Suggestions on new 5.1 PC speakers?

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amittalkin

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I am looking for some good pair of 5.1 setup for my PC. Currently have none, and using my ATH M50x headphones. Specific requirement is good bass on sub-woofer.
I am thinking of getting Logitech Z906 which is around $280 USD here. Any other options You suggest? I am from India btw.
 
I had the original Z5000 that lasted 10 years before the control center went bad. I absolutely loved it and almost bought a used set when it went bad but felt I would be pushing my luck. A couple of years ago I was shopping like you and ended up getting the direct replacment the Logitech Z906.
At first I was concerned bass would suffer with the smaller less powerful subwoofer but I was pleasantly surprised. Unlike most others PC 5.1 systems the Logitech has optical input which I use for a big screen above my PC monitors and it comes with a remote control for convienence when desired. It works excellent for movies on the big screen and music and YouTube on PC. With THX certification you can rest assured it's perfomance is better than most. In any case IMHO it's a great choice and worth every penny.
 
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Thanks, I was looking for used Z5500 as well, but didnt find any used one in my country. Missed a deal of slightly used Z906 set for $150 yesterday :/.
5.1 Home Theatre can work as well ?
 
amittalkin said:
Thanks, I was looking for used Z5500 as well, but didnt find any used one in my country. Missed a deal of slightly used Z906 set for $150 yesterday :/.
5.1 Home Theatre can work as well ?
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Absolutely. The limiting factor for getting 5.1 output will be your sound card. If you plan to use SPD/IF (optical) cabling, you will need a sound card that supports Dolby Digital Live or (if the speakers support it) DTS encoding. This will allow you to set up Windows to use 5.1 sound, and modern games and Windows itself will automatically take advantage of it. If you DON'T have a soundcard that does Dolby Digital Live or DTS Encoding, then you can still get 5.1 sound from movies encoded in Dolby Digital or DTS via passthrough.

Many sound cards and speakers support analog 5.1 output, and these do NOT require Dolby Digital Live or DTS to get working.
 
mvmiller12 said:
Absolutely. The limiting factor for getting 5.1 output will be your sound card. If you plan to use SPD/IF (optical) cabling, you will need a sound card that supports Dolby Digital Live or (if the speakers support it) DTS encoding. This will allow you to set up Windows to use 5.1 sound, and modern games and Windows itself will automatically take advantage of it. If you DON'T have a soundcard that does Dolby Digital Live or DTS Encoding, then you can still get 5.1 sound from movies encoded in Dolby Digital or DTS via passthrough.

Many sound cards and speakers support analog 5.1 output, and these do NOT require Dolby Digital Live or DTS to get working.
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Great! I already have Xonar Essence STX in my system which I suppose fulfills those requirements which You mentioned. Is there any alternative to Z906 to look for?
 
amittalkin said:
Great! I already have Xonar Essence STX in my system which I suppose fulfills those requirements which You mentioned. Is there any alternative to Z906 to look for?
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I have no real suggestions on speakers :) If you like the Logitech, by all means, go with the Logitech.
 
I think that Logitech is the only company that makes 5.1 computer speakers, at least in the US, so you're stuck with them unless you piece together a system from more expensive parts or buy a home theater in a box.

I had the Z5500 and it was a good set for gaming, the subwoofer in the set was a huge improvement over the typical crappy computer speaker sets at the time, so I imagine that the Z906 is at least as good since it appears to be the successor of the Z5500.
 
If you are using the optical out then the sky is the limit but you'll need amplification for a 5.1 system.
 
No. Optical out into an amp/Receiver/AVR and then out to the speakers.

So as noted above, the Logitech or move to a HTiB (Home Theater in a Box) with an AVR (Audio Video Receiver).

The Logitech will be the smaller, easy to use system, and likely cheaper. The HTiB will take up signifcantly more space, but can be upgraded as needed.
 
Alright, Z906 it is then. Found an 16 months old set for $150 here. Will look into it further. Thanks for discussion :)
 
djoye said:
I think that Logitech is the only company that makes 5.1 computer speakers, at least in the US, so you're stuck with them unless you piece together a system from more expensive parts or buy a home theater in a box.

I had the Z5500 and it was a good set for gaming, the subwoofer in the set was a huge improvement over the typical crappy computer speaker sets at the time, so I imagine that the Z906 is at least as good since it appears to be the successor of the Z5500.
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I have both.
The z5500 sub is a little bigger and better than the z906 sub, but the z906 has slightly better everything else.
 
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It might be an idea to buy an AV Receiver (AVR) that will let you connect anywhere from 7.1 to 11.2 speakers.
For your budget you are unlikely to pass 7.1 but its worth looking into.
But you would have to put your speakers on hold for while.

The DAC in the AVR will serve as your soundcard.
Sound data is sent over HDMI to the AVR.
Most sound configuration is performed on the receiver.

This is the setup I am using for surround sound.
For surround I use an AVR to get Atmos support
For stereo (music) I use a high end DAC to get the clarity I want.
 
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The problem with an external receiver may be audio lag. Sometimes the delay between the computer encoding and receiver decoding becomes so large that lipsync etc. show visible lag. So better try before you buy. Any bluetooth solutions are totally useless usually for this reason.
 
If you get a decent receiver and use hdmi you shouldn't have any problems with audio lag. Using optical can have issues.


A real receiver will sound better but it will cost a lot more.

I used the satellite speakers from the z906 with a Yamaha receiver and they sound a lot better than the one built into the sub they come with.
 
Nenu said:
It might be an idea to buy an AV Receiver (AVR) that will let you connect anywhere from 7.1 to 11.2 speakers.
For your budget you are unlikely to pass 7.1 but its worth looking into.
But you would have to put your speakers on hold for while.

The DAC in the AVR will serve as your soundcard.
Sound data is sent over HDMI to the AVR.
Most sound configuration is performed on the receiver.

This is the setup I am using for surround sound.
For surround I use an AVR to get Atmos support
For stereo (music) I use a high end DAC to get the clarity I want.
Click to expand...

Other than maybe the Battlefield or Battlefront games, is there much Atmos support in the PC gaming world or do you just run that for movies?

I don't watch movies in my office so the 7.1 is for gaming only....
 
DoubleTap said:
Other than maybe the Battlefield or Battlefront games, is there much Atmos support in the PC gaming world or do you just run that for movies?

I don't watch movies in my office so the 7.1 is for gaming only....
Click to expand...
I use Atmos for movies, I havent tried it with gaming yet because I use Windows 7.
Hopefully someone else can chime in.
 
I have a Vizio sb3851 sound bar. It has hdmi in and it doesn't sound to bad. It works really well. They are not expensive.
 
Nenu said:
I use Atmos for movies, I havent tried it with gaming yet because I use Windows 7.
Hopefully someone else can chime in.
Click to expand...
DoubleTap said:
Other than maybe the Battlefield or Battlefront games, is there much Atmos support in the PC gaming world or do you just run that for movies?

I don't watch movies in my office so the 7.1 is for gaming only....
Click to expand...
There are probably like ~10 PC games that support Atmos for Home Theater. I want a Marantz SR8012 for 7.1.4, but I only own two Atmos games so it's not worth the expense to me. Maybe that AVR will be <$1000 on eBay in a couple years, if Atmos becomes more common, then I might pickup that AVR used.
 
djoye said:
There are probably like ~10 PC games that support Atmos for Home Theater. I want a Marantz SR8012 for 7.1.4, but I only own two Atmos games so it's not worth the expense to me. Maybe that AVR will be <$1000 on eBay in a couple years, if Atmos becomes more common, then I might pickup that AVR used.
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Marantz and Denon are the same company, the products are very similar.
I bought the Denon X4400H for Atmos 7.2.4 which is now around £700, much cheaper in the US if you can find it.
(Edit: forgot add, this years X4500H was released at twice that price with barely any improvement and even now is 50% more than the X4400H, both new.)
It has enough amps for 7.2.2 or 5.2.4 but can handle 7.2.4 with an external stereo amp.
This is how I use it, with a high end stereo amp for the front channels so I can switch in a high end DAC when playing stereo music. ie stereo music uses all high end hardware feeding the speakers.
A suggestion for what might be a preferable setup.

Surround and Atmos are superb.
It is HDMI 2.0b, fully supporting all HDR modes.
The only thing it doesnt provide native is 1440p 120Hz but you can make a custom mode which works.
1080p 120Hz works native.

It received the HDMI 2.1 updates for ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel).
Lag is practically none existent, I game with PC UHD video going through the receiver.
fyi
 
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Without going with a receiver unit, the z906's are a great choice. I bought mine about a year ago to replace an old set of 5.1 speakers. I use the optical out and DTS encoding for all my gaming needs. Best part about the encoding is I don't have to mess with db levels and don't get any line noise or grounding issues. The sound is crisp and clear. Also do the decoding as close to the output as possible, in other words, let the DAC on the Z906 do the work using optical, not your sound card! :) They are a great set of PC speakers. You got a great deal. I bought mine brand new for just under $300 over a year ago I think and was still very pleased.
 
III_Slyflyer_III said:
I use the optical out and DTS encoding for all my gaming needs.
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While this quite likely works very well, DTS encoding (or any) is going to result in both processing lag and detail loss due to compression. May not be much, but it's something to be aware of, and HDMI streaming relieves this, at least in theory. No compression / decompression cycle and still digital to an external DAC on at least eight channels.
 
IdiotInCharge said:
While this quite likely works very well, DTS encoding (or any) is going to result in both processing lag and detail loss due to compression. May not be much, but it's something to be aware of, and HDMI streaming relieves this, at least in theory. No compression / decompression cycle and still digital to an external DAC on at least eight channels.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you can use HDMI to a surround sound setup that would be preferable! Personally, I don't notice any lag if it's there and DTS is virtually lossless as far as the human ear is concerned. Simple compression at twice the highest frequency for sampling ensures it is lossless as far as the human ear is concerned. ;)
 
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IdiotInCharge said:
While this quite likely works very well, DTS encoding (or any) is going to result in both processing lag and detail loss due to compression. May not be much, but it's something to be aware of, and HDMI streaming relieves this, at least in theory. No compression / decompression cycle and still digital to an external DAC on at least eight channels.
Click to expand...

On my Asus Xonar U3 and Auzentech Home Theater HD cards the DDL processing is in hardware, and if there is any added latency I have yet to notice it at all in anything. Sound responsiveness seems identical (at least to me) between the analog stereo out and my 5.1 DDL out. Mind you I am not a CS:Go fanatic rocking a 2080TI running at lowest detail at 1080p for MAXIMUM FRAMES either, so... YMMV.

Also: suggesting he go HDMI is pointless if his speakers don't do that (and they don't).
 
III_Slyflyer_III said:
Yeah, if you can use HDMI to a surround sound setup that would be preferable! Personally, I don't notice any lag if it's there and DTS is virtually lossless as far as the human ear is concerned. Simple compression at twice the highest frequency for sampling ensures it is lossless as far as the human ear is concerned. ;)
Click to expand...

I know it's better than DD Live!, which was pretty janky, but when it comes to surround-sound you're not really getting high quality samples to start with, i.e. DVD-A grade masters etc., so it's not that big of a deal. And as long as the lag is < 1 frame, it shouldn't make a difference; it's just something I keep in mind given that HDMI skips that step.

mvmiller12 said:
On my Asus Xonar U3 and Auzentech Home Theater HD cards the DDL processing is in hardware, and if there is any added latency I have yet to notice it at all in anything.
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I have one of these, used it for that reason -- still using it for audio on another system. It's alright, but HDMI was an upgrade. I'd use DDL again if needed of course.

mvmiller12 said:
Sound responsiveness seems identical (at least to me) between the analog stereo out and my 5.1 DDL out. Mind you I am not a CS:Go fanatic rocking a 2080TI running at lowest detail at 1080p for MAXIMUM FRAMES either, so... YMMV.
Click to expand...

I'll say that I noticed a difference, but I'll also note that this is highly receiver dependent.
 
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