Noob to audio w/ silly question

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mikejustis

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Feb 18, 2010
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OK, thanks in advance and if I dont respond right away please forgive me...I work a 12 hour shift today and go to work in 30 min.
I have a question about speakers and computer music. I have a lot of music on my comp (250+gb) and have been using the onboard sound card and OK speakers. I am going to get the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro and want some advice on speakers.
I am looking at some bookshelf speakers but this will mean getting a amp right?
Do you have an example of a amp so I know what direction to look?
I am working on a budget and will most likely get the sound card, followed by the others as I save $$. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and have a great day!
 
What speakers are you looking at right now? What kind of pricing are you looking at for an amp? Also, if your main purposes are audio....steer clear of the X-fi titanium, look into something from HT Omega, Auzentech, or Asus, or perhaps look into getting a USB DAC such as the Musiland Monitor 02 US if you are planning on only stereo output.
 
Get a DAC of your choice, and buy a nice pair of speakers and maybe a subwoofer if you listen to music with a lot of low end. You can either go for a reciever and speakers+sub or just get powered speakers + sub.

I personally use powered speakers + sub for a 2.1 setup to listen to music/game/watch movies
 
Yes you would need an amp to run bookshelf speakers.
I would advise getting a receiver, new or used, and run the optical out from the motherboard in your sig to an optical in on the receiver. That way you can save the money you would waste on a sound card and put it where it will make more difference, better speakers.
Sounds like you are most interested in playing back music which is on your pc, you will not see or hear any benefit from a sound card for that use.
 
Snufykat said:
Yes you would need an amp to run bookshelf speakers.
I would advise getting a receiver, new or used, and run the optical out from the motherboard in your sig to an optical in on the receiver. That way you can save the money you would waste on a sound card and put it where it will make more difference, better speakers.
Sounds like you are most interested in playing back music which is on your pc, you will not see or hear any benefit from a sound card for that use.
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I'd beg to differ, as unless you put a good amount of money into the receiver, the receiver's onboard DAC will be relatively cheap in comparison to that on a sound card or an external DAC. Of course, ideally you would put a good amount of money into the speakers and amplifier/receiver, but i would generally recommend an amplifier and sound card/DAC over onboard audio + receiver using optical.
 
bomberboysk said:
I'd beg to differ, as unless you put a good amount of money into the receiver, the receiver's onboard DAC will be relatively cheap in comparison to that on a sound card or an external DAC. Of course, ideally you would put a good amount of money into the speakers and amplifier/receiver, but i would generally recommend an amplifier and sound card/DAC over onboard audio + receiver using optical.
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Agreed, and the amplifier instead of receiver will probably be cheaper too.
 
Well TS hasn't really posted a budget so I'm not sure what hes looking for. I was considering he might use some sort of t-amp with some bookshelves.
 
bomberboysk said:
I'd beg to differ, as unless you put a good amount of money into the receiver, the receiver's onboard DAC will be relatively cheap in comparison to that on a sound card or an external DAC. Of course, ideally you would put a good amount of money into the speakers and amplifier/receiver, but i would generally recommend an amplifier and sound card/DAC over onboard audio + receiver using optical.
Click to expand...

Depends on your perspective I guess.
Generally sound cards with a "good DAC" will cost over $100 just for the card. Then you get to deal with driver issues and setup issues to try and get good sound out of the pc enviroment. Then you would have to add powered speakers, which will cost what $300 plus, or an external amp and passive speakers for what added cost?
In my opinion the easier and cheaper route is a good used receiver, optical connection to already purchased option on motherboard and passive speakers. You can get results every bit as good as your suggestion for far less money.
I watched craigslist till a receiver got posted with the options I was looking for and a good price, added some bookshelf speakers and a velodyne sub i also sourced used from craigslist and have no complaints about the sound quality I currently have. I caught a couple people who where upgrading so I got good prices on good used gear.
Just my opinion, the OP asked for options.
My recomendation is geared toward the ability to get good sound from music being played back from a pc, it would change if certain options for games are added to the consideration.
 
Snufykat said:
Depends on your perspective I guess.
Generally sound cards with a "good DAC" will cost over $100 just for the card. Then you get to deal with driver issues and setup issues to try and get good sound out of the pc enviroment. Then you would have to add powered speakers, which will cost what $300 plus, or an external amp and passive speakers for what added cost?
In my opinion the easier and cheaper route is a good used receiver, optical connection to already purchased option on motherboard and passive speakers. You can get results every bit as good as your suggestion for far less money.
I watched craigslist till a receiver got posted with the options I was looking for and a good price, added some bookshelf speakers and a velodyne sub i also sourced used from craigslist and have no complaints about the sound quality I currently have. I caught a couple people who where upgrading so I got good prices on good used gear.
Just my opinion, the OP asked for options.
My recomendation is geared toward the ability to get good sound from music being played back from a pc, it would change if certain options for games are added to the consideration.
Click to expand...
Depending on what sort of receivers can be had for the price, i'd tend to agree with what you said, but most of the time what can be found in this price range tends to be some pretty poor quality stuff. As far as an amp, a cheap T-amp in the $50 range would suffice for most music, won't produce a whole lot of volume, but would provide relatively nice audio quality. There are some external dac's available for ~$100 that are relatively nice, but are really suited towards audio use and wouldn't have the features related for gaming like many sound cards would have. And of course, just as you said, usage is what dictates the majority of what to suggest.
 
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