Sound Systems for PC

[KoolHndLuke]

 Had some trouble with mine recently and have been shopping around for something new, better. Found a manufacturer that looks both affordable and decent/good quality called Klipsch. Sound quality is much more important to me than raw power, so I figured I'd ask here for what sound system you have installed and would recommend. Trying to keep things around $100 U.S. if I can. Might be tempted by a bit higher if it's on sale or something. What I'm looking at from them is used, but refurbished with limited warranty and comes pretty highly recommended.

 

Oh, noticed they also have a sale ending today if anyone is interested. I'd buy now, but can't afford to.

Edited April 17, 2022 by KoolHndLuke

[ramrod126]

28 minutes ago, KoolHndLuke said:

 Had some trouble with mine recently and have been shopping around for something new, better. Found a manufacturer that looks both affordable and decent/good quality called Klipsch. Sound quality is much more important to me than raw power, so I figured I'd ask here for what sound system you have installed and would recommend. Trying to keep things around $100 U.S. if I can. Might be tempted by a bit higher if it's on sale or something. What I'm looking at from them is used, but refurbished with limited warranty and comes pretty highly recommended.

 

Oh, noticed they also have a sale ending today if anyone is interested. I'd buy now, but can't afford to.

Klipsch is good, so is higher end Logitech. A lot of people use powered studio monitors too.

[Kitty Kisara]

4 hours ago, ramrod126 said:

A lot of people use powered studio monitors too.

Yep ?

 

KRK Rookit 6 and 10s2 but they are likely to be well outside the price range.

 

Recommending a good sound system is not that easy, as you have to know what it is to be used for, e.g. Music, Movies, Gaming and so on, and the spatial conditions and your hearing also play a major role.

For example, one person thinks Logitech is good, but they sound totally bad to someone from the professional field.

 

I'm just assuming that you don't have trained hearing, so klipsch could be really interesting for you ?

[ramrod126]

2 hours ago, Nyghtus said:

Recommending a good sound system is not that easy, as you have to know what it is to be used for, e.g. Music, Movies, Gaming and so on, and the spatial conditions and your hearing also play a major role.

 

For example, one person thinks Logitech is good, but they sound totally bad to someone from the professional field.

 

I'm just assuming that you don't have trained hearing, so klipsch could be really interesting for you ?

 

 

You bring up good points. I personally use Logitech...fairly cheap ones at that but, to be honest, I am wearing my cans 85% of the time. I have a friend that has set of old...and I do mean old (think 20 or so years) klipsch 4.1 PC speakers and they still sound great. IIRC they were well north of 100 dollars though.

Edited April 18, 2022 by ramrod126

[KoolHndLuke]

7 hours ago, Nyghtus said:

I'm just assuming that you don't have trained hearing, so klipsch could be really interesting for you ?

Cool. I've got no one to impress besides myself anyway. 

[Guest]

12 hours ago, KoolHndLuke said:

 Had some trouble with mine recently and have been shopping around for something new, better. Found a manufacturer that looks both affordable and decent/good quality called Klipsch. Sound quality is much more important to me than raw power, so I figured I'd ask here for what sound system you have installed and would recommend. Trying to keep things around $100 U.S. if I can. Might be tempted by a bit higher if it's on sale or something. What I'm looking at from them is used, but refurbished with limited warranty and comes pretty highly recommended.

 

Oh, noticed they also have a sale ending today if anyone is interested. I'd buy now, but can't afford to.

 

> Interesting. Unlike you, my Prince and I have almost no sounds in games, porn and movies. We mute porn especially for it is either funny or annoying. ?

[KoolHndLuke]

48 minutes ago, Evaloves4 said:

Interesting. Unlike you, my Prince and I have almost no sounds in games, porn and movies. We mute porn especially for it is either funny or annoying.

Porn and movies I get some. But games? I only mute things when I'm testing shit. 

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, KoolHndLuke said:

Porn and movies I get some. But games? I only mute things when I'm testing shit. 

> it is some kind "phenomena" in our case. Can't explain why, but none of us ever was into HQ sound devices and equipment. But, when it comes to sex, we invest a good money in the sex outfits and equipment ?

[Kitty Kisara]

7 hours ago, ramrod126 said:

 

 

You bring up good points. I personally use Logitech...fairly cheap ones at that but, to be honest, I am wearing my cans 85% of the time. I have a friend that has set of old...and I do mean old (think 20 or so years) klipsch 4.1 PC speakers and they still sound great. IIRC they were well north of 100 dollars though.

My oldest speakers are from 1986 and I still do Rave parties with them today ?

Newer is not necessarily better, the manufacturing quality alone has declined extremely in the last 20 years.

I always listen to speakers and headphones before buying them, I would generally recommend that if you have the opportunity.

 

2 hours ago, KoolHndLuke said:

Cool. I've got no one to impress besides myself anyway. 

Then you really can't go wrong ?

 

 

[KoolHndLuke]

6 hours ago, Nyghtus said:

Then you really can't go wrong

Ah... see, that's cleverly dismissive. My "untrained" ear will always wonder what your "trained ear" is hearing that it can't. However, I'd wager it isn't anything noteworthy. Some ppl talk about knowing sound while others know innately what sounds good. 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2022 by KoolHndLuke

[Kitty Kisara]

11 minutes ago, KoolHndLuke said:

Ah... see, that's cleverly dismissive. My "untrained" ear will always wonder what your "trained ear" is hearing that it can't. However, I'd wager it isn't anything noteworthy. Some ppl talk about knowing sound while others know innately what sounds good. 

 

Well, that was poorly worded on my part?

The core of the statement was actually that pretty much everything is an upgrade to a Logitech system.

 

But if i had to describe the difference, you could say that there are small details, such as the string stops on a guitar, which a trained ear can definitely perceive. of course it also depends on the quality of the mastering and the audio file itself.

An MP3, for example, never comes close to the quality of a WAV or FLAC because the bandwidth is quite limited (320kbit's), but the file is of course also smaller, which is also the point behind it.

 

The situation is similar with loudspeakers, whereby the amplifier also plays an important role.

 

But that's almost a kind of higher science for someone who doesn't deal much with the subject.

 

I can't explain that very well in short form and I think that would go beyond the scope of the topic, since it's actually about speakers in a certain price range and you want the best for your budget ?

[KoolHndLuke]

19 minutes ago, Nyghtus said:

Well, that was poorly worded on my part

My apologies then. And thank you for the info. Talked with a friend of mine and they explained some things to me about how to set this up. Admittedly, I am ignorant. 

 

One thing you say is a little misleading I think. She told me that upgrading your speakers means little if your pc doesn't have a dedicated sound card to support them.

 

 

Edited April 18, 2022 by KoolHndLuke

[ramrod126]

36 minutes ago, KoolHndLuke said:

My apologies then. And thank you for the info. Talked with a friend of mine and they explained some things to me about how to set this up. Admittedly, I am ignorant. 

 

One thing you say is a little misleading I think. She told me that upgrading your speakers means little if your pc doesn't have a dedicated sound card to support them.

 

 

 

Once upon a time that was true. On-board audio has gotten much, much better. I mean, it isn't "studio quality" but it is 50x better than it was 20 years ago.

[Kitty Kisara]

The modern onboard sound cards can do a lot, mine is even better than my old SoundBlaster Recon 3D

[KoolHndLuke]

11 minutes ago, ramrod126 said:

 

Once upon a time that was true. On-board audio has gotten much, much better. I mean, it isn't "studio quality" but it is 50x better than it was 20 years ago.

Thanks. Unfortunately I probably need a sound card since my pc is older and wasn't very expensive to begin with. She told me this as far as system set up:

 

Spoiler

you want LOW ohm subs
you also want 2 3-way, high-range, 8-ohm speakers
then you want 2 2-way HIGH ohm speakers
8 - 16

 

Subwoofer;
you want it single or dual channel, all watts in parallel, 4 ohms
bass speakers should run similar.  You want them thumping, not picking up nuance.  So you want power, and thunder.
That means, you spend money
these things have to be serious polymer or quality cloth
they should exceed your wattage by 200, minimum
now the rest of your system... midrange is the trickiests
you want them to have a HUGE range
hz to mhz, you want them able
these you wire on a 1:1 ratio, but in paralel

So if you're pumping 400 watts in, you get 400 watts / speakers out

Wire the whole system around the mid-range

 

[GreyMouse]

https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/speakers/computer_speakers/companion-2-series-iii-multimedia-speaker-system.html#v=companion2_black

I run a slightly older version of these Bose speakers on a stock Mac mini. I think they sound good for music and the Sims. I don't listen to any of it particularly loud since most of my hearing is damaged and I simply can't hear it or it's screwed up or my hearing aids interfere. But they do a nice job, just my bit.

?

[Grey Cloud]

5 hours ago, Nyghtus said:

But if i had to describe the difference, you could say that there are small details, such as the string stops on a guitar, which a trained ear can definitely perceive. of course it also depends on the quality of the mastering and the audio file itself.

As a long time audiophile I can agree with that.

I used to have my Soundblaster card hooked to an amp and a pair of Gale bookshelves with entry level audio cables and the sound quality was superb. I can't remember the make of the amp.

Logitech and other PC sound contenders wont come near that quality but I listen to a lot of music - for game audio you don't need top gear.

[Grey Cloud]

@KoolHndLuke I'm blaming you for this. Treated myself to a set of speakers: Creative T3250 Wireless. Only cost £36 inc next day delivery (today). Two 6"x3"x3" satellites and a 9"x7"x7" sub woofer.

https://uk.creative.com/p/archived-products/creative-t3250-wireless

 

Music quality is good enough - Blondie Sunday Girl bopped along nicely. I'm currently playing Kindgoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning and the sound quality is more than adequate including the big, deep boom when the logo appears during the loading.

 

Don't know if Creative are a thing in the US but over here they are the name for computer audio. My standalone audio cards were always Creative Soundblasters going back to W98 days.

 

Wow - Big Joe Turner Shake, Rattle and Roll. ?

 

I should probably turn down the volume a tad. ?

[KoolHndLuke]

3 hours ago, Grey Cloud said:

I'm blaming you for this

Got bit by the bug huh?  Glad you seem to be enjoying your new purchase. Wish I could say the same. 

[27X]

Creative hasn't been relevant since the 90s.

 

Drivers deliberately clip both ends of spectrum and they routinely get beaten by realtek in reproduction quality. Imagine being so bad that the wal*mart of chipsets kicks your ass.

[Grey Cloud]

8 hours ago, 27X said:

Creative hasn't been relevant since the 90s.

 

Drivers deliberately clip both ends of spectrum and they routinely get beaten by realtek in reproduction quality. Imagine being so bad that the wal*mart of chipsets kicks your ass.

And your evidence for this would be? Also sound drivers can do whatever they do but if you have shit speakers then you have shit sound. My motherboard has onboard Realtek.

 

A dedicated soundcard will, all else being equal, be better than an onboard jobby. Just like with graphics cards.

 

Turtle Beach had a good reputation in soundcards but they were always difficult to track down in the UK.

[nIn nIn nIn]

My Harmon Kardon Soundstick II's are awesome. Powerful, clean sound. They are quite old now, but still sound nearly as good as my floor tower speakers attached to my hi-fi system.

 

The Soundsticks are only a 2.1. I really don't need anymore than that though. Music is almost exclusively stereophonic. Quadrophonic was tried the late 60's but never took off. Too expensive.

 

Harman Kardon SoundSticks II Review: 15 Years Later | Durability Matters

Edited April 29, 2022 by nIn nIn nIn

[Grey Cloud]

3 hours ago, nIn nIn nIn said:

Harmon Kardon

Top audiophile brand there. ?

[KoolHndLuke]

Took me long enough, but I finally got a decent set of Klipsch speakers. The difference is definitive. Only thing that has me stumped is some sort of eq software. Have checked several and haven't found anything free that gives me a frequency adjustment tuner like I want.

[27X]

2 hours ago, KoolHndLuke said:

haven't found anything free

 

foobar or pre win8 audacity is as close as you're gonna get.