Could I do better for the money?

M

Matter

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I've got an Asus P5Q Pro (using onboard Realtek ALC1200) with some Logitech speakers right now and I'm looking to upgrade. I mostly want it for music and some gaming, but also for the occasional movie. After reading many, many threads here, here's what I came up with:

Xonar DX for $76.53
M-Audio AV40s for $109.79
Bic V-1020 for $122.65
+$47.85 for shipping

= $356.82

So, could I do better for the money? If so, what do you suggest?

Also, I should let you know that I have a receiver that I could use. It's a Kenwood Sovereign VR-5080. If it's really worth-while, I'll use the receiver, but I'd rather not take up the room at my desk if I don't need to.

Thanks in advance.
 
Well, if you used the receiver, you could do better. You would not need the sound card and could spend more on the speakers.

Otherwise, that's a fine setup for the money.
 
spaceman said:
Well, if you used the receiver, you could do better. You would not need the sound card and could spend more on the speakers.

Otherwise, that's a fine setup for the money.
Click to expand...

What would be a better pair of speakers?
 
Yeah, I suppose you're right.

I'd either save a lot of money or end up with a lot better results for the same price.



Any suggestions for some bookshelves for $150 to $200?
 
Matter said:
Any suggestions for some bookshelves for $150 to $200?
Click to expand...

This is from a list that I made, hope it helps.

Acculine A1
PSB Alpha B1 or PSB B25
AV123 ELT525M
Infinity Beta 20/ primus 152
JBL L820
Polk Audio RTi4/ monitor 30
NHT SuperZero Xu
KEF iQ1
Wharfedale Diamond 8.1/9.1
Energy C-100
Polk RTi A1
 
Haha. Yeah, that helps, just not very much. Lol.

Actually, I'd like to stay closer to the $150 price point if possible. I was already thinking about the Energy C-100s. What would you, personally, pick out of those for around $150?
 
Matter said:
Haha. Yeah, that helps, just not very much. Lol.

Actually, I'd like to stay closer to the $150 price point if possible. I was already thinking about the Energy C-100s. What would you, personally, pick out of those for around $150?
Click to expand...

You american or canadian?

If this is strictly for desktop and gaming I would like the ELTs first, Acculine second and the Energy C-100 third. With any of those, plus a sub, you will be rocking big time. Heck, get some stands and do my head-speaker setup lol.
 
I'm American.

These will be desktop speakers and will probably be used for music a little more than gaming.

I can't find the ELTs for under $300. I think there was a sale, but that is now over. Also, there was a recent thread where someone was very unsatisfied with the Acculines. Not that that necessarily means anything.

And one more question: Should I stick with the 10" Bic or step up to the 12"?
This setup will be in an 11x12 ft room.
 
lol

He did not like the acculines bass compared to the X-LS, another av123 speaker with serious punch. His handle is MrWolf. If you sre using the acculines for nearfield aka a desktop, they are really good at imaging.
 
Yup, that'd be me! The man from space nailed it. The Acculines are fine speakers, especially at that price. It was my mistake to try to compare them to my x-ls Encores which are big, bad, beefy bookshelf speakers that grab you by the throat, slap you around and say "sit down, little man... we'll do the talking around here!" :D

I've got the 12" BIC sub: Acoustech H-100. It's a beast and can thump out minor earthquakes worth of clean bass. My loft is about 1600 square feet of open space and the H-100 fills it up nicely when I really crank music and movies... like I'm doing right now. I'm listening to Poets of the Fall's latest release "Revolution Roulette." My neighbors hate me. :p
 
I was actually talking about the V-1220 sub, not the H-100. That's getting a little pricey for me.

So, would I be better off with the 10" or the 12" sub? Again, the room is around 11x12.

And why would I want the Acculines for a desktop, rather than the X-LS?
 
Mostly b/c they don't make the X-LS anymore. If they did, I would certainly tell you to get ten. They rock. Pity there is nothing like them atm. You can look and see if anyone is selling theirs on the FS on the av123 forums. The 10" is plenty for you.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
Yup, that'd be me! The man from space nailed it. The Acculines are fine speakers, especially at that price. It was my mistake to try to compare them to my x-ls Encores which are big, bad, beefy bookshelf speakers that grab you by the throat, slap you around and say "sit down, little man... we'll do the talking around here!" :D

I've got the 12" BIC sub: Acoustech H-100. It's a beast and can thump out minor earthquakes worth of clean bass. My loft is about 1600 square feet of open space and the H-100 fills it up nicely when I really crank music and movies... like I'm doing right now. I'm listening to Poets of the Fall's latest release "Revolution Roulette." My neighbors hate me. :p
Click to expand...

I had 6 15" Adire Brahmas in the same space at my last house. The people in the neighboring subdivision hated me. :p
 
My bedroom is a sealed 11'x13' room and I've had everything from a Velodyne DPS-10, Sealed DIY Tc-3000 15" in a 4ft^3 sealed enclosure, an adire tumult 15 in the same enclosure, a dayton Rss390HF in the same enclosure, and currently using an old Ascendant audio Avalanche 15. I also own a Rythmik Audio sealed 12" sound that sounds AMAZING. Just for my PC setup.

Heres what I would do for subwoofing in the $150 price range http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-633

As far as bookshelfs go, these sound very good for $80 http://cgi.ebay.com/Monitor-30-Mapl...Z3276QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

If the primus 152's are anything like the primus 150's i have now, you'll need to cross them over SUPER high, since there is really no output below 80hz.

The energy C100's would be my choice for their price.

Edit: I would definitely go the receiver route.
 
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Here's what I'm thinking now:

The Acculines are $160 plus shipping.
The Energys look really nice with the cherry cabinet for $150 plus shipping.
But if I get the Energys with black ash cabinets, they're only $121 shipped.

So, I'd probably be looking at $50 more for the Acculines. There's probably not enough difference in audio quality for me to justify the additional cost.

So, I'm looking at $121 for a pair of Energy C-100s, and $147 for the Bic V-1020. For a total of $268 including shipping, I'm spending $90 less than I originally planned, and I'm getting a better system. But I'm losing a lot of space at my desk.

Now, this isn't set in stone yet. I'm open to any additional input.
 
So, to connect everything, I'll just need to run an RCA from the spdif port on my mobo to the digital input on my receiver and then another coax from the receiver to the sub, right?

For RCAs, would a pair of these be okay, or should I get something a little better? Maybe this?
 
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Matter said:
Here's what I'm thinking now:

The Acculines are $160 plus shipping.
The Energys look really nice with the cherry cabinet for $150 plus shipping.
But if I get the Energys with black ash cabinets, they're only $121 shipped.

So, I'd probably be looking at $50 more for the Acculines. There's probably not enough difference in audio quality for me to justify the additional cost.

So, I'm looking at $121 for a pair of Energy C-100s, and $147 for the Bic V-1020. For a total of $268 including shipping, I'm spending $90 less than I originally planned, and I'm getting a better system. But I'm losing a lot of space at my desk.

Now, this isn't set in stone yet. I'm open to any additional input.
Click to expand...

That is fine. The acculines are $350 or so normally btw.The Energy speakers will have more of a forward sound and will need more space than the acculines to sound right unless you do the head-speaker setup. Either way, you get a darn fine stereo so do not stress too much.

oh and bic over dayton all day if the price is close. that is a no brainer.
 
Spaceman, you're making it hard for me to pass up the Acculines. But I think $121 for the Energys, including shipping, is a pretty good deal. The Acculines would cost another $50-60. I'm glad you told me not to stress over it, or I probably would be.

The Bic is actually a dollar cheaper than the Dayton, lol. I'm sure both are great subs, but it sounds like Bic is the way to go.

So, before I go ahead and order, what are your thoughts on this:

Matter said:
So, to connect everything, I'll just need to run an RCA from the spdif port on my mobo to the digital input on my receiver and then another coax from the receiver to the sub, right?

For RCAs, would a pair of these be okay, or should I get something a little better? Maybe this?
Click to expand...
 
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As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
The ELTs are back at $300, yes (the $200 thing was for Black Friday). However, it currently comes with a Gizmo amp and cables, so you'd be pretty much set. They are absolutely awe inspiring for music. If that's your main priority, I would take a very hard look at getting the current deal and worrying about things like a sub or a new sound card later.

Probably much later.
 
RCA to the sub. Just a normal single rca cable will do fine. Yeah and optical or coax from the mobo.

If the acculines are that much more then don't worry about it.
 
ashmedai said:
The ELTs are back at $300, yes (the $200 thing was for Black Friday). However, it currently comes with a Gizmo amp and cables, so you'd be pretty much set. They are absolutely awe inspiring for music. If that's your main priority, I would take a very hard look at getting the current deal and worrying about things like a sub or a new sound card later.

Probably much later.
Click to expand...

Would I need a DAC? How would I use my headphones?
 
I'm not intimately familiar with the Gizmo, but I think it is only a speaker amp. One part, one job done well. Headphones could connect directly to the computer for the time being, but that depends how picky they are...what headphones are you using? I have the vague impression that you have the HARX, but I can't find where you said it so I'm not sure.

If your computer outputs an analog signal, it already has a DAC. Not likely a wonderful one, but it's there. You would run the line-out signal from your computer to the amp, then onward to the speakers.

Anything you choose is going to require value judgments about what you think fits your priorities best, and any choice is going to leave you with room for improvement later. For example, you could add a Zero DAC / headphone amp onto the ELT+Gizmo arrangement later for a solid improvement to the speakers' audio train, headphone amplification, and a more convenient way of switching between headphones and speakers (I might just do that myself, come to think of it...). I think the ELTs fit your priorities very well, but that could just be because I'm currently listening to violin music on them and it's making my ears do happy things.

Building for good quality is bit like playing whack-a-mole.
 
ashmedai said:
I'm not intimately familiar with the Gizmo, but I think it is only a speaker amp. One part, one job done well. Headphones could connect directly to the computer for the time being, but that depends how picky they are...what headphones are you using? I have the vague impression that you have the HARX, but I can't find where you said it so I'm not sure.

If your computer outputs an analog signal, it already has a DAC. Not likely a wonderful one, but it's there. You would run the line-out signal from your computer to the amp, then onward to the speakers.

Anything you choose is going to require value judgments about what you think fits your priorities best, and any choice is going to leave you with room for improvement later. For example, you could add a Zero DAC / headphone amp onto the ELT+Gizmo arrangement later for a solid improvement to the speakers' audio train, headphone amplification, and a more convenient way of switching between headphones and speakers (I might just do that myself, come to think of it...). I think the ELTs fit your priorities very well, but that could just be because I'm currently listening to violin music on them and it's making my ears do happy things.

Building for good quality is bit like playing whack-a-mole.
Click to expand...

Okay, so I'd have to use the analog output from my mobo, which are poor, or spend even more money on a DAC. Plus I'd have nowhere to plug in my headphones (HARX900s). As cool as those speakers may be, it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, especially considering that I have a receiver.

Still, I appreciate the advice. Thanks.
 
spaceman said:
Your receiver is both dac and headphone amp lol.
Click to expand...

Haha, yeah, I know.

But at first glance, the ELTs + Gizmo deal looked intriguing since I'd get some badass speakers and the Gizmo is a helluva lot smaller than my receiver.

To tell you the truth, I don't have any idea where I'm going to go with the receiver, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Thanks for all the help!
 
Here's a picture. And I thought you didn't want to use the receiver?

For the vast majority of motherboards & sound cards, the line out jack and the stereo jack are physically distinct. Depending on drivers and implementation, it may just be a matter of muting the one you don't want at the time. Some may be on a switch that disables one when the other is connected, I can't speak as to how yours is implemented so it may take some jack swapping. I'm the kind of guy that tends to forget to put my case door back on anyway, so a little swapping doesn't bug me - you it might. I suppose you could get a switch, but I tend to distrust cheap wiring and avoid adding more points of interference than I have to.

systemtd6.jpg
 
Initially, I didn't want to use the receiver, only because I don't really have the space for it. But then I realized that I could get much better speakers for the money if they weren't powered, plus I'd have more to spend because I wouldn't need to buy a sound card.

Monetarily, it just doesn't make sense for me to use the setup you pictured. Buying an amp when I have a receiver would be pointless. Plus I'd have to buy the DAC/head amp (another $120 or so?) and I still wouldn't have a sub.

I'm going to save myself some money and use my receiver and get the Energys and the Bic.
 
Then it sounds like time to figure out where to stick the receiver.

I'm probably getting something like I illustrated eventually, although maybe not those exact parts, and replacing my receiver's A/V switching functions with an HDMI switch. Why? More control over the quality of a given stage.
 
Well, I place my order about a half hour ago.

Provantage already shipped the Sub. Nice.


I'll be sure to update when I get everything set up.

Thanks again to everyone for all your help.
 
Hi, let us know how it turns out. Wow provantage ships super fast. lol

The Dayton subs aren't THAT bad, lol. I've actually heard the model I recommended, totally think it's a steal for that price. Can't recommend the bic since I did not hear it before.:)

Either way you can't go wrong.

Enjoy! happy holidays.
 
Diyguy said:
Hi, let us know how it turns out. Wow provantage ships super fast. lol

The Dayton subs aren't THAT bad, lol. I've actually heard the model I recommended, totally think it's a steal for that price. Can't recommend the bic since I did not hear it before.:)

Either way you can't go wrong.

Enjoy! happy holidays.
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with dayton. The bic is a bit better if the $$ is the same though.
 
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