Advise For Computer Setup

[EIPtuningR32]

hello, i am looking to upgrade my computer speakers... looking to spend around $200 - $250. Any good setups you guys recommend? soundcards, external amps, speakers, subs... Thanks in advance

[Grador]

I'm not the best person to answer your questions on this, but I'll start to get the ball rolling by asking for a little more detail. How much space are you willing to dedicate to this setup? Also desktop or laptop? How important is strong bass on this setup, though on that budget really strong bass is probably not happening.

[BoredSysAdmin]

I know a thing or two about computer audio but to assist you - we need to know what exactly are you expecting..

From my experience the best way to spend this budget to get best possible sound quality is to get pro monitors like these:
Behringer B1030A 5.25" 75W Active 2-Way Studio B1030A B&H

For sound card - If you onboard one makes too much noise - get this one: Behringer UCA202 USB/Audio Interface UCA202 B&H Photo Video

[bikemig]

The Behringers are a good deal at $200. I wouldn't worry about a sub with your budget and just go for a good pair of powered speakers like the Behringers. The Audioengine A2s get a lot of love (I own and really like the audioengine A-5s); they run $200. The Behringers are a better deal but if space is a problem the A2s will take up less room on your desk.

If you can decouple the speakers from your desk and angle them up a bit facing you, that should improve the sound. Play around with the position of the speakers to see what works best.

[sholling]

You said "sound card" so I'll assume a desktop PC and not a laptop or Mac so if your onboard sound card is too noisy then for music I'd look at an Asus Xonar D1 PCI card or an Asus Xonar DX PCI Express card, they're pretty much the same thing except for the slot design. In my opinion you'll have to spend $100 more for better cards. For the speakers I'd go with the Behringers that BSA suggested - that puts you right at $280. Then I'd start saving for a decent subwoofer.

[EIPtuningR32]

hey guys, sorry for the late response. It is a desktop PC with the factory sound card. Space is not really a problem, and neither is bass. i would just like to have a setup that sounds really clear, crisp and full. I have never heard any higher quality setup better than the one i have which is an Acoustic Authority 2.1 setup i bought at Office Max 5 years ago, so i hope to be blown away by the quality of these Behringer speakers. A friend of mine has a set of Behringer HPM1000 headphones and i wasn't really impressed with them. Hopefully the Behringer B1030A's give me a better vibe...pun intended. Upon investigation, i found that the Audioengine a5's are way out of budget. Sound quality-wise, Audioengine A2's or the Behringer B1030A's?

[BoredSysAdmin]

hey guys, sorry for the late response. It is a desktop PC with the factory sound card. Space is not really a problem, and neither is bass. i would just like to have a setup that sounds really clear, crisp and full. I have never heard any higher quality setup better than the one i have which is an Acoustic Authority 2.1 setup i bought at Office Max 5 years ago, so i hope to be blown away by the quality of these Behringer speakers. A friend of mine has a set of Behringer HPM1000 headphones and i wasn't really impressed with them. Hopefully the Behringer B1030A's give me a better vibe...pun intended. Upon investigation, i found that the Audioengine a5's are way out of budget. Sound quality-wise, Audioengine A2's or the Behringer B1030A's?

a) What exactly did you friend expected from $10 headphones?
Tell him to get Fostex T50RP from B&H - i bought mine recently for $74 and several folks agreed with it - it's a deal of the century

b) It wont be hard to blow away comparing to Acoustic Authority 2.1 Behringer Pro monitors will certainly do that

c) For desktop pc - yea - I agree with sholling - Asus Xonar D1 or DX would be your bang for the buck choice. Get some nicer (shielded) cables from monoprice

I haven't really heard ether A2 or b1030a, but on specs alone the later would be much louder and have better bass extension...

I'd recommend you monitors like mine(see sig), but they out of your budget

In my recent trip to pro audio store I listen these monitors:
Tannoy Reveal 501A - it was decent, but struggled with higher volumes and bass
ADAM Audio ADAM Audio A7X - These I haven't had a chance to put thru the paces, but the initial impression - I wasn't blown away, like I was with mine

[sholling]

hey guys, sorry for the late response. It is a desktop PC with the factory sound card. Space is not really a problem, and neither is bass. i would just like to have a setup that sounds really clear, crisp and full. I have never heard any higher quality setup better than the one i have which is an Acoustic Authority 2.1 setup i bought at Office Max 5 years ago, so i hope to be blown away by the quality of these Behringer speakers. A friend of mine has a set of Behringer HPM1000 headphones and i wasn't really impressed with them. Hopefully the Behringer B1030A's give me a better vibe...pun intended. Upon investigation, i found that the Audioengine a5's are way out of budget. Sound quality-wise, Audioengine A2's or the Behringer B1030A's?

Behringer is one of those companies that produces some great bang for the buck products and some products that are cheap and sucky. I'm basing my recommendation of the 1030A based on owning their older brother 2030P speakers. $200 isn't a lot of money and to get better for that price you'd probably be looking at used speakers.

One final option is a set of Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 computer speakers for $150. I can't compare them to the Behringers but it's definitely worth a trip to the local Best Buy for a listen. The little 6" subwoofer is a tad boomy but I used a set for a couple of years and for computer speakers they sound good and put out a ton of volume for their size.

Just keep in mind that nothing is going to make low bit rate MP3s sound great. If you haven't done so already I'd try to start building a collection of lossless (WAV, FLAC, or ALAC) music.

[agarwalro]

I whole heartedly recommend the 1030A. The computer speakers use is perfect duty for them.

[dpc]

I've got an older Klipsch ProMedia 4.1 setup that I've been real happy with. I've also heard the ProMedia 2.1 setup and think they'd be a good option at $149.99. As sholling mentioned, they'll go pretty loud.

I haven't heard the other speakers that have been suggested here, so I can't compare with those.

I would also recommend taking sholling's advice and investing in a good sound card as the cheap integrated sound on most motherboards leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion.