JBL LSR305 powered speakers or Bose 201? Connection questions also...

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[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 1, 2000
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I have an old pair of Bose 201 speakers that I have not used in many years. Is it worth getting a small amplifier for them, or would a set of newer powered speakers be noticeably better?

As for connections, would a sound card such as the Sound Blaster Zx allow me to output to this pair of speakers, perhaps a powered sub, and to an AVR?

The Zx has these outputs:
Speaker Out : 3 x 3.5mm jacks(F/R/C-Sub)
Optical Out : 1x TOSLINK


I think it would meet my needs. Are TOSLINK used here, and Optical on the receiver the same thing?

My current Sound Blaster X-Fi has these outputs:
Line OutFront/Rear/Center/Subwoofer/Rear Center
SPDIF Out


I am not sure this will work for also connecting to my receiver.

Also, what about volume control? With either of these options I would have to rely solely on the volume control in Windows. Is there a way to have a physical volume control that can also be used?
 
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What are you wanting to do with them? I personally think that Bose's "Direct/Reflect" technology smears the image of the music. Actually, come to think of it, 201's don't have direct/reflect (I think the 301's and up do). Your call. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the Bose sound. I had a pair of 301's that I received for free a while back. I ended up giving them away to a friend who's not too much into audio, and just needs a decent set of speakers that can are a clear step up from boomboxes.
 
What are you wanting to do with them? I personally think that Bose's "Direct/Reflect" technology smears the image of the music. Actually, come to think of it, 201's don't have direct/reflect (I think the 301's and up do). Your call. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the Bose sound. I had a pair of 301's that I received for free a while back. I ended up giving them away to a friend who's not too much into audio, and just needs a decent set of speakers that can are a clear step up from boomboxes.

Music and gaming. Music would be at higher volumes, gaming is usually quieter with the TV on in the same room.

I have had a set of small Creative Labs speakers for the past several years due to size constraints. Music used to sound much better with the Bose 201s and a receiver. I want to get back to music sounding good.
 
Music and gaming. Music would be at higher volumes, gaming is usually quieter with the TV on in the same room.

I have had a set of small Creative Labs speakers for the past several years due to size constraints. Music used to sound much better with the Bose 201s and a receiver. I want to get back to music sounding good.

If you like the Bose, then there's no reason in getting anything else.

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Natural-Stereo-Receiver-R-S201BL/dp/B00F0H88SY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413848045&sr=8-1&keywords=yamaha+stereo+receiver

I found this on a quick search but the more astute individuals on these forums could recommend something else if they see the need. But you did mention an AVR as well. Do you already have this?
 
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If you like the Bose, then there's no reason in getting anything else.

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Natural-Stereo-Receiver-R-S201BL/dp/B00F0H88SY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413848045&sr=8-1&keywords=yamaha+stereo+receiver

I found this on a quick search but the more astute individuals on these forums could recommend something else if they see the need. But you did mention an AVR as well. Do you already have this?

I have an older receiver that I could use to power the Bose speakers. I don't want something that large on my desk though. I had a different thread here (http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1837994) where others were suggesting small amplifiers.

I have an AVR farther away that I would also like to be able send sound to.
 
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I would see if you can demo the LSR305's at a Guitar Center or other local brick & mortar retailer. There's no accounting for someone's personal taste when it comes to music. The surest way to get a setup you'll be happy with is to listen to it yourself.
 
if you like the 301's don't see a reason not to use them...

you can get if you are remotely DIY inclined a TPA3116 kit off ebay for ~$20 and a little tube buffer pre amp people rave about this combo.. I also have a FiiO E07K/E09K combo on my desk for my headphones and as a dac for my vintage receivers the FiiO has a pre out (or there are a number of other fairly inexpensive pre options

Emotiva control freak
http://www.amazon.com/Emotiva-Contr...3852929&sr=8-1&keywords=emotiva+control+freak

or

schiit sys

http://www.amazon.com/Schiit-Audio-...ie=UTF8&qid=1413853195&sr=8-7&keywords=schiit

or even

http://www.amazon.com/PAC-LC-1-Remo...qid=1413852968&sr=8-6&keywords=volume+control


blah blah in my various thriftstore / estate sales / garage sales..etc outings i have come to possess a number of pretty nice power amps for small money

my favorite being a parasound HCA750 I got for $14.99 if you could find something like that plus a small volume control you could put the amp pretty much any place in the room and control the volume from the desktop.
 
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if you like the 301's don't see a reason not to use them...

you can get if you are remotely DIY inclined a TPA3116 kit off ebay for ~$20 and a little tube buffer pre amp people rave about this combo.. I also have a FiiO E07K/E09K combo on my desk for my headphones and as a dac for my vintage receivers the FiiO has a pre out (or there are a number of other fairly inexpensive pre options

Emotiva control freak
http://www.amazon.com/Emotiva-Contr...3852929&sr=8-1&keywords=emotiva+control+freak


or

schiit sys

http://www.amazon.com/Schiit-Audio-...ie=UTF8&qid=1413853195&sr=8-7&keywords=schiit

or even

http://www.amazon.com/PAC-LC-1-Remo...qid=1413852968&sr=8-6&keywords=volume+control


blah blah in my various thriftstore / estate sales / garage sales..etc outings i have come to possess a number of pretty nice power amps for small money

my favorite being a parasound HCA750 I got for $14.99 if you could find something like that plus a small volume control you could put the amp pretty much any place in the room and control the volume from the desktop.

Oh. Thanks for the link to the Control Freak.
 
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