PC speakers/home audio system?

wolfran · Jul 14, 2004, 06:55 AM

Hi,

I have been thinking of buying the Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1/Logitech Z-680 for my PC. However some people are recommending to use a good home audio system on a PC for better quality for similar price.
What are your recommendation guys? Also what sort of home audio system would be good for a pc?

Judas · Jul 14, 2004, 08:43 AM

similare price.... screw that... Either buy a realatively decent PC speaker setup.... that are cheaper then the logitech.... or else save your money and buy a damn good decent home audio system .... a Yamaha 400+ watt amp and 6 or 7 IDENTICAL speakers (150 watts each, ported... with a damn good 5-8 inch mid driver and a sweet set of tweeters in em)..... It's up to you.. currently i priced out a good decent system with 6 identical speakers and amp for about $800 canadian.... and it'll blow the doors off most peoples system that have costed them 3 grand...

wolfran · Jul 14, 2004, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Judas
similare price.... screw that... Either buy a realatively decent PC speaker setup.... that are cheaper then the logitech.... or else save your money and buy a damn good decent home audio system .... a Yamaha 400+ watt amp and 6 or 7 IDENTICAL speakers (150 watts each, ported... with a damn good 5-8 inch mid driver and a sweet set of tweeters in em)..... It's up to you.. currently i priced out a good decent system with 6 identical speakers and amp for about $800 canadian.... and it'll blow the doors off most peoples system that have costed them 3 grand...

So you reckon even the Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 will not be good enough compared to a good decent home audio system?
Then should I go for a HTIB from Yamaha say or should I go for separate audio systems components (which can cost me a lot more)?

**dj_stick** · Jul 14, 2004, 11:33 AM

a home theatre setup will be matched… similiar tonal characteristics, other wise you may be pairing an amp with a a different frequency curve thats aimed to equalise a certain set of speakers, with something with a difference curve - causing all sorts of aural mayhem

wolfran · Jul 14, 2004, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dj_stick
a home theatre setup will be matched… similiar tonal characteristics, other wise you may be pairing an amp with a a different frequency curve thats aimed to equalise a certain set of speakers, with something with a difference curve - causing all sorts of aural mayhem

So do you guys have any suggestions on what Home Theatre Setup that should be good even compared to the Klipsch Promedia?
I'm not quite an expert in this area but I certainly appreciate a good sound and would like to have one in my room.

Judas · Jul 14, 2004, 09:22 PM

This is what i've start off with.... remember.... as more money is made available.. you can add to a home amp and speaker setup.. were as with pc speakers.. your pretty well screwed in trying to add to it...

To start off with... a Yamaha 300 watt or better amplifier would work wonderes... a 6.1 support ot 7.1 would also go well (i'm talking about the model)... If you have Fiber Optics out available on your sound card.... this would be a plus as it'd be purely the best way to connect. Most of the yamaha amps i've come across also support seperate channel in support.. so you could run analog mode and still hold up true surround sound.... (although ran by the soundcard)

A set of speakers.... If you can find a set of speakers with the brand name "Sound Accoustics", they are absalutely of excellent quality and sound.

A&B Sound have the speakers guaranteed... were as the amplifier.... i can get at Futureshop...

Now, the best possible way to go out and find the stuff you want is visit your local home entertainment store that has a good selection of brands and speakers....

Have them setup some systems for you, and listen to them for yourselfs....

Remember, you don't have to buy all 6 speakers at once.... but i highly suggest you get exactly the SAME SPEAKERS all around even for the center...

Necrosis · Jul 15, 2004, 01:09 AM

I have the older Klipsh Promedia setup, and they are quite impressive to say the least. Of course it doesn't quite compare to my home theater setup...but I have about 20K in that...almost $800.00 just in cables.

Genius · Jul 15, 2004, 07:45 AM

I started out with a really nice 5.1 Home Stereo setup. Nothing really beat it except optimal speaker placement was really limited on the center speaker. I had to put it off the right side which wasn't really ideal. Back then I was living with my parents and having the volume at even a whisper had a tendancy to piss off my family especially from 12am-5am

In any case I decided to trim it down and went with the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1's. After awhile the left speaker was quieter than the right. I got a replacement volume control unit from Klipsch which worked for awhile but the problem returned. I picked up another set of ProMedia's from Best Buy after that and within two days I exchanged them for the Logitech Z-680's and have never looked back. These are some damn fine speakers and have never given me a bit of trouble. Newegg has them for $265. Well worth the price IMO.

wolfran · Jul 15, 2004, 12:17 PM

Thanks for the info guys.
I think I need to go to a home entertainment store and check out their systems and compare them. However I found them to be quite expensive (for a good HT system) even compare to the most expensive pc speakers.
One question though, is there any downside in running this kind of home theatre system through a sound card as oppose to say straight from a DVD player?I guess my question is would the sound card be the bottle neck (in term of sound quality) of the speakers?

**dj_stick** · Jul 15, 2004, 12:25 PM

yes that is possible, but you are using an audigy right? use spdif outputs
This page has a diagram under "electronics" -> "Application circuit to connect 6 digital INs and 8 OUTs at the AUD_EXT-Connector" that should help you

dipstick · Jul 15, 2004, 05:42 PM

I spent about $500 on a Sony receiver/5.1 speaker setup and it doesn't even come close to sounding as good as my Logitech Z680s.

wolfran · Jul 15, 2004, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dipstick
I spent about $500 on a Sony receiver/5.1 speaker setup and it doesn't even come close to sounding as good as my Logitech Z680s.

Lots of people are saying good things about it, maybe I need to listen to one of those as well.

dipstick · Jul 15, 2004, 06:56 PM

If you go to a big store like BestBuy you can test out the speakers and compare them on site. Best thing to do before making a decision

Zelig · Jul 15, 2004, 11:33 PM

I've got the Promedia 5.1 Ultra... I like them much better than the Logitech Z-680 they replaced. From what I see, for a comparable home theatre system, you're almost definately going to be paying more, but have more upgrade capability.

Judas · Jul 16, 2004, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dipstick
I spent about $500 on a Sony receiver/5.1 speaker setup and it doesn't even come close to sounding as good as my Logitech Z680s.

you bought sony... to be expected....

And if you bought one of those 5.1 speaker packages..... no kidding on crap in comparison.... You find a single Excellent good speaker that handles the highs.. the mids.. VERY WELL and possibly the lows very excellent to.. (within reason)..... and then you buy that same speaker for every channel.... the only way to get the most powerful/excellent quality speaker.... (on every AMP i've ever found for home.... there is a switch on the back for th ohm's.... usually a setting for ALL THE SAME or for the centers to be lower or higher or whatever... one thing to make sure is that it's switched correctly for your speaker setup...)

i had a set of logitech Z680's to play with for a while...... there damn good... but they are no match for the system i built for my sister

Yamaha 375 watt 5.1 Dolby/DTS THX certified Amplifier with Trusurround sound and Pro logic 2 along with other enhancing features.... (75 watts per channel which is plenty)

5 Sound Accoustic 200 watt Ported Shelf Speakers ( 6 inch cone mid with a 2 inch tweeter)

amp from futureshop, speakers from A&B sound..... cost of the amp i got it for around 400 buck INCLUDING 4 year warranty.... the speakers were selling for 2 for 200.... but i got em for 98! picked up 6 (as they won't sell em in singles.... no problem... might upgrade to 6.1 sound

)

this setup will blow your eardrums before you blow the speakers.... (but it's not about volume

)

The clarity, is absalute stunning.... i can not type anything here that will explain the difference...

**dj_stick** · Jul 16, 2004, 03:08 PM

i was at a party tonight and the sound system was awesome

sounded so clear

the satellites were small… 10X10 cm max

but the sub was clear - no distortion at all - bose system, don't know the model

dipstick · Jul 16, 2004, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Judas
you bought sony... to be expected....

And if you bought one of those 5.1 speaker packages..... no kidding on crap in comparison.... You find a single Excellent good speaker that handles the highs.. the mids.. VERY WELL and possibly the lows very excellent to.. (within reason)..... and then you buy that same speaker for every channel.... the only way to get the most powerful/excellent quality speaker.... (on every AMP i've ever found for home.... there is a switch on the back for th ohm's.... usually a setting for ALL THE SAME or for the centers to be lower or higher or whatever... one thing to make sure is that it's switched correctly for your speaker setup...)

i had a set of logitech Z680's to play with for a while...... there damn good... but they are no match for the system i built for my sister

Yamaha 375 watt 5.1 Dolby/DTS THX certified Amplifier with Trusurround sound and Pro logic 2 along with other enhancing features.... (75 watts per channel which is plenty)

5 Sound Accoustic 200 watt Ported Shelf Speakers ( 6 inch cone mid with a 2 inch tweeter)

amp from futureshop, speakers from A&B sound..... cost of the amp i got it for around 400 buck INCLUDING 4 year warranty.... the speakers were selling for 2 for 200.... but i got em for 98! picked up 6 (as they won't sell em in singles.... no problem... might upgrade to 6.1 sound )

this setup will blow your eardrums before you blow the speakers.... (but it's not about volume )

The clarity, is absalute stunning.... i can not type anything here that will explain the difference...

haha, true sony is not the best but the specs were impressive. 100wx5 on the receiver, 100w sub and some 64bit Studio Cinema EX crap. I guess I fell for the numbers lol. They still sound awesome but just not as good as my 680s. Maybe its becuase I have the pc speakers really close or something..

Necrosis · Jul 16, 2004, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dipstick
haha, true sony is not the best but the specs were impressive. 100wx5 on the receiver, 100w sub and some 64bit Studio Cinema EX crap. I guess I fell for the numbers lol. They still sound awesome but just not as good as my 680s. Maybe its becuase I have the pc speakers really close or something..

I bought a similar setup for a family for Christmas awhile ago. I found the key was definitely fiber /w having the proper levels on each speaker setting as far as distance.

Bose does make good speakers..except their not ment to be played at extreme levels. However, I had a pair of those reflecting bookshelf speakers that were quite nice.

Jul 14, 2004, 06:55 AM	#1
wolfran DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 414 Rep Power: 0	PC speakers/home audio system? Hi, I have been thinking of buying the Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1/Logitech Z-680 for my PC. However some people are recommending to use a good home audio system on a PC for better quality for similar price. What are your recommendation guys? Also what sort of home audio system would be good for a pc?

Jul 15, 2004, 07:45 AM	#8
Genius ID10T Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Midland, MI Posts: 146 Rep Power: 0	I started out with a really nice 5.1 Home Stereo setup. Nothing really beat it except optimal speaker placement was really limited on the center speaker. I had to put it off the right side which wasn't really ideal. Back then I was living with my parents and having the volume at even a whisper had a tendancy to piss off my family especially from 12am-5am In any case I decided to trim it down and went with the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1's. After awhile the left speaker was quieter than the right. I got a replacement volume control unit from Klipsch which worked for awhile but the problem returned. I picked up another set of ProMedia's from Best Buy after that and within two days I exchanged them for the Logitech Z-680's and have never looked back. These are some damn fine speakers and have never given me a bit of trouble. Newegg has them for $265. Well worth the price IMO. __________________ [color=White]Abit NF7-S v.2.0 1.5gb ram at 10-3-3-2.5 AMB Barton 2500+ @2215MHz (211x10.5) Dual WD800JB (Raid 0) / WD1600JB / WD800BB Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Logitech Z-680 5.1 speakers Radeon 9800 Pro Sony G420 19"[/color]

Jul 15, 2004, 01:09 AM	#7
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I have the older Klipsh Promedia setup, and they are quite impressive to say the least. Of course it doesn't quite compare to my home theater setup...but I have about 20K in that...almost $800.00 just in cables.

Jul 15, 2004, 12:17 PM	Thread Starter #9
wolfran DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 414 Rep Power: 0	Thanks for the info guys. I think I need to go to a home entertainment store and check out their systems and compare them. However I found them to be quite expensive (for a good HT system) even compare to the most expensive pc speakers. One question though, is there any downside in running this kind of home theatre system through a sound card as oppose to say straight from a DVD player?I guess my question is would the sound card be the bottle neck (in term of sound quality) of the speakers?

Jul 15, 2004, 05:42 PM	#11
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	I spent about $500 on a Sony receiver/5.1 speaker setup and it doesn't even come close to sounding as good as my Logitech Z680s.

Jul 15, 2004, 06:56 PM	#13
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	If you go to a big store like BestBuy you can test out the speakers and compare them on site. Best thing to do before making a decision

Jul 15, 2004, 11:33 PM	#14
Zelig HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 3,187 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	I've got the Promedia 5.1 Ultra... I like them much better than the Logitech Z-680 they replaced. From what I see, for a comparable home theatre system, you're almost definately going to be paying more, but have more upgrade capability.