Sound system

I was thinking of getting Creative Lab\'s Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Theater 3500-5.1 for my pc, because i heard you can easily hook it up to your ps2 also. But my concern is that i read on some sites that the subwoofer is 30 RMS Watts, and I am thinking thats pretty low. I am not a techy persion when it comes to speakers but im pretty sure i have seen subwoofers with like 400watts. Is there something i am not seeing right? Or is this just a bad system? I want something that can play loud but then again i live in an apartment so it doesnt matter if it doesnt go TOO loud.

Can some one explain to me what Watts are and if the watts this system offer is not good. Also if any one has the system can they tell me if its good or not.

Thanks in advance

I have the Cambridge Soundworks PLayworks DTT 2500 Digital that has dolby 5.1 and it sounds great...it has optical input....digital coax in for your Digital cable...even has SPDIF in........




:hat:ScottyJ:hat:

Okay, first of all watts are a value of electrical power obtained by multiplying the voltage by the amperage in a circuit.  As far as speakers go, this value can be misleading for a couple reasons.

1.  Speaker power ratings are generally listed two different ways, one being maximum power capacity (which is probably the case with the 400 watt speaker you mentioned) and what is generally called RMS.  Now, RMS is a misunderstood thing.  Usually when someone mentions it they mean the average operating power range of the speaker.  This isn\'t quite right though.  RMS is really an abbreviation for the words Root Mean Square.  This amounts to the square root average of a group of squared numbers, which (as applicable to speakers) are used to calculate the average or apparent power range of the speaker in question.  Suffice it to say that this is what is meant and RMS values are not meant to reflect the total power capacity the speaker can handle.  It\'s possible then, for a 400 watt speaker to run on an average of 30 watts under normal use.

Okay, now that we\'ve gone over that whole power thing, let\'s move on to how and why that\'s not what\'s really important by itself.

2.  Speaker sensitivity:  The standard is to apply one watt and measure the sound pressure level (SPL) at a distance of one meter.  Different speakers have a different sensitivities, and a more efficient speaker can produce an SPL greater than a less efficient speaker using the same signal strength.  Keeping this in mind, it is easy to imagine a 100 watt speaker that is capable of reaching greater SPL readings than a 400 watt speaker if it is more efficient.

So when you go shopping for speakers you have to determine how much power you need as determined by the size of your listening area, then purchase your speakers accordingly, keeping into consideration the sensitivity, frequency response and even resistance of that speaker.  If a speaker is capable of producing 95 dB at 1 meter with 1 watt, it\'s concievable that producing 105 dB will only take 10 watts, and then 115 dB with 100 watts.

Simply put:  Bigger is not always better since at some point the larger speakers become cost prohibitive, especially considering your application.

[videoholic]

The size of the room like Dolbytone said makes a very big difference.  A lot of those PC systems are designed to be low wattage because they are sitting there right under your desk at your feet.  You don\'t want it to be gut wrenchingly deep.  The subs that are 150-1000+ are designed for your home theater.  Heck, mine is a long way from my listening position.

It really depends on what you want.  Can you listen to it first?  That\'s always important.  Or at least do you have the option to send it back if it\'s not what you want.

I have DTT-3500 and what can I say, its agreat sytem for that kind of money, I never play it on max volume. I highly recomend this sytem.
Go and listen to the system and you wil lknow that your PS2 and this system is a perfect couple, you can even stand the amplifier vertical just like my PS2. They look nice together.

Make sure and put the woofer low(on the floor if possible) and in a corner.  If the woofer has ports, face them towards the wall.  The more times the sound bounce, the more it intisifies. If this is RMS wattage, the max is probably 75 watts or so.  But take into mind, the higher the wattage you push, the greater the distortion rating will be.