PC Hifi System Help

Alex40k

Alex40k

Alex40k

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Joined
25 Aug 2004
Posts
228
Location
London
Hello, first off im a completely new to Hifi equipment and i could really use some help. I was planning to get a new set of logitech speakers for my pc but recently i have been reading that a Hifi system would be a better buy.

Im not really sure what i need to purchase, I use my pc mostly to play music and some gaming. I dont really want a surround system because im going to have to cart it to uni and back, am i correct in assuming that i will need an amp and two speakers. Also will i need to buy a sub?

My budget is about £250-300, will this be enough for a decent stereo system?

Any suggestions as to what to buy would also be a great help.

Thank you

Alex
 
Alex40k:

I hooked up a Terratec DMX 6Fire 24/96 sound card to a Cambridge Audio A5 amp and a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 speakers, sounds very good. I would use it for music, I also have a set of Logitech Z680 that I use for games and DVDs, but there is nothing to stop me just using the amp + speakers for all my audio needs.

I see you have an Audigy 2 ZS sound card, to hook a hi fi amp and speakers up to that, I think you need a DAC to convert the digital signal into an analogue to feed into the amp, but if I'm wrong some kind person will correct me.

The amp + speakers cost me around £280. :)
 
The answer is definitely yes and that bugdet gives you lots of options. You can get something solid new, or something a little more capable by going used.

Have a look at my PC sound setup-

sound.jpg


This is definitely towards the bottom end, but it sounds very nice for music and games alike. The amp is the Sonic Impact t-amp (tiny thing to the right of the monitor) which is about £45 with a power adaptor, the speakers are Eltax Monitor 3 for £60. Plus cheap speaker wire you can do that for about £110 new, or less if you got the speakers used.

Upping the budget, a nice Rotel amp 2nd hand (RA01/02, RA971 Mk 2) for under £150, B&W DM601 speakers for about £150 used or MA Bronze B2s for £180 new. Don't have to spend that much though, could get some used Missions and a used Denon or CA amp for £150 maybe.

So many options... have a look at some online hi-fi retailers (Richersounds, Super-fi, Sevenoaks, Hi-fi Bitz etc) and see what sort of thing takes your fancy. Then get along to your local hi-fi retailer and audition some stuff.
 
Im going to have to look for some second hand equipment, is it worth purchasing a sub? Also am i right in thinking that a more expensive system would be a waste of time when only listening to mp3s?

Additionally will i be missing out when gaming significantly with a stereo system?
 
Alex40k said:
Im going to have to look for some second hand equipment, is it worth purchasing a sub? Also am i right in thinking that a more expensive system would be a waste of time when only listening to mp3s?

Additionally will i be missing out when gaming significantly with a stereo system?
Click to expand...

As has been stated, a sub isn't really worth it and I wouldn't worry about the quality of mp3s, they'll be fine with a system costing 3 times your budget.
 
Yeah, I wouldn't worry too much about having your music in MP3 format, you will still benefit from a hi-fi setup, even at 128 kbps, although you should use a higher bitrate where possible.

As for gaming, I've switched from 5.1 to stereo and I don't miss 5.1 even in FPS games, especially since I've realized most PC speakers do really poor positional audio.
 
at the moment for my PC hi-fi I'm using a Cambridge Audio Mk1 Amp, nice quality cheap amp, reasonably low end but does the job well

and a pair of mission M1's for the noise end.

all relatively cheap and an old technics CD player if i want music from a CD and am using my CD drives for something else.
 
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