How important are full range speakers for center and surround speakers for 7.1 gaming? I have a Edifier 7.1 system.

[eddie500]

I started out with 7.1 using Edifier 1280's.

Then I got 2 Edifier 2850's, let me tell you, these speakers are the most amazing speakers for a computer setup. Just wow, they have 8" woofers in them and the bass that comes out of them is amazing. Words can't describe how good these speakers are and what sets them apart is the 8" woofer and the low bass they produce. This brought my sound system to a whole new level over using the smaller Edifier 1280's with a T5 Sub.

The issue with using 1280's with a sub in 2.1 setup is that it didn't sound right sometimes, like voices would sometimes have the low end part coming out of the sub and it sounded bad. Having a full range speaker with a big woofer, sounds way better with no separation of sound coming part from sub and part from speaker.

In my 7.1 gaming, playing Cyberpunk 2077, it seems a lot of the sound and bass comes out of the front left and right speakers. Some comes out of the subwoofer, but this is mostly for gun shots and is mostly not used otherwise. But there are plenty of things in game where lots of the bass comes from the front left and right speakers and not the subwoofer.

For example, in cyberpunk I was in a club and it had good bass, but it seemed all of the bass was coming from the left and right and nothing from the sub no matter how I turned in game. The surround speakers didn't have much output either.

I was wondering, since the Edifier 2850's sound so good, would it make sense for me to upgrade all 7.0 speakers to Edifier 2850's? Or is most of the low bass and sound going to come from the front left and right, and the .1 sub channel? With very little sound coming from the surround and center channels, as those are used for just background sounds.


Picture of my current setup, using 2 2850's, and 5 1280's, with a Edifier T5 Sub.

 

[pendragon1]

is most of the low bass and sound going to come from the front left and right, and the .1 sub channel?

yes, typically. what are you running them all off of?

The issue with using 1280's with a sub in 2.1 setup is that it didn't sound right sometimes, like voices would sometimes have the low end part coming out of the sub and it sounded bad.

this sounds like a x-over issue.

 

[eddie500]

yes, typically. what are you running them all off of?

this sounds like a x-over issue.

I am using the creative sound blaster x4. All of the speakers have their own amps in them.

Yes, it may be an X-over issue, but I would think its hard to balance this perfectly no matter how much you try and tune it. What was particular annoying was men with low voices, I would hear some of the low part of the voice coming out of the sub.

That being said, The edifier 2850's, basically have their own sub in them and it sounds amazing. Balanced perfectly also. For the price, I doubt you can beat these, as most speakers don't use 8" woofers and the speakers are big, but not that big. They also sound really good close up, so they can easily be used as computer speakers for most people.

Call me crazy but I got these for a CRT retro gaming but didn't realize they were not shielded. I replaced them with much larger JBL 590's, and I must say the 2850's sound just as good.

 

[spaceman]

What is your source? Your motherboard? Make sure the drivers are up to date and that everything is plugged in and configured correctly in windows. You might have to download some additional software for 7.1?

Edit: Ah. I see the x4 is your source. Yeah double check things are the same there and in windows.

Me? I would ditch the little speakers and just run it in 2.1 and make sure that everything is plugged in right. I gave up on surround on pc a long time ago. Which is why I have a $2000 headphone stereo instead. Seems like most games prefer headphone sound imo.

 

[eddie500]

What is your source? Your motherboard? Make sure the drivers are up to date and that everything is plugged in and configured correctly in windows. You might have to download some additional software for 7.1?

Edit: Ah. I see the x4 is your source. Yeah double check things are the same there and in windows.

Me? I would ditch the little speakers and just run it in 2.1 and make sure that everything is plugged in right. I gave up on surround on pc a long time ago. Which is why I have a $2000 headphone stereo instead. Seems like most games prefer headphone sound imo.

Thanks for the reply. First, I want to say the issue with 7.1 setups is that most games don't support surround sound but some do.

I would say it is highly enjoyable having 7.1 sound, like games that do it well like cyberpunk. If you have good full range speakers, like the Edifier 2850's, you will be amazed by how much bass and sound comes from the front left and right speakers. It is still nice to hear the sound coming from the sides and rear also.

I will have to try it out in Oblivion remastered to see how the 7.1 sounds in that game.

What sounded great was going into a club in cyberpunk and the music was going which had very good bass, then you hear the subwoofer lows with gunfights.

I'm thinking though just to keep the 1280's because voices sound great when coming from the 1280 center channel, surrounds seem to be just background effects, while most of the deep bass and powerful sounds seem to come from the front left and right and this is where you want full range large speaker.

I am not a fan of headphones, but when I have them on I miss the sound of a good speaker system.

 

[pendragon1]

I am using the creative sound blaster x4. All of the speakers have their own amps in them.

Yes, it may be an X-over issue, but I would think its hard to balance this perfectly no matter how much you try and tune it. What was particular annoying was men with low voices, I would hear some of the low part of the voice coming out of the sub.

That being said, The edifier 2850's, basically have their own sub in them and it sounds amazing. Balanced perfectly also. For the price, I doubt you can beat these, as most speakers don't use 8" woofers and the speakers are big, but not that big. They also sound really good close up, so they can easily be used as computer speakers for most people.

Call me crazy but I got these for a CRT retro gaming but didn't realize they were not shielded. I replaced them with much larger JBL 590's, and I must say the 2850's sound just as good.

ah, on the x4 the center and sub share a port so if you had the l/r and sub, i bet it was also expecting a center and missing some of the voice.
just to confirm:
l/r are on "front"
center+sub on "c/sub"
rears on "rear"

oh and DD-Live should mix most things to 5.1, but browser are always stereo, afaik...
sure, the 2850s are way bigger, they should be better.

 

[eddie500]

ah, on the x4 the center and sub share a port so if you had the l/r and sub, i bet it was also expecting a center and missing some of the voice.
just to confirm:
l/r are on "front"
center+sub on "c/sub"
rears on "rear"

oh and DD-Live should mix most things to 5.1, but browser are always stereo, afaik...
sure, the 2850s are way bigger, they should be better.

Actually, when I was using my Edifier 1280's with the T5 sub, I was using the dedicated sub port on the 1280's which was built for the T5 sub.

In my 7.1 setup, yes it is a combined Center/Sub connection.

Yes, for sure the size of the woofer matters. That is what is amazing about the 2850's, they have a dedicated 8" woofer. You really can't get that with most other bookshelf style speakers, almost all of them have smaller woofers. My father is always big on size matters with speakers and he is correct with this.

This is why I would recommend anyone looking for computer speakers to just pick up the 2850's and call it a day, you won't get better sound. The bass that comes out of these speakers is something that will make everything sound so much better. I also picked up my pair during a sale for $340 bucks. You are not going to get anything even close to what these speakers will do at that price.

This is why I think many people who try 5.1 computer setups are not really happy because they are using small speakers. You won't get all that bass in the front left and right speakers which are directed a lot of the sound. The sub only really kicks on with gun shots, doesn't get used all that much in games.

However, I'm not sure if you can redirect all the bass to the sub that would be sent to the smaller speakers. Better to just make sure you have full range speakers on your front and left then mess around with that.


Anyone reading this, trust me, get the Edifier 2850's if you want sound at a whole new level on your computer system if you are using small bookshelf speakers.

 

[pendragon1]

Actually, when I was using my Edifier 1280's with the T5 sub, I was using the dedicated sub port on the 1280's which was built for the T5 sub.

In my 7.1 setup, yes it is a combined Center/Sub connection.

then it would be the crossover being off...
k.

Yes, for sure the size of the woofer matters. That is what is amazing about the 2850's, they have a dedicated 8" woofer. You really can't get that with most other bookshelf style speakers, almost all of them have smaller woofers. My father is always big on size matters with speakers and he is correct with this.

This is why I would recommend anyone looking for computer speakers to just pick up the 2850's and call it a day, you won't get better sound. The bass that comes out of these speakers is something that will make everything sound so much better. I also picked up my pair during a sale for $340 bucks. You are not going to get anything even close to what these speakers will do at that price.

This is why I think many people who try 5.1 computer setups are not really happy because they are using small speakers. You won't get all that bass in the front left and right speakers which are directed a lot of the sound. The sub only really kicks on with gun shots, doesn't get used all that much in games.

However, I'm not sure if you can redirect all the bass to the sub that would be sent to the smaller speakers. Better to just make sure you have full range speakers on your front and left then mess around with that.


Anyone reading this, trust me, get the Edifier 2850's if you want sound at a whole new level on your computer system if you are using small bookshelf speakers.

is this an ad or are you actually needing help?

 

[DogsofJune]

Is it live or is it Memorex?

 

[eddie500]

then it would be the crossover being off...
k.



is this an ad or are you actually needing help?

Yes, I can see why you think it would be an ad. I'm just trying to make a decision if I should upgrade my entire system to the 2850's or is it pretty much not worth it because most of the gaming sounds don't really get sent to the surround and center channel.

Come to think of it, I guess the best way to determine this is to disconnect all my speakers and hook up the edifier 2850's as the surround speakers and see just how much sound is coming out of them to see if its worth to upgrade.

That being said, no I'm not pushing these speakers to make money for anyone, if you search my past posts for "edifier" you will see I was asking questions in the past about building a 7.1 system.a

I really liked the Edifier 1280's at that time so wanted to do a 7.1 speaker system with them.

I only got the edifier 2850's because I purchased them on sale for my retro gaming CRT, these things blew me away for my CRT but found out they are not shielded and I could not use them for my CRT retro gaming. I then decided to use them for my computer, and they blew me away by how much better they were than the Edifier 1280's, like they brought my computer sound system to a whole new level that I never thought was possible and nobody ever recommended on any forum for computer speakers.

This is why I like to let people know that if they want to bring their computer audio to a whole new level and are using small bookshelf speakers like the edifier 1280's, then trust me get the 2850's, it will be by far the best purchase you ever made and you will wonder why you used these small bookshelf speakers.