[Excelsius]

I have been spending countless hours trying to find out what is the best soundcard I can get for under $200 and the best speakers under $350 that can give me a high definition sound. I am going to use these exclusively for listening to classical music, that's why the quality is very important. I don't play games at all and couldn't care less.
I have been recommended E-MU 0404, E-MU 1212M, and M-Audio. After much deliberation, most people in most forums converge on M-Audio because E-MU has unnecessary features. So currently my choice is 5.1 M-Audio Revolution:
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_u...on51-main.html

I was told that this forum can help me. I hope you can tell me if that card is the best I can get for the money and purpose.
Also, please recommend me some speakers. I don't want loudspeakers with amps etc, just great speakers considering the budget and the purpose of usage. Speakers like Yorkville are too expensive. Klipsch has great quality but it only lasts a year. I hope you can help me because I have been very frustrated with my arduous research that at times seems to not pay off at all.

My current speakers are 5.1 Logitech Z-5300. One of the best for gaming but piece of crap for classical. I was recommended to get these speakers about a year ago by the wrong people. I want to make sure that all my current information comes from knowledgeable audiophiles, not clueless gamers.

 

[003]

Well my knowledge is mainly seated in the headphone department, but I do know more about computer speakers than your average gamer. Klipsch speakers do not die after a year. Mabey if you get one with a faulty amp, but that would be out of the ordinary. My Ultra 5.1s I have had since 2004, they have never had a problem.

I know that for music listening on the computer, the Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.1s are recommended a lot here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836119101

You can do a search on the fourm for more info about them. As for the sound card, the Revolution 5.1 would be a good choice. To even use computer speakers on the EMU 1212m/0404, you would need a 1/8" minijack-to-RCA converter.

I would wait for somebody who knows more about speakers to reply before you buy anything. In the mean time, feel free to ask me about headphones

 

[cmirza]

You want an EMU 0404 and Swan M200s. You'll also need some 1/4" to RCA cables to connect the speakers to the EMU 0404. These cables should be good enough for this setup. This setup will put you in classical bliss.

The 0404 has a great DAC and excellent ASIO drivers and would be my pick for a simple excellent sounding sound card. Since you listen to classical, big, thumping bass isn't needed. So forget about a 2.1 setup. The Swan M200s have incredible highs and mids with some good bass. Then connect it with some decent 1/4" to RCA cables and you're all set.

Another option for speakers would be Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 Monitors. I haven't heard the Monitor (integratede amp) version of these, but I have heard the standard passive version and they are excellent sounding. If they sound anything like the passive version I would lean twoards these over the Swan M200s.

I would avoid Klipsch for classical, particularly the ProMedias. I have a ProMedia 2.1 setup in my bedroom. I love it's highs for rock, but a very balanced sound is what you for classical. Classical music sounds a bit shrill on the ProMedias.

BTW: I don't know where you heard that Klipsch 'only lasts a year'. Maybe if you're an idiot who plays them with volume and bass running full tilt they'll give out quickly. But that could be said for just about any brand of audio equipment that's equally stressed.

 

[dano1122]

1212m and swans m200 would be a good setup. just make sure you like the looks and size of the swans.

if you want to budgetize it more, you can go down from the 1212m to the 0404 or m-audio rev 5.1 or x-fi xtreme music, which are all in teh same $ range.

if you want speakers with a sub, probably klipsch 2.1 is the best bet for pc speaker budget range

 

[Excelsius]

This is it – the conclusion. I finally put together all the recommendations that I have received over the last few days. I am posting this reply in all the forums I have gotten decent response:

Sound Cards:
1.E-MU 0404 – $99.95
2.E-MU 1212M – $199.95
3.M-Audio Audiophile 192 - $199.95
4.M-Audio Audiophile 2496 - $129.95
5.M-Audio 5.1 Revolution – $79.95

Speakers with integrated amps:
1.Swan M200 (two speakers) – $189.95
2.Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 Monitors (two speakers) – $338.95
3.Cambridge SoundWorks S300 (a pair) - $259 (from ebay)
4.M-Audio Studio Pro 4 (a pair) – $199.95 http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_u...Pro4-main.html
5.Alesis M-1 Active 520 (a pair) - $299.00
6.Denon (I guess any model)
7.Rotel (again any model)

Some of the prices are MSRP and can be gained for lower bargain. Here are all the forums that made useful contributions (I’m listing them for cross-referencing):

http://www.tech-forums.net/showthrea...5&pagenumber=1
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=183225
http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=17953
http://www.audioforums.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=14376
http://forum.stereophile.com/forum/s...age=0#Post8828

To conclude my research, there are a few contradictions that need to be ironed out:

1.Someone said that E-MU will be a waste of money since Audiophile 2496 can provide all the sound quality I need (that opinion was in this forum http://www.audioforums.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=14376). How many agree with this?

2.It was suggested to use my current 5.1 Logitech Z-5300 amp/bass with the new speakers. Will this affect the speakers’ quality (until I get a regular amp later)? If I get E-MU 0404, which is 2.1 only, can I connect to it my 5.1 Logitech base without any negative effects and then connect my new high-end speakers to Logitech? Can’t I connect the speakers directly to the soundcard? (the bass will be missing, but oh well)

3.My final thoughts are getting E-MU 0404 with Swan M200 or M-Audio Studio Pro 4. What do you guys think?

 

[003]

The Audiophile 2496 has an inferior DAC when compared to the EMU 1212m/0404 or Audiophile 192. Another sound card to throw into the mix would be the ESI Juli@ (which is inbetween the 0404 and 1212m in terms of sound quality) You can get it for $129 shipped from DJDeals.

I am not sure about M-Audio speakers, but those Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 Monitors look REALLY nice.

Also, some negative things to note about the E-MU cards:

- Like I said before, you have to manually switch the sample rate on them depending on what you are listening to. If you listen to a 22050 kHz wav file, you have to manually switch the sample rate to 22050kHz in the drivers, and then back to 44100kHz if you listen to a wav file at 44.1kHz.

- The 1212m takes up 2 PCI slots.

 

[Tachikoma]

Quote:

1. Someone said that E-MU will be a waste of money since Audiophile 2496 can provide all the sound quality I need (that opinion was in this forum http://www.audioforums.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=14376). How many agree with this? 3. My final thoughts are getting E-MU 0404 with Swan M200 or M-Audio Studio Pro 4. What do you guys think?

Personally I thought the 0404 sounded strange with vocals (I own the AV-710, upgraded to the m-audio superDAC and had the 0404 on loan for something over a month), and depth was non-existant by comparison =/ Fun card to have, but I wouldn't put it in my reference system.

 

[dirge]

I'm running an ESI Juli@ soundcard to a sonic impact T-amp to some Monitor Audio S1's

http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=402536
http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=402537

There's a link to pics of the setup. Overall I'm very happy with it.

 

[Rambaud]

I am running an M-Audio 192 Audiophile card into a Sonic T-Amp and Mission 73 speakers for around a week.

The Missions have been lying around in my loft for ~ 5 years and were pressed into service as I had nothing else. I have looking for an upgrade, probably Wharfedale Diamonds or Monitor Audio B2s

 

[Excelsius]

I have found used speakers: Alesis M1 Active mk2 Biamp Monitors. The regular price is $399 (MSRP $645). There is a used pair on E-bay for under 200 and a blemished pair on another site that is that is $299. For the blamished pair they explained that it is only a cosmetic damage (customer had returned it) but it is still new and works perfectly. Even has the same manifacturer's warranty as a new one. Is it ok to get those? Please let me know as soon as possible.