best computer/shelf system for $300 at best buy?
 

A friend of mine wisely returned a bose sounddock she received for xmas to bestbuy and is looking for a pair of computer speakers for ~$300. The speakers have to come from best buy since she has store credit there. As many of you know, I am an elitist SOB and therefore know nothing of systems at this price point. I would be very grateful for any reccomendations.

Thanks!

My recommendation is she give the credit to me so that I may get another Sony 400-disc changer. Send her my mailing address, yo.

nah - you'd probably just blow the money on DVDs

Buy the speakers on eBay and spend $300 on DVDs. :D

It hurts because it's true. :(

Klipsch.

Or Cambridge if they have it, didn't see them online though. Cambridge basically started making small speakers for computers/HT to show that you could make them the same size as Bose for half the MSRP and MUCH better sound. She can have my old stereo set for $50 and shipping, originally $150-180. Haven't needed them in years.

Spiky (and others),

I went to Best Buy tonight with my friend to pick up the Klipsch speakers. There was something wrong with the switcher for the computer speakers, so I asked an employee if there was anything we could do to listen to them before she bought them. After claiming there was nothing he could do, he finally agreed to hook them up to a computer. The computer, of course, had no music on it and could only play a Best Buy commercial. I asked for a CD, and he said that they're weren't any in the store but I could go buy one if I wanted to. All this time the speakers were on the floor at our feet. I bent over and starting undoing the twisty-ties to move them to the ledge and he told me to stop. I told him I would put them back when we were done, but he said I couldn't do that because a kid tied a twisty-tie around his finger and best buy got sued. Riight. At any rate, I finally got the speakers to ear level, and (given the source material) they sounded pretty good.

The dude then told my friend that the Klipsch speakers were only good for rap music and that she should buy the Altec Lansing set. We listened to those, and I wasn't impressed. He started making misstatements of fact, like "the Klipsch have a higher db rating so their sound waves cancel each other out." Um, last I checked, speaker sensitivity has NOTHING to do with phase problems. He then asked me what kind of gear I have at home. Actually, he asked me what the metalurgical composition of the magnets in my speakers was. I gave him a brief run down of my gear (Krell, paradigm reference, perpetual tech, esicent, sony es, denon, etc - just enough to make it clear that my system is worth more than his yearly salary). He then turned to my friend and said "what he just said, that' just money - I actually know stuff about speakers because I'm an engineer." In a very rare moment of restrainst on my part, we walked away.

Whew. Sorry for the rant. I am going to call some other best buys tomorrow to see if any of them carry Cambridge, but otherwise I think she'll go with the Klipsch.

Wow. You actually SPOKE to blue shirts? Not sure how that can ever be a good idea. Last time I tried that I was looking for a DVD. And they did find the DVD area, can't rip on them too much, I guess.

Always bring your own discs to test. Even to the high-end stores. Wrap a twistie around your finger to remind you. ;)

(what is the metalurgical composition of those Altec Lansing, btw?)

I spoke with the manager at best buy this morning and recounted the affair. He was livid and very apologetic. He said if he had been there last night he would have fired the guy on the spot. He apologized profusely and promised to "take care of it."

I wish I had asked for the manager last night - it would have been very rewarding to see him fired on the spot.

Just to confirm, the Klipsch sub/sat (~$150) is the way to go, not the jank A/L (~90) :)

The Klipsch are definitely the way to go.

Sometimes I wish I could get a salesman like that. I remember a CC guy back in the day telling me there was no such thing as a stand alone DTS decoder.

Klipsch makes the best computer speakers out there right now. I'm planning on replacing my Monsoon MM-2000's (the best computer speakers ever if only the subs didn't die :() with a pair. The Altec Lansings probably aren't bad, but you shouldn't have any hesitation about going with the Klipsch. Great sound and classy looks.

I really wish that I had informed the manager right away and gotten him fired. It was, although amusing, totally out of line. Not knowing anything about technology is one thing, but being rude to a customer is quite another.