Yeah, you're totally right. After having used them for a few months I don't notice the slight remaining hiss at all.   Now I just gotta figure out how to get my sound card to default to the speakers when the front port isn't plugged in, and switch to the front port when I plug my headphones in.

Is this harmful at all to the speaker? I feel like the ground exists for a reason and to bypass it may have harmful effects.    I have one, just used it and my problem is gone. 

  How does one do this? I'm not familiar with this action.    I know what a ground pin is, but a prong adapter? Do you have a picture I could see? 

Alright, thanks for the links cdsa35000!      One gripe: When it's plugged into my PC there is a weird clicking distortion sound. It goes away with other sources. Does this suggest that I may need a new soundcard or something else? 

Alright, tested the speakers, here are my results:   1. Hisses no matter what's the input   2. Tried multiple outlets throughout my house, still emits a hiss.    Maybe I'm being paranoid, but it seems like it's louder than it should be. I dunno. Anyone with LSR305's can verify for me that...

  I am unable to get to my speakers immediately, but I can later today. I wanted to respond while you were maybe still online.   If the speakers aren't a dud, what is the problem? And what is the cheap and easy fix? I am curious! :)

So I just upgraded my speakers from 12 year old Edifier (target purchased) 2.1 system to a glorious 2.0 LSR305 set up. Holy. Cow. IT SOUNDS SO GOOD.   I had a few issues with electrical noise on the power line emitting from the speakers, which was solved by placing the speakers on their own...

Any thoughts on the AKG Q701? 

Quote: Being a CE major that just finished up Analog Circuits, what type of op amp design did you use for a sound card? 

Quote: My experience wasn't that at all. I had to get the settings right, but after that it was a glorious experience (I came from onboard audio). 

So the idea would be to clip off a small portion (half inch or so) of the clear cover, place and clamp that portion inside the red clamp on the speaker and the red clamp on the amp, and do the same for the black, correct? 

For connecting the Lempa Amp to the Speakers...could I just use the wire that comes with the Dayton amp? Or do I need to pick up some 16 gauge speaker wire like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0029HO66G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER ? 

Sorry for being misleading. I have a AT2020 with a USB out, not XLR. I didn't know if it would improve the quality of the microphone to go:   USB -> XLR -> 3.5mm -> Sound Card

Yeah, I saw that mentioned in another thread and was considering it. I am a fan of DIY so this might be the route I take. 

Yesh. It's a proxy set up though. It's a pair of edifier speakers (2.1) that I bought from Target on sale 7 years ago. I think it's time for an upgrade! 

Hey guys,   Looking for an active 2.0/2.1 system to interface with my HTPC. It has 3.5mm and Optical out as an option for sound. I'm looking to spend under 200 dollars. I like the idea of ditching a subwoofer and just buying 2 bassy speakers. I was looking into the Alesis M1 Active 520. What...

Quote: Reporting back...   ..With the new settings I had to drop the bass a bit because footsteps would trigger a really bassy tone which wasn't necessary and frankly would make my brain explode if I listened to it for several hours due to epic vibrations. However, it was MUCH better...

Any word on when the images will come back?

That stand alone microphone clips to your headphone line. It won't be placed on your desk at all. There are a lot of options that don't need to be placed on your desk. I think a thread you should look into for more insight on a TON of headphones/headsets is this...

Quote: I think you'll find that a lot of people on this site urge you to get a headphone + standalone microphone as opposed to a headset. So, that being said with your stated budget and intent I might recommend:  ...

Quote: Yeah, no kidding! Sorry for the ignorance, but it's my first card so the set up process was something unknown to me. I will give it a try and report back when I am home from work. 

So I picked up a Creative Sound Blaster Z this weekend. As someone who's never owned a sound card, the installation was kind of a mess (not to mention the 1.5 day stall during the process because of an electrical outage). I'm talking repeat BSODs, boot looping; the whole nine yards. In the end I...

Yes, I did. I just want to clarify, there is spatial awareness, but it's almost the exact same as w/my Realtek onboard. 

So I picked up the Sound Blaster Z. Couple things:   1. Installation process was the worst thing ever. 2. In C3 (FMOD middleware) there is no spacial awareness 3. Sound of Music has changed, but I 'm not sure if its better or worse. 

I'm not an audiophile by any means. Just looking to dominate some noobs in video games!