Best 2.1 Speaker Systems

With surround sound being the buzzword for speakers today, most of us are fascinated by 5.1 channel speakers systems. But there are a large number of us who mostly use their computer speakers to listen to music. And for that a 2.1 speaker system would easily suffice. A 5.1 channel system would be more apt for watching movies or playing games.

The '2' in 2.1 signifies two independent channels of music and '1' is for the independent low frequency channel for the subwoofer. By independent channels we mean— according to how the music is recorded and later processed, you could have a different sound playing in either speaker, from the same soundtrack of course (remember how in some audio tracks, the sound moves from left to right). The lower frequencies of sound (the thumping bass) are best reproduced by a woofer and are specifically sent to it.

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The bottom line here is that a 2.1 speaker set is good enough for music and just for that we have picked three of the best 2.1 speaker systems. All three are meet the rigorous performance standards of THX specifications. But before you go out and buy them, remember to get a good sound card too. You can keep the lower limit at Creative's 7.1 Live! at Rs. 1700. Let’s check them out.

Altec Lansing MX5021 (Rs. 7,500)

The MX 5021 costs around Rs. 7,500 offers the best value for money amongst the three. The towering glossy black satellites with silver drivers give a classy and expensive look. In fact we recommend mounting them on the wall instead of placing it next to your monitor. But, they still look good on the desk and to avoid interference, they are magnetically shielded. They are also the only ones that offer an IR remote. The sound reproduction is very accurate and we love their mid-range speakers. Though the bass is also very accurate and tight, it lacks the depth in sound tracks with heavy bass. Don’t take it too badly though, the bass is still very good. The satellites are powered at 20 watts RMS each and the woofer at 60 watts.

The control pod also lets you adjust treble along with bass and volume as compared to only volume and bass with the other two speaker systems.

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Klipsch GMX-A (Rs. 10,500)

Klipsch recently debuted as an audio brand in India. Back in the US, it is well known for making high end home audio systems and THX certified cinema systems. The introduction would have eliminated your apprehensions about the brand and after listening to their speakers, you sure would want to carry them back home. We are looking at Klipsch’s 2.1 speaker system, the GMX-A. The satellites are rated at 14 Watts each and the woofer is rated to output 50 Watts. All the ratings are in RMS. They are designed to accept a wide variety of inputs and can be connected to your PC as well as your television or your Mp3 player.

The sound quality is exceptional and the Klipsch 2.1 GMX A is definitely one of the best 2.1 speaker system we have ever heard. In fact we find it even better than our long time favorite 2.1 speaker system, the Altec Lansing MX-5021

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Logitech Z-2300 (Rs. 9,500)

Logitech is a very well known and popular brand when it comes to PC speakers. Their Z-5500 was very popular with those interested in buying a powerful 5.1 system. The Z-2300 in contention here, has the most powerful specs (almost double) of the above three. The subwoofer is rated at a massive 120 Watts RMS with the satellites at 40 watts RMS each. Incidentally, it has the smallest satellites among the rest.

The sound quality is exceptional, especially the mids and high. With its powerful specs it can really pump up the volume and even at the maximum level there is no distortion.