I have come to the conclusion that I will need to pay around $200 for what I am looking for in a surround system. I need one with optical input so I can use my macbook to watch movies with surround sound.
The need (okay urge, nobody needs surround sound) to buy a system stems from the fact that my current stereo speaker set (Creative I-Trigue 3300 2.1)had the left speaker output die (speaker works fine, the system just lost left output). Right now I have a headphone splitter in the macbook using I-Trigue in the front and a JVC MX-C330 (can't find it online, but its a very nice shelf system from 1995, stereo 45 Watt foot tall speakers with about a 5" sub, 2" mid, and tweeter in them, it has a 6 disc changer and a dual tape deck) in the back which fills in the mid range nicely since the I-Trigue mostly hits the highs and lows.
Anyway, the loss of the front left in the speakers that I mainly use for listening to music is making me want to replace the whole setup with a real surround system. I have been looking at these two systems: Logitech Z-5500 and Sony HT-DDWG700
Does anyone have experience with either of these two systems?
I really like the Logitech as it will be similar to regular computer speakers without a giant box, but the Sony system has almost twice the power and a similar price (Don't mind the amazon price tag on the logitech system, and can get the system for around $200 elsewhere). I do not want to be downgrading in sound quality at all from my current setup and want to get something decent if I am spending $200 on a system. I know great systems run in the $1000s but I am a college student and I think there is good stuff out there at the $200 price level.
Any other suggestions? At the moment I plan to get Sony set only if I cannot get the Logitech set for cheaper. (Which remains to be seen from an ebay auction)
The need (okay urge, nobody needs surround sound) to buy a system stems from the fact that my current stereo speaker set (Creative I-Trigue 3300 2.1)had the left speaker output die (speaker works fine, the system just lost left output). Right now I have a headphone splitter in the macbook using I-Trigue in the front and a JVC MX-C330 (can't find it online, but its a very nice shelf system from 1995, stereo 45 Watt foot tall speakers with about a 5" sub, 2" mid, and tweeter in them, it has a 6 disc changer and a dual tape deck) in the back which fills in the mid range nicely since the I-Trigue mostly hits the highs and lows.
Anyway, the loss of the front left in the speakers that I mainly use for listening to music is making me want to replace the whole setup with a real surround system. I have been looking at these two systems: Logitech Z-5500 and Sony HT-DDWG700
Does anyone have experience with either of these two systems?
I really like the Logitech as it will be similar to regular computer speakers without a giant box, but the Sony system has almost twice the power and a similar price (Don't mind the amazon price tag on the logitech system, and can get the system for around $200 elsewhere). I do not want to be downgrading in sound quality at all from my current setup and want to get something decent if I am spending $200 on a system. I know great systems run in the $1000s but I am a college student and I think there is good stuff out there at the $200 price level.
Any other suggestions? At the moment I plan to get Sony set only if I cannot get the Logitech set for cheaper. (Which remains to be seen from an ebay auction)
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