Hardware & Technical New Computer- speaker recommendations

Nat1984

N
Having always played low spec on a laptop (decent laptop but not really enough for this game), I have just invested in a high spec gaming pc and oh my word... this game! I’ve played since it was released, but being able to enjoy it in all its glory is unreal! I am hearing sounds I never have before (I had no idea there was a beep when the people walk through the ride entrance!) and seeing textures that are just unbelievable!
So I’m after some decent speakers, as I’m currently using headphones, which are great but hurt my ears after a while.
Any recommendations?
 

Joël

Volunteer Moderator
Joël
Moved to the Off-topic forum.

I've used speakers from Creative in the past (the company behind Soundblaster sound cards), but I think you'll do fine with any speaker setup that has at least multiple good reviews.

You're welcome to post a product here so we can look into if it is worth it.
 

EUS

EUS
If you go 5.1, make sure the motherboard supports it first!
I burned myself by buying Asus prime x570-p the first motherboard I've seen in the last 15 years that has only 2.0 headers.
 

Patrick_68000

Patrick_68000
I did not invest in a sound system.

I just plugged my PC into my 43 year old amp and my Boston desktop speakers (90W anyway).

The bomb !

Akai.jpg


Boston-Acoustics.jpg


------------------------------------------------------------------

😷
 

Morbad

Morbad
Computer specific speakers are, IMO, generally overpriced and under performing for what you get.

Regardless, the sort of sound system you're looking for and your budget will help narrow down any recommendations.
 

Joël

Volunteer Moderator
Joël
Morbad said:
Computer specific speakers are, IMO, generally overpriced and under performing for what you get.
Click to expand...

Personally I prefer a separate sound system as well instead of computer specific speakers. I use an AV receiver (Marantz NR1402), 5 Canton speakers (2x CT 220, 2x Movie 100-MX, 1x Karat CS 4 center) plus a subwoofer (AS 20), with the PC connected via HDMI (audio output via graphics card).
 

Morbad

Morbad
Joël said:
Personally I prefer a separate sound system as well instead of computer specific speakers. I use an AV receiver (Marantz NR1402), 5 Canton speakers (2x CT 220, 2x Movie 100-MX, 1x Karat CS 4 center) plus a subwoofer (AS 20), with the PC connected via HDMI (audio output via graphics card).
Click to expand...

I do something similar with my HTPC, but the room my gaming system is typically in doesn't have much space, nor does my home office, so I use more bang-for-buck oriented 2.0 studio monitors that don't need much in the way of space or have too many wires to run.

OP will need to decide how much they want to spend/setup and how much room is available.
 

Ian Skippy

Ian Skippy
I use a set of Adam T7v's. These are affordable near-field monitors aimed at music production, and as such are as neutral as possible. In its low-end segment there really is nothing that can beat this for accurate stereo representation.
 

Stealthie

Stealthie
I've got a Creative 7.1 system which was pretty cheap (around £100 IIRC) but, honestly, it works surprisingly well.
I've got a Bose Hifi (over £1,500) and the sound from the Creative speakers is probably as good as the Bose system.

No idea what Creative speakers are like now but these ones all have fairly substantial chipboard enclosures and good quality doped-paper cones.

The biggest issue I've seen with small speakers (such as those used in PC set-ups) is that the housings are made from thin plastic and they'll vibrate, causing noise, and they're also impossible to mount solidly... which creates even more vibration and noise.

My advice would be to try and look at some dedicated 5.1 and 7.1 systems in person to get an idea of how well made they are.
Once you see one that's decent quality, erm, go buy the same thing off Amazon or eBay for the best deal.

Thing is, a poorly made speaker system will be horrible.
A decent PC speaker system will be designed to work with a PC (duh!) and it'll be, say, 80% as good as a pukka hifi system.
You can go to the effort of buying an amp' and hifi speakers and then hooking it up to your PC but (assuming it all goes according to plan) it's only going to be 20% better than the decent PC speaker system.

Also, as a rule I tend to find that it's often software issues that detract from PC sound, rather than issues with the speakers.
Basically, if a game sounds good on a decent set of PC speakers it'll only sound a bit better with a proper hifi system.
Conversely, if a game sounds terrible, it'll probably be a software issue and spending more on better speakers won't help.
 

Morbad

Morbad
Ian Skippy said:
I use a set of Adam T7v's. These are affordable near-field monitors aimed at music production, and as such are as neutral as possible. In its low-end segment there really is nothing that can beat this for accurate stereo representation.
Click to expand...

I'm torn between these and a set of 8" Rockvilles for my next speaker upgrade.
 

Gully Foyle

Gully Foyle
Nat1984 said:
Having always played low spec on a laptop (decent laptop but not really enough for this game), I have just invested in a high spec gaming pc and oh my word... this game! I’ve played since it was released, but being able to enjoy it in all its glory is unreal! I am hearing sounds I never have before (I had no idea there was a beep when the people walk through the ride entrance!) and seeing textures that are just unbelievable!
So I’m after some decent speakers, as I’m currently using headphones, which are great but hurt my ears after a while.
Any recommendations?
Click to expand...
I'm using powered Edifier Monitors now but have gotten great usage thru the years from Logitech speakers, the ones with a sub and satellite speakers.
Surround is gorgeous with E:D if you go that route as well.
A lot of the newer speaker setups have optical in and I bet your new PC can connect that way, which gives you the ultimate sound.
Another alternative is to have it thru your home theatre system for maximum immersion.

Edifier Canada - Speakers

Edifier Canada - Enjoy great sound with Edifier quality speakers. Bluetooth, bookshelf, portable and more. Find a sound system for all your living room, home theatre or office needs.
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rLUgjHC.jpg



www.logitech.com

Speakers - Bluetooth, Wireless & Surround Sound | Logitech Canada

Discover Logitech's range of speakers for your audio needs.
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shreddog

shreddog
Patrick_68000 said:
I did not invest in a sound system.

I just plugged my PC into my 43 year old amp and my Boston desktop speakers (90W anyway).

The bomb !
Click to expand...

Exactly what I did a few years ago. Except you beat me by 2 decades on the amp 😄

I dusted off my old Onkyo amp 2x140 RMS watt and some overly huge Infinity Speakers, lol.
Hooked it to my PC, but thorugh an external quality DAC instead of the MOBO sound output.
HOLY SCHNIKEYS what a difference in sound.. The dynamic range and clarity is insane thx to that dac.

Whenever I try something else now, it just sounds like mush compared.
 

Patrick_68000

Patrick_68000
shreddog said:
Exactly what I did a few years ago. Except you beat me by 2 decades on the amp 😄

I dusted off my old Onkyo amp 2x140 RMS watt and some overly huge Infinity Speakers, lol.
Hooked it to my PC, but thorugh an external quality DAC instead of the MOBO sound output.
HOLY SCHNIKEYS what a difference in sound.. The dynamic range and clarity is insane thx to that dac.

Whenever I try something else now, it just sounds like mush compared.
Click to expand...
Excellent !

If I had extra money, of course I will buy new equipment but I have other expenses and the old HI-FI equipment is often very efficient for people who have not professional ears as me.

Once I brought my old amp for cleaning to a professional.

He said to me, "You are lucky, the old amps generate a warm and human sound that is hard to find with today's technology". :)

--------------------------------------

😷
 

shreddog

shreddog
Patrick_68000 said:
If I had extra money, of course I will buy new equipment but I have other expenses and the old HI-FI equipment is often very efficient for people who have not professional ears as me.
Click to expand...

Same here.

But really, for PC connection I can't recommend a DAC enough. I paid like 200 dollars for mine, and I could hear massive difference in sound quality immediately.
The one I have is just a small gadget I hook up to a USB port and plug the amp to.

The DAC is responsible for converting the digital signal from the PCs 'sound processor' into the analog signal for our old amps. The onboard DACs on the motherboards are often very cheap and often does not deliver a very crisp convertion.

Of course, your mileage may vary. Some people say they can't hear a difference at all after buying a separate dac 🤷‍♀️
 

askavir

askavir
I am yet to find a good 2.1 PC Speaker system that doesn't materialize into just "meh"... It always feels so underwhelming even compared to the sound of some 50$ headphones... The only ones that I felt were "almost there" was an old 2.1 Creative speakers I had almost 20 years ago.

Maybe I've been picking poorly, or maybe I just never spent enough, but I sure love to get my hands opn a good 2.1 system.
 

Morbad

Morbad
shreddog said:
Same here.

But really, for PC connection I can't recommend a DAC enough. I paid like 200 dollars for mine, and I could hear massive difference in sound quality immediately.
The one I have is just a small gadget I hook up to a USB port and plug the amp to.

The DAC is responsible for converting the digital signal from the PCs 'sound processor' into the analog signal for our old amps. The onboard DACs on the motherboards are often very cheap and often does not deliver a very crisp convertion.

Of course, your mileage may vary. Some people say they can't hear a difference at all after buying a separate dac 🤷‍♀️
Click to expand...

It's certainly true that some integrated audio solutions have bad DACs or are poorly isolated from local interference, but this is the exception for most non-trash tier boards at this point. On-board audio has come a long way in the last decade, and the high-end soundcards or external DACs I used fifteen years ago are often all-round measurably worse than integrated solutions today.

Even most mid-range boards have, for at least the last several years, made credible attempts to delver clean sound by using audio ICs with solid DACs (mostly because you can't save much money by using bad ones anymore), decent filter capacitors, and electrically isolating nearly the whole audio section from the rest of the board. I can buy a $150 motherboard with a three-dollar Realtek DAC on it, and the best speakers (or speaker/amplifier combo) I can find for less than about $500 will still be the weakest link, by a mile.

Of course, in the case of defects or out-of-spec interference, simply having the DAC outside the system can be a big help and a quick fix. Personally, I'm the kind who would rather fix an underlying issue (bad power/grounding/isolation, replacement of a component producing more noise than it should, etc) than buy an extra piece of hardware to work around it, but I concede that this may not be the most efficient solution for everyone.

I'd certainly at least try the available on-board against another solution, before committing to spending more money.
 
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