Looking for New Audio Setup-

[Cyraxx]

Hey everyone. First off I read the FAQ . So first, I would like to say what the faq told me.
1) My budget is ~400-450$
2) Currently, I have a set of Klipsch 5.1 (NON ULTRAS), that dont seem to do it for me. I am interested in more 5.1, no more than 5 speakers. I also currently have an Audigy 2 ZS, and an Audigy 2 NX (External) laying around.
3) Im using this simply in my computer room, but very much enjoy loud music
4) I honestly dont know much about hooking up receivers etc.... to my computer. If I were to be convinced that Klipsch 5.1 ULTRAS (I have the NON ULTRAS) were that much better, I would simply go with the ULTRAS. Other than that, Im open to the new Logitechs, possibly Creatives, it all depends on what I hear back from you experts.
So what would you guys reccomend?

 

[compslckr]

i just got a receiver and 2 speakers and i could not be happier. the only thing that i would change is adding a sub to the setup.

The receiver and speakers i got are in my sig, i also ordered a set of those polks that were on sale for $49.99 per pair just because they were cheap and they also sound quite good. if I added a decent sub to this set up it would be awesome.

to hook the receiver up to your computer there is only one wire that goes into your line-out jack and then into one of the inputs on the receiver and you are good to go.

the only reason i dont use both of the speaker sets i have is because of the limited space in my dorm room.

with your budget go for a receiver and speakers set up

 

[Cyraxx]

Hmmm Im also a little flexible, thats just a little window of whats available (money wise). I would like to know though, what is considered a great receiver, but also speakers that would push it to the limit. Also - a comparison to simple computer speakers (like my Klipsch) would really be appreciated from people who have experienced both.

 

[so_cal_forever]

If you're looking to do 5.1 still, you'd need to save up some more money for the reciever, speakers, and subwoofer for going with a good setup. However, pairing some Polk bookshelfs or floorstanders, a decent subwoofer (I've been advised to the Dayton Loudspeaker 100w sub so far) and a good stereo reciever, say, an Onkyo, you'd be looking at somewhere between $325 when deals are hot or $375-$425 at going rates. Now, a 5.1 home theater setup will run you about $700 if you went something like 2xPolk R15, 2xPolk R30, a decent center channel speaker, subwoofer, and 5.1 reciever. The choice is yours.

 

[Cyraxx]

Believe me - 4K$ is in my bank account - i have more than enough money to spend. I was just giving a little reasonable window. Anyhow - How does this sound, getting a 5.1 Receiver, along with 2 Speakers and a Sub - and if I find the need to arise, simply buy 3 more speakers? Although my dad has a decent ammount of experience with audio equipment, I am a bit new. I will soon be selling my Klipsch, which will add plenty of money. But like I said - what kind of quality are we talking here . Also - is Polk a well known brand or something? My father has always advised me that Bose are quite nice.

 

[compslckr]

in my opinion bose is pretty much overpriced equiptment. it may sound pretty good, but it costs many times more than a nice set of other branded speakers (such as polk)


like i said before i got the R-15s when they were $49 a pair and my denon receiver was about $200 with shipping from ecost.com I think that the polks sound at least as good as my other set of speakers, and in the near future i might sell the other ones that i paid about $100 for and keep the r-15s and get a sub.

 

[simpsond]

Computer setups simply cannot beat a cheap recieiver. With audio, the sky is the limit. However, you really need to find out if you have the ear for expensive equipment. Some people can tell the slightest differences, and some would'nt know Koss from B&W... so I suggest going to Circuit City or any of the stores carrying mainstream equipment, and get a tour. Tell them you are interested in a reciever, and some floor speakers for a home theater setup an you will get to listen to a variety of speakers. Some will sound good to you, and others will not. So test drive the equipment before you spend big money on a setup. However, id start with a M-Audio revolution as a secondary card. Once you have a decent setup, you will be able to notice signifigant differences between the revo and the audigy... At least I can. Cheers.

 

[BossNoodleKaboodle]

If you're willing to spend a bit more, get some Blue Sky 5.1 monitors. They'll blow away any Klipsch or Bose setup. They're about $650. You could also get a pair of Event TR-8's or KRK monitors for about that price, and you'll have easy hookup with RCA, balanced XLR or other inputs depending on the speakers and all you'll need is the analog source i.e. the soundcard output.

In that price range you're usually better off with pro audio than consumer because pro audio actually has to perform, or there's no market for it. Consumer audio can be any piece of plastic shit with glowing buttons that people think is good based on its useless and over-hyped features, while offering shit sound.

 

[agentzero9]

Believe me - 4K$ is in my bank account - i have more than enough money to spend. I was just giving a little reasonable window. Anyhow - How does this sound, getting a 5.1 Receiver, along with 2 Speakers and a Sub - and if I find the need to arise, simply buy 3 more speakers?

That is an excellent idea and the way to go I think.


$100- $150 for a refurb Onkyo or Kenwood reciever from ecost.com or j&r.com

$100-$200 on a pair of floor standers. Circuity city often has steals.
or
$250 for an entire 5.1 setup http://www.fluance.com/fluanceavhtb.html

$100-$200 on a decent midrange sub (I suggest velodyne VX-10 or Dayton) http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-632

 

[GodsMadClown]

Floorstanders for a computer setup can be difficult wrt placement. Obviously, they cannot go on the desk, right beside the monitor. I would echo BossNoodle's guidance towrd a studio monitor of some sort. You want something that is geared for nearfield listening.

Perhaps four of these...

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=878530

or...

M-Audio Studiophile LX4 - 2.1 surround system
M-Audio Studiophile LX4 - 5.1 expander

That'll come to $367.90 shipped at http://www.torcomp.com/

 

[Cyraxx]

@compslckr - Although they may be expensive, my dad says he has 4 of them sitting around that cost him nearly $500 - they are tiny, but my dad says they pack a punch. Would these do fine?

@simpsond I do - we currently have a nice home theater downstairs for our big screen TV - I really notice the clarity in the audio much more.

@bossnoodlekaboodle - What exactly is a 'monitor' in audio language ?

@agentzero9 - Yeah I think I may go this way - but also try out my fathers bose speakers he says he has laying around. Do you have any reccomendations as far as those receivers go (IE: Certain things to look out for, features, etc...). As for Floor stands - I saw these: http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/prod...broadvision.session.new=Yes&BV_UseBVCookie=No at Circuit City and was thinking they would work perfectly. Yes, no?

 

[compslckr]

if he has the bose speakers laying around and is willing to let you use them then do it by all means. The bose speakers do sound good, its just the price that scared me away. if you can get to use them for free do it.


also those floor stands you found look like they would be a good match for your speakers since they are actually ment for those speakers.
http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=502544 is the receiver that i bought and it seems to have alot of features and it is really easy to use and set up (this is my first receiver and i got it on monday)

 

[GodsMadClown]

The main thing to look for on a receiver is a 6-channel set of analog inputs. Everything else is really secondary.

You might try this one for $125
AVR-483 Dolby Digital and DTS A/V Receiver With Dolby Pro Logic II for a New Way To Enjoy Home Theater Factory Refurbished by Denon

or this one for $185
Open Box AVR225 Home Theater Receiver with Dolby Digital, DTS, and Logic 7® Factory Refurbished by Harman Kardon

I would pick the HK. That's an outstanding deal.

You could also look at your local Craigslist.org to see what used surround receivers are availible.

 

[BO(V)BZ]

@compslckr - Although they may be expensive, my dad says he has 4 of them sitting around that cost him nearly $500 - they are tiny, but my dad says they pack a punch. Would these do fine?

If you want to really test the Bose system, go play some well-recorded music. While a Bose setup might be considered by some decent enough for movies, I've not heard anyone say that they are great for music. Their drivers are a bit small IMO, and don't provide proper 'slam' for music or movies. Frankly, they are not great speakers, and in the past, Bose has sued people who published unfavorable reviews. There are much better choices out there for your money.

@bossnoodlekaboodle - What exactly is a 'monitor' in audio language ?

Monitors, in a generic sense, are pretty much any speaker that presents an accurate representation of the recording. In the sense BNK is talking about, it's a bookshelf speaker that includes a builtin amplifier, and sometimes a DAC. These style of speakers are generally used by recording engineers to monitor the audio as they mix sounds, hence the name.

@agentzero9 - Yeah I think I may go this way - but also try out my fathers bose speakers he says he has laying around. Do you have any reccomendations as far as those receivers go (IE: Certain things to look out for, features, etc...). As for Floor stands - I saw these: http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/prod...broadvision.session.new=Yes&BV_UseBVCookie=No at Circuit City and was thinking they would work perfectly. Yes, no?

For receivers, look for something that can do DTS, has 6channel analog inputs for multichannel gaming, and has at least 60W of power, to be safe. Be sure to get one that has a sub-out also, but this is fairly standard. Good names would be Onkyo, Denon, Marantz, and I've heard good things about the new digital receivers from HK, but they are probably a bit out of your price range.

 

[BossNoodleKaboodle]

@bossnoodlekaboodle - What exactly is a 'monitor' in audio language ?

A monitor is any speaker driver(the term driver here refers to the diaphram and magnet(motor) assembly that generates the actual sound) + enclosure +(optionally) DAC(Digital to Analog Converter) and amplifier. Its a term for an audio output device in the same way that a CRT or LCD is a visual output monitor.

Most studio monitors have built in amplification, and some have onboard DAC's so that all you need to get sound from them is a digital source. The built in DAC's also keep the signal in digital form, which is less susceptible to EMI or RFI interference than an analog speaker, moving down a speaker wire from a receiver would be.

Depending on the quality of the components used, these pro audio style monitors will give you a better cost/value than consumer audio. They're typically ugly black boxes without speaker grilles even(they typically distort the sound too much for critical listening, or to make them properly would cost more than a cheapy speaker would). The advantage to buying these types of speakers are their quality, durability, accuracy and power. Event, Mackie, M&K, Blue Sky, KRK, M-Audio and a few others are little-known in the consumer audio world, because they're ugly, expensive for their looks, and not advertized, but those are often the characteristics of fantastic products in all categories.

 

[BO(V)BZ]

(they typically distort the sound too much for critical listening).

Just curious, but do you have any links that reference this? From what I've read and heard, it's really a matter of aesthetics more than anything else. I like my speakers sans grills myself, but plenty prefer them on. I've not seen any studies of this, and if you have any info, I'd appreciate it =]

 

[so_cal_forever]

M-Audio Studiophile LX4 - 2.1 surround system
M-Audio Studiophile LX4 - 5.1 expander

I've been looking for the perfect bookshelfs and subwoofer for a new, great 2.1 setup. Would these do me good? I'm geared for music and games, and was previously considering Polk R15s and a Dayton 100w sub. Would the M-Audios do me better? It'd sure be cheaper for me.

The ease of expanding to 5.1 also makes me want these if the sound quality is good. BTW, would you have to connect these to a reciever or would you connect them to the comp another way?

 

[BossNoodleKaboodle]

Just curious, but do you have any links that reference this? From what I've read and heard, it's really a matter of aesthetics more than anything else. I like my speakers sans grills myself, but plenty prefer them on. I've not seen any studies of this, and if you have any info, I'd appreciate it =]

It was mostly written in books and magazines about Hi-Fi that I learned about audio, so I don't have any links for it. It depends on the design and material of the grille, naturally though. Most studio monitors forgo the grille's because they would add unnecessary cost to the unit, when they're not needed in a professional audio listening room. They're not necessary unless little kids are poking their fingers in the drivers and busting the tweeters.

 

[simpsond]

It was mostly written in books and magazines about Hi-Fi that I learned about audio, so I don't have any links for it. It depends on the design and material of the grille, naturally though. Most studio monitors forgo the grille's because they would add unnecessary cost to the unit, when they're not needed in a professional audio listening room. They're not necessary unless little kids are poking their fingers in the drivers and busting the tweeters.

Grills are rarely sonically transparent... and if they are, they will tear very easily. This is due to the nature of materials, which can be a complex subject. Take the grills off if your wife doesnt mind.