Need some advice please on 5.1 setup

spellcaster1972

spellcaster1972

spellcaster1972

Associate
Joined
17 May 2011
Posts
28
Hello I have just purchased a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro PCIEx sound card and want to know what 5.1 home cinema speakers to buy to plug into it. I also want to wire my tv, dvd and wii i etc. There is an optical in and out on my card but not sure what there for ? In regards to the sound coming from my pc I do not want to put rubbish speakers into a good sound card but at the same time I do not want to spend a lot of money on them £60 at most. Can anyone recommend a great sound system which will do my sound card justice and at the same time have enough ports on the back to connect the above appliances. Is this optical thing better sound quality than the 3.5mm ports ? Any help would be really appreciated.
 
For £60, all you can do is buy a set of 5.1 analogue speakers, these Creative A520 for eg. There isn't anything that can accept multiple inputs from TV's, consoles, etc, for that kind of money.

You could use the optical in on the sound card to connect an optical switch, and connect various devices to that, but optical switches are hit and miss, whether they work effectively, and you can only get stereo, which would be upmixed to 5.1. I don't know how well such a setup would work though.
 
Hello,
What would you recommend then in regards to buying 5.1 surround sound speakers for gaming on my pc with inputs for my other devices aswell as taking into account i want to get the best out of my Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro ? I know the more you spend the better you get but if you can suggest something decent a few pounds more i am happy to save :)
 
The problem is, most PC speakers only have the one connection, especially 5.1 speakers. There isn't anything that has multiple connections unless you pay significantly more. The only real choice now, is Logitech's Z5500 speakers, but they have increased in price quite a bit recently. Even when they were at their cheapest, they would still be 3x your budget.

There is a huge gap between the cheaper 5.1 PC speakers, and something that can take multiple inputs. It's a shame really that there are no 5.1 speakers that offer more than the one input that fit in between the cheap £50-£70 5.1 speakers, and the £300 separates AV home theatre kits. There used to be more choice years ago, but companies stopped making them for whatever reason.
 
Last edited:
Hello again,
I already have 2 5foot wharfdale speakers and some satelite speakers from an old setup. Would i be better buying an amp or something? Will i get 5.1 through an amp? my sound card has good reviews and people say you can hear from with direction someone is coming from on FPS etc. Can I achieve this through this route?
 
You could use a multichannel receiver, but i doubt you'll be able to get one for that price, as even very entry level ones tend to be around double or triple your budget, plus that will all but bypass your soundcard too.

I just don't think it's possible on that budget i'm afraid.
 
Ok thanks Marsman and Darkbahamut for your feedback. Assuming money wasn't an issue could you both suggest the cheapest box of tricks that will do what i need without compromising on sound. Down the pc 5.1 route and also the AV receiver route.
 
PC Route - Z5500 - £300
AV Receiver - look for a second hand HDMI receiver from either Denon, Sony or Onkyo on an auction site or AVForums, you can then add your existing speakers to this. There is an AVR 1910 on the bay for £149 at the moment, which is a bargain.
 
Having said that though, there is no reason you have to use the HDMI connection. You could use the optical connection from your sound card.

Edit: I've just noticed that the 1910 has analogue input. So you could use that or optical.
 
Last edited:
True. Didn't realise the 1910 had analogue at first, and using HDMI, would have made his new X-Fi, rather useless. Analogue would be way to go.
 
AV receiver IMO. Unless the Z5500's can be had for about £200, then an Onkyo 5.1 separates AV kit at £300, would be a much better buy. Buying an AV receiver allows you to slowly upgrade the speakers you currently have, if you so wanted to. If you bought or own a standalone Blu-ray player, you can take advantage of HD audio, via HDMI. Something the Logitech's cannot do.
 
Last edited:
I personally would go with the AV receiver as it has much more flexibility, so when you want to use it for a big flatscreen tv you can hook up multiple things like, bluray, xbox, ps3, media streamer, and have them all in surround.

Also - the 1910 originally retailed at £450, only 2 years ago!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom