Sound Setup Advice?

spicymchaggis

Used to mix a lot of audio but now I'm just looking for something for nice music and movie playback. I currently have a set of Behringer Truths B2031A but want something better suited. A good sound card and good set of speakers. Prob have about €200-300 +/-

Serephucus

2.1/5.1? Any thoughts there? Any preferences regarding digital/analogue, etc.?

spicymchaggis

Serephucus wrote: »

2.1/5.1? Any thoughts there? Any preferences regarding digital/analogue, etc.?

I'd say 2.1 would do me just fine, just for my room, I have surround sound setup in the tv room. I'm after clarity and quality rather than volume with nice clean bass rather than something that will just swim around my room like most cheap subs. No preference in analogue or digital. Would be a bonus if it could also double up for my xbox sound. Option to opinions either way or even suggestions with regards to 5.1 that might sway me. Appreciate the reply

Serephucus

You could get an X-Fi Xtreme Auido for about €45, and the Z906s from Logitech for about €300. Dunno if you can swing that much though.

That would be a similar setup to mine. I have the Z906s, and after a fair bit of tweaking with a good sound card, they're great, much better than my previous set. The difference though is that I'm encoding everything to DTS on the sound card, and then having it decoded by the speakers. I've found this to sound a lot better than the CMSS-3D encoder in the Creative software, which is what you'd be using if you went with the Xtreme Audio. It's still good, etc. I just found that DTS/DDL makes a very big difference - a lot more than I was expecting.

/rant (sorry)

What sound card are you using at the moment (if any)?

ShadowHearth

Well op, you already got a perfect man there for your problem.serephucus is our local sound junky, have fun!

spicymchaggis

Serephucus wrote: »

You could get an X-Fi Xtreme Auido for about €45, and the Z906s from Logitech for about €300. Dunno if you can swing that much though.

That would be a similar setup to mine. I have the Z906s, and after a fair bit of tweaking with a good sound card, they're great, much better than my previous set. The difference though is that I'm encoding everything to DTS on the sound card, and then having it decoded by the speakers. I've found this to sound a lot better than the CMSS-3D encoder in the Creative software, which is what you'd be using if you went with the Xtreme Audio. It's still good, etc. I just found that DTS/DDL makes a very big difference - a lot more than I was expecting.

/rant (sorry)

What sound card are you using at the moment (if any)?

Well at the moment I have a Mac Pro with M-Audio rack gear which is more recording and flat mixing but getting out of the sound engineering business and moving back to windows so looking for a nice computer and audio setup for at home. I dont mind spending the extra cash for a nice setup. Someone mentioned Corsair sp2500 to me but your setup looks very nice and I like the multiple inputs on the Sub and desktop controller.

Serephucus

I've heard great things about that Corsair setup actually. I didn't get it myself, because I knew my sound card could make budget surround sound a lot better than it might ordinarily sound, and I just wanted 5.1. I also didn't have room for that f*ck-off huge sub.

Unfortunately sound systems are extremely subjective (I'm sure you know all this), so short of finding a brick and mortar place that stocks everything, you won't be able to actually listen to stuff, so you're only going off other people's opinions. Especially in audiophile circles, people will swear blind to certain brands and scoff at others. In the end, all I know is that my X-540s sounded excellent for the €90 I paid for them at the time, and my new card and speakers sound better. When using the Dolby encoders, they sound better still. If I was to give rough ratios, I'd say maybe 1/1.2/1.5 for old/new/new-with-dolby.

If you're around the Maynooth area you're welcome to wander over to have a listen and see what you think.

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Well op, you already got a perfect man there for your problem.serephucus is our local sound junky, have fun!

Actually, that's probably nesf, more than me. Unlike me though, he actually has a life. :P

spicymchaggis

Gah I've decided on 5.1
After reading heaps of reviews from places aswell on it it seems to get glowing praise and I dont think I've ever seen anything on Amazon get only 5 star reviews. Komplette seem to have it for €280 shipped, is there anywhere better? Just need to pick a card to complement it and well also a computer build but I have another thread for that

Serephucus

Heh, seems to be the cheapest I can find. Any ideas on the sound card?

sink

LOL- just be warned it doesn't have a SCART connection on the sub.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1XZG6PYS5WGDC/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B004MY4PU6&nodeID=&tag=&linkCode=

spicymchaggis

Serephucus wrote: »

Heh, seems to be the cheapest I can find. Any ideas on the sound card?

No idea, been a long time since I've had to use an internal soundcard. Any links to the one you recommended or the one you use?

Serephucus

The one I was talking about.

The one I use.

stevenf17

I know you said you decided on 5.1 but the SP2500's from corsair are mean't to be top notch! They've got dedicated tweeters too!
Long video here ~45mins but it does through everything ya might need to know about them

If you want you can skip to about 33 mins where he compares them to the z-5500's (which I've got and are supposed to be not that dissimilar to the Z-906's) and well you can see for yourself!

Serephucus

Wow. Well that says a lot.

C'mon Corsair! 5.1!

spicymchaggis

stevenf17 wrote: »

I know you said you decided on 5.1 but the SP2500's from corsair are mean't to be top notch! They've got dedicated tweeters too!
Long video here ~45mins but it does through everything ya might need to know about them

If you want you can skip to about 33 mins where he compares them to the z-5500's (which I've got and are supposed to be not that dissimilar to the Z-906's) and well you can see for yourself!

Turns out I know someone with these so gonna listen on monday. Will either be these and a surround sound headset with mic (which I would also be looking for info on) or the logitech z906. I like the fact that these have tweeters but not impressed by the range of inputs

spicymchaggis

Ive decided on the logitechs after listening to both. The corsairs were indeed fantastic but inputs was very limited and I want the 5.1. I think I have a card picked, just wondering about thoughts on it. Its the ASUS Xonar Essence STX, I like it has the added bonus of a 6.3mm input which I would actually use for the likes of guitar rig