Best speaker/soundcard combo for making daft noise

Adrianr

Adrianr

Adrianr

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1) I am not an audiophile. For every friend who's told me his £250 earphones or £5k hifi is just superb at replicating the subtle detail of some track I will be damned if I've ever noticed the price difference, I just like making my ears bleed, my shelves wobble, and generally annoying everyone.. I do however, still think iPod headphones are rubbish. I'm not deaf :p

2) I like bass. Lots. See making shelves wobble.

3) They have to be do-it-all speakers as they're being hooked up to my PC. They don't have to do anything especially well. If it were just for music I'd likely look into a proper hifi set-up, but it's the usual music/games/movies/etc they will be used for. I've always loved a simple amp + floorstander approach but I don't want it taking up too much space or money.

4) I have far too many things demanding seemingly constant financial attention so the lot could do with coming in under £150 if possible. If this is just an amount not bothering with let me know what is :)

Fire away!
 
Are you using onboard ATM? If so, what motherboard do you have?

Are you looking for 2.1 or 5.1 speakers?

Edit: Beaten to question 2. :p
 
Motherboard is an Asus P5Q Deluxe, using onboard atm yup :) The reason I'm looking into a soundcard as well as speakers is I hear it solves a crashing problem I'm having with Bad Company 2. I'm not sure in all honesty how likely it is to work (though a fair few have reported it solving the problem) but for the cost of a soundcard + increase in quality I guess it's worth a shot.

Re: 2.1 or 5.1, no preferance. I guess I would lean toward 5.1 and hope I will get off my arse and set them up properly, but it's not a deal breaker.
 
Asus xonar DX £60
LOGITECH Z-4 2.1 speakers £60

You will have to get the speakers somewhere else, but they kick butt.
 
And under budget, cheers for the suggestion :) Is it worth stretching to the Z-2300's? And what do I get from a £60 soundcard that I don't from say, a £30 soundcard?
 
Logitech Z2300's would have to be the choice of 2.1 speakers. Plenty of people have commented on the amount of bass they deliver. Granted they won't deliver what an amp + speakers + decent active sub will, but then for that kind of money, you can't really expect it to. That would leave enough to get a Xonar DS.

Z4's are also decent speakers for the money, but they won't destroy things as much as the Z2300's.

For lots of bass, the Z5500's are probably the choice of the 5.1 sets, however they are £100 more than your budget, so that's a no go. Second best choice would probably something like Logitech's X-540 at about £70. You would get more choice of sound card by getting those.

At a guess I'd say you will get better sound quality and more bass from the Z2300's, but that does limit your choice of sound card though.
 
So am I likely to tell the difference between a £30 Xonar DS vs a £60 Xonar DX? I haven't even the foggiest clue what makes a good soundcard! :D
 
Wouldn't go near the X-Fi Xtreme Audio, in case you were looking at that. It's not an X-Fi, just a repackaged Audigy. It would be a decent buy for the price if it were not for the Xonar DS.
 
To be perfectly honest, no you won't tell a difference. You would if you got a decent hi-fi setup more than likely, but not with the majority of PC speakers. DX has more features aswell, which bumps up the cost.
 
There are some creative gigaworks 2.1 speakers for a £100.

Been described as amazing with the option of shaking stuff off shelves.
 
Marsman said:
Wouldn't go near the X-Fi Xtreme Audio, in case you were looking at that. It's not an X-Fi, just a repackaged Audigy. It would be a decent buy for the price if it were not for the Xonar DS.
Click to expand...

Cheers for the heads up :)

Looks like the Aego M's can be thrown into this debacle as well? Or are they more for the sound connoisseur opposed to the lout? :D
 
Gigaworks T-3

But I got the price wrong! Don't google them if you don't want a heart-attack!
 
+1 for the Logitech Z2300's. They make my whole flat rattle. Havent even been close to full whack yet either.
 
Adrianr said:
Cheers for the heads up :)

Looks like the Aego M's can be thrown into this debacle as well? Or are they more for the sound connoisseur opposed to the lout? :D
Click to expand...

Yes, the Aego's are more for balanced sound I would say. The Z2300's judging by what people have said have more earth shattering bass.
 
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