• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Need recommendations for a 2.1 set for gaming and movies.

N

neville12

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Messages
65
What are the best 2.1 sets for gaming and multimedia that deliver the best quality? My budget is 550 bucks max.
 
That's a pretty good budget... Some off the cuff suggestions to give you a rough idea of what you could get (I'm sure others can chime in with alternatives to the specific models I'll name):

-Topping T-amp in the $100 range, look at the TP2x line; or a used vintage receiver (could be even cheaper), newer stereo receivers won't really do anything significantly better for the money IMO (if at all), tho there's better class A/B desktop amps out there like Emotiva's mini and Audioengine's N22, they're also twice as expensive

-decent pair bookshelves, you can get something like the Infinity Primus P163 for around $150; you've got a lot of room to play here tho... Could go with something closer to $100 from Polk/Pioneer, or something much more expensive obviously tho you'll wanna allocate a decent chunk of the budget to the sub IMO

-I guess after that you're left with around $300 for the sub... Something like the BIC F12 would run you $200 and would leave you some money left over for a sound card upgrade or a USB DAC if you don't already have a decent source... Or you could blow it all on something more musical like a HSU STF.

Like I said, there's tons of sub/speaker options out there, but that's roughly how I'd distribute the budget regardless of the particular choices, specially if it's primarily for gaming and movies... There's a lot of old threads on the subject which you can dig up too.
 
yeah for new gear partsexpress is your friend in this case

used gear is found on craigslist or any variety of online forums like polk audio or home theater forums.

I would spend more on the source aka dac or soundcard and the 2 speakers are the most important parts if you want the best possible sound. A sub is nice but it is really just gravy on the mashed potatoes.
 
Well if it was mainly for music I'd steer him towards spending more on the speakers themselves too, but for gaming and movies (and some music genres) that sub's gonna be way more than gravy IMO, if he had a lower budget I'd agree on skipping or skimping on the sub regardless...

I think for $550 he can easily have it all tho. Left the source situation ambiguous since I didn't know what he's currently using, plus a low end Xonar's always an option and only about $50.
 
Impulse said:
Well if it was mainly for music I'd steer him towards spending more on the speakers themselves too, but for gaming and movies (and some music genres) that sub's gonna be way more than gravy IMO, if he had a lower budget I'd agree on skipping or skimping on the sub regardless...

I think for $550 he can easily have it all tho. Left the source situation ambiguous since I didn't know what he's currently using, plus a low end Xonar's always an option and only about $50.
Click to expand...

2.1 Phillips computer speakers set, its not horribly bad but it sure as hell isnt great, the two speakers sound is muffled and the subwoofer wether there is explosions or not its pretty much silent, but its not surprising since the set was retailed for like 60 bucks back in 2011.

http://www.mea.philips.com/c/pc-audio/spa7350_10/prd/?t=specifications
 
By source I meant what sound card or DAC you're currently using, if you're using on-board I'd look at either getting a used receiver with optical inputs or spending a little less on the sub (going with the BIC F12 for instance) so you can throw $50-100 a decent sound card or USB DAC (depending on whether you'll also use headphones etc).
 
Impulse said:
By source I meant what sound card or DAC you're currently using, if you're using on-board I'd look at either getting a used receiver with optical inputs or spending a little less on the sub (going with the BIC F12 for instance) so you can throw $50-100 a decent sound card or USB DAC (depending on whether you'll also use headphones etc).
Click to expand...

I already have a receiver, for the 5.1 setup for my TV.

But for my PC, I just dont want anything too big like receiver, new sound card etc... I want to use stereo with sub (2.1) and thats all

I dont know which sound card I have, all I see is Realtek High Definition Audio and NVIDIA High Definition Audio and when I go to the audio manager it says ASUS like in this picture

realtekHDaudio.jpg


What does it mean?
 
So you're using your motherboard's on board sound. Like I said, if that's the case I'd spare some of the budget for a decent sound card or a small USB DAC. Analog output from a motherboard is usually not very good (it'll be a total disservice to nice speakers and hold the whole system back), you can get something like an ASUS Xonar DGX for about $50.

The speaker amps I mentioned before are all pretty small (smaller than many routers) and easier to have on a desk than a full fledged AVR receiver. Another option would be powered speakers tho I think passives are the better value (easier to pair with a sub or re-use down the line), powered speakers would each have an amp inside them (or inside one of the two driving both).

Even if you go with powered speakers I'd highly recommend you upgrade your source, on board motherboard audio's only worthwhile if you're gonna output digital to areceiver.
 
Last edited:
X2. You have to upgrade that on board sound or you are just pissing into the wind.
 
Think of it like getting a 30" LCD while using a five year old video card for gaming an unbalanced setup that's gonna be no fun.
 
I didnt know that I didnt have a sound card, so which sound cards do you recommend?

Also, I was thinking of picking up one of the following 2.1 sets

Jamo P102
Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX
Teufel Concept D 500 THX
Razer Mako THX
Corsair SP2500

Which one of these would be the most suited?
 
Where do you live? Usa or ?

None of those except maybe the jamo would be good and that has tiny speakers that will not produce natural sound. Too small.
 
There's probably a Charlie Brown cartoon that could describe how I feel right now...

Anyway, I mentioned a good low cost sound card several times in the previous posts.
 
OP, I would suggest the following.

Since you need to upgrade your sound card, buy a Topping TP30. It's a small, compact, high quality USB sound card (/receiver/amp/DAC).

Then, buy these bookshelf speakers to plug into the Topping TP30. My audiophile friend bought these, and uses them in lieu of studio monitors sometimes.
http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-TS...1354785804&sr=1-8&keywords=bookshelf+speakers

(Also, the Dayton B652 speakers are very good for the money)


I don't know what to do about a sub though.




If you don't want to do what I suggested, then PLEASE, you MUST update your sound card. An Asus Xonar DG is probably the minimum. Really, for a 2.1 setup, it's all you need and more. Plus it has headphone amplification (albeit feeble compared to $300 amp units). Then you can run whatever standard, pre-made 2.1 setup you want without worrying about being gimped by inferior motherboard sound.

If you only care about that big boomy sound and aren't so keen on bass articulation and accurate mids and highs, you'll probably like these Klipsch speakers. Just please get a sound card if you go this route, though.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030ZLZ5G...e=asn&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B0030ZLZ5G
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
spaceman said:
X2. You have to upgrade that on board sound or you are just pissing into the wind.
Click to expand...

1) for an average person with regular hearing, can he tell a reasonable difference between the onboard sound card vs. some high quality add-on sound card, say the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR PCIe Sound Card?

2) if the person is using this set of power speaker, the Audio Engine 5+, I assume he no longer need an amplifer?

http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Audioengine-A5plus

3) for the above speaker, can any1 name a few brand names, better than Audio Engine 5+, that is for PC speaker usage?

4) Is there any brand which make integrated tower type speaker, for e.g. like the Sound BlasterAxx SBX 20, better than the Audio Engine 5+?

5) And last but not least, what do you gain from "Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD PCIe Sound Card" to the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR PCIe Sound Card?

like neville12, I already have an Yamaha integrated 7.1 receiver to a Klipsch 5.1 speakers. And my onboard sound card can connect to it if I want. But my problem is, that Yamaha and its speaker is also in use playing some TV show or blu-ray movie, so I can't use those speakers.
 
Well, you could just get a creative z and it will sound better for games at least than onboard. Even if you run digital into your receiver. The Z has pretty much the best game sound I have yet to hear on the pc but it does sound pretty much the same for music and movies as onboard if you use digital.

There are several better than the A5s. Here is an example

Fostex PMO.4n Powered Studio Monitor Pair

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/fostex-pmo.4n-powered-studio-monitor-pair#review

Alesis M1 Active 520

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-...-75w-active-near-field-reference-monitor-pair
 
Happy Hopping said:
1) for an average person with regular hearing, can he tell a reasonable difference between the onboard sound card vs. some high quality add-on sound card, say the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR PCIe Sound Card?

2) if the person is using this set of power speaker, the Audio Engine 5+, I assume he no longer need an amplifer?

http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Audioengine-A5plus

3) for the above speaker, can any1 name a few brand names, better than Audio Engine 5+, that is for PC speaker usage?

4) Is there any brand which make integrated tower type speaker, for e.g. like the Sound BlasterAxx SBX 20, better than the Audio Engine 5+?

5) And last but not least, what do you gain from "Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD PCIe Sound Card" to the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR PCIe Sound Card?

like neville12, I already have an Yamaha integrated 7.1 receiver to a Klipsch 5.1 speakers. And my onboard sound card can connect to it if I want. But my problem is, that Yamaha and its speaker is also in use playing some TV show or blu-ray movie, so I can't use those speakers.
Click to expand...


1. You can tell the difference once you start getting nicer headphones or speakers.. for many years I i had cheap a$$ headphones and rather meh.. logitech z560 multimedia speakers and my onboard audio sounded fine.

then I bought some somewhat nicer headphones (for $35 these things actually kinda kill...) JVC HA-RX700 and suddenly my onboard sound was revealed to be absolute crap. I now am using AudioTechnia ATH-M50 headphones however.

then I got myself a little T-amp and hooked it up to some Polk Montor 30 bookshelf speakers and a PSW10 sub and once again the onboard audio was clearly not up to the challenge.

I bought a Asus Xonar DG for the princely sum of $15 (after rebate) and the difference was quite apparent indeed.

but if you have crap headphones are speakers you'd quite possibly not be able to hear much difference just due to the limitations of the upstream gear.

2. the Audio engine A5+ are powered speakers so you wouldn't need a seperate amp.. the down side is if something goes wrong with something with the speakers or the amp inside the speakers you either have to have it repaired or replace the works. Also if you want to upgrade you have to just start over.

3. Personally i like the Tannoy reveal 501A very much but they are butt ugly and somewhat bigger than the A5+'s .... if I was going to use powered monitors /speakers I'd probably rock the Tannoy's of what i have personally heard.


4. Meh... sorry don't know... i don't think most of these kinda things are really all that great SQ wise...


5. Personally I would be hard pressed to have another creative sound card ... they have made my life difficult enough in the past.

but blah The ZxR would be somewhat better than the Titan HD ..but as far as how much anyone would be able to tell would be sort of dependent on their hearing and the rest of their equipment.. You can start seeing diminishing returns pretty quickly on audio stuff ...is it $100 +? nicer... meh.. it can drive headphones up to 600ohms vs 330ohms for the titan... and it doesn't have a useless plastic rf shield..so there is that.. ;)

I think I'd rather have a Xonar STX personally.... or if i was going to drop $250 on that i think I would rather have something external assuming i have the room.. the upside of external stuff is rather than trying to shield / deal with all the other RF bullsh*t inside a computer case you just move the works outside the case ...problem solved.

for around the money of the ZxR I'd probably get a Maverick Audio D1+ plus with tube /opamp upgrades

http://www.mav-audio.com/store/index.php/dac/tube-magic-dac-d1-5670.html
 
spaceman said:
Well, you could just get a creative z and it will sound better for games at least than onboard. Even if you run digital into your receiver. The Z has pretty much the best game sound I have yet to hear on the pc but it does sound pretty much the same for music and movies as onboard if you use digital.

There are several better than the A5s. Here is an example

Fostex PMO.4n Powered Studio Monitor Pair

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/fostex-pmo.4n-powered-studio-monitor-pair#review

Alesis M1 Active 520

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-...-75w-active-near-field-reference-monitor-pair
Click to expand...

these 2 speakers require you to have a amplifier to connect to. The Audio Engine save me from buying that amplifier, and can connect from your sound card directly to the rear of the speaker via the red/white plug
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Happy Hopping said:
these 2 speakers require you to have a amplifier to connect to. The Audio Engine save me from buying that amplifier, and can connect from your sound card directly to the rear of the speaker via the red/white plug
Click to expand...

Nope. You are missing something. That IS what they are. Powered or active monitors. They have built in amplifiers just like the A5. You can run analogue source right into their back side.

It is hard to see on one of them and the other there is no picture of the back. However, they are powered monitors which you plug into your sound card.
 
atarione said:
1. You can tell the difference once you start getting nicer headphones or speakers.. for many years I i had cheap a$$ headphones and rather meh.. logitech z560 multimedia speakers and my onboard audio sounded fine.
Click to expand...

using the A5+ as a temporary reference, is it an over kill for games and such? It's 50W rms, 75W per channel

by comparison using the same brand:

http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Audioengine-A2-Tech

the A2 is 15W rms, 30W per channel

can a sound card, say we use the Sound Blaster ZxR, can it make use of 75W per channel? or do you think we need an amplifier to make use of it?

By the way, as a sheer coincidence, I was looking at workstation rig last night, and I would like to know where you buy those black metal rack that support your stand
 
spaceman said:
Nope. You are missing something. That IS what they are. Powered or active monitors. They have built in amplifiers just like the A5. You can run analogue source right into their back side.

It is hard to see on one of them and the other there is no picture of the back. However, they are powered monitors which you plug into your sound card.
Click to expand...

I did look in the rear via image search before I post that, the Audio engine has the red/white plug for you to plug in from your sound card, whereas these power speaker doesn't have it:

OT_01_Fostex.jpg


M1A520_Monitores-de-Estudio-ALESIS-M1-Active-520_2..jpg
 
Happy Hopping said:
1) for an average person with regular hearing, can he tell a reasonable difference between the onboard sound card vs. some high quality add-on sound card, say the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR PCIe Sound Card?

2) if the person is using this set of power speaker, the Audio Engine 5+, I assume he no longer need an amplifer?

http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Audioengine-A5plus

3) for the above speaker, can any1 name a few brand names, better than Audio Engine 5+, that is for PC speaker usage?

4) Is there any brand which make integrated tower type speaker, for e.g. like the Sound BlasterAxx SBX 20, better than the Audio Engine 5+?

5) And last but not least, what do you gain from "Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD PCIe Sound Card" to the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR PCIe Sound Card?

like neville12, I already have an Yamaha integrated 7.1 receiver to a Klipsch 5.1 speakers. And my onboard sound card can connect to it if I want. But my problem is, that Yamaha and its speaker is also in use playing some TV show or blu-ray movie, so I can't use those speakers.
Click to expand...

1) I would say that for most people, they either wouldn't really notice the difference or would not appreciate the difference, because it "sounds fine." If it were my money, I would spend it on better speakers and skip DACs and the like.

2) Correct

3) If you are already going to consider Audio Engine, I would personally check into the Vanatoo Transparent One. They have a ton of inputs, decent extension for bookshelves so you may be able to pass on the subwoofer, and offer a 30 day audition period (basically free minus return shipping) so you can see if they are what you really want.

4) I'm not aware of any.

5) You basically gain the latest and greatest of their hardware/software effects such as virtual surround. Sure the hardware is upgraded, but you are not likely to ever notice the difference between signal to noise ratios on any modern card. Hell, if I knew where my old X-Fi XtremeMusic was I would just send it to you.
 
Happy Hopping said:
using the A5+ as a temporary reference, is it an over kill for games and such? It's 50W rms, 75W per channel

by comparison using the same brand:

http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Audioengine-A2-Tech

the A2 is 15W rms, 30W per channel

can a sound card, say we use the Sound Blaster ZxR, can it make use of 75W per channel? or do you think we need an amplifier to make use of it?

By the way, as a sheer coincidence, I was looking at workstation rig last night, and I would like to know where you buy those black metal rack that support your stand
Click to expand...


hi...If it was me I'd get the A5+ over the A2's the A5+ is going to have better (not great but better) bass response.. the A2 has a smaller woofer and cabinet and just isn't going to be able to have enough low end for my taste... even with the A5+ i'd probably still want a sub woofer.

as far as the sound card question goes... honestly with either the A2's or the A5+ you'd probably be hard pressed to tell much difference in SQ with either of the Creative cards.

if on the other hand you got say a Marantz Integrated amplifier and some Monitor Audio GX100 ($2200 bookshelf speakers... picked because I would kind of like a pair of these keep it in mind come my birthday :D) .. or ????? other higher end speakers.. and you have hearing of exceptional accuracy you might be able to start saying you could hear some obvious differences between the two.


anyways...my shelf was from Target it was like $20 or something like that... i think they still have them I can't remember the brand even ..but the these types of shelves are pretty easy to find at target or at home improvement stores I have seen more or less the same shelf at Lowes also.
 
thanks for the info on the shelf, as I was trying to hunt it down for months. I was leaning on the A5 as well, but I am really low in space. Maybe after I get some shelf and see if I can squeeze in the A5.

The thing that I hate is that I already have integrated amp. and 5.1 speakers, so I play a game, I can connect a good sound card output to it. So in theory, I don't need any A5 or A2. But my problem is, those 5.1 speaker is very often in use watching blu-ray while I use the PC
 
For those who recommend the Audio Engine A2, which is $199, I can't help but wonder how come Klipsch is selling a 400W tower speaker set for only $259. So either Klipsch is too cheap or Audio Engine is too expensive or very, very good.

Likewise Polk Audio is also selling a 33 in. tall, 2 way tower set, Model R300, for $199. In short, how can Audio Engine sell that for $199?
 
Happy Hopping said:
For those who recommend the Audio Engine A2, which is $199, I can't help but wonder how come Klipsch is selling a 400W tower speaker set for only $259. So either Klipsch is too cheap or Audio Engine is too expensive or very, very good.

Likewise Polk Audio is also selling a 33 in. tall, 2 way tower set, Model R300, for $199. In short, how can Audio Engine sell that for $199?
Click to expand...

They are amped (and a bit expensive).
 
Here's what I would do if I wasn't looking for used gear on craigslist
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=884051&is=REG&Q=&A=details - Pioneer SP floorstanders, getting rave reviews everywhere - $130 a pair
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-629 - Dayton 12" 120 watt RMS subwoofer - $130, no better sub at that price
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0MN2WMX31CP5RYS6VTQT

pick up the HK 3490 used for around $300 above. With a proper receiver like this one you don't need a soundcard, use the DAC onboard this.

And, just don't get computer speakers or powered speakers, I don't care what anyone says they just aren't close to as good as a proper stereo system.
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
mattoes, the above is too big. I was simply using the big tower for comparison. I'll get a ZxR sound card or equivalent, but I don't know about speakers. As I already have 5.1 Klipsch, it's jsut that those speaker are busy being used by my TV when I do work on the PC. So the PC is using a cheap mono speaker w/ onboard audio
 
Fair enough. But I wouldn't blow $500 on computer speakers. They will never sound that good. Sabre your money and just get something for $100
 
matteos said:
Fair enough. But I wouldn't blow $500 on computer speakers. They will never sound that good. Sabre your money and just get something for $100
Click to expand...

best advice in this thread. I like the wood design of the A5, but I'm really low in space
 
To all of the above people, atarione among others, who advised a good sound card is better than embedded on board sound, thank you.

I finally have time to install the Creative ZxR to a pair M-Audio M3-8. There is a huge difference in sound. I don't know if it's mostly the sound card or the speaker, but I'm leaning on the speaker makes at least a 50% difference.

I was leaning on Audio Engine A5+, until I notice Audio Engine has 1 power to power both side, whereas M-Audio has separate power to power ea. side. And yet their price is about the same.
 
To the OP, when you enter the realm of Hi-Fi I recommend you do some light reading on the generalities of the topic before seeking opinions. As you can see it becomes pretty complex. www.avsforum.com is an excellent community, give that a shot.

In the end, to me and most Hi-Fi is a rewarding and tangible difference. Good luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top