Great 5.1 Speakers for an HTPC

I got these speakers to use as part of a home theater pc (HTPC) setup. I was looking for an easy way to get pretty high quality sound without investing in a a receiver. I already have an Audigy 2 ZS Platinum running in my HTPC, which can decode dts and dolby and output 5.1 sound.

The features that made me choose this speaker set were the wireless rear speakers and the wireless remote control.

Rear Speaker Configuration
The wireless rear speakers work through a transmitter and receiver system. The speakers themselves are not wireless, but are connected using regular speaker wire to the rear speaker receiver. The transmitter is integrated into the same unit that houses the controls for volume and settings, remote receiver, headphone output and auxiliary input. The rear speaker receiver is a fairly small unit that receives a 2.4GHz signal, into which the speaker wires for the rear speakers are connected. The rear speaker receiver must be plugged into an outlet--it is not wirelessly powered. It's main convenience is that it avoids running wires across your room. The room in which I installed the speakers is 15 ft. across and the rear speakers signal is very clean.

Sound Quality
Sound quality is great. The speakers feature an "upmix" mode which remixes a stereo input to provide a more spacious sounding 5.1 output. I find that this feature really does add a lot when playing music over the speakers. I use media center to play my dvds, and the quality and surround sound immersion are excellent. The subwoofer is quite powerful, more than enough for my smallish apartment.

Remote Features
The wireless remote let you control volume, adjust the bass and treble levels as well as the center and rear speaker volumes relative to the overall output, which lets you tune the sound to your tastes. The wireless remote also allows you to enable the upmix mode, the mp3 mode and the wireless headphone mode. In the mp3 mode, the remote can control Creative brand mp3 players, letting you skip and pause songs, etc.

Extra Features
In the wireless headphone mode, the transmitter unit sends its audio signal to certain compatible Creative brand wireless headphones and mutes the output to the speakers. This could be a cool feature, but one I haven't tried since I don't own Creative wireless headphones.

Features I Really Liked
The speakers themselves are connected using regular speaker wire, so it is easy to place the speakers in the optimal locations for your room. Since you're using regular speaker wire, you can just go out and buy the type that suits your needs. The bundled speaker wires are fairly short and black. I needed white wire of much greater lengths. Other speaker sets I have owned used proprietary connections which made it difficult to place the speakers properly and have enough wire length to effectively hide them from view. This was a huge plus.

The speakers also feature keyhole and M5x20 standard mounting holes. This lets you mount the speakers on optional stands or on your wall. You can either use the keyhole mounts and used the included hardware or buy third party speaker mounts which let you aim the speakers properly. I installed the speakers using a set of third party mounts and the end result is a really clean looking installation with great surround acoustics.

Cons
The speaker set does lack a digital input, but that didn't bother me because I was planning on using the speakers with my Audigy 2 ZS, which can feed the speakers just fine using analog connections, but this may be a drawback if you require digital input.

Conclusion
Overall, I am very satisfied with the speakers. They fill the role of htpc speakers for a medium-sized room quite well.