Question to audiophiles

[EightySix Four]

Crappy sound card (onboard c-media) + Good speakers

-or-

Good sound card + crappy speakers


I do slight amounts of gaming but mainly listen to tons of mp3's..
I only have the money for one or another.

crappy speakers are cheapo altec lansing 2.1 system (like $30)
good soundcard is the m-audio 7.1 revolution
"good" speakers are the ALTEC LANSING VS3151's (if you have another recommendation for under 100, I'd be happy to hear it)
thx in advance

 

[Azndude51]

onboard sound w/good speakers now, then save up for a good sound card later. that way, you wont be stuck with crappy speakers.

 

[EightySix Four]

Any reccomendations for other speakers, or are those good speakers?

 

[Azndude51]

my friend bought the logitech x-530's and they're awesome, but i dont know how those compare to the ALTEC LANSING VS3151. I think you can get the x-530's for $47.94 (after $10 rebate) and free shipping at amazon.com

 

[CSMR]

Originally posted by: crazySOB297
Crappy sound card (onboard c-media) + Good speakers

-or-

Good sound card + crappy speakers


I do slight amounts of gaming but mainly listen to tons of mp3's..
I only have the money for one or another.

crappy speakers are cheapo altec lansing 2.1 system (like $30)
good soundcard is the m-audio 7.1 revolution
"good" speakers are the ALTEC LANSING VS3151's (if you have another recommendation for under 100, I'd be happy to hear it)
thx in advance

Cheap sound card - chaintech av710.
Your speaker choices cost the same per speaker. If you have $70 left over, buy two speakers for $70, not 7.

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: Azndude51
onboard sound w/good speakers now, then save up for a good sound card later. that way, you wont be stuck with crappy speakers.

 

[yhelothar]

Onboard audio is fine, you won't really notice much of a difference between onboard and a nice soundcard.
But you will notice a huge difference between cheap speakers and decent speakers.

 

[EightySix Four]

So anyone got any other speaker suggestions?

 

[UsandThem]

Link

I am going to try the Cyber Accoustics A3780 for $79.00 shipped

 

[Taejin]

Originally posted by: crazySOB297
So anyone got any other speaker suggestions?

I got the Swans M200 from Newegg for 187 shipped.
Then I got a 10" Dayton subwoofer from partsexpress.com for 114 shipped.

 

[Bojangles139]

if you got a newer card (nforce2 board or newer), onboard sound is good. you shouldn't need to worry about a better sound card. not sure what c-media is. i'd say get the better speakers and see how it sounds. if you don't like the sound, get the card next.

brandon

 

[essasin]

kliipsch ultra 5.1 but swans if you want 2.1 and get a woofer

 

[EightySix Four]

how's the ProMedia GMX D-5.1, they're on sell for 150 instead of 300

but will they accept output from a cmedia since it doesn't output in dolby digital?

 

[Taejin]

If you're in for the quality of sound, your best bet would be a 2.1 system.

If you pay xxx for a 2.1 system, and xxx for a 5.1 system, you are definitely getting lower quality sound on the 5.1.

If your main objective is your music (as mine was) and gaming on the side (I play an hour or so of games a day... I live in a dorm, and I DONT need a bunch of speakers crowding my space) then either get a very expensive 5.1 system, or go with a 2.1 system for ~300 dollars.

 

[EightySix Four]

My main objective is music yes, so I'll be looking for a 2.1 system for around $100....

 

[Christobevii3]

Most basic basic onboard solutions are pretty limited below like 60Hz and above like 15KHz so I would recommend getting a basic soundcard too from the basic decent linup that are like $20 then get some 2.1 speakers that have a dedicated tweeter and midrange.

 

[islandtechengineers]

hey i say build you own speaker setup with car audio components. its possible and can be done properly, when you crank it up, you should be able to hear it up the street the way its suppose to sound. spend the cash on a good sound card now and later on peice together your setup!

 

[EightySix Four]

can you give me an example of what you would reccomend for the sound card then, like I said $100

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: virtualgames0
Onboard audio is fine, you won't really notice much of a difference between onboard and a nice soundcard.
But you will notice a huge difference between cheap speakers and decent speakers.

I agree with the second point, disagree with the first. I noticed a HUGE difference moving from onboard to my Audigy 2.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Insomniak

Originally posted by: virtualgames0
Onboard audio is fine, you won't really notice much of a difference between onboard and a nice soundcard.
But you will notice a huge difference between cheap speakers and decent speakers.

I agree with the second point, disagree with the first. I noticed a HUGE difference moving from onboard to my Audigy 2.

Same here. Although cheap speakers will sound like cr*p with anything and everything that you try to pump through them, once you step up to even minimally-good speakers, you can usually definately hear the difference between garbage onboard sound and a decent sound card, if nothing else because of the analog noise-isolation issue. (Onboard sound circuitry cannot violate the laws of physics, you see.)

Although not high-end by any means, my old Creative PCWorks 2.1 system is quite revealing in terms of noise levels, I can easily hear the difference between various ISA sound cards, my Vortex2, and onboard sound, with the Vortex2 having the least noise (even at high volume levels), the ISA SB16/AWE64 having relatively low noise, except slightly more at high volume, and the onboard sound, having noticable noise even at low volume, and worse at high volume, with the rear channel having an extraordinary amount of noise. (MSI KT4V-L, ALC650 codec).

Of course when you look at the price differences between onboard sound and an "audiophile" sound card, there isn't that much of a difference, in comparison between the cost of cheap speakers vs. "audiophile" speakers. In that sense it makes more sense to upgrade your sound card first, and then your speakers.

 

[Zepper]

Good speakers can make poor electronics sound better - no amount of electronics can overcome bad speakers... Capiche?
.bh.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Good speakers can make poor electronics sound better

Actually.. no they can't. They can just avoid adding even more noise and "coloration" of their own.

Originally posted by: Zepper
no amount of electronics can overcome bad speakers... Capiche?

And no "magic speakers" can overcome the laws of physics with regards to EMF emissions, inverse-square laws, and the physical proximity and lack of shielding that onboard sound shares with other "noisy" electronics on the board.

Really, I think it's kind of a 50-50 thing, but a good-quality soundcard upgrade is usually cheaper than a full set of good-quality speakers, so I guess I would suggest starting there first.

 

[EightySix Four]

everyone has their opinions on the matter, so what do each of you suggest for $100? i have a lage sony surround sound system in the room, but can't use it do to no cards having the Dolby output except for the old soundstorm's.