Too Bad they Don't Sound as Good as they Look

When I purchased my new PC, I (as a music lover and audiophile) needed to purchase a new set of speakers because the ones that were included with the PC sound no better than a clock radio. I ventured into the "Rat Shack" and found this 2.1 speaker set on clearance for $30 that included 68 watts of output power and an 8 inch sub. I thought it was mispriced (or it was too good to be true). I went ahead and purchased the CA-3550 from Cyber Acoustics and brought them home to my new PC.
These speakers are awesome looking: flat panel satellites and a sub with a big 8" driver and a dual port design. My thinking was loud, deep bass and had hoped the satellites would keep up as I was hooking it up to my PC (which was easy enough).
Let me tell you, looks can be very deceiving! The system played loud enough (yes, the sats can keep up) but the bass was extremely muddy and high pitched for such a large driver. In fact, the sub sounded alot like a Altec Lansing sub I used from a previous set on my old PC. It was only a 4 inch sub! I tried using every EQ and sound enhancement in my PC (software EQ's, sound card EQ, SRS TruBass, and DFX) and I could not get the sub to sound good. The satellites were okay but the highs were lacking a bit without EQ. Now, the system could play at very loud volumes but why would you want bad sound that loud!
As an alternative in the under $50 bracket, I would recommend the Logitech X-230 system (a review on it coming soon but the other reviews give you an idea). The Logitech is in another league with incredible deep, clean bass coming from a much smaller sub. It's smaller, better sounding and even better looking than the CA-3350 system. Always remember, bigger doesn't always mean better.