What do I need? - 5.1 HTPC

craigxt22 · 14 Feb 2011 at 15:59

Hi guys,

I would like to set my PC up as a 5.1 surround HTPC.
Besides a Blu Ray drive, all I need is to get decent sound.

What exactly would I need to buy to get decent 5.1 surround?
Are the on-board sound cards these days any good for what I need?

Cheers!

DotA · 14 Feb 2011 at 16:07

Depends how much you want to spend on speakers.

And what type of speakers you want to use.

craigxt22 · 14 Feb 2011 at 16:12

I have a stereo hi fi system, NAD amp, Monitor Audio RX2s and would use them as my front channels.
From there I'd get some half decent PC speakers for my rears.

cjkennedy · 14 Feb 2011 at 16:19

yeah price is the big thing, you can either get a pc 5.1 system that has 3 3.5mm inputs which will plug into either your motherboard audio or if you want to improve your sound quality you can get a better sound card (asus ones seem to be the best atm) or if you want to spend some more you can go for a hdmi reciever that will decode dolby truehd and dts hd audio from blu ray discs over hdmi

craigxt22 · 14 Feb 2011 at 16:24

cjkennedy said:
yeah price is the big thing, you can either get a pc 5.1 system that has 3 3.5mm inputs which will plug into either your motherboard audio or if you want to improve your sound quality you can get a better sound card (asus ones seem to be the best atm) or if you want to spend some more you can go for a hdmi reciever that will decode dolby truehd and dts hd audio from blu ray discs over hdmi

Cool,

Are there any major advantages of having Dolby and DTS HD, over the standard 5.1 my PC will do? i.e will it sound much better?

cjkennedy · 14 Feb 2011 at 16:28

Hmm i cant say as i havent been able to compare, but if you just stick with an analogue setup, the truehd/dts hd tracks get downmixed to 48khz 16bit, but they still sound epic with a decent set of speakers, as it is still uncompressed unlike normal dolby digital and dts formats, if your not an audiophile i wouldnt bother with a hdmi system, although i think onkyo make some reasonable priced ones worth looking at.

craigxt22 · 14 Feb 2011 at 16:33

cjkennedy said:
Hmm i cant say as i havent been able to compare, but if you just stick with an analogue setup, the truehd/dts hd tracks get downmixed to 48khz 16bit, but they still sound epic with a decent set of speakers, as it is still uncompressed unlike normal dolby digital and dts formats, if your not an audiophile i wouldnt bother with a hdmi system, although i think onkyo make some reasonable priced ones worth looking at.

I'll probably try my onboard sound for now then.

Could you link me to a HDMI system by Onkyo you think would sound good if I'm not satisfied with my onboard sound?

cjkennedy · 14 Feb 2011 at 16:37

http://www.eu.onkyo.com/indices/Packages_5917402.html any of them i guess, the more you spend the better you get i guess, but if you decide not to go for one of those, if you can pick up some z5500s cheap they arent bad, and have optical inputs for consoles, or there are some edifer ones that look like better speakers than the z5500s but with no extra inputs

craigxt22 · 14 Feb 2011 at 17:07

cjkennedy said:
http://www.eu.onkyo.com/indices/Packages_5917402.html any of them i guess, the more you spend the better you get i guess, but if you decide not to go for one of those, if you can pick up some z5500s cheap they arent bad, and have optical inputs for consoles, or there are some edifer ones that look like better speakers than the z5500s but with no extra inputs

Thanks,

I think I'll keep with the speakers I already have though - Spent quite a bit on them!

I suppose I need a nice sound card

Marsman · 14 Feb 2011 at 18:44

The RX2's are great speakers, so using them is a good idea.

What are you planning or hoping to spend?

craigxt22 · 14 Feb 2011 at 19:39

Marsman said:
The RX2's are great speakers, so using them is a good idea.

What are you planning or hoping to spend?

On a sound card? I'm really not sure, probably not much more than £70.

Marsman · 14 Feb 2011 at 19:51

No I mean, to get a 5.1 speaker setup.

craigxt22 · 14 Feb 2011 at 20:06

Marsman said:
No I mean, to get a 5.1 speaker setup.

Ah, you mean on an AV receiver.

Not sure if I'm gonna go that route, I'd be spending £300 (minimum) on a unit that will decode 5.1 and amplify speakers.

I just need something that will decode 5.1, and was hoping a sound card could be my option.

Marsman · 14 Feb 2011 at 23:24

I don't understand what you want to do. You mentioned surround sound for your HTPC, the only way to get that is with 5.1/7.1 speakers. Are you talking of just decoding 5.1/7.1 from a DVD/Blu-ray? but not actually having surround speakers?

With a PC, the software being used can decode the 5.1/7.1 sound track from the DVD/Blu-ray. Sound cards don't decode 5.1/7.1. It's either done on the PC with software, or sent digitally via SPDIF or HDMI for an AV receiver to decode.

craigxt22 · 18 Feb 2011 at 17:27

Marsman said:
I don't understand what you want to do. You mentioned surround sound for your HTPC, the only way to get that is with 5.1/7.1 speakers. Are you talking of just decoding 5.1/7.1 from a DVD/Blu-ray? but not actually having surround speakers?

With a PC, the software being used can decode the 5.1/7.1 sound track from the DVD/Blu-ray. Sound cards don't decode 5.1/7.1. It's either done on the PC with software, or sent digitally via SPDIF or HDMI for an AV receiver to decode.

Late reply... Sorry

Nah, I was planning on having a sound card that can process 5.1 surround, from there I would connect powered speakers to the pre-outs.

I've decided it's probably best to save for an AV receiver.

Will graphics cards output sound to a receiver?