Just got a receiver...Couple of questions.

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mooman689

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So I just scored a Sony STR-DE875 receiver for free, and I need a couple of suggestions as to what kind of bookshelves would go good with it...They will be hooked up to my PC only for now, and preferably I would like to spend $150 or less on them, but would consider bumping up if the speakers are good. They will be in a 2.0 set up, but I will be buying a sub sometime down the road (probably sometime in the fall or so). So do you guys have and advice, since I can't seem to find much around here about passive speakers.

Also, if my onboard audio only has analog out, should I purchase a sound card (looking at the HT Omegas) with optical out? Or would the analog be fine?
 
If you output analog, you use the onboard/sound card's DAC. To use the receiver's DAC, you need to output a digital signal (generally in the form of optical/coaxial S/PDIF).

If you're outputting digital, the quality of the card's analog stage really means nothing. So you might as well get the cheapest card you can find with the DSP feature set you want.
 
tSc seems to make some of the better budget bookshelves around. I would have recommended B-Stock ELT525M, but apparently, they ran out.

http://www.thespeakercompany.com/Bookshelf-C6.aspx

Any of those should be good. I would go for either of the ones with bigger woofers (6.5") or the mini tower speakers with the centers (the ones with two woofers and comes with three speakers). The TSBL honestly looks delicious, if you can push it there.

However, I would like to know, how far can you stretch your budget? :D

EDIT: Is the Sony a stereo receiver and/or do you really want to stick with 2.0? Then grab the TSBL, imo. If it fits your desk and such and if you can afford it and your receiver is not stereo, I would grab one of the deals with the center channel.
 
Its going to be hard to find anything decent in that price range without making a big sacrifice in sound, last year i spent some time looking around and these are what i found to be decent though i have a good ear for sound, most may not be so picky.

Great value and sound.
http://www.bostonacoustics.com/-CS-26-Bookshelf-Speaker-P259.aspx

Strongly recommended though more than you may want to spend.
http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/rb-51.aspx

These are in your price range and are good, i heard them before and will be hard to beat for the price.
http://electronics.pricegrabber.com.../2866426/search=infinity/st=product/sv=image/

If in doubt go out and listen to as many as you can before purchase, everyone has different tastes.
 
So it would be best then to get a sound card for the digital output to utilize the receiver's DAC then? The HT Omega card that was $80 seemed like a pretty good price. I'm really only looking at those because of the overall better ratings on newegg, also I have to stick with PCI only if I do get a card.

The receiver is a 5.1 receiver, right now I'm just planning on sticking to 2.0 and 2.1 for my PC, but I may eventually turn it into 5.1 if I move to to be with my TV as well. Here are the specs for it since its not a brand new receiver http://www0.shopping.com/xPF-Sony-STR-DE875

As for the budget...I may be able to stretch that up to the $300 - $400 range, if they are quality stuff that would last a long time. I actually listened to those Klipsch and they sounded great, I just didn't know I would be getting a free receiver a few hours later :p
 
If you can swing it any of the posted sets are great, a good set speakers will last a lifetime.

I'm still using my fathers Altec Valencia 846 A's in my basement that are about to turn 40 though they cost as much as a small car back in the day.

Sony makes decent equipment, you will have years of enjoyment with that receiver.
 
Until this month, my pc sound system consisted of a Sony receiver I bought used about 12 years ago. Since I moved in with my gf the pc is hooked to her stereo now, and the Sony will remain in service in my workshop. I think it will probably outlive me.
 
Well then at a budget like that, you could check out the CBM-170SE... or if you can find a used pair, usually the CMT-340SE goes for around $300-$350 used.

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=3903

Also, try to find out if you can grab any vintage Polk Monitors (4, 5, 7, 10). Or you could try for Paradigm Atom or Mini Monitors.

I'm guessing your receiver can't provide too much power...
 
Alai said:
Well then at a budget like that, you could check out the CBM-170SE... or if you can find a used pair, usually the CMT-340SE goes for around $300-$350 used.

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=3903

Also, try to find out if you can grab any vintage Polk Monitors (4, 5, 7, 10). Or you could try for Paradigm Atom or Mini Monitors.

I'm guessing your receiver can't provide too much power...
Click to expand...

No need to guess, just lookup the specs

http://www.shopping.com/xPF-Sony-STR-DE875
 
Specs don't mean crap... Just like the specs of headphones or speakers generally don't mean crap...
 
Is a pair of Paradigm Mini Monitors for $330 a good price? That's the cheapest I can find those on ebay. There's also a pair of Paradigm Studio 20's for $400.

But I'm still not really sure about what I'm going to do yet. I think I would like to try to get a 6 1/2 inch woofer though. And I like the Klipsch, the Paradigms and the TSBL the best so far.
 
What would be the cheapest sound card/USB device with a S/PDIF output to reccomend to him? I highly douubt he needs to spend $80 on that HT Omega card for just a simple S/PDIF output.

OP, what OS are you using? I ask because some of the really cheap cards have issues with Vista 64.
 
I'm using Vista 64. I just mentioned that Omega because it seemed like one of the better, cheaper solutions for a PCI sound card...But that was only from checking newegg.
 
I understand, its just the actual technology behind getting a simple S/PDIF output should cost pennies, and I know there are a few little USB dongles out there that will do just that. I'll keep looking.

The reason soundcards are expensive is because of the analog circuitry and output stage on them, which by using a S/PDIF out you will completely bypass. So there is no reason to spend $80 on a card when you are only using the $10 part of it.
 
Exactly what I was thinking.. sometimes I just fail horribly at searching.... :)

I would go with the Behringer unit personally. That will give you a nice digital S/PDIF out directly to your receiver.
 
So I decided to go with the Paradigm Mini Monitors....I got to listen to both those, the atoms, and the Klipsch bookshelves and kinda fell in love with these ones...Now just need to get the SPDIF connector and I should be good to go for now

Thanks for the input guys.
 
Would there be a difference in using the S/PDIF on the motherboard instead of a dedicated sound card with S/PDIF?
 
Unless you want to get seriously technical, no, they are bit-for-bit identical. Its a digital connection. Is there a difference between a Monster Cable HDMI cable and a Monoprice.com HDMI cable? nope..
 
From a performance aspect? Would using the onboard port use more CPU clocks than the sound card?
 
No. The CPU isn't doing anything, its just passing the signal along.
 
woah woah woah, get some polk audios or if you enjoy more bassy sounding speakers get klipsch orr, a more pleasant speaker under klipsch, energy. this really isnt something you can ask people, its .
 
sovietking101 said:
woah woah woah, get some polk audios or if you enjoy more bassy sounding speakers get klipsch orr, a more pleasant speaker under klipsch, energy. this really isnt something you can ask people, its .
Click to expand...

That was.... helpful? :confused:
 
Alai said:
Well then at a budget like that, you could check out the CBM-170SE... or if you can find a used pair, usually the CMT-340SE goes for around $300-$350 used.

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=3903

Also, try to find out if you can grab any vintage Polk Monitors (4, 5, 7, 10). Or you could try for Paradigm Atom or Mini Monitors.

I'm guessing your receiver can't provide too much power...
Click to expand...

I second the CBM 170 suggestion, I never used SE version, but I had 2 CBM 170 for over 2 years, along with Panasonic XR-50(not sure the mode number but something like that) that has the same output power as your receiver which is 100W @ 8 ohm, as well as a Dayton 10" 100W power sub. Sound card I used with them was EMU 1212M.

It sounds as good as any speaker setup I've ever listened to, include some that cost $5K+. And it sounds twice as good as my current M-Audio Bx8a Deluxe.
 
If your bumping up your price range I would definitely suggest looking into Energy speakers like an above poster said. I just got a pair of the RC-10s for $330 on ebay and they sound amazing and put out a respectable amount of bass from a 5.5" driver. Granted...I have them hooked up to a HK 3485 stereo receiver that pumps 150 watts per channel into 4 ohms which is exactly what the speakers are rated for, I'm sure they would still sound really good with your receiver. I actually bought a 12" 400-watt Infinity sub since I'm a big bass lover and I think I would have been satisfied with the bass that just these speakers put out.

Oh, and if your not really a big audiophile or anything, just use the 3.5mm output on your soundcard and get an adapter to 2 RCA plugs. Thats all I use and it sounds great and is simple.

100_1640.jpg
 
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