New Speakers

I want new speakers, and I want to make the jump to 5.1. I don't know anything about speakers or what any of the numbers mean, so I'm just going to look around and post links.

How are these? This, to me feels suspicious, but I don't know why. Are they low quality or something?

Any help would be appreciated.

$20 seems pretty cheap, especially for 5.1 speakers. I've been using these speakers on various computers and I love them. They're 2.1 but they're a great buy.

I would be fairly suspicious of a $20 set of 5.1 speakers.  There is a fair amount of components that go into making a speaker system.  First there are the drivers (the discs that make the noise), then there is the driver assembly with coils and magnets, then the integrated amplifier that drives all of the speakers, and finally the housing that holds everything together.  I doubt that the $20 cost would cover the materials to make the system, so this is either a really old system that someone is reselling, they fell off the back of a truck, or its a scam.

When I switched to 5.1 audio I bought the older version of this logitech bundle
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7951139&type=product&id=1152836586066
and I am really happy with them.  It is important in audio systems that all of the components are of equal quality.  You don't need to spend a life's saving on parts, but the best speakers in the world will sound like junk when played with a cheap audio card and vise versa.  I also have a Altec Lansing 2.1 bundle that I have been using trouble free at work for years.  Great sound out of both and would recommend either manufacturer.

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I have these speakers, I love them.

Now the question is, what will be the main use for these speakers? If it's music, you would be better off getting higher quality 2.1 speakers than 5.1 surround. If it's gaming/ movies, then 5.1 would be a better choice.

And don't buy those $20 speakers. It just has shit written all over it.

These are for gaming. There's a chance I'll listen to music though them, but I have good head phones if I really want quantity.

My problem with those speakers, porkchop, is that they're 100$. I was hoping to spend not quite that much.

For reference, these are the speakers I have now.

EDIT: What about 5.1 headphones? Do those actually function?

I don't know much about 5.1 set ups. But I'm very pleased with my Z4s.

Frohman is right, $20 is cheap for 5.1 speakers. I think you should save your money and buy a set of speakers from a notable manufacturer. I've never heard of MidiLand before, and while that doesn't necessarily make them bad, I've never had the best experience purchasing off-brand speakers in the past. Each time I've tried to save a little money going this route I've found that the speakers were poorly constructed, sounded bad, or died more quickly than name brand speakers.

I'm not seeing anything about these coming with any sort of power supply so I'm guessing that they're passive speakers. This means that your soundcard will be "driving" the speakers which is never good for gaming.

I recommend saving some money, or just splurging now, and get a decent set of Altec Lansing or Logitech speakers preferably with a desktop controller for power and volume. These Logitech speakers http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/speakers_audio/home_pc_speakers/devices/234&cl=us,en are what I have at home and cost $100, but they've been the best set of speakers I've ever owned. Definitely worth the money. The desktop wired remote for turning them on, off, and controlling the volume are great.

I got MidiLand speakers, stereo only mind you, but if you're looking for durability... I got them over 15 years ago, before I was born actually.

x-540 for a good midrange speaker set. about 50-70 bucks on the egg.

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I have these as well. They are fantastic.