Recommend a good speaker/soundcard combo?

D

deep22

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 8, 2002
Messages
186
Right now I have some old Altec Lansing 4.1's and a turtle beach santa cruz card. It sounds OK I guess, but I'm sure there is nicer stuff out there.

I'm building a new computer and I want a really nice sound card and speakers to go with it...

I've been thinking of maybe getting something like this:

http://www.av123.com/products_category_brand.php?section=speakers&brand=20

and hooking it up to my yamaha HTR-5440 receiver?

Just a thought... I'm open to all kinds of suggestions and ideas
 
They've got b-stock sets of those speakers on sale for $250 right now.
I would pair them with a M-Audio Revo.

Are you listening to music, or game audio?
 
Those little Rocket speakers would probably be a good first step, they got pretty good reviews, and they are pretty nice looking too =]

http://www.hsustore.com/vt12.html

That's another good option, people seem to like these a fair amount. A little more when you pair them with one of the Hsu subs, but you'd get better bass too.

I'd probably get the Bstock Tykes tho, for 250$ that's a good deal. Just make sure you don't buy those Bstock Ref2's, I got dibs on those [as soon as I scrape together that much cash =]
 
How would these compare to top of the line altec lansing, klipsch, creative labs... etc computer speaker systems?

Also, where can I find out more information about the M-audio revo?
 
I don't know much about those speakers so I can't help you there. I do have a question about your setup though. Were you planning on using the digital or analog output of the M-Audio revolution? If you use the digital output you will be limited to 2 channel PCM audio which would mean only your left and right speakers will output sound. If you use the analog output you would get at least 4 channel audio in most games and maybe even 5.1 in the newer games that support Dolby Digital. Of course you would also have to get some cables (probably 3) that would run from your M-Audio sound card outputs to the analog inputs in your receiver. I checked the manual on your receiver and it does appear to have 6 channel analog inputs if you wanted to go this route. The other option would be to get an Nforce2 motherboard that would output a 5.1 signal to your receiver via it's own digital outputs.
 
deep,

I don't know EXACTLY how they would compare, but I'm willing to bet that they are a hell of a lot nicer than the standard computer speakers. These would be more than a couple sattelites hooked to a big, boomy box. Google, as GMC suggested, would probably yield plenty of information, and maybe a head-to-head comparison.
 
The motherboard is an MSI K8N neo platinum NForce 3 250...

Shouldn't I be shooting for digital if I want the best sound? Is there a better card, or one more suitable if I want digital 5.1?

I will probably be doing more gaming than listening to music. I've read a couple of reviews that say the REVO is better suited for music than gaming.

Sorry guys, I really don't know this audio stuff at all... I've been reading and reading but most of this is still pretty confusing to me.
 
Deep,

You'll only get digital 5.1 for games if you have a soundstorm motherboard. I don't know if that one is.. or if any of the Nforce3 mobo's have that [I've got a P4 system, don't pay much attention to AMD stuff]

Remember, somewhere that sound has to be converted back to analog, it's just a question of where. The Revo has no hardware acceleration at all for 3d sound support, so other cards, like the Audigys, will give you higher FPS's. However, though you'll lose some FPS, the Revo will sound better, for both games and music.

Got any other questions?
 
NO Nforce 3 board has Soundstorm. It only comes on Nforce/Nforce2 boards with MCP-T. And there is a debate on whether the Revolution sounds better for games- but if that's all you own, then I bet it sounds pretty good. Without the cash or need to compare it to my Audigy 2 ZS, I can't say for sure. I just like having incredible performance along with EAX 4 support for the latest games. M-Audio doesn't have that :)
 
Idiot, that's what I thought, but I was too lazy to look that up last night =]

The Revo, most will agree, has better DAC's. However, if you are a big fan of surround sound modes, EAX, etc, then yes, the A2ZS will sound a lot better to you.
 
Don't get the Audigy if you are going to be hooking up to a receiver and a halfway decent HT speaker rig. It won't do bass management right. Bass management and sound quality are the true selling points of the Revo. Bass management on Creative soundcards is an exercise in frustration. I cannot speak to the gaming performance of the Revo. I've heard of some who output to old Creative hardware when gaming. If you have an old SB Live, could it serve the same duty? Perhaps the Santa Cruz could do this job? I don't lose sleep over EAX.

p.s. Did I just recommend the SB live? Somebody slap me.
 
I would stick with the Revo and use the analog outputs to your receiver. I had an Audigy 2 ZS once and did not find it's advantages in gaming to be worth the sound quality decrease compared to the Revo.
 
I can say without a doubt that the sound difference between an audigy 2 platinum running altec lansing 4.1 speakers and an m-audio firewire 410 running m-audio BX-5's is disgusting. The ONLY time I run my surround speakers is when I play FPS games and NEED to hear if people are creepin on me. The audigy seriously sounds like crap and its WAY too bassy.
 
get a Revo 7.1
get a receiver that passes all frequencies to your speakers, no crossover
get a few bookshelf speakers
use Revo's analog ports. (not that the Revo's digital is bad or anything, but the analog on the revolution card is very clean)
 
absolutely no.

if you get bookshelf speakers or 'real' tower speakers, they have built-in woofers. If the receiver has a built-in crossover, it will filter the frequencies out so the mid-range drivers and woofers are worthless, meaning absolutely minimal sound coming out of them. Let the hardware do the crossovering. If you pass all the frequencies to them, the tweeters, midrange, and woofers will all work like they're supposed to. It produces a clearer bass, you probably won't even have to install a subwoofer. I dont.
I use the tower speakers, have my revo send all frequencies via analog into a receiver's analog 5.1 connection, thus no filtering. Sounds so much better than the setup with a subwoofer.

the only situation where I think a crossover is preferred is when there is only tweeter speakers with a subwoofer and nothing else..
 
A properly calibrated and positioned subwoofer will blend perfectly with satellite speakers. A proper subwoofer setup should not sound like it has a subwoofer. However, when the sub is turned off the idfference will be immediately apperent. The proper role of a sub is in a supporting role only, however, shunting off the low frequency sound will help make the satellites sound better. It is also much more cost effective, as well as DD spec to have all the LF go to a single specialized speaker. Setting up a proper sub is a bit of a hassle, but a job worth doing well.
 
you should get some of those nice Cyber Acoustics, Acoustic Authority speakers 180 watts RMS for only 80 bucks
 
Ok, that makes sense... I'm glad u guys know your stuff!

What's everyones take on Sony speakers? My friend works for Sony and can get me a discount, but are they any good?
 
They used to make a decent value subwoofer. It benefited from a few easy mods. It was called something like the W-40?
 
GodsMadClown said:
They used to make a decent value subwoofer. It benefited from a few easy mods. It was called something like the W-40?
Click to expand...

I believe it is called the SA-WM40.
sa-wm40_02.jpg


I have it in one of my home theatres, and I was just wondering what were the modifications you made to it.
 
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