Sound Upgrade

Faustinooo · 20 Jan 2016 at 23:27

I'm looking for some advice on the best way to improve the sound from my PC.

At the moment I have an age old Logitech 2.1 speaker set up, I have no idea what model they are anymore, and some AKG K550's. I've read good things about Diamond 9.0's and was planning on picking those up soon since they can be bought very cheaply but i'm lost on what AMP and/or DAC to buy. I have a budget of around £200 after the cost of the speakers.

Buck890 · 21 Jan 2016 at 09:20

I purchased a topping TP32ex amp/dac along with Q acoustics 3010 and can highly recommend, cost me just shy of £300 with the above, with cables and banana plugs.

Marine-RX179 · 21 Jan 2016 at 09:45

Buck890 said:
I purchased a topping TP32ex amp/dac along with Q acoustics 3010 and can highly recommend, cost me just shy of £300 with the above, with cables and banana plugs.

So you managed to identify what was causing you not having sound through the your speakers on the TP32ex? Did you forget to connect something?

I myself was also eyeing up the TP32ex before, but then the Monitor Audio A100's price dropped from £199 down to £149 at Richer Sounds, so it was a no-brainer to go for the A100 instead as it has more features (such as wireless), function, and more powerful amp. The only shortcoming is the the USB digital input would only works with Apple devices, so connecting to PC would have to be via Optical connection.

Demon · 21 Jan 2016 at 09:52

If you are spending £40 on some Diamon 9.0's, I think £200 on an AMP/DAC is overkill.

Just FYI, I think the current bargains in the DAC/AMP range are the Teac A-H01 and Monitor Audio A100, both being sold off with a few left in Richer Sounds for £150.. failing that, the A100 is available from more places for £199 which is still amazing value.. (And beaten to it by Marine-RX179)

However, I would say that level of AMP/DAC is really paired better with something like
Wharfedale 220's (The best of the bunch, just a little larger on a desk)
Dali Zensors Pico (Excellent, desksized)
Q Acoustic 3010's (Popular, but for me when demo'ing they slightly fall behind the DALI's)

But that would be £300-£350.. in total (THe above speakers range from £140-£180

If I was getting the £40 Wharfedale 9.0's I'd go for something like the SMSL VX1 (Amp + DAC in one) for £80..

That's a total of £120 with speakers which isn't bad..

Marine-RX179 · 21 Jan 2016 at 11:26

I'm probably a weirdo who have gone tried more different speakers than most using speakers:
Creative T40 II, Edifier 1600T Plus, Microlab Solo7C, Corsair SP2500, Edifier S730 sub with a pair of Q Acoustic 3010, AE Aego M 2.1 sub with a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.0.

I settled on the AE Aego M 2.1 sub with a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 for desktop use, as for near field listen it is the best sounding out of the above for me. The thing about bookshelf speakers as 2.0 is that I can't get the most out of them, as they can't present the details to the best until you put them up to certain volume level, which you can't really do considering how close to are sitting to them. Also there are potential issue of the bass note would resonate with the desk, making it sound awful.

Buck890 · 21 Jan 2016 at 11:51

Marine-RX179 said:
So you managed to identify what was causing you not having sound through the your speakers on the TP32ex? Did you forget to connect something?

I myself was also eyeing up the TP32ex before, but then the Monitor Audio A100's price dropped from £199 down to £149 at Richer Sounds, so it was a no-brainer to go for the A100 instead as it has more features (such as wireless), function, and more powerful amp. The only shortcoming is the the USB digital input would only works with Apple devices, so connecting to PC would have to be via Optical connection.

No it was i defective unit, ordered another and sent that one back.

APM · 21 Jan 2016 at 12:29

Why Wharfdale 9.0,go for the 9.1's instead.

Marine-RX179 · 21 Jan 2016 at 14:22

APM said:
Why Wharfdale 9.0,go for the 9.1's instead.

One word- PRICE

Marsman · 21 Jan 2016 at 15:29

Size too. I've got 9.1's and I bought some 9.0's for my mum. 9.1's are far too large for my desk, whereas the 9.0's are the perfect size. I would have got a pair for my desk had RS had them for sale online, at the time I wanted to buy some speakers. They didn't, so I ended up getting Roth Oli 1.

I know a fair few people have larger speakers on a desk for near field use, but like Marine, I feel you can't get the best from them until they are turned up loud. All Hi-Fi speakers sound better when turned up. Personally, that is something I would not want to do. That applies to smaller as well as larger speakers, but I would much rather £50 smaller speakers than to buy larger speakers for £100, only to not get the most from them.

From my experience, the 9.1's on a desk don't do anything that the smaller 9.0 can't. 9.1's would come into their own in a larger open space.

Faustinooo · 21 Jan 2016 at 20:42

Demon said:
If you are spending £40 on some Diamon 9.0's, I think £200 on an AMP/DAC is overkill.

Just FYI, I think the current bargains in the DAC/AMP range are the Teac A-H01 and Monitor Audio A100, both being sold off with a few left in Richer Sounds for £150.. failing that, the A100 is available from more places for £199 which is still amazing value.. (And beaten to it by Marine-RX179)

However, I would say that level of AMP/DAC is really paired better with something like
Wharfedale 220's (The best of the bunch, just a little larger on a desk)
Dali Zensors Pico (Excellent, desksized)
Q Acoustic 3010's (Popular, but for me when demo'ing they slightly fall behind the DALI's)

But that would be £300-£350.. in total (THe above speakers range from £140-£180

If I was getting the £40 Wharfedale 9.0's I'd go for something like the SMSL VX1 (Amp + DAC in one) for £80..

That's a total of £120 with speakers which isn't bad..

Thanks everyone for all the advice so far.

Demon - Are the Monitor Audio A100 and Teac AH01 Amp and Dac in one or would I need both devices?

Getting speakers and amp/dac for £120 would be ideal but if the quality would significantly improve extending my budget I could probably stretch to the above.

Marine-RX179 · 21 Jan 2016 at 20:57

Faustinooo said:
Demon - Are the Monitor Audio A100 and Teac AH01 Amp and Dac in one or would I need both devices?

Getting speakers and amp/dac for £120 would be ideal but if the quality would significantly improve extending my budget I could probably stretch to the above.

Both the Teac AH01 and Monitor Audio A100 are DAC and stereo amp 2 in 1.

Speaking from objectively, I would think the A100 is the better of the two, as it has more features such as wireless play via Airplay or DLNA, as well as more powerful amp. The biggest shortcoming is that its USB digital input is only compatable with Apple device, so using with PC you would need to use its optical digital input. The A100 was rate 5 stars at whathifi's review, even when it was at its full price at £500; at £150 EOL it is an absolute steal.

With that said, the AH01 is a cracking piece of kit and has USB digital input that would work with PC, and the amp should have no problem driving bookshelf speakers. I have moved my A100 from powering my BX2 to powering my Wharfedale 155 Floorstander (as my receiver is struggling to push it), and is tempted to get the AH01 to power my BX2 instead (feel athat it would be a bit boring to get another A100), but unfortunately they are out of stock at my local RicherSounds

Demon · 21 Jan 2016 at 22:15

Faustinooo said:
Thanks everyone for all the advice so far.

Demon - Are the Monitor Audio A100 and Teac AH01 Amp and Dac in one or would I need both devices?

Getting speakers and amp/dac for £120 would be ideal but if the quality would significantly improve extending my budget I could probably stretch to the above.

As Marine-RX179 mentioned, both are combined DAC/AMPs.

As for which is better, that's more a question of your own situation. I think Marine has covered most salient points.

What swung it for me was simply that I was connecting it to a PC and didn't need bluetooth/wireless etc, and for the Picos' it has way more output than required by a country mile so I based my decision on what is probably more theoretical than anything, and that is the 32/192Khz DAC and the slightly more favourable comparison of the A-H01 to the NAD D3020 (which I also loved when demo'd)

As for if either is worth paying more, I don't know, I can't say if I'd notice the difference between these and a Topping/SMSL despite the pedigree and reviews, but it does remove a 'doubt' I'd have.. although I am sat here thoroughly enjoying some music, I just try not to think that it may or may not sound just as good if I'd spent half as much! It's the law of diminishing returns..

doran1801 · 24 Jan 2016 at 13:38

how would you rate and amp and stereo speakers against say logitech 906? i want to upgrade but not sure on the amp route

Demon · 24 Jan 2016 at 21:59

doran1801 said:
how would you rate and amp and stereo speakers against say logitech 906? i want to upgrade but not sure on the amp route

It depends on what you are trying to achieve, if you want 5.1, then honestly you will need to spend a lot to start upgrading and amp wise, there are no small desktop 5.1 amps I've come across.

For music, the Z906 can be easily beaten, I thought the SP2500 was a step up in clarity/imaging/soundstage, and the smaller amps/speaker discussed in here are defintely going to be a good start to the next level again. The fly in the oitment for me is the sub, the Zensor Pico's will absolutely make you wonder how such a little box has so much low end, but it would still need a sub to get down to the levels of the Z906/SP2500 which adds a little more to the cost.

Marine-RX179 · 25 Jan 2016 at 10:16

Yea the Z906 is actually considered as a "downgrade" from its predecessor the Z5500. I honestly would NOT recommend buying them at full price...they are only worth considering like when they popped up at £159 on Lightning Deals at the rainforest a while ago.

Audio quality, detail and image wise it will not be as good as the SP2500 (due to the tiny satelite speakers), but for surround such as watching movies, it does offer better immersion. Also as it has digital input, it means you might not need to spend extra on getting a sound card or DAC, but just to connect to the PC using the Optical Digital cable- assuming your motherboard has optical digtial output. But if you want proper surround sound on the Z906 for gaming, you will NEED a soundcard with Dolby Digital Live to encoding the game audio to 5.1 anyway, as games in general are only stereo sound.

Also there's the question of if your room has the space for properly placing the satelites for the ideal 5.1 positions- don't do what some people do like placing all 5 satelites on the desk in front of them, that makes 5.1 pointless.

doran1801 · 25 Jan 2016 at 11:02

Marine-RX179 said:
Yea the Z906 is actually considered as a "downgrade" from its predecessor the Z5500. I honestly would NOT recommend buying them at full price...they are only worth considering like when they popped up at £159 on Lightning Deals at the rainforest a while ago.

Audio quality, detail and image wise it will not be as good as the SP2500 (due to the tiny satelite speakers), but for surround such as watching movies, it does offer better immersion. Also as it has digital input, it means you might not need to spend extra on getting a sound card or DAC, but just to connect to the PC using the Optical Digital cable- assuming your motherboard has optical digtial output. But if you want proper surround sound on the Z906 for gaming, you will NEED a soundcard with Dolby Digital Live to encoding the game audio to 5.1 anyway, as games in general are only stereo sound.

Also there's the question of if your room has the space for properly placing the satelites for the ideal 5.1 positions- don't do what some people do like placing all 5 satelites on the desk in front of them, that makes 5.1 pointless.

Thanks. I do have my speakers sat in front of me right now, 7.1 creative ones.

So im guessing id be better off going the AMP and speakers route? was looking at the a100 and a decent set of 2.0 speakers. going to demo some tomorrow at richer sounds.