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who has _real_ pc speakers?

J

jetsam

Junior Member
I was browsing the site for info on an upgrade to my sb 128 pci, and I noticed some 2.1 / 5.1 speaker sets... and wondered, "Does anyone use this junk?"

I have my 4 channel soundblaster plugged into a pair of ancient marantz amps ( 1200 watts! ) wired into 4 sony ssu7030 ( 3 way: 15" cone, 5" cone, 2" cone; sadly, they aren't made anymore. ). Nothing beats window rattling gaming.

What have you got?
 
If no one used them, then no one would make them.
I have one of those SoundWorks 4.1 pieces of junk and it works just fine for my limited gaming. It also does not disturb my neighbors.
 
And, incidentally, it seems that those of us that use the "junk" are using real PC speakers because, funny thing is, that they are designed specifically for PCs. Imagine that. Also, I agree, if no one used them, then why do so many companies make them and why do they sell so well? Things that make you go "Hmmmm..."

I use a set of Altec-Lansing 251 5.1 speakers. They are great for listening to tunes or watching the occassional movie and light gaming. Though, I have disturbed the neighbors once or twice. Oops.

\Dan
 
I have a pair of £5 cheapo stereo speakers connected to my AC97 onboard sound. Grainy, tinny sounds ahoy! Well they do the jobs and thats good enough for me.
 
PCHPlayer, I realise that if no one bought these things, then there would be none on the market. I was under the impression that readers of this website, who build their pcs, who overclock, who are "power users" and gamers, who case-mod, would not be satisfied with the sort of speaker sets which are sold at officemax. I expected to hear about "extreme" audio.

Eeyore, I see you have a high end video card. and a very nice monitor. and the best soundcard money can buy. Yet, you choose speakers that are like a 14" monitor.

Mitzi, your rig looks very impressive, but did you run out of money when it came time to install sound?

jackschmittusa, SB128pci is certainly not state of the art. Anandtech has no revews of soundcards; only speakers are covered. So I looked at soundblaster.com and a few other hardware sites for information regarding the audigy, and here is my conclusion:
24 bit and 96 kilohertz is not needed to play 16 bit 44 kilohertz cd audio, nor is it needed for 8 bit 16 kilohertz mp3 audio.
emu10k provides hardware accelerated wave shaping, but A3D and DS3D do exactly the same thing, and as my system is not cpu-bound, there is little to be gained from this chip. Regarding midi, who cares about midi?
The 6.1 audio is a step down from my quadrophonic "4.4" setup.

perhaps I should tell a tale of how to build your own stereo? It can be fairly satisfying. You know you've gotten your money's worth, you have the capability you want, and so on. Read the introduction to "The Anandtech Guide to PC Gaming Hardware".

I started with a pair of boxes made by JBL, which I bought at a garage sale. The wood finish was fine, but cones were a shambles and the grills were a mess. So I threw those parts out. Grills are pointless; I like the looks of the transducer, just as much as I like the word "transducer", just as many of you like the "guts" of the pc enough to put a window in your case.

Went over to radio shack and bought some cones and a multimeter. 10" woofers and some mids and... Rat shack is dirt cheap. I like that. The multimeter was to find the impedance of each cone so I'd know what size capacitors to use for the single-ended crossover I'd need...

Hey, I don't feel like finishing my story. Um... Too far off topic. Anyway, I still think that excessive quadraphonic Lo-Fi is the best way to do "home audio" for me, and for anyone else who doesn't want to sell their car for "high end" equipment.
 
i won't argue with you on whether your sound setup is loud or not but i dont think they fall into the catergory of "real pc speakers".

for the average computer users, all they want is a set of speakers that can fill a small room with sound AND be able to fit on their desktops. for the few that craves a little more, brands like logictec and klipsch can satisfy many of the audiophiles out there. and with dvd-rom drives become standard on pc's today, these 4.1 or 5.1 systems are selling so hot.

and even on my modest 5.1 altec lansing system on a sb live 5.1, i can assure you i get better 3d audio positioning than your 2 piece setup in games or watching a dvd.
 
Well I ain't using PC speakers either, just some leftover vintage audio gear that I have lying around, not bad though. Its in my system rigs in my signature if you're interested 🙂
 
Dear Jetsam,

PC speakers are shielded. And stereo components usually aren't

And before you spurt out some gibberish that yours are, please. don't. I'm not an audiophile. I just a PC hardware junkie. I don't have the space for component speakers, so my speakers have to be shielded.

If you'd like to go into detail about your wonderful set-up, maybe your in the wrong forum. Last I checked, people here like to talk about PCs.

As much as we all appreciate your opinion on your vast knowledge of speakers. It seems that you are a showing of a tad. Everyone has they're own opinion on what they want to use, please don't force feed us yours.

 
Originally posted by: jetsam

Mitzi, your rig looks very impressive, but did you run out of money when it came time to install sound?
Click to expand...

Nope I didn't run out of money, I did once buy a pair of Creative Labs DTT3500 5.1s' which I intended to use on the PC but they ended up on the DVD player in the lounge where they get more use.

<-- Days of spending excessive $$$ on the PC are well and truely over 🙁

 
I'm using a set of Cambridge Soundworks speakers from before they were bought by Creative. They're redundantly named the "Soundworks" set and they do sound extremely well for what I paid for them.
 
I have a set of Creative Labs Inspire 4.1 4400 Speakers and they soud very good. I have a question though, what brand manufactures the best PC speakers?🙂
 
Eeyore, I see you have a high end video card. and a very nice monitor. and the best soundcard money can buy. Yet, you choose speakers that are like a 14" monitor.
Click to expand...

My video card is the only item you listed I payed full retail price for, and I still got it for about $110.00. The Soundcard came from the FS/FT and the monitor from some local computer show. I bought it (similarly the speakers) because I could afford it (them) it looked nice (they sound nice) and it does what I need it to do very well (and so do they).

I also considered using some JBL tower speakers and satellites but I decided that
1) My tv/home theater set up would benefit most from this
2) I don't have a giant office to put speakers that are nearly 4ft tall into
3) I don't need monstrosities like that to listen to an MP3
4) I wanted a nice small 5.1 setup that was sheilded, fit in my office (both on my desktop and my shelves behind me for the rears) and <gasp> was made for a PC (I don't want to deal with wiring. I want to plug it in and be done)

You conclude in one of your posts that
24 bit and 96 kilohertz is not needed to play 16 bit 44 kilohertz cd audio, nor is it needed for 8 bit 16 kilohertz mp3 audio
Click to expand...
and that is quite true. Well, I conclude that I don't need (or want) more than "14 inch monitor"-class speakers to listen to an MP3 or play a game of C&C Generals.

I also reiterate that using speakers designed for a PC is the definition of what "real" PC speakers are. Not hooking up audio/home theater/non-PC speakers and then calling them "real PC speakers".

\Dan
 
When you spend thousands of dollars for a home audio set up, it only makes sense to plug your PC into it. I run both a riser card (with a toslink converter) and 1/8" miniplug to RCA adapters into the external decoder of my receiver for pointal sounds (ie games). I still play DVDs through my component DVD player; the sound and picture quality (through S-video) is superior.
 
I have Altec-Lansing ACS641 "multimedia" speakers attached to my PC. My PC is in my office.

I have over $10k worth of "real" audio equipment. It's in my living room.

The 2 rooms are 60 feet apart, on different floors of my home. Even if they were in the same room, I'd still use the "PC" speakers with my PC, because the volume knob is right in front of me.

And besides that, the 641's probably sound MUCH better than jetsam's "Frankenspeakers". And I can get 112db peak levels out of the 641's - that's louder than any rock concert and more than loud enough to alarm the neighbors!
 
cool. Thanks for telling me all about it, guys. If I've pissed anyone off, I apologise.

Goi: Technics, that's what I'm talking about. I just read something about the Rotel... wow. Too bad I'll never hear one.

Nanuk: Shielded? Not hardly. If I bring them within 3 feet of the monitor, it turns green and purple. So one is under the stairway on the south side, one is by the doorway to the laundry room; one in the far right corner, and one on top of the... I don't remember the name of that piece of furniture. well, I have space enough, sort of. An audiophile would probably hate my "soundstage".
I am not an engineer either, but if I can build it, anyone can.

Slammy: that would make sense. I'd hate to spend $1000 twice.

Workin: Frankensonic... good name. I dunno how loud these are, but I can't quite feel it in my chest... mostly because the 15"s don't do much below 35 hertz. Also, the room is about 27 feet long, so were talking about 40 hertz resonance, so sound _really_ seems to fall off fast below that. Efficiency seems low, so I threw more amps at the problem, but I've only got 240 honest RMS watts.
Sound quality? "Consumer grade", but the 641 comparison is kinda humorous.
You've made quite an investment in audio equipment, do you think that the pc has no place in quality sound reproduction? What do you think of the talk about "digitizing the living room"?

Um...

How about those set-top boxes!
 
I have done a little listening on the Cambridge "MegaWorks" 5.1 set, and they sound better than anything I have heard, PC or elsewhere. Put the volume at 50%, and it'll disturb the neighbors alright.

Fidelity's outstanding, too. Beats DTT3500 with a stick.
 
Originally posted by: jetsamYou've made quite an investment in audio equipment, do you think that the pc has no place in quality sound reproduction?
Click to expand...
Not in the living room, at least not where PC technology is today. Loud cooling fans are not "hi-fi", and the effort required to quiet a PC is not worth the effort IMO, the payoff is just not there.
What do you think of the talk about "digitizing the living room"?
Click to expand...
It's already almost done, isn't it? We've had digital audio in the mainstream since what, 1981? And widespread digital video for more than 7 years? HDTV may someday be common, if the industry doesn't manage to kill the golden goose with endless delays and onerous copy-protection schemes. A PC seems like it would be a good nexus for all these things, but the user interface is nowhere near what it should be for ease of use. Most people's VCR's still flash 12:00, things are going to have to get a LOT easier for "convergence" (as a PC enthusiast sees it) to happen.
Sound quality? "Consumer grade", but the 641 comparison is kinda humorous.
Click to expand...
Why do you think that? Have you ever heard a properly set up 641 system? I bet you haven't. The level of performance you can wring out of those things is astounding, if you know what you are doing.
 
I have a pair of speaker that cost about $10,000 each but I don't know how I can connect them to my PC using the $600 speaker cables.
 
Originally posted by: Doh!
I have a pair of speaker that cost about $10,000 each but I don't know how I can connect them to my PC using the $600 speaker cables.
Click to expand...
Just use a bent paper clip 😉
 
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