new small stereo speakers for PC

davethe11 · 18 Nov 2009 at 09:41

I've got an asus xonar DX sound card and a rather aging 5.1 creative speaker set. I've recently started rebuilding my music catalogue in FLAC format, and want some speakers to do it justice. I don't need 5.1 anymore, I'm more than happy with stereo (play the odd game, movies I don't mind stereo either). Therefore I'm looking to get:

stereo speakers for PC
<75 quid
no larger than around 150mm squared (height not an issue)
for a medium to small bedroom

I'm not very knowledgeable about such things so any suggestions / alternative solutions also welcome.

alternatively, I have a Kenwood KA3020 SE amp (had it about 15 years!), but sadly my sound card does not have optical so I would need to run a 10m audio cable from the PC to the amp (around the edge of the room), what is the general consensus on long cabling and audio quality, and is there certain cable that you would recommend? thanks for your help.

Guest2 · 18 Nov 2009 at 10:27

Why not put your amp next to your pc and just run speaker cable? My amp is sat under my monitor

For £75 you can get some decent second hand speakers. maybe some bookshelves like B&W 601s or some floorstanders. Look on ebay, theres loads of speakers.

Heres some info on your amp

http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/August 1994/140/859721#header-logo

'The KA-3020SE is not overendowed with muscle, being rated at a fairly modest 30 watts per channel'

UK retail price £19995... Cant be correct, can it???

robcat101 · 19 Nov 2009 at 10:45

I'd agree with Guest2 that proper hi-fi speakers are going to be better if you like the "hi-fi" sound.

However if you want PC speakers, I got some Logitech Z-10's a few months ago and have been extremely impressed with them - much better than the Creative t20's I had previously (which broke just out of warranty BTW).

davethe11 · 19 Nov 2009 at 13:55

thanks for the advice chaps, I've followed your advice and hooked my PC up to my amp, i've still got my aging but good mission speakers and it sounds good. I don't like the graphic equalizers on WMP or my sound card software (xonar audio center), I'm trying to get an unfiltered sound to my amp but i'm sure my xonar DX is doing something (equalizer is levelled a 0, but there is an environment size option (big room, medium room, small room) which you cannot disable, so I'm guessing I'm not getting a pure signal to my amp). I'm gonna read up on audio technology and see what would be good for my setup, will let you know if I invest in anything. Thanks again

Nige01010 · 19 Nov 2009 at 14:13

Guest2 said:
Why not put your amp next to your pc and just run speaker cable? My amp is sat under my monitor

For £75 you can get some decent second hand speakers. maybe some bookshelves like B&W 601s or some floorstanders. Look on ebay, theres loads of speakers.

Heres some info on your amp

http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/August 1994/140/859721#header-logo

'The KA-3020SE is not overendowed with muscle, being rated at a fairly modest 30 watts per channel'

UK retail price £19995... Cant be correct, can it???

Nope

What-Hifi gave it 5 stars back in 1997 (i think, maybe 96) making it one of their highly recommended budget amps that year. I worked at Dixons while at uni at the time and they sold it for £299. I found one languishing in a Cash Converters store in late 97 for £59 while I was researching which amp/speaker combo to buy, couldnt believe my luck - bought it in a heartbeat and have never regretted my decision.