Personal computing discussed
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confusedpenguin wrote:Looks like it. Based on one of the reviews the quality control isn't very good. They box and ship them without testing them first. But if they are a good value for the money, I can always RMA them for a replacement until I get some that come off the assembly line in good working order. I'm willing to take the chance.
jihadjoe wrote:+1 on jbi's budgeting. I'd rather spend $350 on speakers and use onboard audio than $150 on a sound card and $200 on speakers. In fact, I'd not spend anything on a sound card until the amp and speakers are at $2000 or higher.
just brew it! wrote:jihadjoe wrote:+1 on jbi's budgeting. I'd rather spend $350 on speakers and use onboard audio than $150 on a sound card and $200 on speakers. In fact, I'd not spend anything on a sound card until the amp and speakers are at $2000 or higher.
Weellll... I wouldn't go that far. But roughly equal $ for the soundcard and speakers (like the OP is proposing) is pretty far out of balance unless he also plans to supplement with some halfway decent headphones for music listening. These days you'd need to get pretty badly implemented onboard audio for $200 speakers to make a meaningful difference.
FireGryphon wrote:I'd say that an external DAC and a good set of speakers is a better investment than any speakers and a sound card, unless the sound card has some features (besides sound quality) that you are also going to use.
confusedpenguin wrote:Unfortunately was spoiled with a computer I had about 8 years ago that had an ASUS Xonar Essence ST in it. And yes, I could hear the difference. I have considered the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system again as that is what I had before. I know some onboard audio has been improved, but unfortunately the onboard sound on my computer isn't that great. They skimped on it. I bought an ASUS ROG Strix GD30ci. It uses Realtek Audio, so I already knew I shouldn't expect much sound-wise. I considered a pair of USB speakers, but I don't know of any that have a good DAC in them like Burr-Brown or Sabre. And it has been a while since I spoiled myself with a nice higher-end sound card. If there aren't any good speakers around 200 dollars, I'm willing to wait another month or two to have enough money for some really good ones.
jihadjoe wrote:Also, active speakers with a built-in DAC (like the KEF X300A or LS50W) can make very good computer speakers.
confusedpenguin wrote:Unfortunately was spoiled with a computer I had about 8 years ago that had an ASUS Xonar Essence ST in it. And yes, I could hear the difference. I have considered the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system again as that is what I had before. I know some onboard audio has been improved, but unfortunately the onboard sound on my computer isn't that great. They skimped on it. I bought an ASUS ROG Strix GD30ci. It uses Realtek Audio, so I already knew I shouldn't expect much sound-wise. I considered a pair of USB speakers, but I don't know of any that have a good DAC in them like Burr-Brown or Sabre. And it has been a while since I spoiled myself with a nice higher-end sound card. If there aren't any good speakers around 200 dollars, I'm willing to wait another month or two to have enough money for some really good ones.
confusedpenguin wrote:sounds great on the pair of AKG earbuds that came with my old Galaxy S8 smartphone.....the [speakers] I'm borrowing sound surprisingly good considering they were only 20 bucks brand new.
confusedpenguin wrote:Those monoprice speakers look like they might do the job just fine. Looks like I'll need to make sure and buy a 1/4" to XLR adapter or cable though. How do those compare sound quality-wise to the AudioEngine A5+?
FireGryphon wrote:Grado SR80's
jihadjoe wrote:LSR305
Chrispy_ wrote:As for soundcard quality, a lot of problems with the onboard realtek implementations stem from poor grounding and EM interference from other stuff in the PC. You will notice a significant improvement in SNR levels and general quality by just switching to a $10 USB DAC or using the built-in DAC of your monitor, assuming it has speakers/headphone-out.
just brew it! wrote:I'm not sure if motherboard designers have gotten better at doing audio, or if the move to more motherboard PCB layers is responsible for the improvement. Probably some of both.