Need help venturing into the audio-side of gaming

HAL_404

HAL_404

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
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Can I build a decent 5.1 system with used stuff for $500 or less? Any recommendations on components (make / model) ?
 
yeah. get an AVR that takes hdmi in and some speakers. could probably get something new for $500.
 
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yeah, you can get some decent gear for that budget but good speakers will take up that entire budget.
Browse CL or FB for a decent older Receiver and then find some budget speakers for now; The Andrew Jones Bookshelf ones are very good for <200 on amazon.
Then you can slowly upgrade from there.
Good thing about audio is that your pieces lasts a really long time.
 
I've heard good things about those Andrew Jones speakers, as well.

ashmelev75 , Does that mean that you are running a separate HDMI cable out of your video card to the receiver just for audio? I've only ever used pass through in the past. No issues with audio being out of sync?

I've been wanting to jump back into the 5.1 speaker game again as well but have been hesitant because of potential difficulties with HDMI 2.1 and 4k 120Hz once the next gen video cards are out. I'm not sure what the outputs will look like on a 3080ti, but maybe HDMI 2.1 also means more than a single HDMI output(my 2080ti only has 1 HDMI and 3 DP). Perhaps I could just run a second cable to the receiver for audio and not have to worry about pass through specs. I have also seen the DP to HDMI adapters that say they'll pass 7.1 uncompressed audio.
 
Tol said:
ashmelev75 , Does that mean that you are running a separate HDMI cable out of your video card to the receiver just for audio? I've only ever used pass through in the past. No issues with audio being out of sync?

I've been wanting to jump back into the 5.1 speaker game again as well but have been hesitant because of potential difficulties with HDMI 2.1 and 4k 120Hz once the next gen video cards are out. I'm not sure what the outputs will look like on a 3080ti, but maybe HDMI 2.1 also means more than a single HDMI output(my 2080ti only has 1 HDMI and 3 DP). Perhaps I could just run a second cable to the receiver for audio and not have to worry about pass through specs. I have also seen the DP to HDMI adapters that say they'll pass 7.1 uncompressed audio.
Click to expand...

My main monitor is DP, my secondary monitor is DVI. The A/V receiver is connected via separate HDMI cable and has the HDMI emulator plug and in Windows that plug is duplicated with the secondary monitor, so Windows does not have any extra virtual monitors. There are no issues with audio being out of sync. The only potential issue could be is if you do not have a second monitor and your primary is high res, high refres rate which HDMI emulator is unable to match. In that case the refresh rate an resolution locks to the lowest denominator.
 
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thanks for all the good input. Checked out ashmelev75's receiver link and saw this one on eBay for cheap so I went for it:

Yamaha RX-V463

got it for $100 shipped and includes 2 Insignia bookshelf speakers (I'm not an audiophile and so, they should be ok for now)
also just went with Micca center and two bookshelves for $100 from Amazon (free Prime Trial was offered :))

will post how it goes once I test it out (says May 14 for Amazon order)
 
Last edited:
HAL_404 said:
thanks for all the good input. Checked out ashmelev75's receiver link and saw this one on eBay for cheap so I went for it:

Yamaha RX-V463

got it for $100 shipped and includes 2 Insignia bookshelf speakers (I'm not an audiophile and so, they should be ok for now)
also just went with Micca center and two bookshelves for $100 from Amazon (free Prime Trial was offered :))

will post how it goes once I test it out (says May 14 for Amazon order)
Click to expand...
I'm blind. Coffee is clouding my vision. Just saw this part.

That looks like a good receiver for the job, especially because it has multi-channel inputs. While HDMI is ideal, multi-channel inputs are straight-forward. You'd use three 3.5mm -> RCA cables (ex: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5597) from your motherboard's (assuming you don't have a sound card) audio output to the AVR's multi-in.
 
I'm using a left over Sony receiver and some surround speakers from some crappy home theater 5.1 kit with some Polk fronts. Oddly, it sounds fantastic.
 
thanks guys ... I just splurged for a used YAMAHA YST-SW150 SUBWOOFER SYSTEM ACTIVE SERVO PROCESSING (whatever that is, it sounds robotic) ... :)
 
ok, here's the rundown on what I bought. Worked out great, sounds fantastic. Bought everything for under $500 (shipped)

Bought Used:

Yamaha RX-V463 AVR
Yamaha YST-SW150 Subwoofer (YST-SW60 should work too)

Bought New:

2 x Micca MB42X Bookshelf Speakers
1 x Micca MB42X-C Center Channel Speaker
2 x Micca MB42 Bookshelf Speakers (for surround and doesn't have to match the Front Speakers and will save you $30)
Yamaha Audio Optimizer Microphone WN649600 (optional) to perform Auto Speakers Setup
 
Well, I've been a dummy all this time. Apparenly after upgrade from Win8.1 to Win10 and with somewhat recent AMD drivers the HDMI emulator is not even needed.
Win10 sees the receiver just fine, but still have to combine the receiver and the 2nd monitor so there's no empty dead space on the extended desktop.
 
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