PC sound / speakers

=adrian=

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Currently I use an old Hifi for my PC sound, through AUX cable (the hifi doesn't have optical input). I rarely play games on the speakers, but sometimes I like to listen to music from my PC (yes, I'm old school). I'm looking for inexpensive solution to improve sound quality. New speakers? DAC? New, better hifi? PC speakers? Surround or stereo? Suggestions welcome. Help appreciated :)
 
I use my hifi too(old mission 772 speakers, old tag mclaren 60i sl amp), and just not the same without my Arcam rpac dac, bit flat and lifeless with onboard. Still ok but the sparkle and musicalness is just gone without the my rpac. Helps with the headphones too massively in my case with having a few decent sets.

Depends if happy with setup the way it is, a cheap fiio DO3K might be worth a try.
Depends on setup and how much want to spend/ or change altogether.
 
I'm kind of gathering my thoughts about how to proceed with all of this. The hifi still works (except for the CD and radio bit, but who cares about that), but I have to keep it under the desk, because it is so big and takes so much valuable desk space. So the sound is a bit muffled when it comes to my ears. Ideally I would like to get rid of all of that and upgrade to better sound system. So I'm doing a bit of research. I've never had a DAC, so unsure what to expect. Plus, I'm unsure of the difference between a £20 DAC and £200 DAC. Plus if I buy a DAC, I would need to buy a new set of speakers as well, wouldn't I? Would a hifi speakers work with DAC? My hifi speakers are 6 Ohm impedance. Would they work with a DAC? Sorry for all the questions.
 
if it's an old all in one then would still work with the phono outs of a usb dac yeah but also comes a question what is the old hifi? mine is still decent old separates and was worth spending on the arcam i bought but if was an old sony or aiwa from the 80's then no obviously not worth spending anything.

Also depends what you want, if i didn't use music often onboard would probably be ok (although even games sound great with my setup on speakers or headphones and im not sure id be without my rpac) Some decent powered monitors might be a good thing for you using optical from mobo or from dac. again questions? space? budget? Would just headphones/headset do?

or even make do with yours as is and some decent headset? Sennheiser GSP350 were on offer recently(dunno if still are) i nearly grabbed them for the collection lol
 
It's Denon D-C1. That's what it says on it at least. I don't know how old this thing is really. Picture lifted from the internet. Would a cheap DAC be better than that thing?

I have a headset. Logitech G930. It is a good few years old now, but still works fine. I use that mostly. Gaming or music. But sometimes I fancy to play the music out loud, and whilst the sound from the hifi is not the worst, I think it could be much better too.

SASoYhn.jpg
 
Ive heard a few of the small Denons like that over the years and are pretty good with inbuilt cd (that does look old tho may have been the one my mate had but unsure, looks older), whether spending anything to get it bit better is worth it is debatable, probably not.. Personally id consider getting a new speaker setup if you fancy it (you must be hence the thread). Richer sounds is always a good first place to start.
 
Ive heard a few of the small Denons like that over the years and are pretty good with inbuilt cd (that does look old tho may have been the one my mate had but unsure, looks older), whether spending anything to get it bit better is worth it is debatable, probably not.. Personally id consider getting a new speaker setup if you fancy it (you must be hence the thread). Richer sounds is always a good first place to start.
It must be a good few years old now. My old boss was throwing it away since the CD wouldn't work any more, so I took it (yes, I have no shame). That was a good 7 or 8 years ago. The sound is OK, but ideally I would want something with a subwoofer to get that bass working a bit. As I said, I don't listen to music out loud very often (my family doesn't really appreciate my music taste :D), but when I do, I think the sound is lacking a bit and could be much better. (I have many FLAC and 320's mp3's which should sound a bit better IMO).

Thanks GMC, I'll have a look around.
 
If you want new speakers, I can recommend "Q Acoustics". I use a pair of 3010s for my PC speakers, good sound quality for a good price:-

Q Acoustics 3010

To power them, I use a mini amp with one input. Originally I was using a cheap "SMSL SA-50" but I didn't like the slight hiss coming from the speakers when nothing was playing. I replaced the amp with a "BK Pear Drop", which cost about three times the price of the SMSL but there was no speaker hiss and I found that the bass sounded much better as well:-

Peerless

My speakers are close to the wall so I get boomy bass. I got rid of that by using a system wide equalizer:-

Equalizer APO
 
You could also opt for powered speakers running direct from a DAC, you won't need a separate amp that way. I just bought some Adam F5's running from an Arcam irDAC-II connected via usb to my pc. Its probably more than you want to spend, but there are other options out there in a similar set-up.
 
I use a LEPY 2024A Plus Amplifier with some old KEF bookshelf speakers. Does the job fine and the amp just sits behind my monitor.
 
I use an old onkyo tx-nr509 7.1 sound system, supports all HD audio except atmos . I run it through HDMI via the graphics card. Sound is amazing.

You need to look at what you are after audio wise. There is quite a few good little systems out there. I do like the Bose systems but they are expensive :(.
 
I use an old onkyo tx-nr509 7.1 sound system, supports all HD audio except atmos . I run it through HDMI via the graphics card. Sound is amazing.

You need to look at what you are after audio wise. There is quite a few good little systems out there. I do like the Bose systems but they are expensive :(.
I have been tempted for many years now, to move my Onkyo TX-SR606 AV receiver from downstairs to my PC room. It gets a very limited usage down there these days, as we don't really watch any movies these days (at least not on the main TV). What's stopping me is that the fact, that I don't listen to music out loud that often these days and that the whole system (AV receiver and 5 large speakers) takes so much space. I know the sound would be amazing though.
 
I have been tempted for many years now, to move my Onkyo TX-SR606 AV receiver from downstairs to my PC room. It gets a very limited usage down there these days, as we don't really watch any movies these days (at least not on the main TV). What's stopping me is that the fact, that I don't listen to music out loud that often these days and that the whole system (AV receiver and 5 large speakers) takes so much space. I know the sound would be amazing though.
Does the 606 have a "zone 2" option out put that you can use for 2ch stereo ?
i have the 605 , and that has the "zone 2 " which can be used for just stereo speakers , so no need for 5.0/5.1 .
 
Does the 606 have a "zone 2" option out put that you can use for 2ch stereo ?
i have the 605 , and that has the "zone 2 " which can be used for just stereo speakers , so no need for 5.0/5.1 .
Yes, it does. But if I'm taking it upstairs, I might as well take it all up, as the 5 speakers would be obsolete without the AV receiver (even if I take only two, the other 3 would just be gathering dust downstairs).
 
I can see your point , bit of a waste not using the other speakers , but ! you all ready have some AV equipment that's not really been used , the onkyo's have a decent DAC built in , so ( if you have space for a large amp ) you don't have to buy anything , and just re-use what you all ready have.
just thinking out aloud here :)
 
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I haven't used computer speakers for years. Once I moved onto headsets, that was it.
 
I haven't used computer speakers for years. Once I moved onto headsets, that was it.
I use my headset the most as well. For gaming and listening to music. Especially when my family is around and my son is asleep next door. However, from time to time, I like to listen to music out loud. While my Logitech G930's sound is not too bad, a good DAC or AV receiver + a good set of headphones would blew it out of the water too, I'm sure.
 

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