Need Advice: PC Speakers

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

I have a an older, but high end Onkyo reciever, but I have been having issues with my cats sitting on it and vomiting in it. They are strange, go figure, but now the receiver will not stay on. I'll end up openining it and cleaning it out since the problem is just a short since it powers off after staying on 2 seconds.

I do NOT get good audio out of the reciever since I have some lower end bose book shelf speakers. I do NOT want to spend 400+ on a 2.0 audio set up, so I need some advice.

I have two or three options for computer audio.

1. Book shelf mini-system. I own a jvc hx-z30

Great audio for a weight room, but the cd player in it is dead thanks to a power surge. I'd love to replace it with something comparable, but the only thing I can find locally is sony made, 530 watts and there's a major divide in audio quality between the two. The sony is garbage, some of the worst sounding audio I've heard from a 500+ watt system.

Is there a shelfsystem I could replace my hx-z30 with that has good audio for $200-$300?

2. M-audio speakers.


These speakers had some of the best audio out of many of the speakers I heard in bestbuy. They run $89 and aren't bad. A lack of a sub-woofer doesn't bother me. I want clear mids and highs. While these seem like a cheap solution to hook up to my pc, they are RCA left and right and the auxillery input is in the front.

Can anyone recommend another set of these speakers? The AV30s run 89, AV40s jump to 200.

3. A cheaper 5.1 surround sound set up.

For 200 or so, these set ups seem to be low quality and while having a room filled with sound is fine, the quality from each speaker seems dismall and I'm not willing to drop 700+ on a decent sounding system for a computer. That's not realistic. If there is a good set up for this cost, I'd like to know about it.


Ideally, I want to replace the min-system I own (HX-Z30) with something at least equal in sound quality. Finding that exactly system is next to impossible these days. That would be my first choice since I can't find a speaker combination that has that sort of quality.

[nullface]

I have a pair of Audio Engines A2 (paired with a DACMagic), and really like them. They sound bigger than they are and kill any logitech set i ever had.

[EniGmA1987]

Maybe get those M-Audio AV30s for $89, and then throw in this sub to the system to give yourself some decent low end extension:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882290034

Or if you want a much more powerful sub:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882290034

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

THE AV30s look nice, but how do I effectively connect them to a PC?

I do NOT want to use a receiver. I can go from a RCA to a 3.5mm jack, but isn't there signal loss?

I'd even consider getting an audio card, but I don't know of any that really support what I'm looking for for a decent price.

[EniGmA1987]

no there is no signal loss.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

no there is no signal loss.

Hmmm... I was told wrong?


I actually found an auction on the mini-system I own, so I am hoping to win that bidding war and get it, if not, I'll have to figure out a better option.

[SolidGoldstein]

no there is no signal loss.

Hmmm... I was told wrong?


I actually found an auction on the mini-system I own, so I am hoping to win that bidding war and get it, if not, I'll have to figure out a better option.

Well, you get signal loss, capacitance, maybe some RF interference (which should be filtered out by the circuit you have it plugged into), and distortion/phase issues with every cable, but around 10 feet (more than you need probably) of decent cable is negligible. You won't hear a difference unless you buy a HOSA or some crap like that with very small, poor quality materials. That's just what the salesmen might tell you to sell you an overpriced cable that you don't even need. It doesn't get much simpler than a 3.5mm to RCA L & R Y-cable, meaning there is nothing you can do about signal problems other than spend more on a better cable. $30 or $40 (not from a B&M store that marks up prices terribly high) for a decent cable is plenty (some guitar cables cost upwards of $250 - just for 2 1/4" phono plugs and the cable). I just bought a pair of the AV30s for a gift for someone to use for their computer. You just need a 3.5mm to 3.5mm AUX cable for like a car stereo / ipod - they sell those everywhere. Keep it as short as possible and don't spend $10 on a ty cable and you'll be fine.

[EniGmA1987]

you make it sound so bad to use an adapter. But like you said, in most cases anything that gets introduced into the system is negligible. Honestly with all the adapters I have used in my life I dont think I have every had an audible problem unless I was doing long very odd runs and changes.

Also, I dont think you would get phasing issues if the cables are working properly and you have them plugged together properly. Why do you say that you would have distortion/phasing with every cable?

[SolidGoldstein]

you make it sound so bad to use an adapter. But like you said, in most cases anything that gets introduced into the system is negligible. Honestly with all the adapters I have used in my life I dont think I have every had an audible problem unless I was doing long very odd runs and changes.

Also, I dont think you would get phasing issues if the cables are working properly and you have them plugged together properly. Why do you say that you would have distortion/phasing with every cable?

I was talking on high-science nit-picking level for the kind of you would need an expensive piece of test equipment to see unless you have great ears... My point was it is incorrect to say there is no signal loss, but it's also incorrect to say there is going to be a terrible problem with the audio if [XC] used a simple Y-cable of decent quality.

[EniGmA1987]

lol ok thanks for clarifying

[Bradan]

I was talking on high-science nit-picking level for the kind of you would need an expensive piece of test equipment to see unless you have great ears... My point was it is incorrect to say there is no signal loss, but it's also incorrect to say there is going to be a terrible problem with the audio if [XC] used a simple Y-cable of decent quality.

Cable ABX testing fails consistantly.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

Sorry for not following the thread I started. I ended up winning that mini-system.

I hooked up my old system via 3.5mm jack to L/R RCA jacks. The only one I could find on hand was about 10' or so, but it seems to be working fine. I have shorter ones I'll find later.

The sound is very clear. I had been using just stereo speakers hooked up to a very high end Onkyo receiver, but the range of speakers in these two boxes are excellent and I don't hear any distortion.

The way my room is situated, I can't have 5.1 surround, so 2.0 or 2.1 is ideal. Interestingly, since there's dual 7 & 7/8" subs in each speaker box, its a 2.2 system. It also has enough power that movies I watch which require a lot of volume don't cause my recievers to short out b/c of high volume. I never have the system more than a 1/3 of the way up volume-wise.

[EniGmA1987]

Good to hear.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

It's really too bad companies (besides sony) don't produce mini-systems. These seem to hit basically all ranges. The only downside is the fact that they aren't 5.1 and the older ones only have RCA L/R plugs for auxillery where as newer 5.1 set ups have hdmi &/or s/pdif.

After using the stereo for a few days, the quality was not my imagination. Even movies sound better. I can also turn up the volume enough to ear them properly without overloading the receiver. Games simply sound incredible.

The only thing I can think of to make the set up better would be to use a pre-amp, run the left/right speakers to the mini-system and run another 2 speakers for rear, maybe AV30s or 40s if I can find them cheap enough.