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Peripherals Best Speakers For PC Audiophile?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Tele1952, 26 Dec 2010.

  1. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    Hello there, hope you all had a cracking Christmas. I got a fair amount money, mostly from my bonus and I really want to spend it on a bloody decent speaker set for my computer.

    I'll use them mostly for music of course, and also for some quality gaming time!

    However, it's proving rather hard to find any decent, trustworthy sites which have tested them all. I'd love to hear your suggestion and opinions.

    I've checked out the Bowers and Wilkins MM-1 which seems to have got a pretty high score.
    Or are there cheaper ones with better sound quality?

    I'm using at the moment quite an old version of the 'Bose Companion® 2 multimedia speaker system', is Bose still any good?

    My limit is £500 pounds.

    Thanks in advance!

    Timmy
     
  2. Smilodon

    Smilodon The Antagonist

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    Depends on what you want, really.

    Active studio monitors are pretty nice to use as computer speakers, but some find the sound to be a bit too harsh for listening. Personally I have a pair of KRK RG5's. Not the best out there, but better than any PC speakers I have listened to.

    Another option is to use bookshelf speakers and a proper amp, but that could get a bit expensive.
     
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  3. bagman

    bagman Minimodder

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    i would go to what hi-fi and check out a few reviews there and are you looking for book shelf speakers or floor standing?
     
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  4. Cleggmeister

    Cleggmeister Of reasonable knowledge...

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    Good call, adding a good audio stage is a great investment. Ignore the hifi mags as they give good reviews to the brand that spends on advertising. Do you have a reputable local hifi specialist? They can help maybe if you want a stereo amp and speakers. If you want a dedicated computer rig you're likely best on sites like this one.

    Let me know where you're based, I work in the hifi industry and might be able to recommend someone that can help.
     
    Tele1952 likes this.
  5. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks for swift input guys, I love this fricking site!

    Bagman: I'm really not too sure, probably book shelf speakers as my room isn't the biggest of places!

    Clegg: I've always liked Richersounds, would you recommend them? I'm based in Fulham, London, I came here to get help to build my rig about a year ago, damn good suggestions.

    Regards

    Tim

    |P6T Deluxe V2|Intel i7 920|6gb corsair ram| 1TB WD 32mb|Dell 2209WA 22"|
    |Sapph ATI 5850|Win 7 64bit|CM storm scout|
     
  6. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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  7. bigkingfun

    bigkingfun Tinkering addict

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    [​IMG]
    These are brilliant for movies and games. Personally I don't like a SW when listening to music.
    ~£115 on amazon

    If you have £500 to spend I recommend you getting a proper stereo setup, along with a decent DAC.
    I have: PC --> Asus Xonar Essence --> NAD C355BEE --> 4 x B&O stereo speakers which will wipe out any logitech setup in games, movies and music.

    I recommend you find a hifi store where you can hear a system before paying for it.

    How do you store you music? MP3s or CDs ?
     
    Last edited: 27 Dec 2010
  8. Cleggmeister

    Cleggmeister Of reasonable knowledge...

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    No worries. I'd consider a decent sound card first as no amp or speakers can improve a bad source signal. Once done you need to choose whether you want stereo or 5.1.

    If I was shopping for stereo with your budget I'd then head to Superfi in London, they're more geared up for audio than Richer Sounds, who now mainly specialize in end of line screens.

    If you want to make your PC the heart of a music system too (and stretch your budget), you could look for some trade in or ex demo Linn, maybe the Linn Classik (2 channel) or Classik Movie (5.1) with Kan or Katan speakers. Well worth the extra few hundred pounds.
     
  9. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    bigkingfun: Those looks pretty insane, and I love a good SW! Why is there a need for the NAD C355BEE? What exactly does it do? I'm a bit of an amateur and still don't fully understand what I'm dealing with. Mainly MP3's.

    Cleeg: Are there any more central shops you could recommend I visit? King's Road, Central London perhaps, the bigger the better I suppose. Linn looks mighty fine! Could you explain to me why I'll need a Linn Classik if I'm just using it for my computer? :s forgive my ignorance!

    and my P6T Deluxe V2 supposedly has a 7.1 surround, do I need to get a sound card?

    Thanks

    Timmy
     
  10. Cleggmeister

    Cleggmeister Of reasonable knowledge...

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    If you want quality then you'll need a good sound card. The onboard processing is passable but there's no point spending much cash on a good amp and speakers if you're using it. My PC runs a cheap Audigy sound card but I just feed a cheap Creative 2.1 amp/speakers. It's ok for occasional games and whatnot, poor for music and much else.

    Best decide if you want stereo or surround first, then we can chime in with suggestions.

    My dream is to put a great card in the PC, then feed it into my Aktiv Linn system. Ubercheesecake!
     
  11. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    Ah I see, what do you think of ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1, PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium or M-Audio Audiophile 2496 MIDI Digital Recording Interface? Is there a more suitable one?

    I think I'll stick with stereo speakers since I mainly listen to mp3's and CD's.

    So can I plug most speakers directly into the 'decent' sound card I will get? Or will I need some sort of interface like you mentioned the Linn Classik?

    Sorry for all these bloody annoying questions, I just really want a fricking good sound system going!
     
  12. Cleggmeister

    Cleggmeister Of reasonable knowledge...

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    You're nearly there! All of those cards are good, then you'll need a decent amp to drive your speakers. You can't just plug a pair of stereo speakers into the sound card.

    Linn Classik is an amp, tuner and cd player in one box. Or you could just spend £250 on an amp and £150 on speakers. Job done, but you'll get a better deal buying from a trusted eBay seller than new from Richersounds.

    I'll post some suggestions tomorrow.
     
  13. infekted.one

    infekted.one What's a Dremel?

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    Richer sounds are budget retailers
    Selling generic rebrands and factory seconds eg wharfdale and cambridge audio

    +1
    Get a better sound card first .


    If its music your into you want to stop using mp3
    And start converting your cda to a higher bitrate file eg .ogg files or just keeping them as cda,s as mp3 although good for file size lose lots of quality in compression
     
  14. Smilodon

    Smilodon The Antagonist

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    One thing to be aware of is that if you ever plan on doing any recording or music production you should stay well clear of the Asus Xonar STX and probably the X-fi series as well (You should stay clear of any Creative product anyway). The input/output latency on those cards are horrible. I had a Xonar STX and had to get rid of it because of this.
     
  15. bagman

    bagman Minimodder

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  16. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    Sweet! I think I'm gonna go for the ASUS Xonar Essence STX, looks spanktastic!

    Yeah half of my music is in .ogg but I shall do that from now on infekted thanks!

    Yeah I think Linn is slightly out of my league. So what amp (pre-amp/power amp? I'm not entirely sure if both are needed?) would you guys recommend for around £250?

    Regards

    Timmy
     
  17. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    bagman, why is a sound card not needed? what happens if I want to get the best stereo sound out of my headphones? Do I plug them in the amp and then the computer?! God I'm getting confused
     
  18. bagman

    bagman Minimodder

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    if you have a good amp you won't need a good sound card as the amp will do everything the sound card does but better so all you need to do is plug the amp to the computer and when you want to listen to music with headphones is just plug the headphones into the amp

    edit: for example i have a asus xonar dx and it is very good but it can't compare to my 8 year old 7.1 amplifier
    i did this test with the same head phones and my amplifier sounds a lot better than my asus xonar dx and i have tweaked my sound card using the equaliser but it still is not able to get close to the same standard
     
    Last edited: 27 Dec 2010
  19. its

    its What's a Dremel?

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    You won't regret buying some KRK G2 RP5/RP6. Fantastic sounding monitors.
     
  20. abezors

    abezors Lurking since '08

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    If it is mainly music, stick with stereo as 5.1 is mainly for movies and games. You'd get a lot more for the same money with a decent stereo set vs cheap surround.


    Personally I am looking at these active monitors (as someone else also suggested above):
    Edirol MA15D
    M-Audio AV40
    Alesis M1
     

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