Speaker system

FireFox · Post by **FireFox** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 3:23 pm

I'm looking to get myself a 5.1 speaker system for my \"new\" PC and I'm looking for a outside opinion on my needs and not my wants

To be honest I've always wanted to get myself the Logitech Z-5500 system but I'm usually put of by its price tag. But now that I can get it I'm left asking myself is it really worth it for what I'm going to use it for??

First up the room is only 3m x 3m so its not that big and my current speakers running on my old pc that is now my \"mediabox\" is serious overkill for this room but I've come to love them none the less

(4x 260watt 8\" HiFi speakers powered by a 4channel amp) I was planning to keep them on this pc to use for my TV needs as the TV card I have doesn't like Win7 and it has a pretty nice Live24 sb that I use for my music needs.

So the new pc is build as a game pc and I'll be watching my DVD's on it as it is running widescreens. The other pc is still on 5:4 lcd's.

Other things one need to consider is I'm running the on-board sound on the motherboard, please don't kill me

. It is due to budget constraints I had when I build the pc

Motherboard is an Asus P7P55D-E (VIA VT1828s 8-channel High Definition Audio).

I can't help but feel that if I get the Z-5500 I might be spending a good deal of money on a good speaker system but it will never be used to its full potential

My other option is to go with a \"smaller\" speaker system, maybe something like the Logitech X-530 but here I can't seem to fully bite on this one looking at the spec difference and considering what I'm used to on my old pc with the Hifi speakers I could usually crank up a bit without worrying about distortions. But then my dad has a elcheapo 2.1 speaker system that give pretty good sound before it starts to distort.

Or I could go with a little home theater setup that would be a good in between the two above speaker sets.

So what do you all think

The upside if I would go with a smaller speaker system is I could then possibly invest the saved cash into a proper dedicated soundcard...any suggestions if this will be the best option would also be welcomed.

Looking for options on what I should do

If there is more info you want just shout and I'll see what I can give.

Heretic · Post by **Heretic** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 3:43 pm

Logitech Z-5500 is a good system I have them myself and they are in a room at least 3 times the one you are wanting to use them in and you might be right about them being to much for a room that size they would sound great in it though. Is this in a media room where more than you will be listening and watching?

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 4:44 pm

Got the Z-5500 in the living room. Great price/performance value. W/ that setup you may be better off w/ a good set of headphones tho.. (eg. these)

Heretic · Post by **Heretic** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 4:54 pm

Yes those are nice. These are very good too. I use this on my game machine. They work when people are trying to sneak up on you really well.

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/pc- ... -hpa2.aspx

BAAL · Post by **BAAL** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 5:30 pm

Another vote for the 5500's . Very happy with mine.

snoopy · Post by **snoopy** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 5:42 pm

I'm actually in the process of saving for a sound system.

I went into it wanting an upgrade from my 4 speaker- 2x speakers from my cd/radio/cassette player aux & 2x el-cheapo PC speakers. I looked at the logitechs. I looked at home theater-in-a-box systems. In the end, I decided to go for the expensive option: A/V box + separate speakers. And, because of that decision, I'm still rockin the old speakers for now.

Here's why:

Versatility. I want a sound system that I can use for my TV and movie watching along with gaming/music from the computer. (TV and movies can come from the computer, too) Also- If I want to move to a bigger/different room setup in the future, I won't have to start over from nothing, at least theoretically. For me, it was worth it to wait for a while, and get a really nice system that would hopefully also have a long life to it. I didn't trust the logitech to be versitile enough for me... specifically in the realm of upgrading to blu-ray. (As a Linux user, I'm limited in terms of my on-machine blu-ray abilities.)

So, my advice is that you ask yourself what you might want to do with your setup 1/2/5 years from now, and how this purchase would fit into those possibilities. I'd lean toward waiting and getting the nicer system that will have a longer life, rather than getting something that you will phase out in a couple of years, or something that will only serve you for your specific, immediate need.

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:08 pm

I am one extremely happy customer with my Yamaha 650w (RMS, 1300w peak) 5.1 home theater system (connected via optical SPDIF since I got this before HDMI existed). Either AC3 or DTS DVD audio gets sent directly to the amp so I get the full 6 channel experience as good as it gets, I can plug the headphones right into the front when it needs to be quiet, big volume dial right within reach is extremely handy.

It can reach pure insanity for volume levels on relatively cheap speakers and still sound just fine doing it (from the next room anyway, you do not want to be near this thing over 60% most of the time).

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:53 pm

Krom wrote:I am one extremely happy customer with my Yamaha 650w (RMS, 1300w peak) 5.1 home theater system (connected via optical SPDIF since I got this before HDMI existed). Either AC3 or DTS DVD audio gets sent directly to the amp so I get the full 6 channel experience as good as it gets, I can plug the headphones right into the front when it needs to be quiet, big volume dial right within reach is extremely handy.

It can reach pure insanity for volume levels on relatively cheap speakers and still sound just fine doing it (from the next room anyway, you do not want to be near this thing over 60% most of the time).

Heh, sounds just like the 5500

Thenior · Post by **Thenior** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 6:04 am

well, if the Z-5500 is anything like the Z-2300, it's amazing!

FireFox · Post by **FireFox** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 3:51 am

Thanks for the inputs. It would seem that I'm now more sold on getting the Z-5500. It's like you guys said I should consider the long run as well. No use getting a cheaper alternative and end up spending more in the long run should my setup/room/needs change.

Also I've been using my stereo headphone on my new pc since I've posted and because headphones could be a alternative to look at but I'm not a particular a fan of headphones as after a couple of hours use my ears get sore from it and the set I have is the wireless Phillips SCH2000. So I'm don't think I'm going that route.

But this brings me to my next question. What connection option should I us? I'm currently using the analog rca options and as I understand is the default option that ships with the Z-5500.

My on-board audio do support an S/PDIF out. Now how does this work because from my little reading I've done on it so far I understand it is 2 channel (digital) that gets converted to 6 channel output? Will this still give you true surround sound in gaming or is this more towards just movies and DVD's.

Again the main use for this pc will be gaming in the end. I understand the pros of digital is less noise as apposed to the the analog so I'd like to look into this a bit more and try understand the workings of this connection vs analog. Also is it only a S/PDIF connection to the speaker system that I'll need or is there more cables I'll need to connect my optical drive to the sound card as well. PS I usually tend to dump a DVD to the HDD first before watching it and watch it from the HDD. Found it produce less issues like stuttered playback when the disk is damaged and what not.

In the end I'd like my setup to run with as clear and crisp sound as possible (without breaking the bank). Enjoy full 5.1 in gaming and my DVD's etc.

woodchip · Post by **woodchip** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 6:20 am

One word. Klipsch

Heretic · Post by **Heretic** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 7:58 am

Does your sound card have an optical connection? You will have 3 choices on how you want to connect the speakers. Digital RCA, Optical, and 3way mini-jack. Big advantage to nonexistence of EMI interference from using an optical connection vs RCA. What kind of sound card you have?

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 8:38 am

I use optical SPDIF, but it DOES come with a normal limitation of only operating in stereo mode (2.0 PCM), it has to be encoded to AC3 or DTS to get 5.1 or 6.1 through. Granted most systems and sound cards can do this encoding but it is not quite free because its done in software and can cost up to 5-10% CPU time depending on how fast the system and how well written the driver is. I just run mine in 2.0 stereo PCM all the time with windows set as having 2.0 desktop speakers or headphones (since I actually use headphones more than I use the speaker system anyway so it just makes sense). I simply have all my DVD/media players set to pass AC3 (aka dolby digitial) or DTS direct to the amp through the SPDIF, this works regardless of if I am playing a DVD out of the drive, or a ripped DVD off the hard drive, or any type of encode that kept the original DVD audio. This amp also has 6 channel analog RCA inputs but using them disables many of its built in options and completely disables its DSP, meaning it can't even downmix to stereo when you plug in headphones.

Originally when I got this system I had a nvidia nforce 2 soundstorm audio on my motherboard, which did CPU offload for AC3 encoding and worked in 5.1 mode perfectly with this amp. Pretty much everything these days does it in software but as long as you have a dual core or quad core it isn't that big of an issue in gaming or anything else. I would say that if you are concerned about getting something that is \"future proof\" you should get a modern home theater amp from a solid brand like Yamaha, you don't have to get horribly expensive speakers since even on the cheap side plastic case ones won't sound that bad with a decent amp behind them, that way as far as input options you can get a much wider range than an amp designed for PCs only. You probably want to get something that has HDMI and can decode the bluray high definition audio bitstreams like DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD and also accept 8 channel PCM.

Honestly these 7.1 systems seem like a little much for me, I have a hard time justifying anything over 5.1 because speaker placement gets to be a pain after that, and any decent amp should be able to downmix 7.1 to 5.1 without losing much so if you go the Yamaha route, don't get a 7.1 amp unless you really like it (and if you don't feel like buying/placing that many speakers anyway just configure it and wire it as 5.1 and it should be able to downmix for you).

Now on to your headphones, if wearing them bothers your ears and makes you uncomfortable then you definitely have a bad pair of headphones. A good pair of headphones will be comfortable even after many hours of use, I have a pair of Beyerdynamic DT-770 headphones that are VERY comfortable, you can wear them all day and it won't bother you at all. I highly recommend changing your headphones for a large pair that completely covers up your ears for better comfort. A good pair of headphones is one of the best investments you can make with your PC, so don't be afraid to spend a little more than you see most pairs on the walmart shelf going for, a good durable pair will last many years and the comfort and sound will more than make up for the cost.

Oh yeah, and avoid Bose for everything, don't get their headphones, speakers or sound systems, contrary to their advertising the components are cheap and the sound isn't really that good (they always WAY over-saturate the base making everything sound way too boomy and unnatural).

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:07 pm

I have 7.1 on my Yamaha with a 10\" Velodyne sub and I love it. I'm thinking of adding two front presence speakers from the unused zone two amp. At 100 W my 6\" two way bookshelves put out 140 Dba measured at 12' before my amp pooped out. Now I have 8\" fronts so I can call the police by just turning it to 11.

X2 on Bose comment.

Edit;
A well connected RCA jack last longer than some optical connections. I prefer RCA jacks because they don't come loose and cost much less, transmits a signal over much longer distances, and I can custom make the lengths on-site . Many optical casings become brittle and loose over time, actually causing a literal \"optical jitter\" making for more errors in the signal.

Sirius · Post by **Sirius** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:25 pm

The best thing on the Bose systems - from what I saw off Newegg recently - is that they are often double to triple the price of better systems. Good deal, that.

Re: headphones, I've had a Sennheiser PC350 headset for over a year now, and while it is, uh, expensive... there hasn't been anything to complain about, and it shows no sign of falling apart any time soon. I figure if it lasts me 5+ years it's not really that much of a fortune. Here's hoping it does.

Though actually some people have said there was a Beyerdynamic headset that was better and slightly cheaper (I think?) if you can find it. Either of the two are probably very good if you're looking for quality. As far as I understand it Plantronics is also good in the ~$100 range.

Oh, and that reminds me because I'm looking at it myself - do 5.1 systems require the rear speakers to be elevated at all? I'm looking at setting something up in my living room, but have nothing to put the rear ones on, and am not really brave enough to attach them to the wall... would I need to get stands?

FireFox · Post by **FireFox** » Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:18 pm

Okay, I think I'll be sticking to the RCA connection option for now. Been using it all this time and I haven't had any problems with it so why change something that works

On the headphone topic I've been thinking and reading a bit about these 5.1/7.1 headphones and thou the idea of it sounds cool from what I've read it would seem it's not worth it at the end and my money would be better spent investing it in a proper stereo headphone set again.

Out of all the headphones I've owned my Sennheiser's was the best in comfort and sound and I must admit I miss them. I was never once sorry for spending that amount of money on them back then.

@Sirius regarding the question of the rear speakers being elevated I personally prefer that all my speaker are at the same elevation level. I also believe that depending on the speaker design, if it's not a speaker designed to be placed on the floor it should be at least elevated to ear level or higher. But that is just my opinion