I understand that home theater is in all likely hood gonna sound better. But how much more is it gonna cost? I plan on hooking up my new rig to my entertainment center. Games will be played via the TV, as well as DVD's. So I figured why not opt for the full home theater setup rather then comp speakers. But again what should I get and how much will it cost?
Is it worth it to go home theater over a set of 5.1 computer speakers?
- Thread starter coolred
- Start date
Hey, since Im in this forum... 
Ive got the klipsch 4.1 on my comp and a new phillips 5.1 on the center in the liiving room. I play dvds on both as well as music cds, etc etc. The Phillips is definately more crisp and clear with better rear response and infinately better setup configurations. The bas on the kilipsch flat out kick though. The difference in price? The Phillips were $50 more.
I say if youre going to do more gaming, stick with comp speakers, if youre going to use it more for dvds, videos, etc go with the other.
y
Ive got the klipsch 4.1 on my comp and a new phillips 5.1 on the center in the liiving room. I play dvds on both as well as music cds, etc etc. The Phillips is definately more crisp and clear with better rear response and infinately better setup configurations. The bas on the kilipsch flat out kick though. The difference in price? The Phillips were $50 more.
I say if youre going to do more gaming, stick with comp speakers, if youre going to use it more for dvds, videos, etc go with the other.
y
A real home theater is going to set you back more once you include a decent 5.1 receiver (300-400 bucks) + speakers (price varies) and everything.
A good computer 5.1 setup requires a good 5.1 card and probably the Klipsch 5.1's (400 bucks). Do you already have a good 5.1 soundcard?
I think yMQ said it pretty well in the above post. If you're at all serious about movies, go with the real home theater. If you're more of a gamer who occassionally watches movies, the computer speaker 5.1's makes more sense.
A good computer 5.1 setup requires a good 5.1 card and probably the Klipsch 5.1's (400 bucks). Do you already have a good 5.1 soundcard?
I think yMQ said it pretty well in the above post. If you're at all serious about movies, go with the real home theater. If you're more of a gamer who occassionally watches movies, the computer speaker 5.1's makes more sense.
Yeah right now I am using a herculese game theater XP, thats good enough, right?
I like to game and I do watch some DVD's, but I plan to watch more in the future. Also this setup will be in an apartment, so I prolly don't need anything to overpowering
I like to game and I do watch some DVD's, but I plan to watch more in the future. Also this setup will be in an apartment, so I prolly don't need anything to overpowering
Well, if you don't have cash overflowing out of your pants, just stick with whatever you're using now. It's pretty pointless to get a HT setup for a computer monitor. I personally think 'big sound' goes hand in hand with 'big screen', otherwise what's the point of having one so much better than the other right? .
Plus, when you get a HT setup, you definitely don't want to skimp on the center channel, the two front speakers, or even skimp by NOT buying a subwoofer. They have a lot of cheapies around, that cost significantly less than $200 or so, but it's not worth it. Same with the amplifier/receiver, there are so many models and brands, but you really want to get a decent one. A general rule I follow and tell others is that: if you dish out the initial investment for a HT system, be prepared to spend a reasonable amount, as its pointless to try to cut price corners here and there.
.Plus, when you get a HT setup, you definitely don't want to skimp on the center channel, the two front speakers, or even skimp by NOT buying a subwoofer. They have a lot of cheapies around, that cost significantly less than $200 or so, but it's not worth it. Same with the amplifier/receiver, there are so many models and brands, but you really want to get a decent one. A general rule I follow and tell others is that: if you dish out the initial investment for a HT system, be prepared to spend a reasonable amount, as its pointless to try to cut price corners here and there
.I agree with the others that if you are going to be using it only for music and movies (that you will be watching on the TV) then go with a home theater.
If you want proper surround sound around your computer go with computer speakers. Unless you place your home theater speakers properly around your computer you will have the wrong sound stage and bad imaging.
Also, be aware that you may have problems playing any games on your TV that require you to read the text. At least I have not had a lot of luck reading text on TV out. It really depends on the game and how big the text is. The bigger the text the easier it is to read on a TV.
If you have the money its generally best to stick with separate computer set-up and home theater set-ups. If you are going cheap I would go all computer.
If you want proper surround sound around your computer go with computer speakers. Unless you place your home theater speakers properly around your computer you will have the wrong sound stage and bad imaging.
Also, be aware that you may have problems playing any games on your TV that require you to read the text. At least I have not had a lot of luck reading text on TV out. It really depends on the game and how big the text is. The bigger the text the easier it is to read on a TV.
If you have the money its generally best to stick with separate computer set-up and home theater set-ups. If you are going cheap I would go all computer.
<< My computer is hooked right up to my Denon/Polk audio home theater...you can't beat it. >>
There is much better home theater equipment than Denon and Polk audio in my opinion. However, audio is a matter of personal taste, so if you are happy that is all that matters. Polk Audio does have ratings of 4-5 on http://www.audioreview.com/ so your opinion is not unique.
If you go with the home audio set-up and your speakers are not positioned around your computer, you will not have 3D effects when playing games with 3D audio. This matters a lot if you play FPS games and care which direction the gun fire and footsteps are comming from. Some people get around this by using headphones for FPS games and claim it works better than 4 and 5 speaker set-ups anyways. Personally, I have never had much luck getting 3D effects with headphones. I even have a pair of nice Sennheiser headphones that were not exactly cheap, and Sennheiser is one of the top brands of headphones.
I think my setup pretty much whoops any set of powered computer speakers I have ever heard, I never said it was the best. Believe me I would much rather hook my PC up to some Mark Levinson electronics driving a set of Wilson Audio speakers but I don't have a hundred grand burning a hole in my pocket.
Well let me clear up a few things. DVD's as well as games will be output to my TV. Internet will be done on the monitor, music really doesn't matter, since I don't know if I will be listening to it while playing on the computer or just lounging around. I am building an HTPC, pretty much anything I can reasonably do on my TV rather then the monitor is what I will be doing. So my sound system will be centered around my TV not my computer. I should have made that a little clearer earlier.
Also I am not rich, so I can't afford anything and everything, but I will spend what I have to, to get decent sound.
One other thing, right now I am using my stereo system as my speakers. It's a decent little Philips Magnavox Mini HIFI system, but it doesn't do the surround sound.
Also I am not rich, so I can't afford anything and everything, but I will spend what I have to, to get decent sound.
One other thing, right now I am using my stereo system as my speakers. It's a decent little Philips Magnavox Mini HIFI system, but it doesn't do the surround sound.
UncleWai
Diamond Member
- Oct 23, 2001
- 5,701
- 68
- 91
dszd0g,
I suggest you a pair of cheap nice headphones.
Labtec Elite-840, you can get two pairs for 24 in computer4sure.com
With the audigy card eax enabled, you can hear superb 3d sound when playing Counter Strike. I killed so many more people with the headphones than with my 5.1 system.
The sound is so natural that you will know when to turn your back.
I suggest you a pair of cheap nice headphones.
Labtec Elite-840, you can get two pairs for 24 in computer4sure.com
With the audigy card eax enabled, you can hear superb 3d sound when playing Counter Strike. I killed so many more people with the headphones than with my 5.1 system.
The sound is so natural that you will know when to turn your back.
UncleWai, I think I just don't like headphones period. I bought a nice pair, and definitely like those better than any others I've used. I think its just a matter of personal taste. Come to think of it, when I had a roommate who didn't like my speakers (Klipsch v2.-400) when he was home I used my headphones. I think I actually did get more frags in Counterstrike with the headphones. It's a hard comparison to make though. I still will play with out the headphones
Games to me are a matter of having fun, not necessarily getting the most frags. (When I play regularly, I'm generally the top player on my team in CS if I play on a PB server, however, there are a lot of people out there that put me to shame. So don't take that as I am a bad player.)
Games to me are a matter of having fun, not necessarily getting the most frags. (When I play regularly, I'm generally the top player on my team in CS if I play on a PB server, however, there are a lot of people out there that put me to shame. So don't take that as I am a bad player.)
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