I have a love-hate relationship with shopping for electronics.
I am borderline obsessive about finding the sweet spot of value in terms of price versus performance. I have no issues spending a little more money if it means getting a lot more quality. I absorb every piece of information I can get my hands on in the hopes that I will find the perfect product at the perfect price. Most of the time I succeed, because I have the luxury of being patient.
However, especially for something as subjective as audio, it is a descent into madness.
For some background: last night, while I was playing a multiplayer match of Mass Effect 3, Leo knocked a cup of water onto my subwoofer, which caused the integrated amplifier to short out. I’ve had this particular speaker set for ten years, and I can’t replace the subwoofer without adding a receiver/amplifier or replacing everything.
Everything from here on in is my stream of consciousness as I descend into the madness of trying to buy a decent set of speakers.
The last time I seriously shopped for computer speakers was ten years ago, so first I see what’s out there now.
I don’t want to wait three to five days to get something shipped, so I’ll stick with something I can pick up today after work. That means Best Buy and Fry’s. And I don’t want to spend a whole lot of money.
Oh hey, Logitech has a new system, they’re pretty good. Hmm, it’s pricey though, better check some reviews. Well, crap. The reviews say this system sucks and that the last version was better. Okay, so I’ll see if I can buy the last version. Crap. Since it’s better than the new version, it’s doubled in price on eBay and completely unavailable anywhere else. Okay, I’ll try Klipsch next. Hmmm, crap. Klipsch doesn’t make a 5.1 system anymore, just a 2.1. I’ll check eBay. Crap. Nothing on eBay.
Okay, so I won’t buy “computer” speakers. I’ll just buy a set of home theater speakers and hook those up to my receiver, which I’ll run an optical audio cable from my computer to. Easy peazy.
I want five speakers and a subwoofer. This should be easy. Don’t need a receiver; already got that. Don’t need huge bookshelf speakers; these are gonna be two feet from my head. 7.1 is overkill for gaming; 5.1 is fine. My old system was 200 watts, so I’ll want something at least that powerful.
Okay, here’s a Yamaha system for a hundred bucks. Wow, those specs are terrible. Moving on… Okay, here’s an Onkyo, but it has a receiver and it’s still pricey. You know, the selection at Best Buy and Fry’s isn’t great. I’ll check Amazon. Oh sweet, now I have options. Hmm, that looks good… No, too expensive… That looks good… No, unavailable… Hmm, there’s a Mirage system that looks really nice. Price is good. Reviews are good. Wait, here’s a KEF that’s a little more pricey but it’s got great reviews. I wonder if there’s something discontinued I can get on sale…
*Cue three hours of pouring through 5.1 systems in various combinations, prices, etc. finally culminating in me saying “Screw it.” out loud and closing all my browser tabs in pure frustration, then deciding to take a look at the specs from my current speakers to see what would match them.*
Oh hey, the satellites are actually pretty decent. 8ohm impedence, 3″ woofer, 1.25″ tweeter. Screw it, I’ll just get a subwoofer…
