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Audio Setup Help? Best Speakers? Audio Card?

post #1 of 7
1/14/09 at 8:27pm
Thread Starter 
Hi all,

I'm looking to replace my current audio setup at home to use both with my PC and to also use to hook up to my record table (And play it through the PC Speakers, either straight or through the PC (I run linux))

Anyway, I was looking at this audio card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829121120

And for speakers I was thinking of the Harmon / Kardon SoundSticks II or M-Audio AV40's. Would these be a good choice? Or what would you recommend?

Thanks!
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post #2 of 7
1/14/09 at 9:38pm
What's your budget for your new setup? What kind of music do you listen to? Are you open to using bookshelf or floorstanding speakers? Also, how are you using your turntable right now? Do you have a phono stage or receiver with a phono stage? There are a lot of ways to go with the setup you want - give us some more details and you'll get good recommendations.
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post #3 of 7
1/14/09 at 9:44pm
Thread Starter 
Budget for speakers ALONE would probably be around 250. I'm not looking for perfection, just good. I'm working on a teenagers salary (Minimum? :P)

I know it's annoying to hear, but I listen to everything-ish. No Metal, no Country / Classical, mostly indie, rock, alternative, hip hop, electronic, IDM, etc.

Right now, it's a SL-1200MK2 to a phono pre-amp, to Marantz Receiver, to speakers (in another room, but I want to move it to my computer room, as I'll use it more)

Hope that gives you more to work with! Thanks again
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post #4 of 7
1/14/09 at 10:27pm
Is it just for listening to music?

The AV40 are good. The MS40 from Behringer are good (despite what some people might say/think, it sounds pretty decent for ~$100 setup). Looking for subwoofer too?
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post #5 of 7
1/14/09 at 10:41pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alai View Post
Is it just for listening to music?

The AV40 are good. The MS40 from Behringer are good (despite what some people might say/think, it sounds pretty decent for ~$100 setup). Looking for subwoofer too?
Yes, it will be predominately for music. I watch DVDs in the other room, but will occasionally watch an episode of Six Feet Under or something of the sort on the PC. I rarely play games, but do occasionally when there's a new release. But in comparison, it's about 95% music time. 5% everything else.

If the speakers themselves can provide enough bass, then a sub isn't entirely necessary, but I'm open to suggestions of course, that's why I came here I'm very open.
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post #6 of 7
1/15/09 at 3:15am
For that price, you're going to get a lot of suggestions for the Audioengine 2 (A2). I think you should figure out of you want to go 2.0 or 2.1. In general, 2.0 should be more accurate, but the bass won't go as low. 2.1 will have much deeper, harder bass, but it might be lacking in the mid-bass and/or highs, since usually the satellite speakers in 2.1 rigs are just really small woofers. These are generalizations though, and with some searching you should be able to find speakers that avoid these pitfalls. Also, for the $250 you can look into studio monitors rather than desktop speakers. There isn't any real difference (maybe the input jacks), you'll just get more relavent search results.

But more importantly, you can get a better sound card for that price. What do you think about going external? For just a bit more than the price of that m-audio, you can get an E-MU 0404 USB or Headroom Total Bithead. You can balance out the cost of the source by cutting back a bit on the speakers, or if that's too much, there are a few sub $100 gems out there, like the EMU 0202 USB and the hotaudio DACs (sans amp) to name a few.

For the record, I have the m-audio BX5a (not Deluxe) and I'm enjoying myself. I wish they had deeper base, but the BX8a are too loud for my situation. But like I said, I'm enjoying them.

Also, (sorry Alai) but I'd recommend against the Behringer BS40s. I'll be the first to recommend them to someone with a sub $150 budget, especially if you wanted speakers and a DAC (they have a built in DAC! Isn't that cool? ... I think it's cool...), but you can afford much better.

Okay, shutting up now...
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post #7 of 7
1/15/09 at 1:10pm
Thread Starter 
Hm, the A2's look quite nice. I think I would prefer a 2.0 system, as I tend to enjoy my mids and highs than I do when it comes to "how deep" the bass is. But that's just my taste.

Secondly, I think the Total Bithead won't be a good choice for me. I can't tell exactly, but I don't think this is capable of HQ recording. Point being, when I hook up my record player, I will be ripping / splitting some of the tracks into 24-Bit FLAC Lossless for archiving purposes. I am, however, a bit weary of an external soundcard anyway, wouldn't the signal degrade when traveling through USB?
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