Speak up!

[DiseasedBunny]

What speakers does everyone have.  Currently got a set of creative a60s, but want to go to 2.1. (got 5.1 for the home cinema and the subwoofer makes all the difference).

[Chaosphere]

I have the following -

Monitor Audio Bronze 5 with Wharfdale Diamond SW150 sub, running through a Marrantz PM6006. Sits in my lounge. Not yet invested in any sort of surround, most of my use is stereo.

Monitor Audio Bronze 2 running through a small Topping amp. This is my PC set-up when I am not using headphones, but tbh I use headphones 90% of the time so, it's a bit overkill.

Klipsh R-41PM all-in-ones. This is up in the bedroom, mainly for music and the odd bit of TV.

So, I am a 2.0 - 2.1 channel guy. I have no issue recommending either brand. Klipsh stuff is pricey, but for an all-in-one package these speakers are fantastic. They are also small and punch well above their weight in that regards.

Monitor audio, though, is the brand I will buy every time now when I want something more substantial. Their sound works for me. If you have the room, have a look at their stuff. The Bronze series is their entry level, but it is also more than most people will ever need. They also have a new Bronze line coming out soon, which will inevitably drop prices of the current crop.. so may be worth keeping an eye out on deals soon.

[TeaLeaf]

Is this for audiophile, PC or TV use?  I assume PC because of the A60.

I have these:
https://www.deadmen.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?36506-Corsair-SP2500-Gaming-2-1-Speaker-System&highlight=SP2500

They are a brilliant 2.1 set for the money and the quality of the sound is seriously impressive.  If you can find them these days then get them.  There's a pair on Ebay atm for about £140.

[Sneakytiger]

i've just got a pair of trust pc speakers that are plugged into my second monitor for netflix/console , mainly use my corsair void headphones most of the time.

[BrotherTobious]

With Chaos with the Monitor Audio I have them for my tv 5.1 system.

I have got a pair of these for my pc and they are great

Ruark MR1 MK1

[Milli]

Likewise monitor audio [emoji16]

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

[albert]

If you actually want good music sound then I'm with Chaos on having a small amp or integrated DAC and real audio speakers. I have a pair of PMC bookshelf monitor speakers (https://pmc-speakers.com/products/consumer/gold-series - but the original DB-1) linked to 20W China Made amp from amazon.co.uk. I feed in my stereo channel line out to the amp, then use a virtual audio cable product to separate that as an option from my headphones in windows sound. It also works great for my music production setup as the monitors won't pop if I strum my guitar to heavily.

If you're a Spotify user then there is a plugin called Equalify that allow more granular control of the Spotify app on a PC, meaning yuo can route spotify to different devices and have EQ capabilities. https://www.equalify.me/ worth the £15 for me personally.

[Sneakytiger]

i use https://www.sky.com/shop/soundbox for my tv

[BrotherTobious]

If you actually want good music sound then I'm with Chaos on having a small amp or integrated DAC and real audio speakers. I have a pair of PMC bookshelf monitor speakers (https://pmc-speakers.com/products/consumer/gold-series - but the original DB-1) linked to 20W China Made amp from amazon.co.uk. I feed in my stereo channel line out to the amp, then use a virtual audio cable product to separate that as an option from my headphones in windows sound. It also works great for my music production setup as the monitors won't pop if I strum my guitar to heavily.

If you're a Spotify user then there is a plugin called Equalify that allow more granular control of the Spotify app on a PC, meaning yuo can route spotify to different devices and have EQ capabilities. https://www.equalify.me/ worth the £15 for me personally.

Yup a DAC is a must I am using a dragonfly atm for my pc.

[albert]

Yup a DAC is a must I am using a dragonfly atm for my pc.

Interesting, I last looked at that brand just before they started to be shipped, https://www.audioquest.com/dacs/dragonfly/dragonfly-black I don't have a DAC for my PC right now, so thanks for the recommednation.

[Chaosphere]

I wouldn't recommend dragonflies for pc use. There are better products for this. These are intended for low impedance headphone use above all else.

Yes they will work, but it's just not their intended use. You can get better things for less or the same money etc, for pc use.

I'd be more than happy to write up more about this if anyone wants to know more, but I can't right now. Let me know if interested

[SithAfrikaan]

I know the ask was for 2.1 speaker set up, and that some of the recommends here are stellar, but in case you don't want to make a £150 upward hole in your pocket, I've been VERY happy for almost 12 years now with my Logitech Z506 Multimedia 5.1 Speaker System. It's got the sub its got good range on the speakers and its never let me down for the amount of volume I'd ever realistically rock the house with!
Find them on Amazon for only £85 squids

Also I'd love to read what you'd have to say at length about the pc / home setup incorporating DAC's Chaos, specifically, do you not recommend Creative Sound Blaster cards? I've kind of been considering one of those before a DAC setup, and would love more opinions!

[Chaosphere]

Also I'd love to read what you'd have to say at length about the pc / home setup incorporating DAC's Chaos, specifically, do you not recommend Creative Sound Blaster cards? I've kind of been considering one of those before a DAC setup, and would love more opinions!

Challenge accepted. Long winded post coming right up.

Just a few basics for anyone who doesn't know the ins and outs of audio...

- Speakers (and headphones) are analogue devices.
- Your PC audio is digital, whatever the source.
- DACs take digital signals and make them analogue, so speakers can understand them.
- Amplifiers take the above signal and... amplify it.
- Absolutely anything that is capable of making sound has a DAC and amp built it. Excluding vinyl set-ups, but we're not talking about your Abba record collection here.
- So your smartphone, your PC, your TV, your laptop... they ALL have DACs and amps built-in.
- PC DACs and amps used to be absent from many motherboards, or just totally naff, but nowadays they're all pretty rock solid, even with 'budget' systems.

A bit on soundcards, as you mentioned them.
- Soundcards are just additional DACs and amps. When you plug one in, your PC ignore its built-in DAC and amp and uses your new xXPr01337Gam3RblaSt3r9001Xx soundcard to make noise instead.
- This used to matter when PC audio was absent or rubbish, but as I mentioned above this is honest to god no longer the case, and sound-cards are (in my opinion) redundant for most people, as a result.
This is, if you're just looking for higher-quality audio, a soundcard isn't a worthwhile investment. The vast majority of soundcards by brands like Creative are 'fine', but technically no better than the ones you already have in your PC. They might offer access to certain things that your PC doesn't have, such as specific surround-sound technologies, but again most PC's actually already incorporate things like these from the manufacturer now. Most of the time they just come with sound no better than what you already had and just throw a load of nonsense pseudo-surround sound processing at it. Fake 7.1 and 5.1 and so on... I refer you back to the 'xXPr01337...' bit for a subtle clue into my opinion on such technologies.

In general, I don't rate internal soundcards or external DACs and amps from gaming focused companies. They tend to overcharge for products that fit what I have just described above. You're better off just sticking with what you already have, or looking into non-gamer products designed for the 'audiophile' market. More on that below. But first one more thing to note. USB headsets, speakers that connect via USB, wireless headsets... these are all digital. Your PC feeds them digital info. They all have their own DACs and amps, so these products are bypassing your PC's stuff too. This is why gamer headsets come with their own software that lets you customise the sound (and the aforementioned pseudo-surround stuff). Some come with external DACs and amps rather than built-in ones, such as some of the Steelseries stuff, for example. The company - be it Corsair, Logitech, whoever - is providing you with their own DAC and amp, and probably told you it was far superior to what your PC had already. They probably lied on this front, but if you want to use their product, you're using their sound stuff. With headphones or speakers that connect via a 3.5 or 6.35mm plug, you're using your PC's audio again, and as we have already said this is more than good enough for 99% of users.

So, who can benefit from external DACs and amps? Essentially there are 3 scenarios -
- You're using headphones that require more power than your PC's amp can spit out. High impedance cans.
- You're using speakers that require external amplification that your PC can't supply. I.e. you want to use speakers that take speaker wire. The sort of speakers you generally find in people's lounge connected to 'AV' devices (which in this respect are still just DACs and amps). PCs don't really have outputs for these.
- You're interested in high-end audio.. 'audiophile' territory.

There are then hundreds of products, from good to bad, that fill all sorts of niches. It can get really confusing if you don't know what you're looking for. I think most of this needs to be considered on a case by case basis - what do you need and want. As I said before, I don't really rate most of the gamer-focussed stuff as it tends to be identical tech found in cheaper audio gear with loads of totally rubbish digital processing thrown in. I'm not a fan of that nonsense, I like my audio unmolested, as the creator / developer intended. Of course, if you enjoy the fake 7.1 surround sound coming from your 2.0 headphones then don't let me tell you otherwise! Crack on, I am definitely coming at this from a 'purist' perspective. There are lots of options for what gear you can buy, and as I've said its a case by case thing. Like I mentioned with the Dragonflies.. they are great little products, but meant for portable low impedance headphone use. There are better devices for less money for desktop PC use, speaker use, and so on. It all depends. If you're looking for something Sith, tell me about your needs and budget and no doubt I can point you in the right direction.

What is really worth saying again at this point though, is that external DACs and amps make a small difference to the overall experience. If your current set up already has all the functionality you need, I really wouldn't bother spending money on 'high quality' DACs and amps. Far, far, far more important are the headphones and/or speakers you are using. These are 95% of the experience, the DACs and amps the last 5% (if that). Invest in better headphones, better speakers, and play with your room set up way before you start looking at improving the DAC/amp bit of the chain. Finally, this is all without even considering what you're listening to. As you start to move onto better gear that starts to become (at least somewhat) important too, but I think it's another conversation really so won't go any further here.

Hope there is some useful info buried in there. :flirty:

[SithAfrikaan]

Thanks for this reply Chaos, it confirms my suspicions that the soundcards are simply not what they used to be!

I'm just in the market for mucking about, I dont have a clear definition for my usage atm since I use a set of wireless cans almost 99% of the time since its just so much more convenient.
And on top of that they're "surprisingly good audio quality considering the price" as in they are shockingly cheap but they are awesome sounding through all the range, and they have these lush soft velour pads.

Like I said in a prev post I've never felt the need to replace my Logitec speaker system since they are still thumping!

Great discussion dudes

[Gorion]

Mind you, sound cards are not all bad.  Some can be an affordable option if you want to drive 700 ohm cans as the onboard one will probably not be able to drive them properly.  You still hear sound and all that, but not the quality and sound levels that these type of headphones can give when driven properly.

head-fi.org has a lot of information on audio.  Before buying anything take a look there as the reviews are detailed.

If you want good audio, buying a good pair of headphones will be much cheaper than going for speakers.