A total of 14 reviews of this product on Reddit.
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Fwiw, I had some Infinity Primus P142 speakers (similar to this ) sitting around doing nothing and they’re in my kitchen now with this amp and the system sounds waaay better than the cheap Sonos. I’m sure better than the more expensive Sonos too.
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I thought about that, I guess I felt lazy and thought I can just make one purchase and get nicely matching speakers. I haven’t seen many people recommend Infinity’s on home setup, a lot of people suggested Klipsch. When I look at two speakers I can’t tell what to look for. Is it the wattage? Most review sites claim wattage doesn’t mean much these days since there isn’t a standard. When I look at the Amazon page for P163’s, http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Primus-Two-way-Bookshelf-Satellite/dp/B0045NCB32 they don’t even advertise wattage or any other specs. So how does one know a speaker is well matched with his AVR or match with other speakers properly? Thanks for the suggestion.
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> what speakers are really good for gaming?
What speakers are you currently using?
I’d take your $100 that you set aside for a sound card and put that towards an amp/receiver and a set of good bookshelf speakers.
For speakers, I’m currently using a pair of Infinity bookshelves with my main rig. Absolutely incredible sound. You will need an amp or receiver though.
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Looks like you can get the same price on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Primus-Two-way-Bookshelf-Satellite/dp/B0045NCB32
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Wavecrest HVL-1: http://www.wavecrestaudio.com/products/hvl-1-two-way-loudspeaker-pair
You have to pay shipping too. If the $200 is a hardcap then:
Infinity Primus P163 $170: http://smile.amazon.com/Infinity-Primus-Two-way-Bookshelf-Satellite/dp/B0045NCB32/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1449858554&sr=8-3&keywords=infinity+primus
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Surround is great, but you don’t really need it for a lot of games. If you want bass, you’ll want speakers with large drivers (2.0) or speakers + a subwoofer (2.1).
Personally I would recommend going towards a home audio setup rather than a “PC speaker” set. Find a decent inexpensive receiver and start with a good set of bookshelf speakers like these. You really can’t find a better bookshelf speaker for the money, great for gaming, music, and movies – I’m using a set on my desk right now.
If you really want some bass, save up a bit more and add one of these to that setup. I use one in my home theater setup and you absolutely cannot find a better sub without spending double the money. LOW bass, great for movies, and after breaking it in for a month or so it has great response for music and games as well. The more I use it, the more I love it.
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Budget?
If you’re looking for both PC and TV, you may want to consider going with a home-theater type setup: receiver + speakers.
Infinity bookshelf speakers + receiver. Start with a 2.0 setup and you can gradually expand out to 5.1 if you like for a badass surround setup.
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For immediate satisfaction I’d get this setup:
Receiver $45: http://www.parts-express.com/lepai-lp-s60-4x25w-desktop-mini-amplifier-with-remote-usb-mp3-media-card-fm–310-306
F/R speakers $132: http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-b652-air-6-1-2-bookshelf-speaker-pair-with-amt-tweeter–300-651
That gets you 4 speakers and a useable receiver with remote. You won’t get true surround you’ll simply get F/R stereo but it’ll sound okay. These speakers get you the advantage of an AMT tweeter. If you want them to sound their best you’ll have to perform a simple modification but they’ll be passable as is.
Since receiver prices are steadily dropping and speaker prices tend to be fairly static I’d buy the speakers now and wait on the receiver if you choose to build the better system. With a $200 budget you basically have 2 choices. Best choice would be: http://smile.amazon.com/Infinity-Primus-Two-way-Bookshelf-Satellite/dp/B0045NCB32/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1429764671&sr=8-2&keywords=infinity+primus
You can get the center and a pair of surrounds and a subwoofer as budget permits. To get a little more out of your budget these are good speakers: http://smile.amazon.com/Micca-MB42X-Bookshelf-Speakers-Tweeter/dp/B00E7H8GG2/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1429765742&sr=1-2&keywords=micca with this center: http://smile.amazon.com/Micca-MB42X-C-Channel-Speaker-Tweeter/dp/B00HHFBEK6/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1429765742&sr=1-6&keywords=micca
For $160. Not quite as nice as the Infinity speakers but still good quality sound.
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For music, movies, and games on a budget $200, I would highly recommend going with an amp and decent speakers.
On my gaming PC I use a pair of these hooked up to an old receiver I had – you could get an amp similar to this. The sound is incredible, they have great frequency response and excellent bass for bookshelf speakers. No, they won’t hit the super deep lows for movies like a full home-theater setup will, but neither will a PC-speaker setup (even ones with a sub). Plus the speakers go on sale for $59 each pretty often, you really can’t beat them.
If you are really set on avoiding an amp or reciever, the only PC speakers I would really recommend are Klipsch Pro Media 2.1s. I wouldn’t personally spend that much on them, but they are about as good as you can get for PC speakers IMO.
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Let’s see what I can do…
Receiver $200: http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavr1612/denon-avr-1612-5.1-channel-a/v-home-theater-receiver/1.html
L/R speakers $172: http://smile.amazon.com/Infinity-Primus-Two-way-Bookshelf-Satellite/dp/B0045NCB32/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425351088&sr=8-2&keywords=infinity+primus
If the $172 is a bit much then get the Primus 5.25″ woofer but if you can swing it it’s worth the $20 difference between the two.
Conventional wisdom is to go for a 2/3 speaker, 1/3 amp split but working with such a small budget I think this is a better way to start. Infinity is not the company it used to be but strikes a good balance between quality and cost these days and is a good budget option.
If you really want to maximize your money for quality then you can opt to spend almost all of your allotted money on speakers and get a temporary basic receiver until you can afford something better. Your call.
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Let’s see… you want a 5.0 system with lots of HDMI inputs. Let me see what I can come up with.
Receiver $500: http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx3100w/denon-avr-x3100w-7.2-receiver-w/wi-fi-bluetooth-airplay/1.html
L/R speakers $172: http://smile.amazon.com/Infinity-Primus-Two-way-Bookshelf-Satellite/dp/B0045NCB32/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424622512&sr=8-1&keywords=infinity+primus
Center channel $200: http://smile.amazon.com/Infinity-Primus-Three-way-Speaker-Center-Channel/dp/B0044D1788/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1424622512&sr=8-3&keywords=infinity+primus
Bass will be there but it won’t be near what it should be, that’ll come when you purchase the sub. I’d still strongly recommend a good 2.0 or 2.1 system to start but this will be a good system and get you to full surround right away.
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Inifinity P163 – $85 each, $170/pair
http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Primus-Two-way-Bookshelf-Satellite/dp/B0045NCB32/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310171855&sr=8-1
Yamaha RX-397 – $194
http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-Rx-397-Rx397-Home-Stereo-Receiver-SAVE-BARGAIN-/260772748218?pt=Receivers_Tuners&hash=item3cb7445bba
I have a pair of P162s and the P163 isn’t a major redesign, so I would assume their at least equally as good and the rx397 is a great, low power stereo.
That gets you in under your $400 budget.
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You really should post a budget…but here’s a solid and inexpensive setup:
2x P163 @ $85 ea: http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Primus-Two-way-Bookshelf-Satellite/dp/B0045NCB32/
Emotiva Ultra Sub 12 @ $429: http://emotiva.com/ultra_sub12.shtm
add a decent used receiver from craigslist, and you’re good to go. If you don’t have speaker cables, get them from monoprice.
