monitor or speakers

blade5545 · Dec 14, 2003, 10:05 PM

Ok I have around $150 bucks to spend, I been wanting better monitor than the one I have which is hp pavilion mx70 but my computer speakers are crapping out and I cant decide which one I want to replace. So I am posting a poll.

Judas · Dec 14, 2003, 10:10 PM

well.... how old is the monitor... and what kind of monitor do your really want... you sure you just want to spend $150 on a monitor?...... i wouldn't.... i'd go for speakers... save up alot more money and get a really good monitor.... (specially if you speakers are about to kick the bucket)....

~~craig588~~ · Dec 14, 2003, 10:24 PM

get a monitor.

if you really want to improve your sound quality get some good quality headphones and a amp to go with them. They will sound far better than any "computer" speakers. Calling speakers computer speakers is just an excuse for them being crap.

Get a decent amp. (Something by Yamaha, Philips, Pioneer, or Harmon/Kardon)

And get these: http://www.sennheiserusa.com/pages/p...phones/500.htm

That should be within your budget. (if you want to go higher, sennheiser has much better headphones too)

I used to use a pair of sennheiser HD 590 headphones, but then I found a set of beyerdynamic studio headphones that sounded even better than the sennheiser consumer end. (They have stopped making this line of studio headphones though, so I cant give you a link with their specs)

EDIT: the reason I'm suggesting headphones is because they are ALOT cheaper than full speaker sets and need much less of an amp to power them.

BWX · Dec 14, 2003, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by craig588
Calling speakers computer speakers is just an excuse for them being crap.

LOL- I have thgought that for about 10 years now- Just never said it like that.

tastyweat · Dec 14, 2003, 11:30 PM

I would say go for some speakers, I would personally, cope with a crummy monitor for longer and get some speakers.

I'm not a fan of headphones, I like having good, house shaking bass reverberation, you need a subwoofer for that.

My Creative Inspire 6700 speaker set serves me very well, but with you budget I think you could get the digital 5700s, which would be a slightly better bet.

~~craig588~~ · Dec 14, 2003, 11:48 PM

You only need the sub if you acctually want to feel the bass. My headphones sound just as good, if not better, than my full system.

Judas · Dec 14, 2003, 11:48 PM

..... if i'm going to buy anything... i might going to sit around and buy something.... simple... i'm going to go near to full out... a set of speakers and amp will cost well just over the $1000 canadian... probably close to $1500 for something with amazing sound and power.... That's verses a monitor... going nearly full out... $650...... theres a fairly large difference..... he's got $150, that's get him a fairly good 5.1 or 6.1 surround sound speaker setup. or a damn good 2.1 speaker... Monitor.... uh... $150 won't go very far.... choice is.... A: better image.. no sound.... or B: decent image.... good sound?...... i like headphones... but not that much.... nothing beats a good solid speaker system..... then again.. that's my opinion..

tastyweat · Dec 15, 2003, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by craig588
You only need the sub if you acctually want to feel the bass. My headphones sound just as good, if not better, than my full system.

Well... I have some very good Seinheisser headphones (£200 - approx $300), and the bass reproduction is not as good with those as it is on the 6700s, but feeling the bass is also very important to me. I like being able to feel explosions etc...

Markius · Dec 15, 2003, 12:26 AM

if your monitor is working fine and your speakers are "crapping out" then i wouldve thought the choice is clear.......

speakers...

Necrosis · Dec 15, 2003, 12:30 AM

I have a set of "computer speakers" I wouldn't exactly call them "crap". For Headphones if you want a pair that will sound great with not that much power I would advise either the Sennheiser HD497's or the Grado SR-60's. Now for the computers speakers depending on what you have now I would suggest either the Klipsch 2.1's or the Logitech famous 4.1's. Sorry but I can't remember the Logitech's model number.

tek · Dec 15, 2003, 01:21 AM

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 is in your budget I think... the best 2.1 speakers money can buy, 200Watts of power, 100Hz peak and you can prolly get em for around 150 bucks.

4.1 http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_g...a9c2e304f19d69

blade5545 · Dec 15, 2003, 01:51 AM

Ok here is what I gathered are the best speakers in my price range. Opions folks.

Klipsch ProMedia 4.1 Black THX
Creative Inspire 5500- I looked into the 5700 but those around $250-300
Logitech THX certified Z560 4.1
and maybe Creative MegaWorks THX 5.1 550

@/2ct!< · Dec 15, 2003, 03:22 AM

Dont care for sound tha much myself, so I say the monitor.

jjmd · Dec 15, 2003, 04:38 AM

Go for the monitor as its better to see than hear. LOL

spark rain fire · Dec 15, 2003, 04:45 AM

buy a good monitor, then use your headphones.

Necrosis · Dec 15, 2003, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by blade5545
Ok here is what I gathered are the best speakers in my price range. Opions folks.

Klipsch ProMedia 4.1 Black THX
Creative Inspire 5500- I looked into the 5700 but those around $250-300
Logitech THX certified Z560 4.1
and maybe Creative MegaWorks THX 5.1 550

I would tell you which I would choose but really you should try to get a listen to these first.

mainman · Dec 15, 2003, 04:55 AM

speakers...

Judas · Dec 15, 2003, 06:20 AM

..... $150 just isn't going to cut it for a monitor.....

BWX · Dec 15, 2003, 11:20 AM

blade, you can get an AOC (pretty ok brand) 19'' FLAT CRT that does 1600x1200 for $165 shipped-

link

KDS 19" FLAT CRT $189 - $10 shipping

link

Viewsonic 19" FLAT CRT around $200- newegg.com

All of these will do 1280 x 1024 @ 85hz or more I'm sure- That's good for this price range.
They would make a pretty good gaming monitor, depending on what you are upgrading from, if it's an old dusty little fishbowl 17" ---- hell yeah, you will be happy with a 19" -12 x 10 @ 85hz..

I'm pretty happy with my 17'' KDS X-FLAT- Color is perfect, very flat, very nice antiglare screen. I can;t believe how good this thing looks. If it would do 12x10@85hz I would be satisfied. But it's too nice to replace just yet.

Just get a 19" flat CRT- you won't regret it- get the dumb speakers later- You will be amazed at how much better a New, Big, Flat CRT with anti-glare built in looks compared to the old dusty little fishbowl screen.

Go check at Walmart, Best Buy, Etc- (even though I hate these stores) - they might have some display model or something, It might be dusty, but they come w/ full warranty- I got mine for $50 tax included - bran new - full warranty. I didn't get the box, therefore 100 dollars off. Check around, you can find monitors for good deals.

Get the monitor if you can find one remotely close to these prices. Just make sure it has these specifications minimum:

19"
FLAT CRT
1280 x 1024 at 85hz, 1600 x1200 at any res- try for 75hz- (won't get that resolution @ 85hz in this price range, but that's OK. 12x10@85 looks pretty damn good with some Antialiasing)

jjmd · Dec 15, 2003, 03:30 PM

This one any bad for the price, $173.00 check it out.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...37802%3A110911

or

$189.99

http://www.pcclub.com/product_detail...temno=A4668484

$169.99

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3683895

~~craig588~~ · Dec 15, 2003, 05:02 PM

look for refurbed sun monitors based on the sony GDM-F520. Its identical, except it only costs 300$ rather than 1500$, and doesnt have the use hub built in.

BWX · Dec 15, 2003, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jjmd

$189.99

http://www.pcclub.com/product_detail...temno=A4668484

That looks like a KDS clone- check out the big pic compared to that KDS (second one down in my post)- weird huh? Identical.

jjmd · Dec 16, 2003, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BWX232
That looks like a KDS clone- check out the big pic compared to that KDS (second one down in my post)- weird huh? Identical.

sure dose, im sure both these monitors are made for both companies by someone else.

View Poll Results: monitor or speakers?
monitor	9	52.94%
speakers	8	47.06%
Voters: 17. This poll is closed

Dec 14, 2003, 10:05 PM	#1
blade5545 Shoots first ask's questions later Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Austin,TX Posts: 330 Rep Power: 0	monitor or speakers Ok I have around $150 bucks to spend, I been wanting better monitor than the one I have which is hp pavilion mx70 but my computer speakers are crapping out and I cant decide which one I want to replace. So I am posting a poll. __________________ Dell Inspiron 700m 2 ghz Intel Mobile 2mb L2 cache 12.1 Ultrabrite 1.25 gig ram 80gig hdd 8x DVD-RW 4.5lbs 1.5" thick 5 hours battery DFI NF4 Ultra - D AMD Winchester 64 3200+ @4125+ 2.62ghz sold Swiftech H20-120-BB REV. 3 LIQUID COOLING KIT 2x512 OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Dual Channel sold Platinum Rev 2 OCZ POWERSTREAM 520W sold ATI X700 PRO SEAGATE 160GIG SATA Windows XP PRO SP2 / PearPC - Apple OS X 10.2 Unknown "The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself."

Dec 14, 2003, 11:30 PM	#5
tastyweat Lurking Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The void Posts: 4,794 Rep Power: 75 System Specs	I would say go for some speakers, I would personally, cope with a crummy monitor for longer and get some speakers. I'm not a fan of headphones, I like having good, house shaking bass reverberation, you need a subwoofer for that. My Creative Inspire 6700 speaker set serves me very well, but with you budget I think you could get the digital 5700s, which would be a slightly better bet. __________________

Dec 15, 2003, 12:26 AM	#9
Markius DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 2,350 Rep Power: 0	if your monitor is working fine and your speakers are "crapping out" then i wouldve thought the choice is clear....... speakers... __________________ DriverHeavens Aussie... "Lifes tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late"

Dec 15, 2003, 01:21 AM	#11
tek DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston, US Posts: 2,103 Rep Power: 0	Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 is in your budget I think... the best 2.1 speakers money can buy, 200Watts of power, 100Hz peak and you can prolly get em for around 150 bucks. 4.1 http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_g...a9c2e304f19d69 __________________ [COLOR=White][/COLOR]

Dec 14, 2003, 10:24 PM	#3
~~craig588~~ Banned Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In clothing Posts: 3,510 Rep Power: 0	get a monitor. if you really want to improve your sound quality get some good quality headphones and a amp to go with them. They will sound far better than any "computer" speakers. Calling speakers computer speakers is just an excuse for them being crap. Get a decent amp. (Something by Yamaha, Philips, Pioneer, or Harmon/Kardon) And get these: http://www.sennheiserusa.com/pages/p...phones/500.htm That should be within your budget. (if you want to go higher, sennheiser has much better headphones too) I used to use a pair of sennheiser HD 590 headphones, but then I found a set of beyerdynamic studio headphones that sounded even better than the sennheiser consumer end. (They have stopped making this line of studio headphones though, so I cant give you a link with their specs) EDIT: the reason I'm suggesting headphones is because they are ALOT cheaper than full speaker sets and need much less of an amp to power them.

Dec 14, 2003, 11:48 PM	#6
~~craig588~~ Banned Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In clothing Posts: 3,510 Rep Power: 0	You only need the sub if you acctually want to feel the bass. My headphones sound just as good, if not better, than my full system.

Dec 15, 2003, 12:30 AM	#10
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I have a set of "computer speakers" I wouldn't exactly call them "crap". For Headphones if you want a pair that will sound great with not that much power I would advise either the Sennheiser HD497's or the Grado SR-60's. Now for the computers speakers depending on what you have now I would suggest either the Klipsch 2.1's or the Logitech famous 4.1's. Sorry but I can't remember the Logitech's model number.

Dec 15, 2003, 01:51 AM	Thread Starter #12
blade5545 Shoots first ask's questions later Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Austin,TX Posts: 330 Rep Power: 0	Ok here is what I gathered are the best speakers in my price range. Opions folks. Klipsch ProMedia 4.1 Black THX Creative Inspire 5500- I looked into the 5700 but those around $250-300 Logitech THX certified Z560 4.1 and maybe Creative MegaWorks THX 5.1 550 __________________ Dell Inspiron 700m 2 ghz Intel Mobile 2mb L2 cache 12.1 Ultrabrite 1.25 gig ram 80gig hdd 8x DVD-RW 4.5lbs 1.5" thick 5 hours battery DFI NF4 Ultra - D AMD Winchester 64 3200+ @4125+ 2.62ghz sold Swiftech H20-120-BB REV. 3 LIQUID COOLING KIT 2x512 OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Dual Channel sold Platinum Rev 2 OCZ POWERSTREAM 520W sold ATI X700 PRO SEAGATE 160GIG SATA Windows XP PRO SP2 / PearPC - Apple OS X 10.2 Unknown "The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself." Last edited by blade5545; Dec 15, 2003 at 01:57 AM.

Dec 15, 2003, 03:22 AM	#13
@/2ct!< HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Not Vegas, anymore :( Posts: 1,391 Rep Power: 0	Dont care for sound tha much myself, so I say the monitor. __________________

Dec 15, 2003, 04:38 AM	#14
jjmd DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In Your Mothers Closet... Posts: 1,081 Rep Power: 0	Go for the monitor as its better to see than hear. LOL __________________ [COLOR=blue]Win XP Pro all updates.[/COLOR] [COLOR=blue]Asus Crosshair, Amd 64 X2 6000. 4 GB Cosair Dominator,2 MSI 7900gs 512 mg, 2 raptor 150 gig in raid 0. 22inch View Sonic LCD, 2 HP 16x dvd burners, and some other crap. HE HE HE. [/COLOR]

Dec 15, 2003, 04:45 AM	#15
spark rain fire i am rad. Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: central pa Posts: 236 Rep Power: 0	buy a good monitor, then use your headphones. __________________ ---- [color=red]http://www.invalidsystemdisk.vze.com[/color]

Dec 15, 2003, 04:55 AM	#17
mainman Mr. Nobody Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: OmniPresent Nightwatcher Posts: 5,961 Rep Power: 71	speakers... __________________

Dec 15, 2003, 11:20 AM	#19
BWX unplugged Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: USNY Posts: 19,669 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	blade, you can get an AOC (pretty ok brand) 19'' FLAT CRT that does 1600x1200 for $165 shipped- link KDS 19" FLAT CRT $189 - $10 shipping link Viewsonic 19" FLAT CRT around $200- newegg.com All of these will do 1280 x 1024 @ 85hz or more I'm sure- That's good for this price range. They would make a pretty good gaming monitor, depending on what you are upgrading from, if it's an old dusty little fishbowl 17" ---- hell yeah, you will be happy with a 19" -12 x 10 @ 85hz.. I'm pretty happy with my 17'' KDS X-FLAT- Color is perfect, very flat, very nice antiglare screen. I can;t believe how good this thing looks. If it would do 12x10@85hz I would be satisfied. But it's too nice to replace just yet. Just get a 19" flat CRT- you won't regret it- get the dumb speakers later- You will be amazed at how much better a New, Big, Flat CRT with anti-glare built in looks compared to the old dusty little fishbowl screen. Go check at Walmart, Best Buy, Etc- (even though I hate these stores) - they might have some display model or something, It might be dusty, but they come w/ full warranty- I got mine for $50 tax included - bran new - full warranty. I didn't get the box, therefore 100 dollars off. Check around, you can find monitors for good deals. Get the monitor if you can find one remotely close to these prices. Just make sure it has these specifications minimum: 19" FLAT CRT 1280 x 1024 at 85hz, 1600 x1200 at any res- try for 75hz- (won't get that resolution @ 85hz in this price range, but that's OK. 12x10@85 looks pretty damn good with some Antialiasing) __________________

Dec 15, 2003, 03:30 PM	#20
jjmd DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In Your Mothers Closet... Posts: 1,081 Rep Power: 0	This one any bad for the price, $173.00 check it out. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...37802%3A110911 or $189.99 http://www.pcclub.com/product_detail...temno=A4668484 $169.99 http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3683895 __________________ [COLOR=blue]Win XP Pro all updates.[/COLOR] [COLOR=blue]Asus Crosshair, Amd 64 X2 6000. 4 GB Cosair Dominator,2 MSI 7900gs 512 mg, 2 raptor 150 gig in raid 0. 22inch View Sonic LCD, 2 HP 16x dvd burners, and some other crap. HE HE HE. [/COLOR]

Dec 15, 2003, 05:02 PM	#21
~~craig588~~ Banned Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In clothing Posts: 3,510 Rep Power: 0	look for refurbed sun monitors based on the sony GDM-F520. Its identical, except it only costs 300$ rather than 1500$, and doesnt have the use hub built in.