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Computer speaker help! (noob)

M

maverickHF

n00b
Joined
Aug 4, 2009
Messages
10
All, I've just built a desktop (switching from a laptop) and need to get new speakers. Looking for your guidance... I mostly listed to music but also play games and plan to watch movies through my computer. Have Bose triport headphones.

Have been using Bose Companion 3 (original version) 2.1 speakers for about 5 years now, but the left speaker is no longer working. Am told it would be $75 + shipping to Bose factory to get it fixed, and figured I might as well upgrade. I am not an audiophile but I do like the control pod thing they have...

So I have been doing some research on speakers in the $100 to $150 range and it looks like the best choices for the money would the M-Audio AV 40 ($135 on amazon) or Swan D1080 Mkii ($135 on audio insider). Here's what I am thinking:

1) Definitely prefer the look of the Swans
2) Seems that the Swans are weaker in bass than the AV 40s, despite the Swans having a larger woofer? (5" vs 4") Does that make sense/seem right? If so, would be a plus for the M-audios
3) I currently have no plans to get a sound card and am using on board audio. Does this impact speaker choice? Note I have no idea how to tweak any kind of speaker settings. (Read somewhere here that you *need* a soundcard to use the Swans properly)
4) Don't know if this impacts anything but I don't have CDs - only MP3 and AAC files ranging from 128kpbs to 320 kpbs.

What do you all recommend?
 
You definitely don't NEED a soundcard for the Swans to work properly. I switched from an onboard ALC889 chip to an Asus Xonar D2 and only noticed a subtle change in quality (definitely noticeable though).

You might want to look into one of the Swans 2.0 sets which apparently have sufficient bass on their own and room to add a separate subwoofer if you plan on doing so in the future.
 
You only need a soundcard if you're anal (like me) and have a very specific idea of how you like your soundwaves to look.

The one comment I will make is check out the Asus Xonar DX. It's fairly cheap and gives you loads of features. The real benefit though is that it can output stereo over 5.1, which in practice means that you can hook up a pair of bookshelves and if you decide later you need a sub to fill them out, you can do that. My understanding is the M-Audio's rely on "bass-boost" which IMO probably won't come off as good as a larger driver. Personally, I would go for the d1080's and then get a sub later if you feel you need it. Don't rely on gimmicky signal boosting as you'll probably end up disappointed.

Note: Depending on what onboard audio you have, you may actually be able to properly output to 2.1 without the need for an external card.
 
OK thanks for the advice so far. More noobness follows:

So my onboard sound right now is ALC662 and the specs say it supports 5.1 audio and I see 3 3.5mm jacks at the back. But with any 2.0 speaker set (and in my current 2.1 bose) I only make use of one of the jacks right? Even with a dedicated sound card I would only be using one of them? (And I could add a dedicated subwoofer to that same onboard sound in the future (using one of the other jacks)?)

For reference the Mobo is BIOSTAR TA790GXB A2+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138143
 
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