Audio New Sound card or New speakers?

[Hacker]

Try these out at a friend's place, and see if you REALLY want them. I have a 7.1 setup, but it has been years since I've used my surround speakers. the novelty of surround wears off soon.

Get a proper pair of stereo speakers like the MX 5021. And you dont need a soundcard for any speaker <5k. 5-10k is optional. for STEREO speakers above 10k, you need a better soundcard

Totally agree with greenhorn, I would say the same thing get a good 2.1 instead of a decent 5.1 but I guess you have already made up your mind.

 

[Anubis]

Nah man. I stay in chennai. But I can't find the x540 even in the largest dealers. They keep suggesting the Creative T6100 >,<

Why don't you buy from Lynx India / primeabgb ?

 

[hash]

Totally agree with greenhorn, I would say the same thing get a good 2.1 instead of a decent 5.1 but I guess you have already made up your mind.

Yep. I'm just tired of sound coming out of 2 speakers. They just don't fill the room with the harmony.

Why don't you buy from Lynx India / primeabgb ?

Prime doesn't have it listed & I can't risk with Lynx India.

 

[greenhorn]

Yep. I'm just tired of sound coming out of 2 speakers. They just don't fill the room with the harmony.

that's because you dont have a proper speaker setup The creative SBS is like the luna moped of 2.1's. Using it as a reference of 2.1 speakers is quite unfair.

Even a 5k set of surround speakers will sound just the same. You have not heard a pair of stereo speakers fill your room properly with sound

Something that you might find interesting

http://www.techenclave.com/consumer-electronics/how-make-2-1-speaker-4-a-158033.html#post1392175

Buy a VS4121 for your front, use your current speakers for the rear, and think of all the money you have saved

However, I still maintain that you should get am MX 5021

 

[hash]

Agreed.The MX5021 is unbeatable in that price range.
I listened to the MX5021 in my friend's room and it's loud with good boom's. However,I'm just thinking that it (sound) would be too high for my room size & I would never use the full potential of the MX5021(Friend used to have it in full sound,can hear the Boom's in the end of the street!!).
Moreover considering the stuff that's still left in my "Must buy List" restricts me to 5k and no more!

Something that you might find interesting
How to make a 2.1 speaker a 4.1 speaker

Sounds good but there are a few cons that concern me. Too loud and the speaker's lost?.And I thought I'd give it to my friend.

So now it's the Logitech x540. If that's not availabe I will have no choice but to go for the Creative T6100.

 

[Anubis]

Agreed.The MX5021 is unbeatable in that price range.
I listened to the MX5021 in my friend's room and it's loud with good boom's. However,I'm just thinking that it (sound) would be too high for my room size & I would never use the full potential of the MX5021(Friend used to have it in full sound,can hear the Boom's in the end of the street!!).
Moreover considering the stuff that's still left in my "Must buy List" restricts me to 5k and no more!
Sounds good but there are a few cons that concern me. Too loud and the speaker's lost?.And I thought I'd give it to my friend.

So now it's the Logitech x540. If that's not availabe I will have no choice but to go for the Creative T6100.

Avoid Creative T6100 at all costs . :no::no:

 

[greenhorn]

If you had already made up your mind when you started this thread, not to listen to us, you could have told us in the first place, instead of wasting our time :|

 

[hash]

^ I think you misunderstood me. I made up my mind for a 5.1 setup @ 5k . That's all I asked for and the x540 was suggested & I gladly took the suggestion.

As you see others suggestion was the MX5021 but was way above my Budget .

 

[Anubis]

Nah man. I stay in chennai. But I can't find the x540 even in the largest dealers. They keep suggesting the Creative T6100 >,<

head to richie street....

CEI - chennai electronics infotech

ph no : 98841 68317
98841 52811
4213 1956

 

[blr_p]

Aite, lets see what we got here...

But things have changed now and I want a little more Juice out of the music I listen to. But I'm restricted by my budget.

My main usage is Music!

Please help guys I'm blind in choosing speakers. I have no idea whatsoever.May be 5.1 or 2.1 as long as it's below Rs.4000.
5.1 would be awesome but I will whatever you guys suggest blindy.

Yep. I'm just tired of sound coming out of 2 speakers. They just don't fill the room with the harmony.

that's because you dont have a proper speaker setup The creative SBS is like the luna moped of 2.1's. Using it as a reference of 2.1 speakers is quite unfair.
Even a 5k set of surround speakers will sound just the same. You have not heard a pair of stereo speakers fill your room properly with sound

However, I still maintain that you should get am MX 5021

Reread what greenie said here a few more times !

Agreed.The MX5021 is unbeatable in that price range.
I listened to the MX5021 in my friend's room and it's loud with good boom's. However,I'm just thinking that it (sound) would be too high for my room size & I would never use the full potential of the MX5021(Friend used to have it in full sound,can hear the Boom's in the end of the street!!).

WHAT ? you said you want the room filled with harmony :huh:

You don't have to use them to full potential, just use what you are comfortable with. The difference will be quite noticeable at lower volumes and with this specific product there is a lot of agreement on this board.

Best part is you can mod it for a little more and get a significant improvement. So there is a future path here, not to mention it will hold its resale value better.

Sounds good but there are a few cons that concern me. Too loud and the speaker's lost?.And I thought I'd give it to my friend.

Don't give your speakers away just yet.

So now it's the Logitech x540. If that's not availabe I will have no choice but to go for the Creative T6100.

Don't waste your money, save it for something else, it will grow and then you can get your money's worth.

I made up my mind for a 5.1 setup @ 5k . That's all I asked for and the x540 was suggested & I gladly took the suggestion.

As you see others suggestion was the MX5021 but was way above my Budget .

Have you heard the x540 yet ?

What's strange is you said its for music, surround is for movies & games. No one uses surround for music only unless its specialised audio with it, never heard of such a thing.

I don't care what you buy its your business :|

 

[nitant]

If u need anything that hasnt listed, just drop an email to those guys. They will list it immediately.

 

[Anubis]

So hash , did you enquire about Logitech x540 bro ?

Did they have it in stock ?

 

[ranjan2001]

What's strange is you said its for music, surround is for movies & games. No one uses surround for music only unless its specialised audio with it, never heard of such a thing.

Surround is for every kind of music which you want to surround yourself with, sure it specifically sounds better when you have 5.1 movies & games bcoz they use specific channels for sound separations.

However it does not mean that music will not sound good on surround speakers, it does sound more realistic as if you are surrounded by it.

2.1 cannot "easily" create that effect. I have bought 2.1 speakers (already have 4.1 too) & have been experimenting with various positions to get realistic effect. I found that if you keep 2 speakers at rear the subwoofer in front & the front wall is empty without much stuff there then the speakers give you somewhat surround effect but this one is no where near to 4.1/5.1 bcoz there is no control over front & back separations. In my sound driver 5.1 I have the option to fine tune all 4 speakers & their output volume.

2.1 cannot do that but yet most members here give a general opinion that for music 2.1 is best tats mostly bcoz 2.1 will give more tighter & fuller control on bass without any distortion, 5.1 set of speakers will require 4 times the amplify power to give that amount of bass bcoz the output is divided in 5 sets.

What I have learnt in past few months with owning both 2.1 (new) & 4.1 speakers is that if you want complaining neighbours about the earth shattering bass go for 2.1, if you want louder music which also sounds realistic then you buy 5.1 & ensure that you configure them properly else they can sound shit. (another reason why most complain about 5.1)

2.1 bass makes film dialogs too bass.......y, the human voice is never so husky in reality, with 2.1 bass turned up by 50% will make a women sound very unromantic ateast to me.

 

[dOm1naTOr]

Actually on normal MP3s, only the front right and left will make sound and others will sit idle, unless u have some features like virtual surround on sound card [i think CMSS for creative cards] or similar extending feature on your 5.1 speakers. Or it can be set even in your music media player, like the MPC where u manually set channels and speakers in its configurations.

Anyway, even if 5.1 plays stereo music, even with all speakers], the experience wont be as good as a similar priced good 2.1 or even the lowest bookshelf.

btw, if you want music+surround + movies + games for 4k, jst get the X530/540 as Anubis suggested.

 

[blr_p]

Surround is for every kind of music which you want to surround yourself with, sure it specifically sounds better when you have 5.1 movies & games bcoz they use specific channels for sound separations.

It sounds better for games & movies because they specifically make use of it.

However it does not mean that music will not sound good on surround speakers, it does sound more realistic as if you are surrounded by it.

But most music is just stereo not surround.

2.1 cannot "easily" create that effect. I have bought 2.1 speakers (already have 4.1 too) & have been experimenting with various positions to get realistic effect. I found that if you keep 2 speakers at rear the subwoofer in front & the front wall is empty without much stuff there then the speakers give you somewhat surround effect but this one is no where near to 4.1/5.1 bcoz there is no control over front & back separations. In my sound driver 5.1 I have the option to fine tune all 4 speakers & their output volume.

It would appear that you like the sound music makes on a 5.1 system better than a 2.1 system. I think the chance that one might also play games and listen to movies on the same system influences this decison. A 5.1 system from this pov is perhaps a better buy because it can be used for 2 more applications.

And i think thats the main point here because hash said right form the start he wanted to listen to music, so the advice given was tailored specifically for that.

Regarding placing with a 2.1 system, it does not matter where you place the subwoofer as bass is omnidirectional. When i say that assume a circle around you say a metre or so in radius you can place the subwoofer anywhere on that circumference.

The left & right can be in front of you or behind you, if powerful enough even above or below you. But they need to be facing each ear.

2.1 cannot do that but yet most members here give a general opinion that for music 2.1 is best tats mostly bcoz 2.1 will give more tighter & fuller control on bass without any distortion, 5.1 set of speakers will require 4 times the amplify power to give that amount of bass bcoz the output is divided in 5 sets.

Greenie's statement was tied specifically to hash's current 2.1 system and the 5.1 expected to be bought. The comparison was over the specific qualities of both systems and their suitability for the application.

What 2.1 & 5.1 systems do you have ? -- so we know what your reference is.

What I have learnt in past few months with owning both 2.1 (new) & 4.1 speakers is that if you want complaining neighbours about the earth shattering bass go for 2.1, if you want louder music which also sounds realistic then you buy 5.1 & ensure that you configure them properly else they can sound shit. (another reason why most complain about 5.1)

What does properly mean here ?
Adjusting each speaker's volume given its size & distance from you.

 

[ranjan2001]

Actually on normal MP3s, only the front right and left will make sound and others will sit idle

you have to enable 5.1 in the sound driver & then configure them to sound properly that's the key issue.

Or it can be set even in your music media player, like the MPC where u manually set channels and speakers in its configurations.

MPC will only sound properly if you have configured your sound driver to 5.1.

Anyway, even if 5.1 plays stereo music, even with all speakers], the experience wont be as good as a similar priced good 2.1 or even the lowest bookshelf.

That's very subjective it all depends what one means by GOOD sound.

 

[blr_p]

That's very subjective it all depends what one means by GOOD sound.

Yes it is but in this case much easier to make.

The present 2.1 & future 5.1 to be bought are in the same league. Therefore the difference would be slight.

But had he gone for the mx then this would be an upgrade from the 2.1. If he modded further they would again be a similar boost.

no brainer isnt it

 

[ranjan2001]

But most music is just stereo not surround.

I can simple agree that all music is JUST stereo but just dwell into what stereo is & why do we need stereo? forget about the surround for a while.

Human hearing only hears mono sound the sound source in nature are all mono, its our 2 ears which separate the mono signal & hear it differently giving us the stereo effect thus able to feel the source distance of sound (3D feeling of the sound) eyes do the same with vision.

So in continuation to what you say I agree that all music is stereo so we should only listen it as stereo..........................that's where I start differing from others.

2.1 speakers kept in front are simply missing the 3D info which in reality is still present in the music tracks which you play. A good quality headphone will give you surround effect of the same tracks bcoz you wear headphone & get completely immersed in sound (the track is still stereo).

2.1 kept in front simply looses the background effects (hard to explain with words here) which 5.1 when configured properly will play. If the goal is accurate reproduction, then listening to the stereo soundtrack on front placed speakers is a poor compromise.

The surround mix is how the soundtrack are mixed by professional sound engineers for the theatrical experience & they do 1 master track only for both the music cds & movie dvds. While you may prefer stereo, if you want to feel and hear the movie the way it was intended, (at least any movie made in the last 20 years or so), you need to listen to the surround mix.

What 2.1 & 5.1 systems do you have ? -- so we know what your reference is.

I have 11 yrs old 4.1 creative soundworks speakers attached to new creative audigy value sound card which only play all my music & is connected to my new system, were as old computer has live value! sound card now connected with creative T3030 2.1 speakers. The new speakers are under testing & i play both movies & music with them.

from another post on another forum

Just ask yourself whether or not you can hear sounds from all around you. If so, then surround sound is what you need. Why can't that be reproduced from only two speakers in front of you? Because stereo doesn't work by

drilling the signals from two sources into your ears. It is a field type system in which the source directions are reproduced by the placement of actual sources around you, with the addition of summing localization in the region in front of you. This is all necessary because you can turn your head in your listening room, just as in real life, plus some additional effects that help identify front/rear directionality.

In the concert hall, you sit in a mainly reverberant field, which cannot be reproduced in a small listening room by only two speakers. The surround speakers help support the omnidirectional nature of the live reverberant field. This, plus the directional effects of movie tracks, make surround sound much more realistic than plain stereo.

What does properly mean here ?

Adjusting each speaker's volume given its size & distance from you.

Yes that what I mean without which they sound bad.

Its been a learning experience past few months reading post here & interacting with fellow members, we may differ & give reasons but that's the way we learn.

 

[greenhorn]

nobody denies that 5.1 by itself is bad. all things being equal, a 5.1 setup can sound as good as, probably better than a stereo setup.

So why are we recommending stereo speakers over surround ?

cost

for any given cost, a pair of stereo speakers will beat the living daylights out of any surround speakers of the same cost as far as sound quality is concerned.

To use a car analogy, a ferrari might be better than a 'busa. but at 15L, a busa makes more sense than a civic

 

[dOm1naTOr]

To use a car analogy, a ferrari might be better than a 'busa. but at 15L, a busa makes more sense than a civic

well said. :clap: