5.1 Surround Sound System for PC

[cyber_marco]

Hallo there guys, I'm considering buying a 5.1 Surround Sound System for my computer, budget around 70-100€. I don't know much on the subject, what to take in consideration etc.

I'll start with my hardware, I have a custom built pc with an Asus Rampage III formula witch supports up to 7.1 audio systems.

I made a little research and found two candidates:
1)Creative Inspire T6160 5.1 Speakers @65€ (http/tinyurl.com/cv7qlg5)
2)Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z506 @80€ (http/tinyurl.com/42nyzoa)

Witch one is the best, pros and cons? I'm gonna use the system for gaming and movies, in a 15m² room. Also is there any 7.1 sound system in that price range?

If you have any suggestion don't hesitate to enlighten me. Thank you.

P.S. Later in September I'm gonna buy a new 32" TV and I'll connect my PC via HDMI, I know that with HDMI you can stream audio too, to the TV, but I would like to use the sound system, is it possible? Sorry if I'm sounding too nooby, but I don't know jack!

 

[coopjo45]

hey there, this is what i know 7.1 is best for rooms with approx. 25 square meters, so for the size of your room you will barely be able to tell the difference between 5.1 and 7.1. Secondly if you are primarily using your pc for gaming or everyday stuff 5.1 is fine. 7.1 has it's issues, which are that it is typically only designed for music. So unless you are primarily going to listen just to music stick with 5.1 another downside to 7.1 is that most video games ( around 90%) don't support 7.1 sound sound they will sound distorted if you try to use 7.1 I would suggest going with a quality company that you can trust and if possible go into a store and listen to some speakers for yourself

 

[ssddx]

clarification to what coopjo45 stated:

while true that a 7.1 system is better for a larger room size this has more to do with spacing the speakers to get optimal surround sound out of the setup. you could use either setup in a smaller room but you just wouldnt get the full benefit of the extra channels. a 5.1 system can easily handle a larger room as well since when picking out a system for a large room you would be using more powerfull speakers.

most music is only available in stereo, not 5.1. anything more than a 2.1 system is really a complete waste if all you listen to is music. now what you can do is set the rear speakers on a set to repeat the front speakers (2.1 mode in windows settings) which will pump sound out the rear as well as the front but we are still dealing with just stereo...left and right.

most old games and old movies only support stereo as well. newer games and movies often always support 5.1 sound but as you stated 7.1 support is spotty at best. 90% sounds a little high to me though.

7.1 speakers should not sound distorted if you have a 5.1 signal output. you might not get any sound out of the speakers or they may repeat another channel depending on your settings. the sound will be the same...we are just dealing with the lack of or a change in direction.

buying from a quality company and checking speakers out in store i agree is the best purchase plan.

for the average user who spends equal time shifting between gaming, movies and music a 5.1 set is probably the best choice. you dont lose out on positional sound in games and movies and retain the option to mirror the back speakers to essentially give you 2 speakers per channel until you turn the function off. i used to do this with my pc speakers and still do it via my receiver with my ht speakers.

i would have to recommend logitech products... it is hard to beat their value in terms of price to the quality they offer. while not the absolute best solution, they are not at a bad price point and should be within your budget. they make a 5.1 set which retails for around $100usd or so which you may want to check out. i dont know much about creative...but i've heard a few things here or there suggesting certain speaker sets.

 

[cyber_marco]

Thanks guys for your time.

Making some more research I found this one: Pioneer S-V41 @79€, Satellites:80W Woofer:50W http/tinyurl.com/c77a4fv

Is this any good?

 

[cyber_marco]

I found these too:
Genius SW-HF5.1 4000 @63€ http/tinyurl.com/cjvujat
Genius SW-HF5.1 5050 @110€ http/tinyurl.com/84chrxw

The 1st is 100W powerful and the 2nd is 150W.

Another thing that i want to understand is how does a sound system connect to a sound card (on board) like the one that I have. http/tinyurl.com/7s6ckkp

Thank you.

 

[ssddx]

@op

5.1 computer speakers should hook up with three 3.5mm plugs which your soundcard should have.

if you want to use home theater speakers you might have more of an issue in connecting them up without resorting to getting a receiver.

@thespirit

dont thread hijack...

no idea without giving any details.