Nlc - Pc Audio Question

[MattyB]

I know Scott is a bit of an Audiophile (yes, thats Audio ) so dunno if he knows

 

Need some new speakers for me PC. Been recommended some £200, surround sound 5.1 speakers, 505W RMS, THX certified, DD5.1 decoder and all that rubbish.

 

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products...,CONTENTID=5048

 

Listen to alot of music via my PC both CD's and MP3's, also for gaming, the odd DVD or VCD so I'd really like a 5.1 setup.

 

I know nothing about "proper" Hi-Fi equipment as we've only ever had cheap ready-to-run HiFi's in this house....and I was told that for £200 (for amp + speakers) I could get something that would (in the words of said geek) "0wn" a PC speaker setup like above

 

Problem is, I'd really like 5.1 and I don't really have the room for a full size amp. I'd also like a 5.1 setup. Anyone make any suggestions? Or is it just easier to stick with the above mentioned?

 

Ta

[enxrjm]

PC speakers are pretty good now, but are your ears are sensitive enough to pick up the full effects of 5.1 for mp3's? 5.1 is good for DVD's. I don't know what your setup is like, personally I'd go for cheaper speakers for PC for if you want to hear music through that, and buy standalone DVD player which can play MP3 disks, CD's, DVD's (obviously) and VCD's and get a good 5.1 system attached to that. Then burn your MP3s to disk. Have you looked at Richersounds.com? That's where I got my amp and speakers from.

 

Just IMO, and I'm no expert at all!

[Wuddie]

I had a good 5.1 setup on my PC for playing Music and watching DVD's etc, those logitech ones look good but look rather large from the picture, I had these for a while Clicky up until i got a proper DVD player. They pack quite a good punch and the sound quality is very good for a PC setup. You can also plug other equipment in such as your Ps2/Xbox and TV.

 

HTH

[Scott_Mac]

 

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/mo...Product_ID/1314

 

They do the ones without the amp for £200.... and then you could buy a decent amp from somewhere, but that is a phenomenal package, worthy as a lounge based AV system if anyone is after something discreet....

 

Otherwise, Creative doa range of good kit, anything with a THX stamp is going to be pretty good... not a patch on that though. I guarantee it.

[MattyB]

Mmm...they do look nice. I assume were talking 5x125WRMS here - well, I should hope so anyway.

 

How do you know they are so good? And can you guarantee they're going to be £100 better than the Logitech ones I mentioned

[Scott_Mac]

I personally guarantee (no monetray value involved) that they are better than anything anyone does for a PC (apart from the silly system from Yamaha, but thats mega bucks!)

 

The fact that they keep on winning HiFi awards says something about them.

 

As for volume, i very much doubt you will be using the full power avaialable and its more to do with "headrrom" than how loud it will go... the more powerful the amp, the more control you have over the sound therefore less distortion at "normal" volumes.... don't view it as how loud will it go, your ears will more than likely give up first... certainly your neighbours and parents!!!!

 

For info, my amp at home is made by Naim, it has 30 watts RMS and i never listen above the volume at 11 o'clock.... it hurtsd my ears if i do.

 

"We've loved this system from the moment we first heard it, and if you want great surround sound from tiny speakers, this is the set-up to go for". "Even more impressive is the Aego P5's stereo ability: you could happily use it to listen to CDs. All in all this system is a revelation: on style and sound quality it's a winner." - What HiFi 2002 Awards - Best Buy Winner.

 

You will need a sound card with a digital output on it.. these go on ebay for about £10 if you don't have one already....

[MattyB]

Bah, your making me spend more money now

 

I've got an an Audigy2 in my PC which has digital out, but only via the head-phone-type connectors (phono?) you know the ones, the standard connectors on the back of soundcards...

 

I assume that'll do?...as you can tell, I know feck all about audio

[Scott_Mac]

That'll be SP-DIF, you can normally get convertors for that to work into a CO-AX. A proper bona fide Digital (either optical or CO-AX) would eb better.. but what you have would suffice.

[Wuddie]

Yeah a good sound/electrics store should be able to source you a converter...I usually try my local maplins first and they usually come up trumps