New 2.0/2.1 setup - which speakers/soundcard?

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LstBrunnenG

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Right now I'm considering the Xonar Essence STX as my sound card. According to reviews it seems to have the highest sound quality, a decent headphone amp built-in, and I no longer care about 5.1. It seems the card is somewhat supported in Linux, which is more than I can say for my (dead) X-Fi. Is anyone using a card from the Xonar family in their Windows 7 PC? Is there an Auzentech card I should be considering instead? Or perhaps some USB amp?

As for the speakers, I'm completely lost. I'm most interested in my music sounding good, but making my games sound good would be a nice plus. Leading candidates seem like the Behringer MS40s, but I've also seen other sets like the Swan M200s recommended. My max budget for speakers is around $200, but is flexible.

I've seen a lot of threads asking for 2.0/2.1 suggestions go unanswered. I know a lot of people here have awesome setups - share your experience!
 
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Awesome setups... but generally not at around $200. Lol... My total setup is about... $1500 just for audio. And I don't even have an amazing sub (but it's a decent one).

For around $200, the Swan M200MKII sound really good. The D1080MKII are solid purchases as well. I actually think they are relatively equal but I think the M200MKII has a better amp so you can pump the volume better.
 
LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
Right now I'm considering the Xonar Essence STX as my sound card. According to reviews it seems to have the highest sound quality, a decent headphone amp built-in, and I no longer care about 5.1. It seems the card is somewhat supported in Linux, which is more than I can say for my (dead) X-Fi. Is anyone using a card from the Xonar family in their Windows 7 PC? Is there an Auzentech card I should be considering instead? Or perhaps some USB amp?
Click to expand...

I've been using the Xonar STX with Windows 7 RC1 and the newest drivers have worked very well for me. No hissing, popping, crackling, etc. The card sounds very, very good.

I also have an Auzen Forte (X-Fi) which I had to take out in order to install the STX. Same deal there -- great sound with no abnormalities due to the drivers or the OS.

I haven't decided which one I like better as I haven't been able to A/B them but from everything I've read the STX is a step up in audio fidelity from just about any other card. However, the Forte sounded excellent to me during the period that I used it. It's not just any old X-Fi; the drivers are tweaked by Auzentech and the card has higher quality components on it than the Creative cards.

I would also check out the Xonar DX or D2X if you just have an aversion to the X-Fi cards in general...
 
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Get the Swan m200mkii's before they raise the price to $270. Behringer are ok, but I've always felt their products sound a little bit too clinical, maybe a tad synthetic.
 
seemlessthunder said:
Get the Swan m200mkii's before they raise the price to $270. Behringer are ok, but I've always felt their products sound a little bit too clinical, maybe a tad synthetic.
Click to expand...
I saw you recommending these Sony bookshelf speakers in another thread. Would they be superior with the Swans?

Is there any receiver I could buy that would allow me to forego purchasing an expensive sound card, and power those speakers as well?
 
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Are you running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7. I happen to be running an Asus Xonar DX in Win 7 32-bit so I can tell you it works for a fact in that config.

In terms of Sony's vs. Swan's, I had an sold the Swans after I upgraded, but the Swans are very nice speakers once you've broken them in. I haven't heard the Sony's at all, but they are a 3-way, get good reviews, and I imagine would be good quality. As far as I'm aware though, there hasn't been any kind of direct comparison between the two.

If you got the Sony's you could either get a Dayton T-Amp from parts express:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-380

or one of the several Pyle stereo amps if you like to play your speakers above a whisper:
http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PTA3-75-Watt-Stereo-Amplifier/dp/B001P2U6SS/ref=pd_cp_e_3
http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PTA2-2x4...5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1251828417&sr=8-5
http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-2x75W-St...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1251828417&sr=8-15
 
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Is there an amp I could get that would save me from buying a $200 sound card? Something with a digital input or something? The Sony speaker/Pyle amp combo is well under $200, but the sound card is the same price as the whole setup.

EDIT: Also, the "75W" Pyle amp can only do 15W with 1% distortion.
 
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You misquoted me. If that was the only thing I said then you'd have a point. The Xonar DX is very similar to the higher end cards, but with fewer extras (like fancy digital connections yadayada), but the DAC's on it are actually very good.

Compared to a Creative X-Fi or onboard the Xonar DX is def. better. Versus an Auzentech it's still an improvement (but Auzentech has better gaming support for surround sound and fancy Creative 3-D crap).

So the implication from my statement was "Why spend $200 on a souncard when you can spend $65 and get something very close to it for your purposes?"
 
What you could do is get a stereo receiver possibly off ebay, that would cost you somewhere $80-150 or so if you find a good deal. Could run up to $200 though in which case you'd probably be better off getting a full surround receiver.
 
I purchased the xonar essence stx for ~$115 and then bought m-audio bx5a deluxe for under $215. k271s and bx5a are hooked up simultaneously via 1/4 headphone jack and rca to dual ts respectively. I am fine with this arrangement for now but am looking for a powered sub (perhaps the bx10s if the price comes down a bit) to complete the setup. Hope this gives you an idea about pricing. Note: I mostly use headphones (90%)
 
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I recently replaced my Logitech 5.1 speakers and Xtremegamer card with an E-MU 0404 USB ($99 ebay) and the Audioengine A5 speakers ($267 direct). Both products are pretty well regarded and reviews abound online. I'm happy with my new setup but you really need a sub to do gaming properly and if you listen to bass-centric music (I don't).

If you have the space and the patience to shop around, a proper receiver and some bookshelf speakers are a great way to go. Using S/PDIF on your computer eliminated the PC electrical noise problem and your other components are individually upgradable in the future.
 
Wow, that looks really nice. Is it secretly terrible or something? Otherwise I'm about to pull the trigger on this and the Sony bookshelf speakers.

I mean with this, I can even hook up the sub from my Klipsch Ultras...
 
So a few questions now:

1) Could I use the speakers from my Klipsch Ultras with this receiver? Not as a permanent solution, but until I get better speakers.

2) Would I be able to get sound from all my music, movies, and games via the digital connection? Or is this why the dolby digital live cards are A Big Deal?

3) Anyone else have this receiver? Like it? Hate it?
 
Hi All

Provided that they are 4 or 8 Ohm speakers.

Not sure about 5.1 as I only have 2.1 at present.

I have the very same Receiver & am very pleased with it.
 
Very likely that they are 8ohm. They are computer speakers for gods sakes.
 
Hey all, sorry to necro my own thread, but I placed an order back on the 2nd with dakmart.com, and they have yet to ship anything my way.

Anyone else do business with them?
 
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