2.0 or 2.1 speakers with optical input for gaming/music use?

[nitrousninja]

I'm looking for a flat(ish) system for gaming and lossless music for my PC. I'm using an onboard soundcard on my motherboard(Realtek ALC892) and a pair of Bose Companion IIs.

I have a Titanium X-Fi not installed that I can use the RCA connections for if that ends up being the better route.

I looked at the Rockus 2.1s and Audessey LESs and the reviews are not really consistant and i dont have anywhere to audition them.

I'd like to stay south of $250 and smaller than the M-Audio AV40s(no toslink either) which are too big for my desk.


I mostly play D3 and will be playing Borderlands 2 and Torchlight 2 when they come out and most of my music is rock and classical.

What are you guys using? Thanks for any help!

Matt

 

[cantholdanymore]

I think this is a very niche market. Why do you want optical in the speakers?

 

[shingletingle]

I'm also wondering why an optical connection is necessary.

 

[nitrousninja]

The only PCIE slot is right above my 680. I could move it up then the X-Fi would block the fan partially underneath the card.

I suppose I could optical to a DAC then to the speakers.

 

[_Rick_]

How about a Teufel Concept B200 USB (or similar)?

 

[nitrousninja]

I also have an HK3490 two channel reciever I can use. I may go look at some bookshelf speakers.

 

[cantholdanymore]

For smaller footprint you can look into the gigaworks T40 (that I own) or the HK soundsticks iii. The T40 lacks the bass for gaming (but good for my music), the soundsticks are 2.1. They're both under $200

 

[cantholdanymore]

Look at these:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...y_40_Watt.html

 

[jlazzaro]

I also have an HK3490 two channel reciever I can use. I may go look at some bookshelf speakers.

i'm using a similar receiver with NHT SuperZero 2.0 bookshelf speakers and a HSU STF-2 subwoofer. the SuperZero's are very low footprint with a bright, clean sound. you could downgrade the sub (maybe an STF-1) to stay within budget.

 

[thelastjuju]

So you just have one of the best 2 channel stereo receivers you can buy right now, just lying around? That's a $400-$500 receiver.. it would however be very overkill for any speakers worth only $250. You usually need a $400 receiver for $800-$1000 speakers.

Only if the receiver has a superior DAC will it make sense to output DIGITAL (optical) to it .. you might have to experiment with both methods, but my guess is the ANALOG out from the dedicated sound card you have (and using the receiver purely for amplification) will result in the best sound quality you can get here.. unless you get an external DAC, which I don't see happening unless you really stretch the budget out more.