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picked up some m-audio AV30

A

antok86

[H]F Junkie
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Feb 26, 2006
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so i got some m-audio av30 from woot.com deal last week. im replacing my Logitech Z-2300 speakers. im using a creative sound card (see sig). is there anything i else i can do get the best possible sound out of these av30? i have them placed infront of me at an angle thanks
 
How does your AV30s sound to you? I have the AV40s and I have it plugged in to integrated audio on my mobo and it still sounds good.
 
I got one. It sounds very good and more fuller than the laptop speakers. But it doesnt compare well with my Swan M200mkii
 
Try to mount the speakers at ear level, and angle them so they're pointing inward toward your ears wherever you sit.
 
You may want to add a sub to fill them out on the low-end. The other thing you can do is get an Asus Xonar DX sound card, which is a cheap high quality card with a 10-band driver-based EQ (so not dependent on program). That's very important for movies. EAX (ie for games) IMO doesn't really matter for 2.0/2.1 since it's mostly for 5.1/7.1 surround systems anyway so it wouldn't be a huge loss in that regard.

I had a Creative X-Fi Platinum before my Xonar. I meant to keep it in there for it's instrument cable input, but it kicked the bucket recently causing weird power issues like dvd drives ejecting and not reading properly (as well as generating freak input signals to my OS). Before it had died, it sounded like ass compared to the Xonar Card. Previously, I'd used the FP from it for my headphones and USB Logitech Z-Cinema speakers. And of course, it's out of warranty. That's about the way Creative products go though.

But tangent aside, those 2 things are the best you can do to improve: upgrade to Xonar DX and get a cheap sub. Polk PSW10 is ok. The Speaker company also have a few cheap 8" and 10" subs that are reasonable. The main thing to getting a sub is remembering to balance it both in terms of cutoff freq and volume. It takes a little playing around with them, but once you get it right you'll appreciate the effort you put in.
 
defaultluser said:
Try to mount the speakers at ear level, and angle them so they're pointing inward toward your ears wherever you sit.
Click to expand...

Oh god no. That's the absolute wrong way to do it. Or let me rephrase. If you have them mounted on stands and sit some distance from your desk, then that's fine. But for normal desk use, you want to put them at the rear of the desk with your monitor between them and point them straight out. Most music etc... is designed to be played that way if you're talking about stereo mode and you'll give yourself headaches if you combine sound channels unnaturally like that.
 
seemlessthunder said:
You may want to add a sub to fill them out on the low-end. The other thing you can do is get an Asus Xonar DX sound card, which is a cheap high quality card with a 10-band driver-based EQ (so not dependent on program). That's very important for movies. EAX (ie for games) IMO doesn't really matter for 2.0/2.1 since it's mostly for 5.1/7.1 surround systems anyway so it wouldn't be a huge loss in that regard.

I had a Creative X-Fi Platinum before my Xonar. I meant to keep it in there for it's instrument cable input, but it kicked the bucket recently causing weird power issues like dvd drives ejecting and not reading properly (as well as generating freak input signals to my OS). Before it had died, it sounded like ass compared to the Xonar Card. Previously, I'd used the FP from it for my headphones and USB Logitech Z-Cinema speakers. And of course, it's out of warranty. That's about the way Creative products go though.

But tangent aside, those 2 things are the best you can do to improve: upgrade to Xonar DX and get a cheap sub. Polk PSW10 is ok. The Speaker company also have a few cheap 8" and 10" subs that are reasonable. The main thing to getting a sub is remembering to balance it both in terms of cutoff freq and volume. It takes a little playing around with them, but once you get it right you'll appreciate the effort you put in.
Click to expand...
link to xonar? i see alot on newegg
 
this this have a mic input ? also how much you think my current sound card is worth?(sig)
 
1) yes, it has a front audio input connector, which will connect directly to your case. now the one thing with that though is it's only as good as your case. if you have a staticky fp audio port it won't fix that, but if your front port is generally clean, then it should work fine for you. alternatively, you could always split the cable in the back and run one side as an extension near the front of the case.

That was one of the reasons I wanted to hang on to the X-Fi (for the headphone output), but alas it crapped out on me (as I kind of figured it would eventually).

2) dunno, but there's ebay results for ya:
http://completed.shop.ebay.com/item...ed285fdd&_fln=1&_ssov=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282
 
seemlessthunder said:
Oh god no. That's the absolute wrong way to do it.
Click to expand...


O rly? Straight from the users guide

captureewm.jpg
 
seemlessthunder said:
You may want to add a sub to fill them out on the low-end. The other thing you can do is get an Asus Xonar DX sound card, which is a cheap high quality card with a 10-band driver-based EQ (so not dependent on program). That's very important for movies. EAX (ie for games) IMO doesn't really matter for 2.0/2.1 since it's mostly for 5.1/7.1 surround systems anyway so it wouldn't be a huge loss in that regard.
Click to expand...
+1 for the Xonar d1/dx, not only does it produce awesome sound, its lightweight software app is what I would call perfect in terms of usefulness/usability.
 
zyklon said:
O rly? Straight from the users guide

captureewm.jpg
Click to expand...

Note the distance they show there. The idea is that it's supposed to be angled to point towards your ears. The diagram is deceptive because it shows considerable spread... more than you would find on a typical desk. If anything, you want only a few slight off-angle from straight ahead for a desk to avoid mixing channels. Obviously, if you have some freakishly large desk that's 7' deep and 20' wide, their setup makes sense, but on most small to medium sized desks, turning the speakers more than very little will result in channel mix/crossover which I guarantee will be fatiguing.

Additionally, pointing them straight out like I do will help minimize the sweet spot effect and aid if you want to do any kind of SRS/Dolby/ etc... virtual surround for movies and whatnot, as angling them will totally screw up the effects they produce.

The key is to get as close to that triangle as possible, but on a small desk that triangle often shrinks to the point where it practically becomes a line. Think about it mathematically, as they come closer together reducing the offangle untill at a certain point they point perfectly outward.

I have a pair of Swan m200mkii's and I think they sound much better this way. Also, they do a better job of reproducing the center channel in that configuration when they're relatively close together.
 
antok86 said:
would the d2 be any better i know it cost more but i have a friend that might be willing to part with his
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132001&Tpk=Xonar D2
Click to expand...

Would he be giving it to you for free or how much would he be charging you for it? If it's similar priced to the DX, there's a slight improvement, but not significantly. Also, it has no FP audio header.

The Xonar Essence is the next step up in sound quality if you can afford it:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132010&Tpk=xonar essence

If he's giving you the D2 very cheap or free than I'd just take it and run a splitter cable with one side to speakers and one an extension cord to go on/around/etc... the front of the case for a headphone out.
 
seemlessthunder said:
Would he be giving it to you for free or how much would he be charging you for it? If it's similar priced to the DX, there's a slight improvement, but not significantly. Also, it has no FP audio header.

The Xonar Essence is the next step up in sound quality if you can afford it:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132010&Tpk=xonar essence

If he's giving you the D2 very cheap or free than I'd just take it and run a splitter cable with one side to speakers and one an extension cord to go on/around/etc... the front of the case for a headphone out.
Click to expand...
he said maybe $100 bucks ..i dont need a front audio panel/headphone jack so maybe DX still better route?
 
Yeah, I mean it's still about $35-40 AR cheaper for the DX and you only get a significant upgrade once you step up to the Xonar Essence, which is $199.
 
seemlessthunder said:
1) yes, it has a front audio input connector, which will connect directly to your case. now the one thing with that though is it's only as good as your case. if you have a staticky fp audio port it won't fix that, but if your front port is generally clean, then it should work fine for you. alternatively, you could always split the cable in the back and run one side as an extension near the front of the case.

That was one of the reasons I wanted to hang on to the X-Fi (for the headphone output), but alas it crapped out on me (as I kind of figured it would eventually).

2) dunno, but there's ebay results for ya:
http://completed.shop.ebay.com/item...ed285fdd&_fln=1&_ssov=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282
Click to expand...

so it doesnt have one on the card itself? cause on my soundblaster i use the mic input for my xbox to output sound. will i be able to do this with the xonar?
 
does anyone have a picture of this in their case? thsi card looks longer than creatives line up
 
I have a D2X, and it's awesome. Even on z5300s (which everyone here hates, and for good reason), it sounds good. It sounds awesome with my UE Super Fi 5 Pros, too.

I'd grab a xonar, the D2X is worth it over the DX, specially if you plug stuff into the back all the time. The plugs are colored with lights, so you can always see what you're doing. It's the greatest feature, ever.
 
just won a bid on a d2x for 83 shipped. good deal?
 
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