Updated 11/23/2008 - HDTV and Surround Sound Recommendations!

[ArielAtom]

oh and heres a pretty cheap tower with 8" subs in each one. wow. lol from our favourite company, too.
http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/...32,28,168.aspx

[Shike]

Originally Posted by ArielAtom

Does a driver count matter much? I thought it was the same situation with sats/subs, with tweeters/woofers. Different drivers handle different frequencies, so I would think a lack of a tweeter is quite a disadvantage, but there are many speakers out there with only 1 driver, as you undoubtedly know.

It is quite a disadvantage. Just because there's some speakers out there not using a tweeter doesn't mean they're good speakers, it just means they exist for whatever God forsaken reason.

Originally Posted by ArielAtom

I was thinking that I listen to tons of music at my computer, so I could grab some aperion 422s, as I read their sealed-box, smaller design is good for near-field imaging etc. what would be involved with hooking up computer speakers?

I'm guess you mean, "what would be involved hooking them up as computer speakers?"

What you would need is a reciever with a coaxial (or depending, optical) digital in. Then, I would consider if you haven't yet buying a good sound card and simply hooking the PC up and configuring it with drivers. For sake of simplicity I suggest a Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music and their I/O module (module is often out of stock, so have them email you when they get a shipment in)

Of course, there are far better soundcards out there in terms of strict audio performance. I just suggest the Creative because you really can't go wrong with it in general, and it has low CPU usage. Just make sure you don't plan on running Linux or you'll want to look elsewhere.

Are any sold that have built in amplification, or would I need a stereo receiver? Could I use this?
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin...2/aslwave8.htm

I was browsing the net, and stumbled upon the following list:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin.../coolaudio.htm

Amplifiers are used to give more power to your speakers, not hook them to the rest of the system (like giving you digital inputs and whatnot). You could use them if you want later on, but I really don't see why (in regards to tube amps, others may very well be necessary ^_-)

This list got me thinking about the advantages of separates and tubes. They say a tube amp (I think) is better than a Solid state amp worth three times as much. Is this true?

I think it's posh. Tube amps are used to add an almost warm sound to your music. I consider it unecessary unless you really like the sound of it. It isn't going to do anything really special for you.

Are 5.1 tube amps available? Do they cost much?

Regular 5.1 amplifiers cost an arm and a leg IMO, so you can be sure even if a 5.1 does exist that it will be extremely expensive.

Furthermore, what is the deal with that knob? You just put it in a metal box with some terminals on it and it will create sound? I read the whole review on it, but all I got out of it was that it has like <.0001% THD. Could I just put this on one side of a box and have a bunch of opticla inputs hooked up to alternate passing through and being processed by this...um... knob?

I'm guessing you're looking at the review again. No, you need something to actually process signals and send them to your speakers. Amps alone don't do this.

Am I in way over my head in this stuff?

Not really, I don't think.

I have decided that once I get the cash together, I will likely end up spending about 500 for some HTIB, take my other 500-1000, invest it into something separate, just for the purpose of high end audio! I doubt I will ever regret this.

I would avoid the HTIB route unless it's a really good set of speakers. Especially if you plan on investing in audiophile equipment besides them. What's the point of buying a Corvette engine if you're going to throw a limiter on it? Buy a set of speaker that you, yourself, like.

It really is tough at this point though, as I have so little money compared to the audiophile community. "This set of speakers have amazing performance for an amazing price" That price still being out of reach.

My whole setup only cost $1000. You would be surprised what you can actually get with such a paultry investement (considering the audiophile community).

Of course, if I put a bit more in (like $100) I would have been grade A pleased with my setup. Now I'm putting in another $150 to handle issues that would have been handled before, and if that doesn't work I'm going to pay more AND take a loss.

The advice I'll give to you is try not to minimize your speaker budget and work the extra little to get what you want. In hindsight what once looked like a lot to spend will have looked like so little, being only that X amount of dollars away.

oh and heres a pretty cheap tower with 8" subs in each one. wow. lol from our favourite company, too.
http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/...32,28,168.aspx

$600 each is not cheap IMO. Also, they F3 at 30Hz it seems. I'd suggest keeping integrated woofers out of the scenario and putting the money you save towards a dedicated sub.


If you want suggestions of how to balance your setup with your budget feel free to ask.

[ArielAtom]

What I should have said is that there are some very high end single driver speakers, that apparently sound amazing. That is what made me wonder.


I think that I will get some great bookshelves for my computer desk for my discerning-music listening, and use my living room surround setup strictly for movies and games. This should bring down the need for quality sound, right? Quite often in reviews there will be a system that excels in movies, but is inadequate when it comes to music. The opposite (good at music, bad at movies) never seems to occur, which leads me to believe that movies are less demanding, and would cost me less. Am I correct in this assumption?

I am in a bit of a bind as far as my computer-music system goes. I have an iMac, which means I can't upgrade anything on it at this point. The only audio-out it has is a 3.5mm jack. Are there firewire or usb sound cards out there? Upon google searching it not much cropped up, and it all looked like it had to be inside the computer with like 40pin connections (you know what I mean right?) The connection I have now sounds very good to me though already.

Would I need to use a pre-amp just to decode analog stereo? I thought that I could just plug it into an amp and that would get me sound. What should I use for a pre amp/amp then, given my connections?

Are you saying that if you have a pre-amp to do the processing, that it will also drive the speakers? This contradicts what death said earlier about my surround sound decoder. Who should I believe?


I am unsure as to how I should allot my funds. Lets say I have a theoretical $100.00 dollars to spend. I have a system in for my computer, which is where I want to do my discerning musical listening. Are there any disadvantages to my 3.5mm audio out?

With that in mind, I want a complete home theater system for my living room. This would include a sub, speakers, and a receiver (or separatees maybe).

Should I:
- Spend most of my money on a good sound system for my room? If I did this, then I would already have 2 bookshelves and a sub, leaving the remaining funds for a center channel, surrounds and a receiver/amp.

- Keep my existing music system on my computer, and spend all of my money on a 5.1 system and a receiver.

- change corses dramatically and get an amazing stereo music system for the computer/music room, and move my shelf system into my living room and be happy with 2 channels?*

*that is if my computer could provide good enough quality sound for this option.
I am leaning towards option 1...

Which brings me to my next question:
Can computers play and rip DVD-A/SACD? Would they do so in multi channels if it was in a lossless codec?



I finally did some auditioning of speakers today. The conditions were not perfect, with the speakers at less-than-optimal distances apart, with an unknown quality demo CD (might have been MP3 even). I was looking at some $300-$400/pair bookshelves, if I was going with option 1. They were probably too expensive, but I gave them a shot, along with some towers that were nearby. Wow, they sure were nice! Everything I had read about soundstage and imaging and tone neutrality etc. I listened for. They really did disappear! I would love to listen to those every day. There were two offerings from klipsch and two from Infinity. I liked the infinitys better, but the klipschs had a good 8 feet in between them. What company would you recommend?

Thanks for the response shike!

[ArielAtom]

continuing my trend of adding an afterthought, what do you all think of these?
http://nhthifi.com/2006/products/pchifi/m00.html
sounds good to me!

[pizzaluvr]

can someone tell me some better speakers than i have now in my onkyo HT-S590 setup? i don't want them to be TOO expensive, and they can't be much bigger than the current ones, and they have to be bookshelf

[ArielAtom]

there are tons. I think Onkyo sells their speakers separately also, so check those prices, it should work out to about $50-100 a speaker, and head to your local HT store. $300-400 a pair bookshelves would be a huge improvement, if you want to upgrade incrementally, or you could get an entire 5.1 speaker package. Check out this link. I find this site has good reviews.
http://www.avguide.com/products/spea...&direction=asc

Pricing guidelines would be helpful...

[pizzaluvr]

thx, i don't know about the exact guidelines, because i want to know how much to save up for... can you recomend a price i can get a pretty well improved system (not top of the line, mid range) for the cheapest price? sorry for the vague guidelines, but what would that cost? which should i upgrade first if i do decide to upgrade the way you say too?

[Shike]

Originally Posted by ArielAtom

What I should have said is that there are some very high end single driver speakers, that apparently sound amazing. That is what made me wonder.

I have never seen nor heard of such speakers in terms of performance.

I think that I will get some great bookshelves for my computer desk for my discerning-music listening, and use my living room surround setup strictly for movies and games. This should bring down the need for quality sound, right? Quite often in reviews there will be a system that excels in movies, but is inadequate when it comes to music. The opposite (good at music, bad at movies) never seems to occur, which leads me to believe that movies are less demanding, and would cost me less. Am I correct in this assumption?

It really depends, I would think that would actually add up when it comes to cost.

I am in a bit of a bind as far as my computer-music system goes. I have an iMac, which means I can't upgrade anything on it at this point. The only audio-out it has is a 3.5mm jack. Are there firewire or usb sound cards out there? Upon google searching it not much cropped up, and it all looked like it had to be inside the computer with like 40pin connections (you know what I mean right?) The connection I have now sounds very good to me though already.

Eww, a Mac

Okay, I always make a stab once and a while. Couldn't resist. However, I bring you good news!

This Product
This Guide

WIN!

Would I need to use a pre-amp just to decode analog stereo? I thought that I could just plug it into an amp and that would get me sound. What should I use for a pre amp/amp then, given my connections?

It depends on the amp I believe. Most should allow some form of low level direct input. Although seriously you should get some form of processing regardless.

Are you saying that if you have a pre-amp to do the processing, that it will also drive the speakers? This contradicts what death said earlier about my surround sound decoder. Who should I believe?

Don't put words in my mouth. What I said was that tube amps are irrelevant. Some prefer their sound, but they're extremely expensive to use in the long run.

Of course, stand alone amplifiers are optional based on the assumption that you are using a receiver for 5.1 (which given your position and context, seemed reasonable).

If you choose not to use a receiver, than a Pre-Amp with some form of input would be requierd (unless the Amp had the necessary inputs, although not necessarily ideal). However, that didn't seem logical under the original scenario. Now it would be of more use in a way.

I am unsure as to how I should allot my funds. Lets say I have a theoretical $100.00 dollars to spend. I have a system in for my computer, which is where I want to do my discerning musical listening. Are there any disadvantages to my 3.5mm audio out?

Not necessarily, of course the question of distortion among other things may come put. Then if you want to split it and use a headset it becomes troublesome. In terms of audio quality, I can't think of a REALLY large reason why it would be a problem.

With that in mind, I want a complete home theater system for my living room. This would include a sub, speakers, and a receiver (or separatees maybe).

Should I:
- Spend most of my money on a good sound system for my room? If I did this, then I would already have 2 bookshelves and a sub, leaving the remaining funds for a center channel, surrounds and a receiver/amp.

- Keep my existing music system on my computer, and spend all of my money on a 5.1 system and a receiver.

- change corses dramatically and get an amazing stereo music system for the computer/music room, and move my shelf system into my living room and be happy with 2 channels?*

*that is if my computer could provide good enough quality sound for this option.
I am leaning towards option 1...

The question is, where is your PC in comparison to where you plan on your home theater being? If you're on broadband you should have a router, and if you have a router and it's wireless you could use some of the modern streaming equipment (some don't require wireless even). Rather than split the budget up, I would consider seeing if this would be advantagous pricewise. If you want I can help you track down some, I know there's a few that can even stream FLAC

Which brings me to my next question:
Can computers play and rip DVD-A/SACD? Would they do so in multi channels if it was in a lossless codec?

This area I'm weak with. I know that a lot of the Creative cards can output it, including the Audigy 2 NX which also unofficially works with Macs. The trouble comes in with software, since Creative doesn't actually make any for them (I don't think software is required, but you'll probably have to dig some). I'm pretty sure DVDA can be ripped and works with pretty much any DVD player. SACD I supposedly a bit more complex.

I suggest asking around if Death doesn't know, and possibly asking anyway.

I finally did some auditioning of speakers today. The conditions were not perfect, with the speakers at less-than-optimal distances apart, with an unknown quality demo CD (might have been MP3 even). I was looking at some $300-$400/pair bookshelves, if I was going with option 1. They were probably too expensive, but I gave them a shot, along with some towers that were nearby. Wow, they sure were nice! Everything I had read about soundstage and imaging and tone neutrality etc. I listened for. They really did disappear! I would love to listen to those every day. There were two offerings from klipsch and two from Infinity. I liked the infinitys better, but the klipschs had a good 8 feet in between them. What company would you recommend?

Whichever one you liked better is the one I would go with. Just make sure to compare prices online and shop around, and if it's a dealer there's a chance you could get them to knock a certain percent off if you buy a large package from them.

Personally, Klipsch is too detailed for me. It felt like it dissected my beloved cymbals and all.

Thanks for the response shike!

No problem.

continuing my trend of adding an afterthought, what do you all think of these?
http://nhthifi.com/2006/products/pchifi/m00.html
sounds good to me!

NHT are excellent speakers. Make sure to try out some of their better stuff too.

thx, i don't know about the exact guidelines, because i want to know how much to save up for... can you recomend a price i can get a pretty well improved system (not top of the line, mid range) for the cheapest price? sorry for the vague guidelines, but what would that cost? which should i upgrade first if i do decide to upgrade the way you say too?

$600-700 for a full new set of speakers is what I would suggest, of course going higher is an option. You can even grab a pair of JBL Stages for $260. I had a chance to try them out and fell in love with them, but I think I rather try an EQ to see if I can get my E60s where I want without side effects.

[pizzaluvr]

does that include sub? will i need a better reiceiver to handle the benefits of it?

[Shike]

Originally Posted by pizzaluvr

does that include sub? will i need a better reiceiver to handle the benefits of it?

That wasn't including sub, although if you throw on another $100 and go with bookshelves it would probably work.

As for a new receiver I don't think you need one off the bat. However, by all means consider it an option. If you do decide to replace it, aim for an additional $300 minimum.

BTW, Ariel Atom:

Did some research and here's a closer look at what I think you should do.

FLAC streaming?