?"

Also, does anyone know how the Altec Lansing FX6021 2.1 Speaker System compares with the H-K Soundsticks II?

 

[Tucom]

Forgive my ignorance, but what are "full range standers or book shelf speakers?"

Also, does anyone know how the Altec Lansing FX6021 2.1 Speaker System compares with the H-K Soundsticks II?

Full-range speakers are speakers designed to handle most, in some cases all, of the frequency response range. One that handles the highs, mid-range, and the deep bass hertz <--(what you measure frequency response in).

Book-shelf speakers are speakers that, basically, fit on a bookshelf. They usually can't handle bass below 50-60Hz, so you will generally want to add a subwoofer for the sub-bass frequencies.



The FX6021 beats the HK STII's hands down. The Altec's are known to compete with entry level studio monitors, which is very impressive for the price you pay for the Altec's. The Altec's have a digit signal processing chip that essentially divides the mid-range and treble (the "highs") and sends the frequencies - systematically, in pairs - to the different drivers (the actual moving components of a speaker, that moves air to create the sound) which is very efficient, and creates for excellent audio handling.

Give the Bose Companion series a look, as well. Bose's home theater systems are a bit lacking in my opinion, they're Companion series is excellent. I used to own the Companion 3 series I, and it was an awesome system - and still is. I'm selling it to my friend, who uses it to produce beats, crank his music library, and watch movies, and it excels. Owned it for two years - never had a problem.

I currently own studio monitor speakers - which are some of the best for near-field listening.


Peace