7.1 computer audio setups

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SeanTek

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Jan 22, 2007
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Tons of sound cards nowadays, from the cheapest on-board Realteks to the highest end name brand PCI Express cards, support 7.1 audio output. I have also seen combo sound card + headphone packages--mainly aimed at the hard-core gaming market--that deliver virtualized 7.1 audio to your ears.

But there are virtually no 7.1 computer speaker packages on the market. I have a Creative GigaWorks S750 set, which has been working nicely for years. Since Creative discontinued it, however, I can't find anything else and I was wondering what others do for 7.1 audio. So, what's out there? If you were aiming to replace or make a new 7.1 computer audio setup, what would you go with?

To constrain the possible combinations, let's say that you are not getting an A/V receiver and home theater speaker setup. The main reasons are bulkiness and power consumption. On your home/pro/gaming PC, you don't want to be 2 feet away from a speaker that is 3x the size of your head: 7.1 speakers of that size just won't fit comfortably around the desk. Second, 80% of the time the receiver and speakers will just be sucking a ton of power to play nothing. You want good clarity from the speakers at a close distance, not living room-filling audio. (No need to wake the neighbors every time "You've Got Mail," for example.) Other than that, cost is unconstrained.
 
Honestly, I don't think it's that much of a difference audio wise for 7.1. 5.1 setups have fulfill majority of gamers and home theater enthusiast just fine as long as you've got quality components.
 
Get any 5.1 system and get a duplicate pair of the rear audio speakers and use them as side speakers.
 
Receivers actually don't use that much energy. My receiver uses about 50W when its on and powering my speakers and very little when its off. I also don't have huge speakers, I'm using satellite speakers which are pretty small. With a receiver setup you have more flexibility to use whatever speakers you want (satellite, bookshelf, floor standing, etc).

It really comes down to budget and the sound quality your looking for. A complete 7.1 system for $400 probably isn't going to sound the best since a decent speaker may cost $100 by itself. Its up to you though.

Also consider that it maybe difficult to buy a 5.1 PC speaker setup and add 2 more speakers to it. Most PC speaker systems have the amp/receiver built into the sub woofer and don't support any expansion. They also don't usually sell more speakers separately.
 
@JohnleMVP, an off topic question. How do you like your Anthony Gallos? I always found them to be quite aesthetically pleasing to look at (similar to the Orbs) and was curious about their sound. TIA
 
I like them a lot. I auditioned them at a local dealer before deciding on buying them. They fit my need almost perfectly. I wanted small satellite speakers for my PC/Consoles/Movies. I first bought the Energy RC-Micros, but they sound very weak as the satellites could only go down to ~150HZ so the sub was doing more work than I wanted. The Gallos could do ~80HZ and they sounded much stronger. I even setup the Gallos in my living room and they still sound good in the larger environment. They do look great and come in a few different finishes. I got the stainless steel ones, but thought it would be neat to get the white ones and paint them like GlaDos.

I would say the dealer network sucks though. If you want a warranty you have to buy them through a physical dealer (no internet stores) and most dealers in my area didn't stock anything besides display models. The accessories are also overpriced like $120 per floor stand, but I got some bose stands to work nicely ($70 for a pair). If your interested try and audition them at a local dealer to see if you like the way they sound. As for the Orbs I've also heard good things about them, but from what I'm told you should go with the Mod 2 version of the Orbs and at that price point I figured I'd go with the originals (Gallos). Apparently a former Gallo designer went on to create orb so they are very similar. You can only buy orbs direct though.

I also considered B&W M1's, but couldn't find a place locally to audition them.
 
No longer supported by Creative. I had to but a stereo to stereo miniplug since windows 7 does not support 4-3 cable needed for S750 because 7.1 now needs 4-4 cable now. So I bought a miniplug and now works but certain settings neo and others no longer work properly (one speaker is really faint). So finally have it working to my liking now.

If I had to buy today I would have bought a logitech z5500's now.
 
Thanks all for all the responses.

Well, in conclusion it's a little bit disappointing that nobody wants to sell (and apparently, not enough people want to buy) 7.1 speaker systems for computer audio. I guess I'll stick with my Creative GigaWorks S750s as long as they hold out. :rolleyes:

As a topic refocus, suppose that you wanted to build up a 7.1 speaker system. Would you start with a 5.1 and add 2, and if so, which speaker sets would you go with? Or, would you go with buying 3x 2.0 speakers and 1 standalone woofer, or something else?
 
SeanTek said:
Thanks all for all the responses.

Well, in conclusion it's a little bit disappointing that nobody wants to sell (and apparently, not enough people want to buy) 7.1 speaker systems for computer audio. I guess I'll stick with my Creative GigaWorks S750s as long as they hold out. :rolleyes:

As a topic refocus, suppose that you wanted to build up a 7.1 speaker system. Would you start with a 5.1 and add 2, and if so, which speaker sets would you go with? Or, would you go with buying 3x 2.0 speakers and 1 standalone woofer, or something else?
Click to expand...

I agree with people that 5.1 is fine for home theatre but for a games PC I disagree. I find 7.1 helps a lot in games (especially FPS). I dont think its as much that people dont want 7.1 but more that the people who create media dont want you using PCs. They're scared of piracy to the point of paranoia so they only want to allow 7.1 through HDMI with all its encryption. Its the same with nearly all monitors being 1080p.

If you buy a 5.1 system then add 2 speakers I imagine you'd have trouble matching them.

I've gone through two S750 sets. When the second subwoofer/receiver died I replaced it with a 7.1 AV Receiver with 8 analogue inputs. Although it was much more expensive I wanted to avoid another box of useless speakers just because one part of the kit died.

I'm still using the S750 speakers until I find something better. The best speakers I've found so far that seem good but no bigger than the ones I have are the Cambridge Audio MINX Min20s.

A few things I should mention... Firstly, my AVR doesn't amplify the analogue inputs and the impression I got was others are the same.
Also, if you're going to do 7.1 via HDMI dont buy an AVR yet as they wont pass-thru anything above 1920x1200 until the 1.4+ HDMI models.
 
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