in the past i used to have a set of logitech Z680's which served as the speakers for my computer as well as being my main home theatre setup. But then i outgrew that and completely revamped the home theatre for lots of cash which didnt leave much to spend on the PC speakers. So at the time i just got myself a small logitech 2.1 set and carried on, heres what those look like



now as time went on i found myself wanting more - so i looked around for a decent set of bookshelf speakers. a buddy of mine who owns a audio retail outlet told me about some speakers that were initially made for the japanese market but which didnt prove popular so they were exported out as the rear speakers on some home theatre sets that they cobbled together. Now im not a huge fan of the JVC brand but he reckoned that these were pretty good since they were picking them up for around 5 times cheaper than what they sold in Japan, so i picked up a pair



so initially i hooked these up to my home theatre setup as speaker B and i ran in the speakers for a while by using them instead of my front floorstanding speakers for my TV viewing audio



so i was deciding whether i should expand these to a 5.1 setup for the PC but since the room that the PC is in at the moment is very small i decided to just leave this as a 2.1 setup, so basically went ahead and purchased a set of wall mounts for the speakers.



These will eventually go on the wall when i buy a bigger monitor and stop using the PC rack but for now they were attached onto the wooden PC rack. so i started by first using self tapping screws to attach the arms onto the rack. This next picture is up to the stage where the elbow that the base swivels on is attached



so heres the completed wall mount on but mounted onto the wood of the pc rack for now, notice how the base has some rubber strips on the side to protect the finish of the speaker



then heres a test fit of one of the speakers on the mount



and heres the completed result with both speakers in place



now i still have to position those optimally and hide the wiring of the PC but im in the middle of rearranging the room, so those tasks will follow as the project progresses. I will be purchasing the amplifier that will drive these speakers and its a conventional two channel stereo amplifier for now, here is a picture of the amplifier i want to get this coming weekend



this amplifier will fit on the rack where the printer currently sits, and the printer will be relocated elsewhere which is why all that wiring behind the rack is in a mess right now but hopefully after this weekend it will be sorted out

then im going to get a Sony Subwoofer to add some bass. this is just because the low frequency extension of the JVC speakers isnt really fantastic but im going to get a small sub and ive selected the Sony because the colour matches a little. i did own a set of the sony's previously to my current hometheatre setup so this sub pictured here is just to show the colour matching but the one i will get will be a little smaller than the dual 12" monster pictured here



so yeah just a little log of how im progressing on this project. future plans for this project are that i will get myself a larger monitor and im planning on a samsung T260 which will be wall mounted - at which point i will mount the speakers on the wall too and get rid of the PC rack. ive already got a wall arm for the LCD monitor and that looks like this



if anyone is interested in the rest of the direction that this project will be taking, heres a picture of the false wall that the wall arm is going to be mounted on - this will be painted to match the room and the red bit is clear red perspex



the inside of that top bit is going to be lit and the perspex will glow but im going to stick this logo onto it which ive cut up with my dremel pencil grinder. i was pretty happy with the result even though its got rough edges cos it was my first job of cutting perspex into shapes with a dremel



the PC thats going to be attached to this stuff is obviously going to be my modded rig that ive started a thread on elsewhere in the forum and this is what it looks like. The logo here is so neat because the PC side panel was lasercut



over the next two months im going to more or less complete this project and then basically wait until my home theatre needs an upgraded reciever, upon which time i will bring my denon 2808 reciever into the room and get some rear and centre speakers and convert this into a surround system as well .... but im sure this wont be anytime soon cos im confident that the denon will serve as my main home theatre reciever for a while yet since it has HDMI capability as well as all the latest HD audio formats, so maybe around a year or two from now then only will i upgrade to get more power for the main hometheatre setup. Till then im just going to use the bedroom setup in 2.1 mode

sorry for following on with another post after my own but i cant edit it now but ive forgotten to mention what will happen with the PC keyboard and mouse. I have a chair with wheels - and its also got armrests on either side so im constructing a small platform that will be adjustable and swivel up and down for entry and exit - and this will house the keyboard and mouse - so you can move to anywhere in the room you like and it will still work the PC ie the range of the keyboard and mouse is around 3 metres - so it will definitely work from anywhere in the room

[Rudra Sen]

Mods note: Thread merged.

[KITE RUNNER]

I am planning to buy new speakers for my PC, came across an offer for Bose Companion III. Can any one opine on that? is companion 5 more better?

Are there any better brands (cost effective too) whih can be considered? primarily for listenic to music.

Thanks in advance.

[sabsubs]

Originally Posted by KITE RUNNER

I am planning to buy new speakers for my PC, came across an offer for Bose Companion III. Can any one opine on that? is companion 5 more better?

Are there any better brands (cost effective too) whih can be considered? primarily for listenic to music.

Thanks in advance.

I use Bose Companion III speakers. I bought it for 17k. It sounds good and like I like it. I preferred companion III than 5 since 5 creates surround sound effect which I did not like.

[yogi1771]

Changed my speakers today from MX5021 to Audioengine A5's.Quality of sound is very good .

[Ponmayilal]

I have been using Altec Lansing's THX certified MX 5021 since Aug 2006. Wouldn't change it for any other speaker system. Hearing it play is bliss.

My previous speaker also was an Altec Lansing 2.1 - forgot the model Number but again a very good system. At present one of my relatives is using it.

Good things never leave my family circle.

[nitrous]

I've been using the AL MX5021 for over 5 years now and I'm looking at upgrading.

[yogi1771]

Nitrous if budget around 20k the AE5's blow the MX5021 away or you can check out the AE2's smaller sibling of AE5's cost around 10k.The reviews throughout the net for these speakers are good.

[nitrous]

My greedy self wants floorstanders, Yogi sir.

[pulsar56]

Used to have Mercury 4.1 earlier and then shifted to Creative 2.1 and now my current speakers are from iBall!
iBall ? Your eyeball view. Our technology new.

I use the 5.1 booster series! Good enough to wake up neighbors. LOL!

[chevelle]

Guys, i just got a pre-owned Logitech z-5300 5.1 system.

I was under the impression that my laptop Vaio fw490 had spdif output. But when i connected my system to laptop, i was disappointed to know that 5.1 is not supported.

So what are the options do i have? Please help me.

[navin_bhp]

Originally Posted by chevelle

Guys, i just got a pre-owned Logitech z-5300 5.1 system.

I was under the impression that my laptop Vaio fw490 had spdif output. But when i connected my system to laptop, i was disappointed to know that 5.1 is not supported.

So what are the options do i have? Please help me.

Hi Chevelle,

You need to get a creative external sound card (model sound blaster x-fi 5.1 LINK Customer Image Gallery for Creative Labs SB1090 USB Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Audio System)

It costs about 50$ in US. The connection is pretty simple.
1) connect the ext soundcard to your laptop via USB cable
2) Use a fiber optic cable(spdif) to connect the sound card and speakers.

I am not sure what OS you have in your vaio. If it is Windows XP its hassle free as far as creative drivers are concerned. If you have vista or 7 then it may get a bit tricky.

When I was in US I got a cheap used creative extigy for 10$ and a spdif cable for 14$(yeah the sound card was cheaper) to connect my Dell Latitude to onkyo receiver. I had to struggle a bit to get the right driver but finally I got the 5.1 channel output that I want. The extigy was released during the time of XP so I had to struggle for windows 7 drivers. It should not be a problem with x-fi though.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by navin_bhp

Hi Chevelle,

You need to get a creative external sound card (model sound blaster x-fi 5.1 LINK Customer Image Gallery for Creative Labs SB1090 USB Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Audio System)

It costs about 50$ in US. The connection is pretty simple.
1) connect the ext soundcard to your laptop via USB cable
2) Use a fiber optic cable(spdif) to connect the sound card and speakers.

I am not sure what OS you have in your vaio. If it is Windows XP its hassle free as far as creative drivers are concerned. If you have vista or 7 then it may get a bit tricky.

When I was in US I got a cheap used creative extigy for 10$ and a spdif cable for 14$(yeah the sound card was cheaper) to connect my Dell Latitude to onkyo receiver. I had to struggle a bit to get the right driver but finally I got the 5.1 channel output that I want. The extigy was released during the time of XP so I had to struggle for windows 7 drivers. It should not be a problem with x-fi though.

Thanks Navin for your help. I saw the sound card you posted. But its of no use to me. My OS is Vista 64 bit and 7 64 bit. So this card is not compatible.

I came across a sound card. Can you take a look and see if it will work with my system? I am a noob so can't really say if it will or not.

DealExtreme: $21.50 Premium USB 2.0 External Sound Card Box with 7.1-Speaker SPDIF Optical Output

Does it look like a good buy?

[parimal_g]

Last week brought the Logitech Z5500 Speakers,and are awesome.But still not able to do fine tuning about the location of sats.These are one of the best VFM speakers, as good as any mid range home Theater.