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High End Speaker system for PC

G

gUEv

Senior member
I am looking to upgrade the speaker/sound system of my PC. I am feeling a bit over "computer speakers". There are some great sounding packages, and I always buy the high end models, but I feel like moving on to something a bit...more 😛 Also I am moving out of my apartment into a large ground floor loft where bothering the neighbors will not be an issue 🙂

Anyways...I am not well versed in HT at all. The logical choice it seems, would be to piece together some kind of good setup, reciever and connect it to my PC.


but...how? 😛

should I go with the sort of tried and true HT design? (4 channels, center, sub etc) I was thinking of having smaller satellites around other parts of the loft so I can hear music etc when I am farther away from my PC.

What kind of sound card should I use?

Any suggestions on reciever/speakers? etc?

any good place to start reading? 😛

thx everyone :beer:



 
I use a Audigy 2 Plat as well with a fiber out to a HT reciever. You must get a good reciever if you are moving away from self powered computer speakers.
Choice is speaker is up to you and your budget. You can get some expensive swans or get a nice pair of reference model speakers from whereever you want. Bose in my and many other's opinions makes terrible speaker packages for the expense. At that price range most audiophiles know how to construct a much better system.

You have defined your needs, somewhat. Now define your price range. There are alot of options out there. None of it means anything if you dont set a price range. You can get some decent stuff for $300, and you can buy some crap for $600.
If you want to spend over $2000, then think about specifics such as your acoustics, type of music you listen to most, volumes you listen at, etc. Those details should be considered when purchasing expensive speakers, as the acoustic qualities for those speakers become more important.
 
slow response, well anyways...
How big is your space?
How much sound reflection? Alot, A little, high cielings? etc.
Will it be played loud alot or mostly quiet to medium?
What type of music do you listen to mainly, and will these be functioning as HT+stereo?

There is ALOT inbetween going from Computer speakers to a $4000 5.1-7.1 set up. You should consider that. Some people do not see a huge difference between a solid $1000 set up and a $4000 in their daily usage. Depends on usage and the person and the equipment.
 
Sorry for not getting back sooner.

The space is a lot larger then I am in right now. 2000 sq ft or so, and it is pretty much just one large space separated by a 2nd level loft... concrete floors with 15ft high cielings. I think I will have the PC on the second level loft area, which I belive is just steel/conrete.

I am not well versed in acoustics and to be honest, i dont really remember how they were in the unit (its actually still finishing construction)

Anyways, I am a young guy, so the speakers will be loud more often then most.

I listen to all kinds of music (literally...all kinds). Again, I am younger and i listen to drum and bass/hip hop a lot of a lot more bass then average is good. However I do like to watch movies/ listen to classical/jazz etc so SQ is very important too.


Im not really sure about 5.1 etc...i do watch DVD's on my PC at times but not exclusivley. Perhaps I could buy a sub/reciever/2 floor standing speakers to start or...?

I dunno.

so again...something around 2-4k w/ sound card and reciever...can i piece things together piece by piece or...?

any advice appreciated =]
 
You can get a great system for 2-3k, but you have to know what youre doing. My best suggestion would be to go to your local high end shop and ask around. If you really arent that interested in 5 channel right now, i would say you could get a nice surround reciever anyway and a nice pair of floorstanding speakers with a sub. I run my comp thru a kenwood surround reciever and a pair of dahlquist dq-10's. Theyre about 30 years old and i got them at my local high end shop for $300. They cost about $1300 new, in 1975 or so. And they sound amazing. Theyre one of the "classics" among high end audio. Behind the grille cloth there is a 10" woofer, a mid-bass, mid-range, tweeter, and a piezo "supertweeter". They need a lot of power to sound good, but nonetheless they are exponentially better than most stuff on the market today. Moral of the story, check your local high end shop out. I would personally recommend paradigm speakers and subs; i have some friends with them that love them and that would have been my second choice if i hadnt gotten the dahlquists. Also check out m&k. The good thing about speakers like those too, is that they will last you a long time without becoming outdated. (regardless of what many people think, loudspeaker technology doesnt advance all that quickly.) PM me if you have any other ?'s.
 
thats a huge space.
Acoustics in the place will vary on the type of walls and cielings and how much furniture and stuff in between. Also the type of walls like a pourous surface wall will absorb sound better then say a solid smooth wall. Angles of the space matter a alot. I have been and lived in large lofts like yours (I live in the NYC area and my last space was about 1200sq ft with 15' ceilings). You will want to make sure you test out some speakers with some power and range. Shallow depth of field speakers will distort and drown once you move away. You will also want some serious bass too like Axiom EP600's but those may be a bit too expensive. In fact Axiom makes some really nice HT systems around 2-3k that have some serious power. Also 7.1 and 8.1 systems which you may want to consider to surround you more and cover more angles. Multidirectional speakers would be important in such a large volume square space. That will help fill the room better and more evenly instead of gettin small sweet spots and weak sound elsewhere.

Onkyo SR702 is a really nice 7.1 THX HT reciever ($700) as is the Denon AVR-3805 for that price range (the denon is a bit more $900-1000ish)
For speakers, my preference would lean towards some Axiom M80 ti's or the Epic 80 HT set which is the M80ti's with the other HT speaker set. ($2000-2300)
http://www.axiomaudio.com/epic80.html

But... with any speaker purchases over $1000 that you are not familiar with, I really would recommend hearing them in person before purchasing. Bring a few CD's of your favorite music which you think will reveal the speakers well. It wont sound the same as your home, but it will give you an idea. There are alot of options out there though, try going around and checking a bunch of different models out.
 
oh and I agree with onshot about loudspeaker technology not changing alot. HT and digital tech does but not really when it comes to amps and cones. Great amps are often older glass tube amps and speaker cones can last a long time if treated right. As for those dq-10's, I dont think it would be suitable for that large space. Those I think have a small directional cone too which would not be good.
 
I've got a pair of EV 2.1 SonicXS speakers. They look "old school", but the ROCK the house! 🙂
I got them NIB (New In Box), from a popular online auction site for less than $60 shipped. 😀 They are one of the best purchases I've made for my PC.
I've had AL 2.1, CL 4.1, AL 4.1 and BA 4.1 systems. These EVs are my fifth set of PC speakers, and by far the best.
 
Go to the avsforum.com they deal w/ highend to mid-fi audio/video. You will get alot of recomendations in their speaker section. I like Paradigm alot , they have different price points.
Also there are some internet only manufactures that are very competitive w/ established brands. But what ever you do , don't buy Bose's.....

Here's a link to a highly recomended internet only manufacture. www.av123.com

Regards,
Jose
 
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