Best component for speaker clarity?

Mayh3M

Mayh3M

Mayh3M

Associate
Joined
11 Dec 2014
Posts
1,093
Location
Oxford
I'm using a Maximus Hero IX for my sound connected to a Orbitsound M10LX soundbar. I'm looking for a superior sound experience with a focus on audio clarity.

I mostly game and listen to some music, but as I said I prefer clarity above all else.

I would like to avoid buying a sound card because I don't want to clutter my case / reduce GPU airflow. Is there an external component I could buy to improve my onboard audio?

I'm also open to buying new speakers but I don't have too much space on my desk so I don't think there's much in the way of an upgrade there.
 
Can you guys spec me some speakers and/or DAC then? I'm willing to spend around £300 for a quality setup.

Those speakers you listed have amazing reviews and great prices but they are too tall for my desk. The maximum height I can fit is 20cm.
 
OK, change of plan. I'm buying a bigger desk, so size is no longer an issue.

There seems to be a strong recommendation for the JBL LSR305 which I can buy for just over £200. What do you guys think?
 
So is that the audio interface you would recommend if I were to buy one? I don't want to go much more than £100 for one ideally. Is there one that's not so... red?
 
Does it make a difference if I buy the JBL LSR305s individually or do I have to buy them as a pair? They're cheaper if I buy them individually so I was wondering about that. Also what cables do I need exactly to connect to an audio interface? I'll probably buy everything on gears4music.com, buy they have a zillion cables. What do TRS/RCA/balanced/unbalanced etc. mean?

What do these audio interfaces do exactly? I can see they have lots of features but all I want is good sound and a large volume knob ideally. The Scarlett 2i2 has a nice big one so I might go for that. How does it compare to the Roland Duo Capture EX (which apparently doesn't come with a plug...)?
 
Cheers, I've learned a lot.

I have no interest in music production, so the only feature I'm looking for really is having balanced audio. The cheapest audio interface that has this should suffice? In my case a higher end model won't offer better sound quality, just more features, if I'm understanding this correctly. Mic functionality could be something I'd want in future though.

So I could just buy the cheapest with balanced audio and use Windows for volume control.

Does that work? If so, how can I tell which audio interfaces have balanced audio? What's the keyword in the description? Just need the cheapest.
 
I'm pretty set on the LSR305s. I've been after good speakers for a very long time and only stuck with a soundbar because of my previous desk's lack of space. It seems to be praised everywhere I look, with people recommending it above more expensive speakers like the Audioengine A5+, and other studio monitors that look better like the Yamaha HS5, which isn't as versatile.

I'm happy to pay more than I was initially willing, if the setup is worth it. That seems to be the case here. I think I'll just go for the Scarlett 2i2 since that's what everyone seems to be pairing it with: https://homestudiobasics.com/focusrite-scarlett-2i2/
 
Well I did buy the 2i2, and I've finally set everything up. I'm not getting any sound though. Windows recognises the 2i2 and the playback device is set to it. The LEDs on both the speakers and the 2i2 are on, so I'm not sure what's going on. I manually downloaded the latest drivers from the Scarlett 2i2 site but that didn't fix the issue.

Any ideas why I'm not getting any sound? I'm using balanced TRS cables.

EDIT: Also getting a strange issue where many youtube videos keep showing an 'error occurred'. This wasn't happening before.
 
OK problem solved. Drivers needed to be uninstalled and reinstalled.

So what's this about not needing an audio interface? I'm happy to keep it if improves my sound quality vs onboard audio. Otherwise it did set me back £120.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom