Questions on Desktop Speaker Setup

[LazyGit]

Hi,

Some advice/answers would be much appreciated.
I have an Auzentech Prelude soundcard and am just getting around to buying some decent speakers to go with it.

Part of the reason for me buying the card were the high quality analogue outputs which I wanted to make use of. My intention was to get some decent quality bookshelf speakers like perhaps some Wharfedale 10.0s. I now realise that this isn't really possible and that I would need to put a separate amplifier between my soundcard and the speakers. Doesn't this just negate the quality of the Prelude's outputs? Or do I misunderstand how it works?

If I am right, then I need to stick to the Logitech type speaker sets that take analogue inputs from the soundcard. But then don't speaker setups like this just take the input audio and reprocess it before using their own outputs for the speakers?

So is there anything I can do to make the best use of my soundcard but still have a good quality speaker setup? Or do I need to accept that the sound card is not really for anything more than standard desktop speakers and that the only way to go for high quality sound is amp+speakers?

You may have gathered that I'm not a hifi expert so please be gentle with me if I'm being stupid.
Thanks

 

[slashbinslashbash]

You pretty much have it right IMO, although I think some might disagree. IMO the best sound quality is achieved when the signal is kept in the digital domain for as long as possible. So this would mean an optical or coaxial digital output running to an amp, which then powers the speakers. The PC is such a mangle of noisy components that it's best to get the signal outside that box without converting it to analog. I know that high-quality D/A converters on certain soundcards do something to negate this, but still the principle of it just demands an digital output to the amp IMO. And the D/A converters on most receivers will generally be of equally high quality to those in the Auzentech. Certainly 24-bit/96kHz is nothing out of the ordinary.

High-quality analog output can be useful if you end up with an old-school, non-digital amplifier to power your speakers. A lot of people still go with analog interconnects and a pure analog signal path. (Although their source is usually an analog record and not a PC.) You could pick up an old, analog-only receiver or amp on the cheap to power your Wharfedales and you will get great sound out of it.

There is another way to get high-quality sound without having to buy a separate amp and speakers. There are powered speakers out there such as the KRK Rokit that sound great and have built-in amps. You will be able to use the analog output from your receiver to the speakers. There was a lengthy discussion about this very issue in this very forum a few weeks ago:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2108953

 

[joetekubi]

Hi,

If I am right, then I need to stick to the Logitech type speaker sets that take analogue inputs from the soundcard. But then don't speaker setups like this just take the input audio and reprocess it before using their own outputs for the speakers?

Thanks

I have no strong feelings about analogue versus digital output for a desktop. You will need a receiver (amp) between your PC and the speakers. Typically powered speakers like the Logitech have very low quality amplifiers (> 1% distortion).

If you use analogoue output, an older vintage receiver will work great. I got old Yamaha and Denon receivers for about $30 off the 'bay.

-joe

 

[s44]

For a smaller device, get a T-amp (search ebay or just get this one). Receiver may be better sound but it certainly doesn't fit well on a desk.

Or, as another guy suggested, get powered monitors.

 

[LazyGit]

Thanks very much for the info guys.

I had a read through that thread you linked to and that helped a lot. Can I check my current thinking with you then?

If I were to get this: http://www.richersounds.com/product/amplifiers-receivers/cambridge-audio/a1-version-3/camb-a1v3-blk
and these: http://www.richersounds.com/product/bookshelf-speakers/wharfedale/diamond-9.0/whar-9.0-blk
they'd run to £110.

If I were to get these http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/StudiophileAV40.html they would also be about £110.

I know I should listen to them to see what I think but, right off the bat, can you guys see with your superior knowledge any major caveats of one over the other?

But then am I getting a bit too muso by looking for separates or active monitors when there are things like this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...tid=22&subcat= for about the same money? Are typical PC 2.1 setups that bad in comparison to the first two solutions?

 

[slashbinslashbash]

Are typical PC 2.1 setups that bad in comparison to the first two solutions?

Yes.

I am not sure which of your two options I would go for, if I were making this choice for myself. The difference is mostly a matter of packaging. The first option will be more versatile (you can upgrade the amp or speakers at any time, or use them in another application in the future). The second option will be more compact and easier to set up. It's just a matter of preference.

 

[LazyGit]

Okay, so you think it's just going to be a preference issue? The amps in the monitors aren't crap compared to the separate amp or the bookshelfs crap compared to the monitor's drivers etc etc?

 

[s44]

In a desktop situation you won't be pushing amps very hard anyway, so they won't make a huge difference. That said, for separates I would look at T-amps on eBay. There are a bunch of sellers from the Far East that will ship to the UK without problem, and you'll get nice cheap "musical" sound in a small package.

In your price range, also consider the Audioengine A2. Tiny but rather amazing. And some bigger active Behringers.

 

[slashbinslashbash]

Okay, so you think it's just going to be a preference issue? The amps in the monitors aren't crap compared to the separate amp or the bookshelfs crap compared to the monitor's drivers etc etc?

No, I think they're all about equal quality.... which is to say, competent. There's competent, and there's incompetent. The tiny 2" drivers in 2.1 computer audio systems are incompetent. The 4" drivers in the speakers that you're looking at, are competent. (Although ideally you'd get speakers with 5" or 6" woofers.) The crappy amps in the 2.1 computer audio systems are incompetent. The built-in amps in the M-Audio, and the separate Cambridge Audio amp that you're looking at, are both competent. I don't think you'll see much difference either way.