# a review of speakers and tv tuners



## vivekbabbudelhi (Jul 19, 2007)

I’m writing a small review of some pc peripherals ….

  I had decided to phase out Sony wega 21” crt tv  from my bedroom………. ohh…….crts give a hell of a x-ray radiation so watching them from small distance is really hazardous for stretched periods…….and not to mention crts sold in INDIA  don’t give a damn to emission standards……even they do claim it or not……..so. Avoid watching crt TVs from close distance for extended time & sure avoid pc crt monitors if u can….they are damn x-ray guns…………. A little short of linear accelerators…….

  Ok coming to topic…..
  I bought  dell 22” E228WFP 1680x1050 TN panel (im awaiting its delivery ) for using it as a tv for bedroom…so I wanted a set of speakers to complement it……

  Speakers ….earlier I was tempted for z-5300/x-10 but did a reality check……do we really need floor pounding bass for  watching star world or axn………sure no no no …….so decided for x-530 and went to Nehru place on 14 july

  I went to cost to cost,computer empire,rr oh none of them had x-530 s ……so decided for creative t6060 but even that was not available in market so I directly went to creative distributor of Nehru place….

  Multilink computers…24,2nd floor, 13, Deepak building, Nehru place


  I bought creative inspire t 6060 for 4400 rs……..next I wanted a soundcard…………I enquired for creative audigy 2 zs & audigy 2 value….he told me that both these cards have been discontinued…….he had live 24 bit for rs 925 & audigy value for rs 1400 and next he had m-audio card (I don’t remember model) for rs 4000….i had not done my homework for m audio so bought audigy  value for rs 1400……….


  Next I wanted another tv tuner for pc….so bought leadtek winfast tv 2000 xp global for rs 2500 from

  Top notch infotronix …..basement b-1/2 , shakuntla building, 59, Nehru place(actually this shop has shifted to nearby building 1or 2 days before….err didn’t cared to note its address…this address is from bill…) 


  Now I compare speakers

  ALTEC LANSING MX-5021 VS CREATIVE INSPIRE T6060 
  Although this comparison is weird considering price difference between them but I remember a guy on this very forum called me a fool to buy mx-5021 so to clear his doubts I doing this crazy thing…………. 

  Im caring to post pics as I was afraid people wont believe me…..
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  Test setup p4 1.7 ,845ge,640mb ram, audigy  value sound card… players creative media source & intervideo windvd 7..syncmaster 940bw

  Test files:

  1.uncompressed audio track akon feat snoop dogg-I wanna love u(this tracks LFE can beat the crap out of any speaker)
  2. uncompressed audio track- Timbaland Feat. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake - Give It To Me ...(its thumps they show deepness in bass..oh capability of subwoofer
   3. uncompressed audio track chalo tumko lekar chale from movie jism(due its clear mids)
  4.5.1 Dolby digital  encoded  DVD video movie umraoojaan(clarity in mids ) 

  Results:
  1.t6060 completely lost floor pounding bass…..mx5021 was rocking my window glasses……t6060 sucked tooooo… badly in this test
  2. t6060 lacked punch in thumps….owing to its weak & small subwoofer…again mx5021 reproduced amazing thumps 
  3. . t6060 mids were good and clear….
  4 t6060. mids were pretty good 

  My opinion:
   CREATIVE INSPIRE T6060 5.1 lack punch in bass ….when I cranked bass to max subwoofer became bloomy & it seamed  that it’s like a barking dog ………though mids are good reproduced………so bottom-line is T6060  are not good for music  ……they are pretty good for casual tv watching or *Hindi* DVD videos ………..

  Whereas ALTEC LANSING MX-5021 are stellar performers for music & their clarity  & their depth in bass is amazing…..amazing……at a very affordable price to say the least………..ohh after hearing them u would find all inspires just reproduce horse sh#it…….

  Any other pc speakers better than mx5021@8k or near them in sound reproduction are klipsh promedia gmx a-2.1 @12k or Logitech z-5500d @26-28k………….so better value for money?????



  Tv tuners 
  COMPRO VIDEOMATE TV GOLD PLUS 2 VS LEADTEK WINFAST TV 2000 XP GLOBAL

  I bought Compro videomate tv gold plus 2 in may 07 for rs 3200 from that same Multilink computers



  Compro videomate gold plus 2 is 9 bit Philips saa7134hl chip based whereas winfast tv 2000 xp global is a 10 bit conexant cx23883 based solution 

  winfast tv 2000 xp global does not produces any sort of horizontal bands (noise)which Compro videomate gold plus 2 produces credit to winfast’s  10bit chip

  compros latest pvr application COMPRO DTV 3  has support for 16:10 monitors ….i haven’t downloaded latest winfast pvr so cant say about that now…….but compro has much better pvr application than earlier winfast pvr…..and compros bundle of software is pretty good…………but picture quality of winfast tv 2000 xp global is better than Compro videomate gold plus 2 

  compros remote control is the the best in terms of ergonomics & functionality …..winfasts is a dumb….



  at last my new tv+pvr+dvd player for bedroom is 

  dell 22” E228WFP 1680x1050 TN panel + CREATIVE INSPIRE 5.1 T6060+soundblaster audigy  value + Compro videomate tv gold plus 2 + P4 1.7ghz williamate with 845ge mobo+640mb ram+160gb WD 7200rpm hdd +sony dvd rw +sony cdr 

  would perhaps get dth to enjoy that…….


  Next my working desktop is 

  Athlon64 3000+  with geforce 6150/nforce 430 mobo +1 gb ddr400 +2 Seagate sata2 80gb in raid 0 +Samsung pata 40gb +19”Samsung syncmaster 940bw+ winfast tv 2000 xp global+ soundblaster audigy 2  value + alteclansing mx5021+ liteon combo + Sony DVD rw

  Would post for dell e228wfp once its delivered to me…perhaps would be delivered by mid of next week


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## vivekbabbudelhi (Jul 19, 2007)

more pics

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## goobimama (Jul 20, 2007)

For what its worth, please organise your review for better readability. those....dots.....can..get a bit tedious to go through.

Anyway, apart from acting like I a papa, I would say that you are right about those creatives. That entire inspire lineup is crapped out.

The Altecs are good for their price, but if I would go for a 2.1, it would be the Klipsch Promedia 2.1 (around 11.5k) or the Logitech Z2300 (10.5k). I prefer the Klipsch GMX to the Altecs though.

Any thoughts on getting a universal remote?


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## vish786 (Jul 20, 2007)

good review , deserves appreciation.*www.smileycons.com/img/emotions/88.gif


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## sabret00the (Jul 20, 2007)

very definitive review......


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## vivekbabbudelhi (Jul 20, 2007)

goobimama said:
			
		

> The Altecs are good for their price, but if I would go for a 2.1, it would be the Klipsch Promedia 2.1 (around 11.5k) or the Logitech Z2300 (10.5k). I prefer the Klipsch GMX to the Altecs though.



Klipsch Promedia 2.1  are better than mx5021 .....yeah bass is more tight and deeper and is really amazing for its size of subwoofer but here logitech z2300 are really not too good in bass reproduction(i mean variety of sound  spectrum) though they are louder same is the case with z-5300


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## goobimama (Jul 20, 2007)

The Klipsch promedia 2.1 is a 180-200watt system and is definitely as loud as/louder than the Z2300. But if the Z2300s bass is anything like the Z5500, then I'd like to get one of those! Cnet did give it an 8.2 though they are biased sometimes.

Anyway, if in case you were confused, I wasn't talking about the Promedia GMX series here.


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## ..:: Free Radical ::.. (Jul 20, 2007)

^ I would have really liked the review if you had used foobar2000 for playing your music. Creative MediaSource uses optimizations for the soundcards (do tell us whether you were using EAX, resampling, bass redirection etc.) They can have variable effects on different speakers. I'd advise you to use fb2k with the ASIO plugin to test the speakers before you install that buggy mediasource app.


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## vivekbabbudelhi (Jul 20, 2007)

yeah dude i was too talking about gmx 2.1 here(i have mentioned cost@12k), promedia 2.1 is a killer set but dont know abt its availability in india

gmx 2.1 is much better than z2300 and as far as i know z2300 are no where near z5500 in terms of sound spectrum reproduction

test was with cmss3d surround enabled in cmss mode with stereo focus at 0%, audio at 96kHz /24 bit,bass redirection turned off

and more once i even tried audioburst fx with winamp with acoustic effects with sampling at 96/24 but i really didnt liked that....


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## goobimama (Jul 20, 2007)

Oh, well, the promedia 2.1 is available for somewhere 12k. I was getting the GMX (crappy IMHO) for 9.5k. My decision is between the Logitech Z2300 and promedia 2.1, though I might suddenly swing over to the altecs....


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## vivekbabbudelhi (Jul 21, 2007)

omg i did a boo boo....actually at that time i was in office  & didnt went through posts carefully.....

anyways im shocked to find gmx 2.1 @9.5k and glad to find promedia 2.1 @12k, can u further mention for prices i.e when & where

biggest problem for comparing speakers is  lack of standard tests(for cpus,gpus we have number games),second no dealer atleast in delhi is ready to give u even a demo  so we have to depend upon  reviews done by others for that

according to my knowledge best well known pc speakers in order are z5500 or promedia 2.1 > gmx2.1 > mx5021 > artis x-10  > z5300
and this is in terms of wide spectrum of sound reproduction capability

as far as i know z 2300 are loud but  have unbalanced bass (in terms of spectrum of sound reproduction)


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## goobimama (Jul 21, 2007)

Ah. Then I'm glad I got the best! (Z5500)


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## suave_guy (Aug 4, 2007)

well comparing altec with klipsch always reminds me of comparing a merc with a bmw...both have their own strong points yet they are being compared for being of the same price range and brand equity....however we should realize that they both cater to different kind of customer tastes & needs...
merc is seen more as a luxurious and refined car whereas bmw is seen more of a stylish and powerful car...
same is with klipsch and altec...klipsch promedia though has better bass than mx-5021 but it looses out in midrange clarity...the mx-5021 delivers a better overall sound quality specially while watching dvds...
finally it wud be fitting to say that sound quality is subjective....so what may sound good to me might sound just average to someone else..thats why its really important to have a demo of the speakers ur interested in before finalizing them...
for the record....i own two sets from altec, ATP 5 and mx-5021 so pardon me if i've sound biased...


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