I'm looking for the perfect PC audio experience

[Reignfire]

I've been building my own PCs for a decade now and haven't given audio much though. I basically want to know what speakers I should look for (2.1 vs. 5.1 for example) and what sound card is the best. My questions are:

1: How important is the quality of the subwoofer?

2: If I want to use a set of quality headphones should I aim for true surround sound or stick with stereo for music and gaming? Is surround sound an unnecessary gimmick in headphones?

3: Do I need a dedicated amplifier for headphones or just use what's available in the sound card?

4: What's the best sound card available (ASUS vs. Creative for example)?

5: What's are some of the best speakers? Should I rule out PC speakers and consider something different?

If you can answer some of my questions and inform me on topics I don't know about that'd be great. Thank you.

 

[shadyJ]

I've been building my own PCs for a decade now and haven't given audio much though. I basically want to know what speakers I should look for (2.1 vs. 5.1 for example) and what sound card is the best.

For gaming you might want a 5.1 setup, but its not that necessary. I game just fine with a 2.1 setup. Get a good 5.1 set if you can, but don't let quantity compromise quality, ie don't buy a mediocre 5.1 set over a good 2.1 set. Make sure the 2.1 is good before you start adding the center and surround channels.

1: How important is the quality of the subwoofer?

Very important!!! Do you want boomy, muddy bass or crisp, punchy bass?

2: If I want to use a set of quality headphones should I aim for true surround sound or stick with stereo for music and gaming? Is surround sound an unnecessary gimmick in headphones?

Stick with stereo! 'Surround' headphones are a pure gimmick. Surround sound systems only exist because of the way our ears triangulate sound sources in an open space- but your hearing is still just a two-channel system. In headphones, that open space is eliminated, so it doesn't need to be emulated by a whole gob of different speakers. A high quality stereo headphone set will absolutely kill any of the goofy surround sets.

3: Do I need a dedicated amplifier for headphones or just use what's available in the sound card?

It depends on the headphones and it depends on the sound card. For low impedance headphones, you might want a dedicated amp or a sound interface that can handle those. Some sound cards are built to handle a wide range of headphones nowadays.

4: What's the best sound card available (ASUS vs. Creative for example)?

Get ASUS, Creative are dirtbags. If you decide to get a two channel system though, that opens up a whole range of pro-audio sound interfaces that will be more suitable for decent speakers and sound systems.

5: What's are some of the best speakers? Should I rule out PC speakers and consider something different?

Rule out PC speakers, they are pretty much all bad. I would be looking at studio monitors, or maybe a surround sound AVR. but it depends on a few things- what is your budget, how much desktop space do you have for speakers, do you want a 2.1 or 5.1, how powerful and accurate do you want the sound to be, etc.

 

[Reignfire]

Let's say I was interested in buying a set of studio monitor speakers and a subwoofer (for 2.1 -- or 5.1 later) how would I connect them all together? Would it require an audio video receiver or is there something simpler that offers the same/better audio quality? Would my best option be to use an optical cable? Also would an amplifier be advisable somewhere in the setup for a good set of headphones or would the ASUS Essence be more than enough (sound quality wise I mean)?

Also if you don't mind could someone give a few links to specific quality equipment that fits my needs? Just for learning purposes. My budget is expansive so I'm looking for the best quality I can get compared to the price and all the various setups people usually use for high end audio.

 

[shadyJ]

Since most studio monitors are powered, you will not need an AVR. You can connect the monitors directly to the ASUS Essence via the 1/4" TRS jacks. You can use the RCA jacks to connect the subwoofer. The Essence headphone amp will be plenty for any headphone you would use.

Even though it's a consumer soundcard, the Essence looks to be good. The key there is low-noise analogue outputs. Many consumer PC cards do not have very good analogue output jacks, but almost all pro-audio cards do. Keep in mind that it only does two channel, and when you want to step up to 5.1, you will need a different sound interface. If you want something fancier than the Essence, check out the Denon DA-300USB, however there is not much the Denon can do which the Asus will not, except decode DSD files, a feature which you are unlikely to need. The breakout box is a bit more convenient though.

With respect to speakers, if you want some truly superb monitors and are willing to spend, check out the Mackie HR8 mk2s. They are THX pm3 certified, meaning they are certified for use in creating THX sound mixes, not just playback. That is a very high standard of performance. They are large and heavy though, so make sure you have the desktop space to handle those. If you need something smaller, check out the HR6 mk2- basically same monitor except not as much bass capability. Another great monitor to look at is the Emotiva Stealth 8, which is an extremely accurately measuring speaker. Very powerful too, with two separate 200 watt amps for the woofer and tweeter. Along those lines would be the JBL LSR4328P. This has an auto equalization processor which can help temper room acoustics, a very nice feature. If your budget is even more relaxed and so is your desktop space, look at the JBL LSR6328P, which is another very powerful THX pm3 certified monitor and also has room correction auto-equalization.

Those monitors are all a bit expensive, and most will outperform many even more expensive audiophile speakers in terms of accuracy. If you are not willing to spend that much, I can suggest some less expensive monitors.

With respect to subwoofers, the more space you can give them, the better performance you can get. My favorite 'affordable' brands are Hsu Research, Reaction Audio, and Rythmik Audio. Any of the subs you get from those companies will be very high value. If your budget, and floorspace, is relaxed, and you can easily afford a subwoofer more than $1k, look at JTR, Seaton Sound, Funk Audio, or Deep Sea Sound. If you can afford a $4k sub and have some floorspace, take a long look at the Deep Sea Sound Mariana 24- that thing is just amazing. If your budget is really relaxed, look at a Funk 18.2.

Now you should think about equalization. Your room acoustics will mess up the prestine frequency response of these speakers and subs, so you will want to tame those acoustics to get a better sound from your stuff. One way you can do that which looks to be very good is get the Dirac Lice two channel software suite. You will need a calibration microphone for that, and the UMIK-1 is highly recommended. If you would rather run Dirac in a unit outside of your computer, you can get a DDRC-22A, which comes with the UMIK-1 microphone.

 

[shadyJ]

One more thing, assuming you intend to place the speakers on your desktop, you will want to get some desktop speaker stands. Simply placing the speaker on a desktop is likely to cause some nasty upper bass first reflections off of the desktop surface. This can be alleviated be elevating the speakers off the surface of the desk, and that is why you never see studio monitors just sitting on a desktop or console top. They are always elevated, and their baffle edge is always flush with the edge of whatever it is they are placed on.

If your room is acoustically lively, you might also look into acoustic treatments.

 

[Reignfire]

Thanks for the information.

1: Do PC sound cards not offer 5.1 support for studio speakers/sub? A DAC like the Denon is best?

2: Is it possible to have a large rectangle speaker box/tower (5 feet tall for example) with several speakers and a tweeter installed? Is a DIY speaker setup going to reach the same quality as studio monitor speakers of the same price range (not including labor)?

 

[shadyJ]

Thanks for the information.

1: Do PC sound cards not offer 5.1 support for studio speakers/sub? A DAC like the Denon is best?

Many consumer audio PC cards do offer 5.1 and 7.1 support. However, being consumer audio cards, the analogue output jacks are often very subpar on these cards, which can make for an obnoxious sound. The way to get around that is to use the digital sound output on these cards, which will be very clean. By using the digital output, you will need some kind of 5.1 DAC, something like this. That uses an HDMI input, and most decent video cards have HDMI outputs, so you will not even need a sound card at that point.

2: Is it possible to have a large rectangle speaker box/tower (5 feet tall for example) with several speakers and a tweeter installed? Is a DIY speaker setup going to reach the same quality as studio monitor speakers of the same price range (not including labor)?

I am not exactly sure what you mean by the 5 foot tall box tower. Do you mean a tower speaker, like so?:

As for DIY, there are lots of good project plans for great DIY speakers, but I have a hard time believing any of them will accomplish what those monitors I mentioned do. Here is a good site to peruse if you are interested in a project. If you build those plans correctly they should have very good sound quality, although probably not quite on the level as those higher end monitors.