sound system queries of a noob..help me !

[gurujee]

hello
I want to make my listening better now. I am completely unaware of these soundcard speaker things. I am using 2 tiny desktop speakers that came with my HCL pc 5years ago. So i want to make an upgrade for my ears.The thing is that i am not BCA(Baap ke Cash me Aish)..I want to make this upgradation with my own hardearned parttimes, projects money... The budget is 5K. but lower is better ..

I have choosen ALTEC and Creative..but have few doubts...

1. Do these speakers sound as similar as to the sony hi-fi music systems. mean the bass level is that high ? I have seen Sony mini hi-fi systems paste a sticker on its speakes written 240RMS...But i saw in AL or Creative RMS is only 46 or in some highends 72, 110rms...so it is a doubt for me whether these speakers are capable of delivering sounds that is being produced by sony hi-fi ..

2. I am a hardcore music lover..I like all types of music from indian classical to hiphop jazz etc...So i want to have dolby 5.1 multi channel effects in my MP3s and audio cds...Can Creative Soundblaster able to deliver this sounds..I can afford Soundblaster live 5.1 or 24bit..I saw in creative's site that this 24bit can upmix stereo to upto 7.1..Is this true ? Has anyone experienced it ?

3. The most imp. doubt for me is to go for which speaker sets and which model. I had prepared my mind for Creative 4.1..But by reading many replies here, i felt altec is personal choices of most people. But in digit september 2002 issue, creative4.1 was given some good points and also value for money..I am a BASS lover. and i want to get heartthurbing, booming bass at a lower volume, unlike some intex, frontech where one have 2 raise volumes to feel the bass...so friends pls help me in solving these doubts... should i go for altec Lansing atp3 , so that i dont have to buy the soundcard...Or go for creative 5.1 5200 or 4.1 4400... I just saw there is new 4.1 model in creative site...
4. My onboard sound is C media..When i am using 98, there was an application 4 channel audio demo. So i think the chip is a 4 channel sound card, isnt it ? I am using XP now, and failed to have proper XP driver for the onboard sound card. So when i am installing the new xp driver, that 4 channel application isnt installing... SO if i buy a creative 4.1 speaker, can i able to listen 4channel sound using my onboard soundcard.that too in music ???

my queries seem to have becoming an Esseay..so i should stop here...PLEASE HELP ME..

[lalam]

Anybody answering i would be interested too

[aj27july]

go for CREATIVE. It offers good quality at low price.
LOGITECH speakers are also good. It also offers good quality at low price.

I would prefer CREATIVE. SASTA AUR TIKAAU.

[sysfilez]

i have a creative inspire 4.1 with sound blaster live 5.1 card. well the kind of bass u r talking about (sony hi fi) u wont get. creative 4.1 is an entry level speaker with somewat 17w rms value. at decent volume levels the bass is ok. distortion occur at high levels. then with ur budget a creative 5.1 card and an entry level speaker will come. havn't heard much altec so cant comment.

[dOm1naTOr]

A Logitech X530 for 5.5k with 70W rms is powerful enough. U won't get real soul thumping musik with this(or any speakers at this price range). What makes these 5.1s less powerful than hi fi is this CHANNELS itself. HIFis got big speakers- but less in number, only some 2 or max 4. So each box contail one or two large diaphrams(for bass) with 2-3 mid range diaphram(for mid freq rangs e sounds) and some tweeters(for high frequency). As all these are incorporated in a large box they can design in in comparitively lower price factor.
But in case of a 5.1 system, each channel should be amplified sepetately and given to curresponding channel. It just have 5 channels(which will have one mid nd a tweeter each) and wa woofer(just a large diaphram). Its main objective is to recreate SURROUND SOUND perfectly in a room. So it might be less powerful for same price factor but gr8 for movies nd GAMING too

What i reccoment are:
*Logitech X530 5.1 speakers:
70w rms.
each satellite speakers has 2xneodimium drivers which produces pleasant high to mid frequency sounds.
Long throw woofer for deep bass.
Logitech calls it some FDD2 technology to exactly reverbrate many channels in a 5.1 setup.
Its a gr8 speaker nd Ive used it on my friends place and definitely better than my Creative T6060 5.1 wich too is 5k.
*U should get a Creative 5.1 live 24 bit for 1.4k or better u get Creative Audigy 2 value 7.1 card for 1.7k. The latter is much better in terms of perfomance. U can notice big change in sound from same speakers when u move from onboard sound to a sound card.

Plz rep if helpful.

[gurujee]

Originally Posted by aravind_n20

A Logitech X530 for 5.5k with 70W rms is powerful enough. U won't get real soul thumping musik with this(or any speakers at this price range). What makes these 5.1s less powerful than hi fi is this CHANNELS itself. HIFis got big speakers- but less in number, only some 2 or max 4. So each box contail one or two large diaphrams(for bass) with 2-3 mid range diaphram(for mid freq rangs e sounds) and some tweeters(for high frequency). As all these are incorporated in a large box they can design in in comparitively lower price factor.
But in case of a 5.1 system, each channel should be amplified sepetately and given to curresponding channel. It just have 5 channels(which will have one mid nd a tweeter each) and wa woofer(just a large diaphram). Its main objective is to recreate SURROUND SOUND perfectly in a room. So it might be less powerful for same price factor but gr8 for movies nd GAMING too

What i reccoment are:
*Logitech X530 5.1 speakers:
70w rms.
each satellite speakers has 2xneodimium drivers which produces pleasant high to mid frequency sounds.
Long throw woofer for deep bass.
Logitech calls it some FDD2 technology to exactly reverbrate many channels in a 5.1 setup.
Its a gr8 speaker nd Ive used it on my friends place and definitely better than my Creative T6060 5.1 wich too is 5k.
*U should get a Creative 5.1 live 24 bit for 1.4k or better u get Creative Audigy 2 value 7.1 card for 1.7k. The latter is much better in terms of perfomance. U can notice big change in sound from same speakers when u move from onboard sound to a sound card.

Plz rep if helpful.

repped

do i need a soundcard also for altec lansing atp3 ??? is there anychance of duplicacy in creative sound cards ?