Choosing an Audio System for PC

[Compuser10165]

Hello, everyone!
I have recently built a new Skylake gaming pc but have not acquired any peripherals just yet (using my old ones). My monitor, mouse and keyboard are fine for now, but the speakers are not good enough for a more refined audio experience. I am looking of getting a new speaker setup (thinking about 5.1) to use with my pc or as a home theater setup (My pc is not in the living room, but I may consider hooking my hdtv to the speaker system from time to time). My budget is pretty open but I would like to stay below 300$. I also need to mention I will be buying in Eastern Europe, not USA. I was thinking about the Logitech Z906 which I found around 250$ on promotion. I will use my pc for gaming, watching movies listening to music and an occasional party... What do you recommend? Should I get the Logitech Z906(Is it too much for my needs)? Or do you recommend sth else? Maybe even a 2.1 system?
P.S. Feel free to make suggestions!

 

[captaincharisma]

logitech usually has the most options for 5.1 audio, so does Edifier. if you're looking for a 2.1 setup the M-audio brand is pretty good.

are you using integrated sound or did you get a sound card for your system?

 

[lodders]

Speaking as an audio lover, computer speakers are mostly rubbish.
I have a proper Hi fi amp behind my monitor and 2 proper Hi Fi speakers (bookshelf speakers) on a bookshelf directly above the monitor.
They are 15 years old, and the whole lot cost me £70 on Ebay.
No computer speakers I have heard sound anywhere near as good.

 

[Compuser10165]

logitech usually has the most options for 5.1 audio, so does Edifier. if you're looking for a 2.1 setup the M-audio brand is pretty good.

are you using integrated sound or did you get a sound card for your system?

I forgot to mention that I have an Asrock Z170 Extreme 7+ motherboard and yes, I am using the integrated audio. So what do you recommend? A 2.1 or 5.1 system?

 

[Compuser10165]

Speaking as an audio lover, computer speakers are mostly rubbish.
I have a proper Hi fi amp behind my monitor and 2 proper Hi Fi speakers (bookshelf speakers) on a bookshelf directly above the monitor.
They are 15 years old, and the whole lot cost me £70 on Ebay.
No computer speakers I have heard sound anywhere near as good.

I understand you... I owned many speakers that just turned out bad after a longer period of use. So do you recommend a hi-fi amplifier with two hi-fi speakers? Can you suggest a particular model? P.S. I hope not your 15 year old model... )

 

[lodders]

I love Wharfedale speakers and Pioneer Amplifiers.
But the cost gets a lot higher if you want newer ones. However, they last a very long time.
My speakers are Wharfedale Delta 30.2, which may even be 20 years old. Still sound great though

 

[Compuser10165]

I love Wharfedale speakers and Pioneer Amplifiers.
But the cost gets a lot higher if you want newer ones. However, they last a very long time.
My speakers are Wharfedale Delta 30.2, which may even be 20 years old. Still sound great though

I think that if I want maximum quality that is the way to go.... But I am not informed enough (yet) to get such a system. I can see that new ones go for quite a lot. Can you recommend a particular model for speakers and amplifier if it is not that big of a hassle?

 

[lodders]

People who are into Hi Fi tend to have their own likes and dislikes. Different makes appeal to different musical tastes.
With older Hi Fi I like Wharfedale, KEF and Pioneer.
With newer stuff I like B&W and NAD.
Its all about how much money you have and your own personal taste.
But I recommend just going on Ebay and get some old Whafedale or KEF speakers, then a pioneer amp (technics amps are also OK) Anything made by these people will sound far better than computer speakers.

 

[Compuser10165]

People who are into Hi Fi tend to have their own likes and dislikes. Different makes appeal to different musical tastes.
With older Hi Fi I like Wharfedale, KEF and Pioneer.
With newer stuff I like B&W and NAD.
Its all about how much money you have and your own personal taste.
But I recommend just going on Ebay and get some old Whafedale or KEF speakers, then a pioneer amp (technics amps are also OK) Anything made by these people will sound far better than computer speakers.

Thank you for the recommendations. I will document myself regarding audio systems better and I will try to make a good purchase. P.S. I'll keep the thread open for a bit longer (For more suggestions I hope) but I will probably select your answer as best solution eventually.

 

[ssddx]

i made the jump to home theater speakers years ago. while pc speakers can be quite adequate for most people's needs, if you truly want quality then hifi / home theater is the way to go. while you can technically get by with even htib units i would highly suggest separates (speakers, subwoofer and receiver) as this gives you more options but this might not be possible on your budget. at minimum if you did go the htib route i would make sure that it accepts 5.1 input via hdmi (not all do even if they have hdmi input!)

agreed, wharfdales are good and are priced reasonable in europe. the older diamond 9 and 10's are what you want over the newer models. if you were in usa i would have suggested the energy 5.1 take since it is reasonably priced (monoprice 10565 is a knock off of it) but i do not think this is available in europe.

actually... scratch that... http/www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Monoprice-10565-Premium-5-1-Channel-Home-Theater-Speaker-System-with-Subwoofer-/390980031925 with apparently free postage. you can pair it up with the receiver of your choice then (which should be easier to find locally). the energy 5.1 take (what the 10565 is based on) offers rather good value for the money spent. subwoofer is punchy but not especially deep, sound quality is generally good, small bookshelf sized speakers. while it certainly is not going to compete with much higher priced sets from wharfdale and others it certainly will blow away pc speakers. while i've not heard the 10565 compared to the energy 5.1 take i've heard they are good.

technically the 10565 is based on the 9774 which was a clone of the energy 5.1 but there was a lawsuit for copying so the 10565 was born which is slightly different but still similar.

 

[Compuser10165]

i made the jump to home theater speakers years ago. while pc speakers can be quite adequate for most people's needs, if you truly want quality then hifi / home theater is the way to go. while you can technically get by with even htib units i would highly suggest separates (speakers, subwoofer and receiver) as this gives you more options but this might not be possible on your budget. at minimum if you did go the htib route i would make sure that it accepts 5.1 input via hdmi (not all do even if they have hdmi input!)

agreed, wharfdales are good and are priced reasonable in europe. the older diamond 9 and 10's are what you want over the newer models. if you were in usa i would have suggested the energy 5.1 take since it is reasonably priced (monoprice 10565 is a knock off of it) but i do not think this is available in europe.

actually... scratch that... http/www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Monoprice-10565-Premium-5-1-Channel-Home-Theater-Speaker-System-with-Subwoofer-/390980031925 with apparently free postage. you can pair it up with the receiver of your choice then (which should be easier to find locally). the energy 5.1 take (what the 10565 is based on) offers rather good value for the money spent. subwoofer is punchy but not especially deep, sound quality is generally good, small bookshelf sized speakers. while it certainly is not going to compete with much higher priced sets from wharfdale and others it certainly will blow away pc speakers. while i've not heard the 10565 compared to the energy 5.1 take i've heard they are good.

technically the 10565 is based on the 9774 which was a clone of the energy 5.1 but there was a lawsuit for copying so the 10565 was born which is slightly different but still similar.

Thank you for your response. Those speakers are a really good choice but it they also require a receiver which is pretty expensive. So this would be a better choice than , for example Logitech Z906? Would it be worth the price difference?

 

[ssddx]

at least in the usa the z906 runs $350 unless on some sort of sale (i've never seen it at 260 like you mention myself). the energy 5.1 runs about $350 as well with the monoprice 10565 copycat model running at $208.

a receiver is generally going to set you back at least $150-200 generally (typically $200 for decent brand models on sale).

not sure about your prices locally though. but this would bring the cheapest total up to about $360-410 for a monoprice based set. this is not so much more than the cheapest price on sale i've seen ($300) and almost equal with the retail for logitechs.

will the sets mentioned before be better than the z906? absolutely. logitech tends towards loud and boomy over quality so its not hard to beat. not bad value on most of their cheaper products although the z906 however i would say is overpriced just a tad.

a receiver also gives you more options: you can connect multiple devices to it easily, you can upgrade to better speakers in the future and you have a physical knob you can turn to adjust volume. if you intend to run passthrough (which is okay with 60hz gaming and single monitors) you use only a single cable out of your pc for sound and video (for over 60hz monitors you can not go this route). otherwise, you can run a spare hdmi out of your graphics card and have it connected for audio only.

now, is it worth it? thats purely opinion but i would say so. after running home theater speakers myself for years i would not want to go back. its your money so you need to be happy with what you spent so i'll leave this for you to answer yourself.

 

[Compuser10165]

at least in the usa the z906 runs $350 unless on some sort of sale (i've never seen it at 260 like you mention myself). the energy 5.1 runs about $350 as well with the monoprice 10565 copycat model running at $208.

a receiver is generally going to set you back at least $150-200 generally (typically $200 for decent brand models on sale).

not sure about your prices locally though. but this would bring the cheapest total up to about $360-410 for a monoprice based set. this is not so much more than the cheapest price on sale i've seen ($300) and almost equal with the retail for logitechs.

will the sets mentioned before be better than the z906? absolutely. logitech tends towards loud and boomy over quality so its not hard to beat. not bad value on most of their cheaper products although the z906 however i would say is overpriced just a tad.

a receiver also gives you more options: you can connect multiple devices to it easily, you can upgrade to better speakers in the future and you have a physical knob you can turn to adjust volume. if you intend to run passthrough (which is okay with 60hz gaming and single monitors) you use only a single cable out of your pc for sound and video (for over 60hz monitors you can not go this route). otherwise, you can run a spare hdmi out of your graphics card and have it connected for audio only.

now, is it worth it? thats purely opinion but i would say so. after running home theater speakers myself for years i would not want to go back. its your money so you need to be happy with what you spent so i'll leave this for you to answer yourself.

Again, thank you for your response, very informative. I know understand my choices. I'll do my best to take the best decison. I haven't found the monoprice speakers in my country for sale yet but I'll look some more.