Looking to set up a HT using PC as the receiver

[Uninvited Guest]

I'm looking to set up a PC centric room, and finally take advantage of all that my hardware can do. My motherboard is an Asus P5W DH Deluxe, which came with 6 stereo jacks and a SPDIF out. This you can see here. Now, I am by no means an audio buff, so I'm probably going to say some things or use some terms that will make you guys cringe.

The realtek audio driver allows for dolby 7.1 processing. I intend to set up a 5.1 system, which would use up all 6 of my stereo jacks. I have a run of the mill Sharp stereo system, and Koss speakers that came from a blown system.

The problem is such- my PC does not output enough to power the speakers. I'd figured it wouldn't, given a 500W PSU trying to power speakers on its own and keep the computer running just couldn't do it. I used a Y shaped headphone wire, cut off the headphones, and connected the koss speakers to it, then plugged it into one of the stereo jacks. Works fine, just the volume it too low, I can hear them with Windows Media Player, but not most other applications (games, youtube, etc). My assumption for the low volume is that the output of the computer is not enough, rather than it having to do with the headphone wires not being able to carrying the signal. If they couldn't carry the signal, they'd probably burn up, or somesuch.

In contrast, I used a converter to change the stereo plug into a red/white compsite, and plugged it into my Sharp's aux in, and that powers the speakers just fine. The problem being, the stereo is just that- only two speakers.

I just want to explore my options.

Are there powered bookshelf speakers available? If so, how much?

Is there just plain old amplifiers that I could use to power my current speakers? If so, how much, and will it ruin my sound quality?

I'm trying to spend very little, want to avoid a receiver (why buy one when my computer can do it all?), and I would like to avoid computer speakers if possible. Those little 2-3 inch drivers just sound awful for the most part, and I read the advice from the "General Home Thread Audio Thread" about the 80hz threshold for bass.

I looked at the Logitech 5500 PC HTIB and it looks nice, but it's costly (for what you get), and I assume it sucks, overall.

Thanks in advance.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Just a couple cringes

The 500W PSU doesn't really have anything to do with the kind of output you're going to send from your audio jacks.

From your integrated sound, you're just sending line-level output to your audio devices. (Basically the same thing as red/white RCA audio cables)

To hook up actual speakers, you need to have amplification between the soundcard and the speakers.

For computer speakers, the speakers will have an internal amplifier (usually in the subwoofer for a 5.1 system)

There are also powered monitors that will basically be bookshelf sized speakers with amplifiers build into them so you can connect them with line-level inputs like your computer sends.

For most "real" speakers out there that are passive and have speaker wire inputs, you'll need to put an amp or a receiver between the computer and the speakers to power them.

When you're plugging into your aux in for the Sharp system, you're sending the signal to the amp in the system which then powers the speakers. The computer is essentially only capable of sending the signal and a relatively low amount of power that would be adequate for most headphones but not driving full sized speakers.

A decent set of powered stereo speakers (monitors) might be ~$200
Powered speakers range from POS $10 computer speakers to ones that start to call themselves "monitors" at the $100 range and on the top end can be tens of thousands of dollars per pair.

Depending on what kind of characteristics your speakers have and the volume levels you're hoping to attain, you could get a stereo amp for maybe $50-$100 that would do the job. I'm using a little sonic T-amp for my work system that was about $60 to get including the amp itself and the power supply.
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/sp...k%20System/Stands2.JPG
If you're looking for high volumes though, something like that might not suit you very well.

If you know you want a 5.1 system (as it seems you do), a receiver is going to be the most affordable way to do that. You'd need 3 stereo amps to get enough channels to do the whole system and even dirt cheap stereo amps are going to be more expensive than a single cheap receiver that can do it all and be more convenient.

The 5500 set is not a bad idea when you can get them on sale (sub $200). It's very easy to hook up to a computer (this can be a pain depending on your equipment and what you want to do with the system with non-computer oriented electronics) and gets you a good system compared to a lot of the entry level HTIB sets.

How much are you looking to spend overall?

If the ~$200 5500s are expensive for you, getting a full 5.1 system going with amps and real speakers probably isn't realistic on your budget.

 

[Uninvited Guest]

Thanks for the fast response! I'm just looking to spend as little money as possible, and make do with what I can. It won't be an authentic home theatre system- rather odds and ends to make it come together.

I've scrounged around the house, and have come up with a 1982 Nikko receiver which has your line level aux in, and can power two mammoth 100 Watt Bose 501 floor speakers with a deflecting wall inside. You could crush a toddler with these things. Scary.

With another stereo to line converter I could hook this up, and use the Sharp system to power the front, and the Nikko/Bose mix to power the back, all that leaves is the centre. It'll just be tricky to match their output levels, but I think I'm willing to work with trial and error.

So that leaves the centre speaker, and sub. I don't have a real sub, so I'll have to pick one up, and that'll be the bulk of my budget. If I have to buy it new, I might as well buy it good, that I might use it in a future (aka real) system. I suppose I should do the same with the centre speaker. However, in the stickied guide, it mentioned that ideally you want your front three to be from the same set. I'm not looking for that in this system, but if I fork over dough for a brand new centre speaker, I'll either have to replace it in the future, or match my left/right speakers to my centre, in the future. The other problem may be finding a powered centre speaker.

The Z5500 isn't beyond my range, but it just doesn't feel worth it. I can grab it for ~$285 CAD (Get Best Buy to price match Canada Computers, which give an additional discount of 22.50, then taxes) and be entirely set. It's just that I can spend a little time researching, do a little work matching connections, buy a REAL sub and supposedly a real centre speaker, and have saved some dough, as well as have some parts which can be used in an authentic HT later on.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Yeah, if all you have to take care of is the center and the sub, then that's probably more realistic on a budget.

Indeed it's going to be a bit annoying to do change the volume on your system with a setup like that. You'd have to dial everything in on the different receivers / amps / sub and then control the volume with the computer's own volume control.

Bass management might also be a problem depending on the abilities of your souncard / integrated sound.

Did you see the "Digital audio thread" link in the big thread? That goes over a couple of the issues people run into trying to do surround sound in a non-computer speaker setup.

 

[Uninvited Guest]

Tried looking for it just now, but didn't see anything specific. I searched 'digital audio thread' and only found one mention of it, under audio cables.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I think I hid it in there pretty well
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=30&threadid=1940133