Advice for pc speakers

Spirit-Warden

Spirit-Warden

Spirit-Warden

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27 Mar 2018
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18
I've been trying to find an audio setup I'll be happy with for gaming with occasional music and my budget is £280. I've looked at a bunch of different speakers, I've asked friends for advice but I still can't decide. I'm currently looking at the AudioEngine A2+ or the Logitech Z906. I did have the AudioEngine A5+ but I sent them back due to bad amps.

The AudioEngine A2+s are smaller and would fit nicely on my desk, and they apparently have about the same sound quality up close as the A5+s, however my friends are suggesting I should get a 5.1 setup and have suggested the Z906. I'm just not sure, I think surround sounds novel but how good is it really? (I've never used surround sound before), also the sound quality of the A5+'s were great, and if the A2+s sound about the same then I'm sure I'd be happy with them (so long as their amp doesn't have a scratchy-hissing like my A5s did).

I know I do want to have good sound quality and several other sites people have said the Logitech's are more like "toys" which concerns me. I am open to suggestions, It's not like I need a logitech or audioengine product, I just know I liked the sound quality of the A5s and as it was just 2.0 I didn't have to worry about a bunch of wires, but friends have suggested the Z906 because of the surround. I hear good things about the Edifiers as well but there are so many models I wouldn't know where to start. Could I get some suggestions? I've been looking for over 3 months now and I really just want to get something good. Thanks
 
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Ruark MR1 MK2 if you can stretch your budget slightly to £329 there brill. I have a pair and they sound fantastic i used to have the first gen MR1's which are also great and can be found cheaper the difference is the new version has optical out a fitted cloth with the older version had a removable grill and no optical . And another thing they look superb in walnut


https://www.whathifi.com/ruark-audio/mr1-mk2/review
https://www.richersounds.com/catalo...-walnut/?retsolclick=5aba9fdac97bbf0100deea01
 
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I should point out that I don' have a sound card, to be honest I don't really plan on getting one, at least not an internal one. If there is something external I can use instead I'm open to that.
 
The Ruark are Active like the Audioengines. You be better off using an external Dac if its for music then a USB DAC would be your best option but if its for Gaming then a soundcard maybe the better option as most Gamers use internal cards for the effects they can get with the software like with surround sound
 
Stereo will be the best way to go for sound quality. Only go for 5.1 if surround sound is more important than getting the best sound quality you can for your money and if you can place the speakers correctly.

Ruark's are a good suggestion. Built in DAC, so no need for a sound card or external DAC, but you'll need to have optical on your motherboard.

A2+ are good, but for such small speakers, a little pricey in my opinion. They do have a built in USB DAC, but for the same money, I'd much prefer JBL LSR305. A fair bit larger though in size than the A2+, so depends what space you have and whether smaller is preferable. No DAC though, but onboard audio might be OK, although getting a separate DAC will be best in the long run.
 
I'm not to bothered about using the virtual software effects like surround and base. I did have a Creative Soundblast Z but when I got the AudioEngine A5+ I never even used the effects because I thought they sounded fine by default. I might still have had the soundcard but Overclockers broke it xD

As for the USB DAC any suggestions?
 
Marsman said:
Stereo will be the best way to go for sound quality. Only go for 5.1 if surround sound is more important than getting the best sound quality you can for your money and if you can place the speakers correctly.

Ruark's are a good suggestion. Built in DAC, so no need for a sound card or external DAC, but you'll need to have optical on your motherboard.

A2+ are good, but for such small speakers, a little pricey in my opinion. They do have a built in USB DAC, but for the same money, I'd much prefer JBL LSR305. A fair bit larger though in size than the A2+, so depends what space you have and whether smaller is preferable. No DAC though, but onboard audio might be OK, although getting a separate DAC will be best in the long run.
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I have a ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING which I think as an optical connection.
 
I use a Musical Fidelity V90 DAC with my Ruarks but i don't have a soundcard in my HTPC. So i use the usb off my Dac into my HTPC. Schiit Audio that are highly regarded on this forum do usb DACS but they quite sort after and not often in stock. But there is that many on the market its easy to get reviews and one that will be in your budget
 
PapaLazaru said:
Just use the optical out to the Ruarks, no need for another DAC the one in the speakers is very good and tuned to the speakers.
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All depends if you have optical in on your motherboard mine hasn't so i use the Aux in from RCA out on my dac into the AUX in and still sounds great plus if your wanting to use headphones id still rather use a desktop amp then any soundcard
 
So from my understanding the Ruarks are a solid choice and as they have a built in DAC and are active speakers I won't need any other devices? Just plug them in and done?

Also I'm not using headphones any more, I already have tinnitus due to an infection and I'm very scared about it ever getting worse.
 
Yep. Just plug into mains and connect optical cable to the motherboard. Set SPDIF to default in the Windows sound playback properties and away you go.
 
Im sure you won't regret having them they look and sound superb i love mine i loved the first gen had them 3 years then got the new MK2. The reason why i still use my M.F dac bought it when i got the first gen so i connected it to the MK2's via 2 RCA and AUX and still love the sound the advantage of having the optical in the ruarks is you can plug them into optical of a pc's motherboard or use chromecast Audio for instance. Not tried the optical yet but looking at getting chromecast Audio though One for the Ruarks and other for Dali Kubic One
 
I just thought I'd say thanks, they just arrived today. They sound amazing! Exactly what I was looking for.

Edit: I'm seeing sound settings in Windows I've never seen before, 32-bit audio up to 192k hz. Should I set it to the highest possible option or 32-bit 48khz or 24-bit 48khz
 
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Spirit-Warden said:
I just thought I'd say thanks, they just arrived today. They sound amazing! Exactly what I was looking for.

Edit: I'm seeing sound settings in Windows I've never seen before, 32-bit audio up to 192k hz. Should I set it to the highest possible option or 32-bit 48khz or 24-bit 48khz
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Don't use windows for Music exc. I use MusicBee for my 320 mp3's and Tidal Master for my FLAC. in windows i normally have it set to the lowest which would be 48Khz if you set it higher you end up upscaling and it won't sound as good. If you use something like MusicBee it will Auto scale to what the track is
 
One last thing if anyone could offer some advice, when my graphics card starts getting hot after playing Modern games for a while, the speakers produce a moderately loud hum/ buzz which appears to stop when the game it's closed down. Is that normal?

In case this is relevant, at the moment I'm using a AUX cable rather than Optical cable (that should be arriving tomorrow)
 
Normal, no; but it can be quite common.

Sounds like the onboard audio is picking up EMI from the GPU, which is much more likely to happen when the GPU is working harder.

The beauty of optical is that it electrically decouples any audio device from the PC. EMI is carried along electrical wiring and optical being fibre optic uses light pulses.
 
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