£80 for a setup

utherpendragon · 24 Jan 2007 at 00:57

Currently running some crappy logitech 2.1 speakers fed from my onboard audio. Now as you can guess this is rubbish and i'm looking to improve on it. I was wondering whether it would be better going down the PC or seperates route, and also whether it would be better to invest in a soundcard.
I do game a lot on the PC but also listen to all my music through it (MP3s, and loseless codecs) so hoping all your advice could helpme make a decision.

Hamster · 24 Jan 2007 at 08:59

I would definately invest in a soundcard. If you want the most out of your music, especially considering you have lossless, i would think about extending your budget if you can.
The soundcard i have, which will be well recommended here, is the m-audio audiophile 2496 which is £50. It is a massive improvement over onboard sound.

As far as the speaker setup is concerned, a separate amplifier and speakers would be best but if you can't stretch to that you can go for something like this for about £80:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-001-AE
These are active speakers (don't require an amplifier)

HTH

m

utherpendragon · 24 Jan 2007 at 14:00

Ok then, say I can stretch my budget a bit, how much would cheap a 2 (.1 hopefully) channel speaker and amp setup cost me?

Just to note, I have no problem buying any of this 2nd hand.

fish99 · 24 Jan 2007 at 14:40

Forget the .1 if you're going seperates, you won't get a decent sub even used without upping your budget considerably. A pair of decent bookshelf speakers will do just fine without a sub though. For £100 you should be able to get some sort of used amp (cambridge audio, denon, marantz etc) and maybe a pair of Kefs or Missions. Check they go down to around 40-45 Hz and you should be fine.

Those Aego Ms are a good option though if you just want something straight forward that will sound good. What Hi-Fi liked them.

Soundcard wise, if you're a gamer and you want EAX and low CPU usage, maybe something like a used Audigy 2 ZS, but obviously it won't do as good a job with music as the M-Audio 2496 listed above.

utherpendragon · 24 Jan 2007 at 15:57

Never been a hi-fi man (multi-channel usually), so unsure of what speakers or amps are worth the expense. A couple of years ago the mission m70s were part off a mission 5.1 package which was very highly rated, and these can be picked up pretty cheaply now, are they any good. Amps I haven't got a clue where to start, what would you recommend for under say £50 2nd hand.

fish99 · 26 Jan 2007 at 00:04

My experience is pretty limited TBH. I would advise looking at whats available on the bay and then asking about them on avforums since there's plenty of experts there.

I've owned a Marantz PM66-SE amp which is pretty decent. Also owned JBL Control 1's which I thought were over-rated and lacking in bass (they bottom out around 70 Hz), and Eltax Monitor 3's which are ok but nothing special and fiddly to setup. Owned Wharfedale speakers (9.1s) and didn't rate them. RS are selling Kef Cresta 10s new for £60 so they might be worth looking into. Mission M70s would be great if you could get them for within your budget.

Get looking on the bay, there's tons of amps on there for under say £60. Marantz, Cambridge Audio, some older Rotels (if you like a bright sound), Yamaha, Denon, maybe even an old Nad or Arcam if you get lucky. Also have a look at RS, Super-Fi, Sevenoaks website to get an idea what's available and then see if you can find any of them second hand on the bay.

Apatche64 · 27 Jan 2007 at 10:45

i dont want to offend anyone by saying this, but if the fella hasn't heard a very clear sound like the ones from seperates then he is best just getting a decent soundcard and some good pc speakers, he doesn't need an amp etc...

£80 is pushing it but have a look at used sites ... i got a set of megaworks 2.1 250d plus a x-fi for around your budget. they sound very good, the x-fi is a very good purchase

i dont think subs are needed on pc setups, something like Creative Gigaworks T20 2.0 Speaker System would do you fine.

however sound is very subjective, one persons brilliant sound is the other person utter rubbish.

i would recomend getting an x-fi (cheapest possible, the dearer ones make little difference imo) and a set of Klipsch ProMedia 2.0 Speakers. the latter is owned by my flatmate and they are very very good.