Energy RC-10s as PC Bookshelf Speakers

I'm trying to repurpose my Energy RC-10 speakers as my PC speakers, but I'm currently in a lackluster situation with them and want to make sure that it will be worth my while to actually try and get these going or if I should sell the system and get some nearfield monitors.

This will be for gaming and music listening (rock, alternative, some jazz. no classical). If we have guests over I will have the desk in a standing position to play music.

Current Setup:

• Energy RC-10 speakers (8 ohms nominal)
• 8" Yamaha YST-SW012 subwoofer under the desk
• Realtek ALC1150 "Purity Sound" soundcard on my ASRock x99m extreme4 motherboard
• 30" x 72" sit/stand desk w/ 27" monitor
• Speakers are close to the wall behind the desk (less than 1')
• 14'x22' half-basement room with laminate flooring
• TEAC AI-301DA mini receiver (Class D amplifier, 22W into 8 ohms)

I bought the TEAC AI-301DA last week and currently have it in my system, but I feel like the whole system is "off" sounding and lacking. The mids sound lacking and muddy, and I'm having lower-end issues with the speakers and subwoofer with the bass being jarring at times.

When I emailed TEAC about the crossover frequency for the subwoofer out port the response I got was "the frequency response of the subwoofer jack is 10 Hz - 5 kHz". That didn't answer my question at all and made me think that the system isn't actually doing a crossover in the usual sense.

What I was thinking doing is returning the TEAC to amazon and getting this Dayton audio amplifier to better drive the RC-10s:

http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-apa150-150w-power-amplifier--300-812

I'd have the amplifier power the speakers, then use the built-in crossover on the Dayton for the subwoofer and to relieve the RC-10s a bit on the low end work. I have an SPL meter to help adjust the crossover level.

However, should I just toss the bookshelf/subwoofer idea altogether and get some powered monitors with decent ~5" drivers for the mid/low-end? Would putting the speakers up on short stands help, and angle them inwards towards me?

I have a feeling that room acoustics are playing a part with my issue as the tower speakers I used to have down here never sounded that great either.

I can spend up to around $400-$450 for replacement speakers. Thanks in advance.

For the price of that Dayton amp you could get a real receiver with a proper sub out and may be better off. The effects of room acoustics could be mitigated with an Audyssey (or other quality system) auto setup receiver, though that will cost more.

This could be an option. $150 and it has Pioneer's MCACC auto setup. I'm more of an Audyssey fan, but for this price...that's tough to beat.

Good point on the receiver, and I have thought about that as well. I'd have to get an audio rack for a receiver though, as I don't want that much going on on my desk. That is the nice thing about the TEAC, it is pretty unobtrusive.

Though that would give me a reason to rebuild my computer in a HTPC case, just because it would look nice . I should try and limit myself though.

As an update I grabbed a set of IsoAcoustics ISO-L8R155 speaker stands to see if I can get the height and angle adjusted better for the speakers. I'll see if that helps. I bought those instead of foam blocks or made something myself because they look nicer then what I could come up with.

It looks like I could get away with buying a wide monitor stand and getting a stereo amplifier or receiver to slip underneath the dead space so I am going to go down that path and see what I find. Only real problem is finding something that is under 5" in height to get it underneath the stand and most receivers are over 5.5".

Looks like I can get a factory refurbished Marantz NR1403 flor $269 from accessforless. 50W+50W into 8 ohms, has Audyssey Bronze (have to look that version up), and sub out at 4" height. I'll probably do optical out from my computer then into the Marantz. Still feels weird to buy a 5.1 receiver for my computer, but I'll get over it

$269 is < the $400 the TEAC cost, so I am still ahead there. If I pull the trigger I'll post an update.

That Marantz is a nice unit. Accessories4Less is a first-class operation. They're great with returns/exchanges, too.

Looks like a fine receiver. Though, instead of optical, consider an HDMI connection.

Good to hear. I've not dealt with them yet but they had good reviews too.

On a side note, I did get a response back from TEAC today; no crossover in the AI-301DA:

I'm a big fan of that Energy speaker line. I use the RC-30's with my TV setup. Not sure how they would fare as computer monitors though. Being too close to the wall would be an issue I imagine, and ideally you would probably want them 4-5 feet back from your listening position, if not more.

Hi All

I'm a huge fan of the Energy RC-10's as my SIG shows as well as the Marantz NR1403 receiver. The sound from this combination IMHO is excellent.

I'm using Energy CB-20s and the Dayton APA-150 with my PC (volume controlled by a Schiit Asgard 2). My subwoofer is a Polk model that I can't seem to remember. I've been using this setup for a couple of years and it sounds great to me. So good that I've considered buying a second Dayton so I can run them as monoblocks.

I had been using a gently used 6.1 receiver from Craigslist, but the audio quality was lacking and the headphone out sucked. The Dayton is actually a pretty decent amp, especially if you can find it on sale for $130 or so. I believe a very similar model used to be sold by Emotiva, and it's pretty likely that it's the same amp with different branding.

So are you going to use a optical connection so the reciever decodes the digital steam instead of the mb onboard audio.

TL;DR: I like the new setup better, but have PC audio issues with Windows 10. Will end up using optical unless HDMI issues can be resolved. Will post pics later.

I do have the system installed w/ the Marantz Receiver but I have not calibrated it with Audyssey yet. The intent was to use HDMI but now I am leaning towards optical unless I can get some issues resolved without workarounds. I'm pleased so far with the audio performance and having a crossover that works for stereo sound.

However, the ALC1150 on-board audio along with the not-bug-free Windows 10 operating system are pissing me off.

Half the time optical and 3.5mm jacks on the back just don't respond to anything being plugged in and won't output audio. The front 3.5mm headphone jack works fine everytime. A reboot fixes this. Sometimes. This started before the Marantz but after I had installed Windows 10 when it came out.

HDMI has periodic 1-second drop-out issues when I am playing audio; audio also likes to briefly drop out whenever the screensaver turns on. This happens in VLC, Spotify (standalone) and Spotify (web browser player). There is also has a weird two-second delay between windows telling the speakers to output audio and the audio actually playing when I try to do the speaker setup test in the Windows audio control panel. This one I'm not sure of as I have not used HDMI for audio ever. Games sound like they are in-sync with audio at least.

I'm also annoyed that HDMI audio only works when setting up the system to be dual display as the receiver is not being used for video output (I have a Catleap with a DVI-only input on it).

When the monitor goes to sleep the HDMI audio stops playing, most likely because even though I'm doing audio only windows doesn't know that and thinks it needs to put all the things that it thinks are attached to monitors asleep. The only solution I have seen so far is to turn off monitor power saving which I don't think is an acceptable workaround for me.

I don't know if the TEAC drivers I had to install are up to this dickery, or if something else is going on. I'll have to check for newer ALC1150 drivers as well. Or just buy cheap card with optical out. Still keeping the receiver though .

Does your video card have HDMI out on it? Try using that one.

That's what I'm using; I have an x99 system so no integrated graphics. This is on the 780 Ti in my signature. Sorry for the lack of clarification.

780 Ti HDMI out --> Marantz receiver HDMI in
780 Ti DL-DVI out --> Catleap monitor

My best guess is handshaking issues when the sound mode changes. I'd experiment with playback-device properties, such as setting 96KHz PCM as the only supported format.

Gotcha, I can give that a shot. Thanks!

Prehaps a good budget usb dac if you cant solve this, there are some pretty small ones old there.

I have a Turtle Beach TBS-1150-0 on the way as an alternative, which is a simple USB dongle with optical out (it was $17 used on amazon). The issue is annoying because one of the reasons I bought that motherboard was for its better on-board audio w/ headphone amp. Though I guess with the marantz it would have a headphone amplifier as well, right? And the on-board audio wouldn't matter as much since I'm not using the DAC portion anymore.

These are probably driver or software issues though so I should find resolution eventually. Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Setup pics. Still need to do some cable tidying in the back.







There is an inch gap between the receiver and the top of that monitor stand on the underside. The monitor stand is pretty perforated metal on top, so I've been checking to see how temperatures are as I go. I don't think I'll be driving it hard enough to be an issue.

This is what I get in the audio properties though when I tried to select a single output frequency:



In the advanced tab I changed the default output frequency higher (from DVD quality where it was) to 192 kHz / 24-bit to see what happens.

Looking good.
You may want to experiment with the spacing and toe-in of the speakers and see if you can find a position that improves the soundstage and stereo imaging a bit more.

Nice looking setup, phillyboy!

ballistic said:

Looking good.
You may want to experiment with the spacing and toe-in of the speakers and see if you can find a position that improves the soundstage and stereo imaging a bit more.

Click to expand...

This. move them away from the wall/screen and toe them in. Wider the better, depending on how far you sit back. Physical set up is one of the most critical parts of a hifi rig. No wonder you're not happy.

Equilateral or if not possible, an isosceles triangle is the way to go.

Takes a few seconds to set up a basic test. Fine tuning takes longer but when you nail it, it's worth the hassle.

Also note your ears are typically wider than your eyes, so aim the tweeters to the right and left of each eye. Enjoy!

Yes, an equilateral triangle was what I was aiming for. Right now it is 3' between tweeters, and it is 2.75' from the tweeters to my ears. The tweeters now sit up higher and have a slight angle to them thanks to the stands I put on at the same time as the receiver which probably helps.

I will still keep adjusting the toe-in and distance and have the audyssey to do as well. Thanks everyone for the comments.

Try moving those speakers more away from the wall. I have very similar speakers and specs just a little higher end. I cant get them away from wall so I have too much bass, so i use eq. I had to flip them upside down to get tweeters near my eye level, sort of weird but works good

I almost got Energy RC-10's or NHT super2 but back when AV123 was still a company, I found their top end Onix Ref1 used on classifieds forum for over 50% off retail. I am pretty happy with them and will have them a long time!

I use my Energy C-200's and I've been extremely happen with them. Like them far better than my previous Logitech Z560 setup.

I have my PC connected to ZONE 2 on my Yamaha RX-V667 which is across the room. ZONE 1 on that powers a Klipsch HD 500 5.1 speaker set. Which I use for some gaming/movies/tv with a 58" Samsung Plasma.