Speaker + AMP to PC for Music/Gaming

Dodger

Dodger

Dodger

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17 Apr 2007
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Location
London
Hi,

Just after a bit of advice:

I am thinking of buying a set of bookshelf speakers (MicroLab SOLO6C 100W) + AMP (Recommend me one?) and then connect the AMP to my PC via a stereo RCA to 3.5mm male cable - Hopefully I have got this correct, please correct me if i'm wrong?

The motherboard that I am planning to buy already has onboard sound (VIA VT2021).

What I would like to know is whether I also should be buying a PCI-E Sound Card such as Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 PCI-Express Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp £26.99?

Does the AMP do the sound card's job effectively or is a sound card necessary for online games if I want to hear footsteps in FPS for instance?

Would I be connecting my gaming headphones to the AMP or directly to the PC?

Advice appreciated :confused:
 
The Amp does what the name suggests - amplifies the sound. It doesn't create sound, it makes a line-level signal louder and drives the speakers.

Try the onboard sound, see how it is. Generally they're much better than early efforts. My last four machines had soundcards in them, current one copes just fine with the onboard.

Headphones - try both, see which sounds better to your ears.
 
You are looking to get stereo speakers with a separate amp? The Microlab's SOLO6C's you have mentioned have their own built in amp, so don't require an external one. Also, there is no way to connect them to a separate amp anyway. You'd have to look at passive speakers if you want a separate amp.

If you are looking for a separate amp, then do you want that for the extra inputs? If so, what else do you want to connect to the speakers besides PC?

Danger Phoenix, has said he has been discussing this with you, and that he recommended Logitech Z906 5.1 speakers, which have a number of inputs. He also mentioned that you would be happy with stereo speakers and want to primarily use headphones. Personally, I think 5.1 speakers would be a waste of money. If headphones were my main use, I'd get some decent stereo speakers for when I don't want to use headphones.
 
Thanks for the response Marsman.

I wanted to potentially connect a Projector to the speakers. Thinking of it, I would be able to connect the HDMI from the Projector to the HDMI in the PC Graphics Card :-) - agree?

I love listening to music via speakers but never use the speakers to play games - I always use headphones, so I will be getting the Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 PCI-Express Sound Card with Built in Headphone Amp for this purpose - agree?

I mainly listen to RnB/Hip Hop/Pop. I want to be able to watch films in my room with a good enough movie type atmosphere. I know the speakers that I am planning to get are only 2.0.

Marsman, do you know if the Built in AMP is in the MicroLabs is good enough for my needs?
 
I have a pair of behringer 40W amplified speakers and they have an optical digital input as well as potentially two channels of analogue input (if you don't use the digital).

I use the optical output from my zonar soundcard to the speakers for all computer sound sources and use one of the analogue inputs for a record deck (vinyl) via a phono stage amp to get line level sound.

For just outputting sound from a digital source ie the PC you can just use the line out jack from the card to an RCA stereo input on the speakers.

EDIT On the Xonar soundcards, they have an internal analogue input connector on the top edge which is the same as the old CD-Rom internal cable socket. Using this cable and a pair of RCA sockets soldered to it, I have an additional external input to the card for line level sound. This can be used to attach tape decks and other external sources to output through the speakers via the PC.
 
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Dodger said:
I wanted to potentially connect a Projector to the speakers. Thinking of it, I would be able to connect the HDMI from the Projector to the HDMI in the PC Graphics Card :-) - agree?
Click to expand...

That won't work, as graphic cards do not have HDMI input, only out. You'd need a video capture card in order to utilise HDMI in. Surely it would be far easier to connect any speakers to the source, Blu-ray player, media player, etc.

Dodger said:
I love listening to music via speakers but never use the speakers to play games - I always use headphones, so I will be getting the Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 PCI-Express Sound Card with Built in Headphone Amp for this purpose - agree?
Click to expand...

The DGX is a very good budget sound card, so would be a good choice to use with headphones.

Dodger said:
I mainly listen to RnB/Hip Hop/Pop. I want to be able to watch films in my room with a good enough movie type atmosphere. I know the speakers that I am planning to get are only 2.0.

Marsman, do you know if the Built in AMP is in the MicroLabs is good enough for my needs?
Click to expand...

For music, stereo/2.0 is best really, although the speakers would need to be of decent enough size to be capable in the lower frequencies, i.e. bass. No stereo/2.0 speakers will match 2.1 speakers for bass, but you often get a loss of midrange with 2.1 speakers, which makes music sound worse IMO. As long as the speakers have large enough woofers, then there should be enough bass for all but bass heads.

nkata speaks of his Behringer speakers which have multiple inputs. The Microlab's have two analogue RCA inputs, so you could connect them to a PC and whatever you are using to send films to your projector.
 
Marsman said:
That won't work, as graphic cards do not have HDMI input, only out. You'd need a video capture card in order to utilise HDMI in. Surely it would be far easier to connect any speakers to the source, Blu-ray player, media player, etc.
Click to expand...

Instead of connecting the HDMI to the Graphics Card, I would instead be able to connect it to the Motherboard's HDMI port - then I would be able to use the Projector right?


Marsman said:
The DGX is a very good budget sound card, so would be a good choice to use with headphones.
Click to expand...

I'm happy with this Sound Card and will be purchasing it :-)


Marsman said:
For music, stereo/2.0 is best really, although the speakers would need to be of decent enough size to be capable in the lower frequencies, i.e. bass. No stereo/2.0 speakers will match 2.1 speakers for bass, but you often get a loss of midrange with 2.1 speakers, which makes music sound worse IMO. As long as the speakers have large enough woofers, then there should be enough bass for all but bass heads.

nkata speaks of his Behringer speakers which have multiple inputs. The Microlab's have two analogue RCA inputs, so you could connect them to a PC and whatever you are using to send films to your projector.
Click to expand...

I like the MicroLabs however, the control volume is on the back of the speaker itself although, it does have a remote. Are there any alternative recommendations for 2.0 speakers? Also, with regards to the MicroLab speakers, how good are they for movies? Do they do the job? In terms of sound clarity/base etc?
 
Dodger said:
Instead of connecting the HDMI to the Graphics Card, I would instead be able to connect it to the Motherboard's HDMI port - then I would be able to use the Projector right?
Click to expand...

So you want to connect the projector to the PC in order to play video from the PC?

In an earlier post you said that you wanted to connect the projector to the speakers. If the PC is sending video to the projector, then I can't see the need in connecting the speakers to the projector itself. The sound will be coming from the PC, so just have the speakers to that.
 
Marsman said:
So you want to connect the projector to the PC in order to play video from the PC?

In an earlier post you said that you wanted to connect the projector to the speakers. If the PC is sending video to the projector, then I can't see the need in connecting the speakers to the projector itself. The sound will be coming from the PC, so just have the speakers to that.
Click to expand...

Yes Marsman, I have mistyped it earlier, sorry :o

I would like to view HD videos on a Projector that are being played on my PC.

Just debating which speakers/sub etc to get now....desktop speakers which include a subwoofer vs bookshelf speakers without a standalone subwoofer.

Ideas? :(
 
Ah, I must apologise. I was confused with what you were trying to do earlier. Makes sense now what you are trying to do. Just use the HDMI on the graphics card to connect the projector. :)

The Microlab Solo 6C's are quite large, at least for PC speakers anyway. The larger the woofer in the speaker, the better bass it can put out, at least in comparison to smaller speakers. Quite a few people have bought them since they have been available at OcUK, and they have been impressed with them, those that commented on them at least. I think they would be very good for music. They will be a better bet for music than 2.1 speakers will.

However, there is no getting away from the fact that the subwoofer with 2.1 speakers will put out more bass, which some people do want. There is a debate to be had about quantity vs quality of bass, but that's only going to complicate matters further I feel. :p

If you like plenty of bass, then maybe 2.1 speakers would appeal to you more. If you are concerned whether or not the Microlab's will provide enough bass for you, you could always create another thread asking for people's opinions on them.
 
Thanks for the advice Marsman, i'll be reviewing a few more speaker sets etc before making my decision and will make another thread about it.

At least I know what I envisage to do will work :p

Thanks all, very much appreciated! :)
 
My budget is about £250 for a speakers/subwoofer. The less the better to be honest, I have been recommended Logitech Z906 5.1 speakers in this thread so far.

Other alternative recommendations would be great too :)
 
yeah ,,,,these babies :) :-

Onkyo HT-X22HDX 3D Ready Ultra Compact 2.1 Home Cinema System

Eb9J2ARg0jhF02x1YyOvR1zBxN4ETDc3reM_N44ZWQP8KTWDDiucI1JaBOdXFffJrAo_ZbVwxz6lVWJSLNxZ0eWTS11fY6FHzkjxstNY7TTJEnNjHwUFs21lRDJEi7Lh5w6A_-d3VcHWg76giV3Z


on the river site .. you can check the reviews
 
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