Official GIGABYTE Forum
Off-Topic => General discussions => Topic started by: jannie on January 17, 2011, 04:23:52 pm
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Hi Problemobo...and welcome to the freindly forum. well here's your first task. I just bought Creative X-FI Titanium HD card and want a nice set of speakers, so whats your suggestion. And dont say Absic and Dark Mantis, although they are a good pair ;D
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Hello Jannie,
How's it going.
Now, before I recommend any speakers to plug in to your new creative audio card, please could you let me a little bit more about your requirements?
What do you need the speakers for? General listening to Audio/DVD's etc. Or do you need them for making music or even engineering music?
Now, how loud do you want to listen? Quietly, while you browse the Internet or use your PC for general tasks such as Office etc,
Or are you using your PC as a media player and like to listen to your music loud?
Or, do you want to simulate full on Cinema experience in your living room?
And lastly, how much do you want to spend.
This is fairly important, as you can spend from £10 for a very basic and fairly poor quality pair of multimedia speakers, and you can spend tens of thosands of pounds on the high end Studio Monitors made for Pro Audio Recording Studios who record, engineer pro audio recordings.
So, just to recap.
1> Purpose for speakers?
2> How loud do the speakers need to be?
3> Budget?
If you can let me know a little more, I would be happy to help.
Also, please confirm it is only stereo that you want and not surround.
Cheers
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Hi problemobo, Well I was a hi-fi nut in the 60s and still own a quad11 amp and electrosatic speakers ( valve ofcoarse ) so not so loud and more sweet treble would be nice. The problem i find with pc speakers is that you cant go to a shop and hear them like hi-fi speakers. I was looking on the net today and come across Bowers & Wilkins MM-1. yes they have been around for a while that company.
Cheers Dave
P.S. maybe we should move this post to another part of the forum
Absic And Dm Please advice
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Hey Dude,
Interesting pick there. A company that I have never heard of but an interesting and stylish product non the less.
The speakers that you are looking at look quiet good.
They are active, which you probably know means that they have amplifiers built in. This can often be the wisest choice for home users, as it is sometimes possible to mismatch amplifier with passive monitor/speaker, which will cause all sorts of problems.
Now, these speakers are aimed at the home computer / hi-fi market, and are designed accordingly.
They also include some cool features. Firstly, they give you the option to plug in a standard mini jack (which, with the right adaptor allows you to plug in almost everything, from iPod and portable CD players, to traditional high end audiophile stacks).
They also include a USB streaming lead that connects directly to your PC via one of the USB 2.0 ports.
This allows a direct connection via the computer. Whether this will improve the quality of the sound I am not sure, it is hard to tell, although this certainly allows the manufacturer to control the sound quality more by the quality of their manufacturing. (the components that they use).
Well, the sonic range of these speakers seem quite large. The brochure mentions that they have a range of between: 38Hz and 22kHz
This is certainly a large range for a set of multimedia table top speakers.
The maximum human hearing is between 20 hz and 20 mhz, however, this range is usually reduced considerably as people grew older as their hearing simply wears out or is damaged.
Most middle age people have a range of perhaps 30 hz to 16 mhz.
Also, something to keep in mind is that many of the low frequencies are less consciously audible but are more perceived than heard.
and these frequencies are only really relative at higher levels.
What most Hi Fi consumers do not know is that these figures are often quoted from a specific loudness and are not constant at all levels of loudness.
Still, for a small set of multimedia PC speakers, it would be impressive that they are able to have such a range at any level.
The speaker specification also says that they include 4x18W speakers. In that case, these speakers should be relatively loud.
The speakers also look very stylish and I would imagine would look pretty cool when sat next to a modern computer such as a Mac or PC.
Now, I am not sure how much these speakers cost, and with out hearing them in contrast to other speakers on the market in their price range, it would be hard to put my stamp of approval on whether you should buy them or not.
What I recommend, as most Audio experts will also recommend, is to go into a shop that sells these speakers, with a range of your favourite music, perhaps on iPod or CD, and ask to listen to each system independently in order to check out how your favourite music sounds.
Now, when testing out each system, listen to each of your chosen tracks at varying levels.
Quiet. Medium and Loud.
First see if there are any distortions which should not be there.
Then, listen to see how defined each aspect of a recording is (well, at least in some music, you should be able to hear defined instruments clearly).
Some also suggest to include in your repertoire of favourite music a favourite classical music track and a favourite acoustic music track.
These shall reflect how good the speakers are at representing the natural sounds.
I guess when it comes to the crunch is that do these speakers represent good value for money, and do they give you what you want for the money paid?
If the answer is no, there are still plenty of other products to choose from, and you don't need to limit yourself to multimedia speakers.
I would imagine that you have several outputs on your computer which you can, if you choose, plug into a good quality HI Fi amplifier connected to some decent speakers, or, if you wish, you could even plug into a midi hifi that has an auxillary input built in.
Its really your choice.
If you give me more of an idea of your purposes and your budget, then perhaps we can hone in more on other competing products.
Cheers
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http://www.johnlewis.com/231072508/Product.aspx?s_kenid=1518ef7d-9bde-50c9-f26a-000067ab05ee&s_kwcid=paidsearch
£400 MM-1's
For this amount of money, you have quiet a lot of alternative products to choose from.
http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/
For a reasonably priced Hi Fi speaker, many of the Wharfedale range offer fairly good quality for a fairly cheap budget.
They start from £200 and up.
In fact, for £400 you might be able to get a half decent set of ACTIVE stereo speakers and a matching ACTIVE sub woofer.
They may not be labelled as multimedia, but their is no one stopping you from using them with your PC.
For example, I have a PC plugged into my 32 inch HD PC, with the PC, my freesat box and my Xbox 360 all plugged into a Hi Fi multi source amplifier, which is then plugged into a set of half decent Hi Fi speakers. (not surround yet).
By doing so, is a relatively cheap method of creating a great sounding PC / TV / Game Console, which knocks spots off the regular TV audio built into the HD TV.
:-)
And it hasn't broken the bank!!!
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P.S. maybe we should move this post to another part of the forum
Absic And Dm Please advice
Hi Jannie
I have moved the topic to General Discussions as I thought that covered it better.
DM
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Hi Jannie
I have moved the topic to General Discussions as I thought that covered it better.
What a crawler!!!
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No! Just didn't want it clogging up the Intel section ;D
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See I told you they were a couple of good speakers ;D
No problem jerry
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Ok Absic What Speakers are you runnung.
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Well I must admit mine are the oldest part of my kit. They still work admirably though and that is why they are still there. They are an old Logitech 5.1 surround sound sytem and even though they are now sprayed black to match everything else I can't see the point in changing them. However I did just buy some Logitech G930 wireless 7.1 surround sound headphones which are incredible.
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This is well beyond me as I'm more of a headphones person and stick to a much lower budget but I'd take a look at some audio forums and maybe ask there. 400£ is quite a lot of money and there must be some interesting options to choose from. Lastly, I wouldn't really look at speaker brand as it's quite common that some less known company can offer you a lot more for your money.
DM, that's some crazy looking equipment you got there ;D.
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As of late speaker systems made for PC's are crap. I have the first gen Klipsch 4.1's and love them. IMO they were the best of the best as far a speaker systems made for PC's. They are no longer made or I'd buy another set. I have been doing some digging lately and found KRK makes self powered studio monitors that get great reviews. Not cheap by any means but you get what you pay for. http://www.krksys.com/product_rokit.php
Bill
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Ok Absic What Speakers are you runnung.
It all depends on what I am actually doing.
For general purpose stuff I run a pair of Sony 100 Watt Hi-Fi Speakers I bought about 5 years ago. Don't forget though, I am also using a Delta 1010 Soundcard and most of my audio passes through a mixing desk and 100 Watt Sony Studio Amp prior to being blasted out of the speakers.
If I am recording, mixing or mastering some audio tracks I use a pair of Fostex NX-6A Nearfield Active Monitors. These are connected directly to the Studio Outputs on the Mixing Desk and have an excellent tonal range. When mixing or recording I can switch between the Sony and Fostex Speakers for direct comparisons of the audio being produced
For 5.1 Audio I use a Sony Home Theatre System.This has it's own built-in amp and is connected via the SPDIF from the Delta 1010.
I have a variety of headphones and once again it depends on what I am doing to which ones I use. I haven't tried 5.1 Headphones, such as the ones DM has but they are something I might consider, especially as DM rates them so highly.
Taking into account the cost of the soundcard, speakers, mixing desk, amp, headphones, cables, etc., I guess it would cost me about £2000 - £2500 to replace just the audio part of my set-up but, as it has been said, you only get what you pay for.
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Thanx all for your input and thanx problemobo for your expertize, I am going for a demo at the weekend with speakers, so I will see what my ears prefer.
Cheers Dave
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Sure, Well good luck.
And remember to take a good range of music with you and music that you are familiar with.
Your favorite classical track.
Your favorite acoustic track.
Your favorite other styles.
Also, remember when testing to listen at different volumes, as each speaker will respond to music differently at different volumes.
Watch out for non musical speaker distortions at any volume level.
Also, I would not rule out normal Hi Fi speakers, active or when matched with an appropriate amplifier.
Many amplifiers also offer multi sources, which means you can plug not only your PC but many other sources as well.
I personally favor this method for Hi Fi audio.
Although, space is a consideration.
Also, keep in mind that speakers with USB built in probably do not offer you that much extra, however, some, like the ones mentioned, have an audio card built into them which means that you do not need an additional audio card.
I believe that those MM-1 speakers also included some on board DSP chips, which add extra processing power to a built in sound effect unit built into the speakers.
This I guess gives the user extra sound effect options such as extra EQ or reverb settings on top of the natural audio.
Another company that may be worth considering is Acoustic Energy. They have quiet a large range of speakers, some passive and some active.
http://www.acoustic-energy.co.uk/
Good Luck! ::)
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Just a quick note regarding the differences between speakers for recreational listing, for making pro recordings and for mixing pro recordings,
here are a couple of truths about speakers that most people, including most musicians and some audio engineers do not know.
Most Hi Fi speakers are designed to discolor the sound in an enhancing way (or to the best of their ability within their given parameters/budget).
Studio Monitor speakers are designed to be as accurate or as neutral as possible in order to show as much detail of the audio field and its elements as possible. This is important as the speakers will show up imperfections or sounds that may not normally when listening using speakers that mask the audio using built in eq or fx due to their construction.
An example where this is particularly handy is when an audio engineer is monitoring a recording of a musical instrument or vocalist in the studio. If for example he is recording an acoustic guitarist that has a feint buzz in one of the strings when he plays a certain chord,
If the engineer is using speakers that do not pick up this detail, and he or his client does not want that buzz to be in the recordings,
he is then left with a bad recording due to the speakers that he is using. This buzz may have been picked up if he was using better quality and more accurate / neutral studio monitors.
Now, once audio has been recorded in this manner, there is little that can be done. Or, what can be done often takes a lot of time and effort. All this time and effort could have been saved by using the right type of speakers.
Now, many people use their monitoring speakers for mixing with.
Where this may be due to low budgets. Many pro mix engineers will recommend that engineers use a completely different type of speaker than the ones that they use to record (track) with.
As, during the mixing process, a mix engineer isn't looking for accurate sounding speakers that pick up every tiny bit of detail.
This is because the recordings have already been made and are now ready to be polished.
The mix engineer needs speakers that simulate speakers that the end product (the music) will be listened to on.
A mix engineer will generally have a favorite pair of speakers that simulate a BAD quality and inaccurate set of Hi Fi speakers.
This is because if the engineer is able to make the music sound good on BAD sounding speakers, the music will then sound awesome on speakers that are of a higher quality. The now discontinued Yamaha NS10's were an industry standard, not because they were the most accurate speakers in the world, but because they sounded like a BAD Hi FI.
This is why engineering using highly accurate and highly expensive monitors is generally a bad idea.
Most studio's will have several pairs of speakers. Some for tracking (recording). some for mixing, and some Hi Fi ones for testing out a mix.
Hope this helps. 8)
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Well I for one found it all very enlightening and interesting. I will have to go and dig those good quality speakers out of the storeroom. 8)
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DM dont go searching all your old speakers , you may get lost in the basement, Go and buy yourself some new speakers..Here's a set for a gut of your wealth ::) http://www.hificorner.co.uk/bandw-nautilus-speakers.html
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Hi Jannie,
Actually I have seen them before but cant really imagine that I would be able to appreciate the difference. Besides there's only two of them!! ;D
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Well I just watched a small reveiw and they can run without your soundcard, the mind boggles as to why i bought a soundcard
Cheers Dave ???
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sorry never sent the bookmark......http://www.trustedreviews.com/video/Bowers---Wilkins-MM-1
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Well they look good Jannie and the reviewer semed to think they were the mutt's nuts! Shame he didn't let us hear them even though obviously it would only be as good as your own audio output.
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yeh i would been nice to hear.. ;D..this takes me back to the first time i bought a grundig VHS and they gave you a tape to show you how to operate it...now ths clever...hahahahh
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Hi Problemo..yes the acoustic energy speakers are very nice,,,gosh how the hi-fi world has changed since the 1960s...I still run my Gale 401 speakers which still sound nice, although they needed a good 100watts rms ro hear them,and I still have my Technics SU9600 beast which gave out 180watts a channel.....http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=technics+su9600&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=D_A2TbKzMIOqhAeq7-n-Ag&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CDIQsAQwAg&biw=1016&bih=506
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Well I just watched a small reveiw and they can run without your soundcard, the mind boggles as to why i bought a soundcard
Cheers Dave ???
Unless they have some really nice electronics in them an external soundcard of reasonable quality will blow them away so it's hardly money wasted. Rule of thumb is to have everything of similar quality or you'll be held back by the worst component. It doesn't matter how good your speakers are if sound quality is shot before it even reaches them.
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Well I just watched a small reveiw and they can run without your soundcard, the mind boggles as to why i bought a soundcard
Cheers Dave ???
Unless they have some really nice electronics in them an external soundcard of reasonable quality will blow them away so it's hardly money wasted. Rule of thumb is to have everything of similar quality or you'll be held back by the worst component. It doesn't matter how good your speakers are if sound quality is shot before it even reaches them.
I'd go for a good internal sound card over an external sound card or USB speakers any day. USB sound is usually 100% software driven and the hardware there is usually cheap stuff.
Bill
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I'd go for a good internal sound card over an external sound card or USB speakers any day. USB sound is usually 100% software driven and the hardware there is usually cheap stuff.
Yes I would have to agree with Bill 100% there. Even the cheaper sound cards are usually better than the onboard chips and the USB.
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Hi!
just want to say, creative use its own proprietary connection which made my life miserable. I used to own Creative Inspire 7900 (7.1). It came with a cable. The speaker side got 4 plugs for 7.1, while the other side got 3 plugs (for 5.1 soundcards). It took me a while to figure the way to have native 7.1 (my laptop has 7.1 connection, and my speaker too, so I think, why I should not get direct/native 7.1).
The speaker was stolen (I think there is someone in the UK who is using my speaker ;D).
I am using Logitech Z506 (5.1 speakers). It is in my opinion, better in sound quality than Creative's. I added two more speakers separately (from some unknown manufacturer) to make up 7.1 I was tempted to buy a more expensive 5.1 Logitech speakers which has optical connections, but I was on a tight budget after buying X58A-UD3R and i7 950.
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Hi Problemo..yes the acoustic energy speakers are very nice,,,gosh how the hi-fi world has changed since the 1960s...I still run my Gale 401 speakers which still sound nice, although they needed a good 100watts rms ro hear them,and I still have my Technics SU9600 beast which gave out 180watts a channel.....http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=technics+su9600&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=D_A2TbKzMIOqhAeq7-n-Ag&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CDIQsAQwAg&biw=1016&bih=506
Cool. Thats a very interesting old amp you have there. They don't make them like they used to. ;)
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I'd go for a good internal sound card over an external sound card or USB speakers any day. USB sound is usually 100% software driven and the hardware there is usually cheap stuff.
Yes I would have to agree with Bill 100% there. Even the cheaper sound cards are usually better than the onboard chips and the USB.
Sure. I would probably agree with regards many products aimed at the home market.
The audio interfaces aimed at the home studio market come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including USB, Firewire and PCI-e and there are numerous configurations on the market. For the home studio market, I don't think their is a big difference in quality between the different interface types although I think there is a difference between manufacturers.
If you are really interested in this, you may like to research A-D / D-A converters to determine the best interfaces on the market.
I am sure you will be able to find information on this subject on the soundonsound website.
High end pro audio interfaces are generally PCI-e. This is due to the high bandwidth of the PCI-e bus which is required for data transfer of the audio interface and on board dsp.