[tboneDX]

I'm very new to the audiophile scene, so bear with me. Currently I am looking for a reasonable way to connect all of my console games and pc to one sound system (either headphones, or 2.0 bookshelf speakers for space concerns).

At the moment I have some Sennheiser HD500's hooked up to the front jack of my onboard sound card, and some crappy philips 2.1 pc speakers that I plug my games into using an rca to 1/8 adapter.

At first I was looking at something like the Creative DDTS-100 to take care of connecting everything simultaneously, but that might not be what I'm after.

I just bought a soundblaster x-fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty, and will be hooking it up soon.

I know this is sort of a broad question, but let me know if you have any ideas about:

Receivers/amps that will work with 360, wii, ps3, pc (x-fi fatal1ty)

Good middle end bookshelf speakers

Nice closed (i think) cans and accessories (possibly portable amp)

and music software?
is winamp the right one to use?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and offering your support!

tboneDX

 

[jinp6301]

price range would be nice

 

[tboneDX]

I just got a substantial bonus from work, so i guess i can break it up. These are just ballpark, dont let them limit your opinions.

headphones $100-$200 (or so)
amp no more than $500 S unless its worth it)
speakers oh about $450 for a pair (thats mid range right?)
in all I guess I'm willing to spend about $1000, maybe more maybe less depending whether I get both speakers and new phones, or whatever.

I'm still undecided in that regard so some input would be nice there as well

 

[onvn]

Those T-Amps (Trends Audio, Sonic Impact Super T-Amp, Firestone audio Big Joe, etc.) look good.. and cheap! really cheap.. but if you want something more serious, Cambridge Audio amps?

As to headphones; do you need full-sized? portable? open? closed? canal?

 

[TheVinylRipper]

Denon AVR 1907, has a calibration microphone and preamp outputs for all channels giving great flexibility, 85 watts/channel for 7.1 channels.

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-1907...8820582&sr=8-1


Wharfedale Diamond 9.2 speakers, can be biamped so you can use four channels of the Denon receiver to drive the speakers instead of two channels. You would do the crossover in software on your soundcard.

http://www.tsto.com/cgi-bin/tsto.sto...N/product/2615

JBL Venue Arena speakers.

http://www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com/catalog/12/5524/

JBL Venue SUB 12 12" subwoofer with 250 watt rms amp..

http://www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com/catalog/12/5500/

 

[tboneDX]

than denon amp looks right up my ally, its full 7.1 surround correct (oh i see that it is now) so i wont need to change my amp if I want to go that direction?

About headphones: as I said before, I'm currently using Sennheiser HD500's, which are circumaural open heaphones. I like the feel of these and would like to upgrade to a similar yet more tasteful pair (these are ugly imo). I will be in a college dorm and perhaps listening in quiet public settings, so i might want to consider closed ones as well.

Another question that I have is whether that denon amp listed would be suitable as a headphone amp when I am at my computer. And what about portable amps? I don't currently have an iPod or anything, so that might have to wait.

Thanks for all of the suggestions so far!

 

[MrKazador]

For speakers and a receiver with your budget, I suggest a Home Theater in a Box.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-GP6jQRq...TS800B&g=37600
Thats a really good deal for that package, only $459 free shipping!
Spend the rest on some decent headphones/Amp.

 

[TheVinylRipper]

The Denon amp has a headphone output and should be a very capable centerpiece of a full 7.1 system.

The auto calibration function is nice when you have to set up surround sound, it measures the volume and timing delay for each speaker to the listening position and adjusts those parameters to get the best surround listening experience.

When you say you would like "bookshelf" speakers, how large a speaker do you actually have in mind? Bookshelf covers quite a size range in speakers.

 

[tboneDX]

i was looking to get speakers that would sit on my desk to the right and left of my monitor. I imagine that they would be about a foot high and rectangular

_____
| |
| |
| | 1' +/- 6''
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6'' +/- 4''

hope that helps, the ones that you linked me seemed about right

edit: that didn't come out right but oh well

 

[TheVinylRipper]

http://www.dealznet.com/item.aspx?eid=1&pid=100895

http://www.jbl.com/home/products/pro...at=SLS&ser=SLS

http://cgi.ebay.com/JBL-L830-Bookshe...QQcmdZViewItem


These are nice for a nice price, Infinity Studio Monitors.

They will get roughly twice as loud on the same input power as most bookshelf speakers (98 db efficiency versus 88 to 90 db for most bookshelvers)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Infinity-SM85-SM...QQcmdZViewItem


A smaller pair of Infinity studio monitors, not quite as high efficiency.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Infinity-Bookshe...QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Jigglybootch]

Any receiver should work with your game consoles and your PC. The question is are you going to use digital or analog sound output. You just need to make sure your receiver has enough audio inputs for your goals.

But if you want my honest opinion, I would forget about the speakers if you're going to live in a dorm. They take up more space and you can't always listen to them at levels that are pleasing to you. What I mean is there are instances (in my case there were many) where I had to leave the volume at a low level and I couldn't really hear any detail. With the headphones, though, this problem was alleviated (as well as the problem of my roommate watching TV or listening to his own crappy music). The money you don't spend on a receiver/speakers can be put toward a better pair of headphones, a better headphone amp, or a better source.

I'm not saying you should go this route, but it's just something to consider.

 

[tboneDX]

I hear you there, I might want to wait on the speakers for now.

That being said, is there a good way to take the digital/analog output from my pc and games and run them all through a headphone amp? I'm new to the headphone amp thing.

I would also love to hear some suggestions on some cans

(or would a receiver similar to the denon mentioned earlier work for headphones in the mean time)

thx again

 

[Jigglybootch]

Well, I don't know of many headphone amps that have tons and tons of inputs. You might run into some issues there.

 

[jinp6301]

amazing for the price speakers HERE check online for reviews

and maybe you can use a cheap t-amp or super t-amp and get a cheap and decent preamp/headphone amp, like maybe a CKKIII (a DIY amp) with multiple inputs and a cheap DAC like an Entech Number Cruncher 203.2/205.2 with mods. and maybe an Allessandro MS-1/ Senn HD-580 and a mini^3 for portable, but then you'll need a portable hp, IEMs, I suggest the im716 and closed hp, i suggest the senn hd25s

that setup will definitely sound awesome for its price

EDIT: I'm just reading what I wrote and holy shizzle i want that setup that I just stated. I'll sound so good!

 

[tboneDX]

hmm, i guess i could google all of that stuff, or could you help a noobie out and link me to the stuff

thx