These speakers are pitiful!

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Man, I am so disappointed, I can hardly believe this!!!

Some weeks ago I was in Dick Smith Electronics and noticed a set of 2.1 PC speakers for just $58. Compared to the price of plain stereo speakers, it looked to me like they were throwing in the subwoofer for practically nothing! I decided on impulse to buy them.

So I took them home and connected them up and I couldn't believe how much better they were than the speakers I'd been using! Even though the new DSE speakers were only 9 watts RMS total, when I played a game, the subwoofer would practically shake the whole desk with every explosion!

After this experience, I started thinking, man, this adds an entirely new dimension to gaming, maybe I should invest in a real set of speakers.

So I did some research and found that Logitech had a pretty good reputation. Now, I forget the model, but one set of their speakers is regarded as just about the best you can get for a reasonable price. But you guessed it - they're not available here in Australia.

So I looked around for which Logitech speakers are available here and I had a choice between expensive but not exceptional ones or good cheap ones.

The cheaper ones were the Logitech X-530 5.1's, I read some industry reviews which said they were more than acceptable and then read a bunch of user reviews on Amazon which varied between "fantastic - bass rocks the house and drives the neighbours nuts" to "great bass but not a true hi-fi speaker, they lack midrange".

Well heck I thought, a bass that drives the neighbours nuts ain't bad for $150!

Then I was in EB a few days ago and noticed the price was reduced to just $99, that did it and I bought a set. So I took them home, set them up, sat down, and turned on my PC. Going from a 2.1 set of desk-shaking 9 watters to a full 140 watts RMS, I naturally figured I was in for a treat.

And man, did I get a shock. These speakers are absolutely pitiful!

First I went into my audio software and set it up for a 5.1 configuration. And then I tried the audio tests. I could not believe my ears. I've got a bunch of different audio environments to play with- bathroom, concert hall, underwater, living room, stone room etc etc - they all sound almost exactly the same! The only difference is that some sound muddier than others.

Then I tried playing a game, the one I happened to have in the CD, which is Civ4. I had great sound with my former cheap set, now I park the screen over the sea and the volume is unbearable, put it over some land and it's too quiet. Not only that, but it's the same awful muddiness throughout.

So then I thought, oh well I'll try an audio CD. Maybe the bass at least is worthwhile. So I put on Jimi Hendrix's "Bold as Love". Turned the volume up - and up - and up - there IS no volume!!! But if you turn it up too far, the speakers start to distort anyhow!

I am just so incredibly disappointed. Geez, you'd think 140 watts would blow away a crummy 9, wouldn't you?

This is what you get for buying speakers from some company that makes frickin' PC mice. I will never trust an Amazon user review again!!!