How Do My Gigaworks Compare?

S

Stevey

Guest
I am using some creative gigaworks speakers here, rrp £330 but £260 from a good online reseller who I bought them from. They are 7.1 being fed from an Audigy 2 ZS 7.1 Card. True 700 watts total power (70 watt each satellite speaker = 70 x 7 = 490) The satellites have a midrange driver about 3 1/2" in size as well as a 1" tweeter. The subwoofer is 220watts with a 8" dual firing subwoofer cone rated at 210 watts. Product page is here:
http://uk.europe.creative.com/products/product.asp?prod=542
According to tomshardware the maximum sound level that they could get out of these speakers was 118db to my memory.

I am just wondering how does this compare with all of your other fancy speaker sets for £1000's on here?

Of course this is the best Pc speaker set, better than logitechs and much better than the cheaper £100 systems. But how good is it compared to real av equipment because I have never heard this in action before (Apart from BOSE) My definition of BOSE:

Boring
Overpriced
Sh*t
Electronics

Well any opinions anyone?
 
My very first speaker package was a Videologic DTS sub sat system which I used with a dvd player and my pc. It did a great job of filling an average sized room with surround sound and added an extra dimension to movies over normal TV speakers. I found it to be a great little system for giving me an introduction to DD and DTS and the added depth it gives to movie watching for very little money. Although I found it to be a great performer for the money it did have it's limitations so I sold it on to help fund a seperates system.
PC speaker packages tend to be cheap affairs and the quality of the components used are usually pretty basic. This obviously has an effect on sound quality as the processing and amplification side of things coupled with the small satelite speakers and cheap subwoofers supplied often aren't up to scratch from an audiofile point of view. For the money you can't go far wrong as long as you are not expecting too much but if your trying to get the best possible sound from the dvd format then your gonna have to decide on a budget your prepared to spend and build a system around that figure.
There is a huge difference if you compare a pc based system against even a fairly inexpensive seperates system imo and if you go to your local dealer and listen to a few entry level seperates systems I'm sure you would agree:)

The hard part is deciding how much your prepared to spend to get the quality of sound you want (and sticking to your original budget:blush:).

Upgradeitis can be very expensive :rotfl:

as to how a Bose system sounds in comparison I can't say as I've not heard one but a review I read on the videologic dts system I bought said that it was comparable to a Bose system (Can't remember which model) for about 1/3 the money:)
I would sumise that your description is probably fairly accurate:clown:
 
No PC speakers that I've heard come close to matching the sound of my system, and in comparison to some on here mine's really turd. Satellite speakers will always be bad imo as having a nice big cabinet allows for good bass extension. Also the amps inside won't be as good as they're compressed and suffer from a poorer power supply, and I wouldn't believe those power rating either, as they'll be at about 10% distortion or even at clipping. I bet they're leaps and bounds better than some computer speakers though. I was helping a mate out today with his speakers and without a sock in the port of the sub it sounded really awful (creative DT2200). They probably have the crash bang required for movies, but would lack refinement in music.

Personally I would never spend close to £300 on a set of speakers like that as you can pick up really good second hand deals on 'real' hi-fi. To be honest I should really get rid of my receiver and buy a stereo amp instead, but digital inputs come in really handy and movies are great in surround.
 
The only really good speaker set that I have heard is the Logitech THX 680's. They were very good indeed and have the same THX certified decoder as the harman/kardon 8500 - a £1800 amp. In fact I thought the 680's better than the KEF egg sub sat system at over twice the price!

This isn't to say that the 680's can compare to more expensive speakers, but rather sub/sat systems rarely sound good, no matter how much money you throw at them. This is because the sub has to work too hard and at too high a frequency.

Away from technical aspects, the actual quality of the sound you are getting will suffer, comparatively, too. I have the Logitech 560 set, pretty much the same as the 680 but minus the processing, hooked up to the same audio card as you on my PC. Listening to music and films through them is fatiguing and cannot be sustained without me turning down the volume. Basically, if you are asking if more expensive speakers are worth the extra money, no they aren't - the law of diminishing returns and all that. But they are better and in terms of quality and I am willing to pay the extra for that.

Russell
 
Originally posted by russraff
The only really good speaker set that I have heard is the Logitech THX 680's. They were very good indeed and have the same THX certified decoder as the harman/kardon 8500 - a £1800 amp. In fact I thought the 680's better than the KEF egg sub sat system at over twice the price!

I cant say i entirely agree. I own the Logitech Z680 system for my gaming/computer room and whist i am very pleased with it (for the £260 it cost) it has nothing on a real system. A friend of mine has the KEF KHT 2005.2 tho not the standard retail version, they are some specially tweaked version and running them off a nice yamaha amp - to cut a long story short, whilst the Z680's sound real nice they are blown away by higher end systems like the KHT's :)
 
I've just bought the MegaWorks THX 2.1 for my pc (see http://uk.europe.creative.com/products/product.asp?prod=374 )
I find these speakers pretty stunning as far as pc speakers go. The small satelites produce a fairly reaonable sound while the sub with it's 8" driver and 300 watt bash amp gives the system excellent power for a simple 2.1 setup. I'm sure there are plenty of inferior dedicated HC subs out there.
However, turning on my amp and allowing my full av system to kick in blows the creative package away. The tiny satelites are no match for my Kef satelites and the sub certainly no match for my ASW750.
I reckon though, the 5.1 or 7.1 version of this package could give the likes of Bose a run for their money and would certainly pose greater value for money.
 
CoZMoSiS and Stellavision,

Seeing as you both have the KEF satelite package, I shall agree with you. There was some time between listening to both, so I could be wrong (it has been known ;)).

As an aside, I have an Xbox hooked up to my AV rig, and a PC in the same room. Through a strange twist of fate, I managed to get "Knights of the Old Republic" (geeky, I know, but it is a cracking game) and Max Payne 2 for both systems. I only ever had them on Xbox, but tried them out on PC after I posted my previous message. I must admit that my AV rig is much better than I remembered and shows up the PC something rotten.

Infact, just ignore my previous post as it is an utter pile of cack! :rolleyes:

Russell
 
Originally posted by russraff
CoZMoSiS and Stellavision,

Seeing as you both have the KEF satelite package, I shall agree with you. There was some time between listening to both, so I could be wrong (it has been known ;)).

Should point out that I don't have the smaller Kef satelites you seem to think, but have 3 KHT 9000 fronts, combined with Mission bipoles and B&W sub. Two single KHT 9000's would buy a full 5.1 KHT 2005 system.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom