The (new) Official PC building thread!

yes, SD card like used for camera. thanks.

 

So I see! perhaps consider the Z-5000 series or Klipsch Promedias? Both these sets go absurdly loud without fuss, well except the fuss from the neighbours, even if they live at the other end of the street!

 

Integrated audio has certainly progressed, but I still don't think that it has the quality of a good audio card. I've spent a lot of years with sound from being a professional musician, AV consultant, trained studio tech, and home built recording studio, and I can tell the difference between the best integrated and a decent dedicated. Many people however probably don't have the interest or speakers to really tell the difference, and in such cases I wouldn't recommend spending money just to know without realizing if something is better.

 

I rarely hook up my best Speakers to anything but my PC which has been using the same USB SoundBlaster External since I first got them. I do occasionally plug my Mp3 player into them though, and that sounds fine too. Sound quality wise there's not much you can get wrong with a sound card, now they don't transmit the electrical noise of the CPU like the old days... that or crackle when your single core CPU was fully loaded! Wow, that takes me back...

 

LOCO,

if you want loud, go with some logitec Z-5500's. if you want quality (they go loud too) go with some klipsch promedia ultra 5.1's. they don't make em anymore so you'll have to buy on ebay. I got mine for $300 including shipping (I got very lucky) a brand new set still in the box went for $565 less shipping which was $50.

I haven't even turned on my david hafler's (home stereo) since I got my klipsch promedia ultra 5.1's.

edit for incorrect model # for logitecs

 

Even at very high volumes, the sound quality of the Z-5500s is exceptional, far in excess of anything I've ever heard. I haven't heard Klipsch speakers for myself, but I honestly can't think much of how they could improve on the 5500s... Either set will certainly do you well.
Amazon have a good deal in the US on the 5500s at the moment... That's less than their RRP in pounds... :O
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-THX-..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0E30D7YHNE6YYDWRTN6S

 

W/E, I only listen to Music LIVE. I'm just that amazing.

 

Butbut, music in video games! Gotcha! lol
Dear me, the PC building thread and we're on about speakers...

Sorry for misleading you Mort, there have been several models in the 5000 series, the 5500s are just the latest. The 5450s are a good semi-wireless alternative.

 

this is just from my personal experiences. don't go with the klipsch promedia 5.1's even though they sound good. spend the extra cash and go with the klipsch promedia ULTRA 5.1's. I've had both and the ultra's have much improved bass response and high end.

sorry sam. the ultra's won't work over seas due to them being only available in 110-120 volt. no 220-240 volt versions.

 

My speakers (Logitech Z-5500) have 5:1 surround 500 watts RMS of power and produce up to 112db sound pressure levels. They're not perfect but quite good in regards to fidelity. I would never use them to mix down a recording but for computer speakers they're awesome. I can shake the room and rattle the windows across the entire house to my wife's misfortune. They have built in hardware decoders (Dolby Digital, DTS, DTS 96/24, and PCM 96/24) which makes them great for DVD playback. I just couldn't get used to my P5W DH deluxe built in audio which is among the best I've heard so I invested in Creative X-Fi Xtremegamer Fatality pro series and have not regretted it.

 

Shame though that is, I've no intention of replacing the 5500s any time soon unless anything goes wrong, couldn't afford it, and they're good enough for me!
It sounds to me though like the 5500s are a lot like the normal Promedia 5.1s not the Ultras, the bass drops off quite sharply below about 38Hz or so, and the top end is a little shallow above 12KHz or so. It would be nice to be a little more rounded, but for the price I shan't argue, it has miles better low end than any of the 'cheap sub' speakers I've had before, and the top end only really becomes unbalanced at unearthly volume levels - not living in a detached house I can't really get away with those at any time of day!

Wow, I didn't realise we used the same speakers Soph... According to Tom's Hardware they can reach 120dB... whatever, anything above 100 is enough in my tiny little room!
Have you had any luck getting Optical sound with them in 5.1 mode, DTS and the like? if you have then I may just upgrade to a proper sound card, as that's the one thing I can't figure out with either my X38-DS4's onboard sound or the USB SoundBlaster 24-bit...

 

ya, I know but I meant the 5500's as that's what all the reviews compare the ultra's to. don't take this wrong but every review I have read has the ultra's topping the Z-5500's overall and especially in quality of sound reproduction. the 5500's win out in overall loudness and boomy bass though. the bass is not as tight as the ultra's and they don't have as crisp and clean of high end since they're satallytes don't have a tweeter.

I did a lot of research and read a lot of comparisons before I opted for klipsch.

 

Indeed, they're probably a better designed product as well, free from the electrical interference etc. Twice the price of the logitechs now though, seemingly, even when they were cheap.

 

I hear a lot of discussions about bass frequencies and drop offs. To reproduce a 38Hz wave would require a reasonable large room or it simply can't be reproduced. a 38 hz sound wave requires 28.8 feet to complete a single cycle and it has to do that 38 times in a second to be 38 Hz. Most of the bass that people hear in rooms is not the fundamental wave but harmonics.

 

like I told LOCO, there is nothing wrong with the Z-5500's and for overall loudness, go with them. they are far better than most and not that expensive, besides they're still being made. the klipsch promedia 5.1's and ultra 5.1's aren't. you gotta buy them on ebay.

 

And I have read the opposite although I tend to favor the Klipch for perhaps for overall quality, but the Logitech's blow them out the door for value and most people can't discriminate well enough to know the difference. In fact most reviews of either speakers that I've read were done by people with no background in sound reproduction whatsoever.

 

who cares about hearing it. I want to feel it

 

Hehe, that ground shaking low bass that sends shivers down your spine. Trouble is, most of the time there are higher notes to accompany that, and those are often very loud by this point...

 

Psycho acoustics doesn't require clarity, and if that's what you're looking for then the logitech's produce more or as much bass.


edited for missing words. LOL