Does Creative's speaker designers fail to realize that their Sound cards come with an optical out port so why no optical in on these seems kind of pointless these days to not have one I mean even lowly onboard Audio has optical out @masterboy stick with the Logitechs they're pretty good and hard to beat at the price

vonSternberg:

So it's good for listening to .mp3s but not for listening to .flac is what I got out of this.

That is a fairly good analogy. People who download FLACS are more audiophile, MP3 users perhaps a demand a little less. The speaker kit is not at all high-end, but mainstream. It sounds decent for the money, but do not expect that premium sound.

A license key for a software mixer that works only with those speakers.....

Sounds perfect for laptops...

As always with budget 2.1 speakers.. don't buy them 😀 It's better to get a pair of Creative T20's or T40's without a sub, they sound way better (especially quality of sound wise) and don't compromise to have a very cheap sub to go with it. The only 2.1 sets I'd reccomend are the ones no longer on sale - and even those weren't perfect but decent, like the Logitech Z2200 or z2300's, Klipsch Promedia 2.1. If you really enjoy your sound, try and stretch your budget slightly and get an external dac (there are a ton of cheap ones out there that will do a fine job, even the ones from eBay), and some nice budget speakers like Cambridge S30's (If you can still find them somewhere.. lol). This kind of setup can be bought anywhere from really cheap (100-150 euro's) to something extremely audiophile and insanely expensive (like a 5k costing dac and a pair of stereo speakers costing 15k+ lol). It's *nearly* always better then whatever you buy of the shelf from any of the audio companies that make budget 2.1 sets, even the cheapest stuff you can find.

Computer speakers have never sounded good to me, even at 3 or 4 times the price of this kit. Hi-fi gear for home audio is the way to go if you want decent sound and have the space/budget.

An entry level amplifier with a decent set of cans is more than enough for nearly anyone bar the most discerning listeners. Don't waste your time on PC speakers.

alanm:

Computer speakers have never sounded good to me, even at 3 or 4 times the price of this kit. Hi-fi gear for home audio is the way to go if you want decent sound and have the space/budget.

Computer speakers sounded good on the Amstrad, but that only just had Stereo sound 😉 +1 for Buying an AMP and a couple of Good speakers. They will follow you around for most of your life, and won't need replacing almost ever. Nowadays you can get a cheap A/V Amp that does all the decoding DTS-HD, TrueHD, DTS-X, Atmos,...HDMI to it and you're golden.

mackintosh:

An entry level amplifier with a decent set of cans is more than enough for nearly anyone bar the most discerning listeners. Don't waste your time on PC speakers.

Not everyone wants a set of cans though. Some of us prefer a decent set of speakers... The only time I really listen to music at home is when I'm doing chores around the house. Rather hard to work in various rooms or on a different floor entirely with a pair of headphones on that are directly connected to my PC by a cable...

sykozis:

Not everyone wants a set of cans though. Some of us prefer a decent set of speakers... The only time I really listen to music at home is when I'm doing chores around the house. Rather hard to work in various rooms or on a different floor entirely with a pair of headphones on that are directly connected to my PC by a cable...

That's fair enough, but good quality speakers aren't terribly expensive either. I have a pair of JBL ES30s and an old Samsung subwoofer leftover from an ancient hifi that I run through an old Denon AVR-1911, they're more than enough. That kind of a setup can be had for very little second hand. I can honestly say I can hardly hear any difference between that configuration and a much more expensive rig I use in my living room as far as speakers are concerned. Now, when I plug in a pair of HD650s into it, there is a difference... but that's a whole different ball game.

I haven't priced speakers in quite a while. I'm perfectly happy with my Logitech Z313s... I didn't pay a whole lot for them and sure, they don't sound as good as my headphones but they sound good enough at the volume I keep them at.

In my experience, any of the Logitech series are going to be better across the board than the Creative offerings. I mean you can get the full 5.1 Logitech Z506 for $61 at Amazon so that's 5.1 for the less than the price of 2.1...and they sound far better, IMHO. This is only for computer use, however. Though it's pretty damn loud and robust for movies, etc. you'd want something like a proper amp and speakers setup for you big screen home TV rig.

sykozis:

The only time I really listen to music at home is when I'm doing chores around the house. Rather hard to work in various rooms or on a different floor entirely with a pair of headphones on that are directly connected to my PC by a cable...

For when you're wearing your pinny and doing chores around the house, headphones and a digital audio player would be your best bet 😉

ChisChas:

For when you're wearing your pinny and doing chores around the house, headphones and a digital audio player would be your best bet 😉

Why? My Logitech Z313's get loud enough to hear through my entire house just fine. I mean, I live alone for the most part so the volume doesn't bother anyone.