2.1, Buy New Speakers?

D

dclapps

Weaksauce
Joined
Jan 22, 2009
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Hey - I am looking for some opinions on my computer audio setup. I've had this setup for about 3 years now, but have felt that it is either a bit lacking at "everyday" volume or not ideal for near-field listening. I'd say I'm 40% games, 40% music and 20% movies.

I have a pair of older model Axiom M3's hooked up to an Emotiva UPA-2 (2 channel amp, don't remember specs). I have also paired an Axiom sub with this setup, but I am sure I have the sub in the worst location possible, because I don't "hear" it from my computer, but sure do hear it the farther I move away. I have been thinking of moving to an active speaker setup that is possibly more tailored to PC listening, maybe something 2.0 like this.

Is this that itch to spend money?

Update: I've ordered the ODAC and am awaiting delivery. Not yet sure how to hook everything up or if it is even going to work as predicted. See my last post.
 
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Are you using an external DAC or onboard sound? I hear more people complaining about crackling and hissing from powered monitors vs. passive bookshelf speakers like you currently have, so I'd say potentially be prepared for that. There are some good active "computer" speakers out there that might be better tailored to the nearfield experience but still give you a good sound, Swan M50 and Edifier S730 come to mind in terms of 2.1 (so you still get the bass). But the Emotiva monitors do look nice as well, so it's a tough choice.

I just moved to passives myself, waiting on my Emotiva mini-X to get here to have everything I need to hook them up. I have some similar bookshelf speakers, Energy CB-20, 6.5 inch woofers like yours, but apparently the Energy line tend to have better highs and clarity. In the end, it's considered best practice to have passives around 6 feet away from where you are sitting to get the "sweet spot" sound.
 
I've found that putting the sub where you sit then moving around the room a bit and finding where it is loudest will get you a fairly good response.

Mine normally got placed in a corner, or at least along a wall. At that point, face it different directions to see which is best from your listening position.

In my (admittedly limited) experience, the sub won't integrate quite as well (I'd mix "hot" anyway), but it does give it more oomph. I've done this with two different sub stages in two different rooms, so my experience is very limited.

I'm a bit of a basshead, so I want a touch of boominess to the sound. The method above has worked well for me. Acoustics are...wonky, so your mileage can (and likely will) vary.

Personally, I disliked my active setup. It was great when there was sound coming out of them, but they had the worst hiss, and would hum loudly whenever my PC's power was off. Neither the hum nor the hiss were audible with headphones, and the speakers would exhibit this behavior with a different source. It is likely I just had a bad experience, but I'm now using my receiver and I'm not looking back.
 
I am using on-board sound. I have no hiss, but I keep my computer off enough that if the powered speakers did hiss, it would annoy me. I'm thinking I'm sitting just a bit too close, but they're at the end of my desk and can't be moved farther.

I have not yet done the sub crawl in this room (new apartment). I end up getting lazy and not wanting to run speaker wire back and forth to a sub across the room. The speakers do sound better in my new setup where my desk is not against a wall. With room to breathe behind them, I feel I get a better sound, but that is obviously purely subjective.
 
well they look to be rear ported so yes i would think youd definitely want them to be not right up against the wall. i'd do a sound card upgrade to an external DAC or something like an x-fi titanium HD as well...that will most definitely give you better sound quality. and that's just in general, whether or not you stay with these speakers or move to a different pair. onboard sound just does not cut the mustard with a high end set up.
 
Where is your sub located? I used to have a similar problem. I put my sub underneath my desk since you often find the sub there for PC setups and that gave a terrible amount of sound. It comes as no surprise since the desk constricts airflow for very inefficient sound transmission.

Now it is to the left of my desk, about 1' from the back wall and about 3' from the corner. So far it sounds pretty good here. I did not do much more in positioning since the room is very small and even in this position, I do not need to feed the sub much power to get adequate bass.

I heard Axiom makes some nice speakers. Maybe they are just not the type of sound you want (too forward, too laid back, to bright or warm) perhaps?
 
I am in the corner of a room, but I'm not facing the wall, I'm facing the open room. The sub is "behind" my desk, but in my case this means closer to the middle of the room. Not sure if that makes sense. It goes wall, chair, desk, sub, open room, wall. I feel like I can turn the sub up all the way and not hear it in the room, but it bangs the ceiling downstairs. I have the crossover set to 70 Hz I think, I'd have to check later.

Plus it has the 0 / 180 phasing, but I've never heard any difference switching it. I think that's for two subs? I run speaker wire from amp to sub, and sub to speakers. I've turned the sub up to play Battlefield 3 for example, and it doesn't sound as punchy as say, my roommate's z5500 setup. It's always sat on carpet, maybe I need an iso-pad?

Also, there is always the chance that the sound is not to my liking. I guess I figured since I didn't hate the sound, it wasn't me. I've never demoed/heard other sets. Maybe it's worth finding some with a good return policy and checking it out.
 
You probably wouldn't notice phase shifting as your bookshelf's don't play down in the subs range.

If you get the sub closer to a wall it will be louder.

Your current set up is very nice IMO.
 
Yeah I think I'm just looking to spend money. As for sound cards, I thought if you could crank the volume with no sound, and did not hear any hiss or background noise, then a separate sound card was of no benefit (assuming you have no use for other sound card benefits). I do have a pair of headphones, maybe I should be looking into a card that has a headphone amp.
 
You already have great audio, now you just need to refine the placement and get a good DAC/soundcard.
Placement really determines the quality and quantity of bass frequencies more than anything, and yes isolate it if the carpet is thick enough that the cabinet is resting on it (basically you want the cabinet isolated).
Yes your DAC makes a big difference, especially since you are just using a 2 channel amp. Go with something like an Asus Essence it has RCA and Headphone out and is "audiophile" quality. You don't have a dedicated sub out but I'm assuming you already have that problem solved since most 2 channel setups don't.
 
If you just the itch to upgrade I'd say the source is definitely a better place to spend money right now, given your current setup.
 
Yea, I am going to purchase either a sound card or an external DAC. I like the Asus Essence with the headphone amp, as I have a pair of Sennheiser's that might benefit from amplification. I have also been looking at the Objective DAC. Any thoughts on which way I should go?
 
If you want surround sound emulation for gaming w/headphones, sound card; otherwise a USB DAC's usually less of a hassle.
 
Impulse said:
If you want surround sound emulation for gaming w/headphones, sound card; otherwise a USB DAC's usually less of a hassle.
Click to expand...

USB has more and better features. Dolby headphone sure is nice to have, But i think ones that connect to digital are more hassle free.
 
Heard nothing but great things from the ODAC and the O2, so I'd say go for it. If you are still missing HRTF, then go try out MyEars.
 
If i were with your buy some cheap USB DAC like E7/10 worth a try specially if you using headphone for listenin to music everyday.
 
I ended up buying the standalone ODAC from JDSLabs a few days ago. JDSLabs says they will begin shipping today. I was going to update this thread when that happens.

One thing I have noticed is that if the 3.5mm (into the audio-out on the mobo) is rotated, hum will show up through the speakers. I was cleaning up some wires behind the computer and brushed against the connector (which was fully plugged in) and a hum showed up. I rotated it 90 degrees and hum was gone. The cable was new from Monoprice about 6 months ago, barely any touching. I'm thinking/hoping it's motherboard-audio related and the ODAC will rectify that issue.
 
A bit of an update, as I am seeking some advice. I have not received the ODAC yet.

Currently I have my amplifier hooked up to my PC, speaker wiring to the sub and back via its high-level input/output. The sub is playing distorted sounds, and plays (attempts to) the left/right signal thru the sub. The sub has a crossover set to 40hz and it still doesn't sound right. My guess is that I am using the green 3.5m out from the mobo which is listed as Left/Right. I've hooked up another 3.5m to RCA and connected the sub directly to the center/sub channel (and disconnected the speaker wire connections between sub and amp). I see the sub in the volume options, but can't get the LED to turn green on the sub. LED was working, and sub playing, when I had it setup incorrectly.

Question: with the incoming ODAC, will the speaker level connections between the amp and the sub now work properly, assuming that the ODAC will be providing the amplifier the entire signal and not just the Left/Right signal as it is now?
 
Did you set up your mobo's audio in windows to 2.0 or 2.1 when you switched between those configurations? I think you posted in another thread about this, can't remember...
 
I had commented in another thread, the ODAC one. The mobo audio in windows had Stereo or 5.1, I selected 5.1, removed the rear/center speakers and therefore had a 2.1 setup. If I played a test tone thru the sub, it would play, but with windows volume and sub volume/gain all the way up, I could barely hear the test tone. In one of my configurations, I've heard much more noise and/or sound through the sub, so I haven't assumed the sub is busted ... yet.

I've got my shipping notice for the ODAC, so I will be able to try that in the chain. This is a really roundabout way to setup 2.1 on the PC. I should have just bought a receiver to power the speakers, not an Emotiva amp (bought the UPA-2 before they sold out). I guess I could still do that, but I will see what the ODAC provides me.
 
Maybe try leaving the center in? I've never messed with on board audio tbh, heck its been ages since I tried getting surround out of analog outs. I think the ODAC might simplify things on the output since you'll get one full stereo signal outta the one jack, not sure how you're plugging the sub in then tho. Does the sub have pass through outs?
 
It has high-level (speaker wire) pass through, yes. I was assuming I'd have PC to ODAC to amp, then speaker wire to sub and then speaker wire from sub to speakers.
 
Wouldn't that feed the full signal to the speakers tho? (including the freqs the sub's supposed to cover that is)
 
It'd keep higher signals from the sub, but not lower signals from the speakers, unless I'm seriously confused (always a distinct possibility!) or that amp is doing something else I'm not aware of. Going PC to ODAC to sub to amp to speakers would also be an option no? Damn is no one else reading this thread? :p
 
Here is the rear of the amplifier. I wouldn't be able to bind to the speaker level clips since there is only one set per channel. I would have to do an RCA connection between sub and amp. The sub I have only has one line-out, so I would need to split that into two in order to connect to the amp's left and right, no? This would require an adapter for a one-to-two RCA connection (and by two I mean white and red). I have to look to see if this exists; I would imagine it does as a subwoofer shouldn't care about left/right.
 
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