600$ Stereo Speaker Recommendations

[SunnyOctopus]

Hi, I have 600$ to spend on a pair of speakers. I plan on hooking them into my computer's soundcard.

I was considering

http://www.guitarcenter.com/KRK-KRK-SYSTEMS-VXT-6-POWERED-STUDIO-MONITOR-104404769-i1175386.gc

Factory B-stock with a coupon code comes in at 550$

I plan on buying today or tomorrow! What do you guys recommend?


Thank you so much!! Hope you're having a great day. ^_^

 

[Seth=L]

KRKs come highly recommended for an active speaker.

 

[SunnyOctopus]

The monitors are a pair of:

My soundcard:

Could you guys guide me in a way to get these setup for cheap while maintaining audio quality? Thank you so much!

Been doing some poking and I think I've come up with 3 simple and cheap ways to do it....which of these would work best if at all? Would you recommend I do something that isn't any of the following?

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1. http://www.amazon.com/HOSA-STEREO-3-5mm-M-TWO/dp/B000068OEO/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256384164&sr=1-9

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2. 2 of these: http://www.amazon.com/American-Recorder-ART-Female-Adapter/dp/B0018SY054/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256384213&sr=1-3

And:
http://www.amazon.com/RiteAV-3-5mm-Stereo-Male-Cable/dp/B000V0G2C4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256384390&sr=1-1

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3. 2 of these: http://www.amazon.com/American-Recorder-ART-Female-Adapter/dp/B0018SY054/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256384213&sr=1-3

And:
http://www.amazon.com/RiteAV-RCA-Stereo-Audio-Cable/dp/B000UZC35K/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256384390&sr=1-6

And:
http://www.amazon.com/Cables-Go-Stereo-Female-Adapter/dp/B000J1H4VI/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256384390&sr=1-10

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I already have a radioshack xlr to 3.5 adapter...my friends could probably get me some free rca cables....

How do you guys think I should do this?

 

[lsiberian]

Why don't you just get a pair of Behringer 2031p's and an A500?

Use the stereo y-cable and you got a great sound.

 

[just listening]

I'd also suggest taking a look at the powered Audioengine A5's for $350 or so. for nearfield computer listening they might fit your criteria.

 

[SunnyOctopus]

Thanks so much for the replies, but the speakers were already purchased by then! Haha x.x

But....yeah...I really have no idea how to connect these things. How do I connect these for cheap? Pleease help. Thanks so much!~ <33

 

[lsiberian]

Thanks so much for the replies, but the speakers were already purchased by then! Haha x.x

But....yeah...I really have no idea how to connect these things. How do I connect these for cheap? Pleease help. Thanks so much!~ <33

http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHXENTX502

one those with a stereo-y cable might work.

 

[FirstReflection]

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=666&seq=1&format=2

that's a stereo 3.5 mm plug to RCA jack adapter. Just plug you RCA to XLR cables into those jacks and you're all set!

 

[shadyJ]

I hate to tell you this, but a lot of the advantages you get with studio monitors are going to be wasted on that sound card. I can't really tell what sound card that is, but it looks like one of the Creative Labs Audigy cards, and not one of the more expensive ones either. Unless there is a break-out box which isn't shown, all you have to work with is 1/8" stereo jacks, which are typically very noisy on internal sound cards and motherboards. You will never want to turn it up because you will hear all kinds of electronic noise which will bleed into the signal, such as hissing, crackles, 60 hertz hums, and so on.

If your motherboard has on-board sound with a digital output, it might be better to use that, although you would have to buy some kind of digital-to-analog converter. A used receiver or preprocessor might be a inexpensive good way of doing that.

 

[SunnyOctopus]

I hate to tell you this, but a lot of the advantages you get with studio monitors are going to be wasted on that sound card. I can't really tell what sound card that is, but it looks like one of the Creative Labs Audigy cards, and not one of the more expensive ones either. Unless there is a break-out box which isn't shown, all you have to work with is 1/8" stereo jacks, which are typically very noisy on internal sound cards and motherboards. You will never want to turn it up because you will hear all kinds of electronic noise which will bleed into the signal, such as hissing, crackles, 60 hertz hums, and so on.

If your motherboard has on-board sound with a digital output, it might be better to use that, although you would have to buy some kind of digital-to-analog converter. A used receiver or preprocessor might be a inexpensive good way of doing that.

This is my card:
http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=873&product=15855&nav=1

Is that okay, or is their a cheap alternative you'd recommend?

(I constantly see this card for 49.99, I don't know if it's any good or not:

http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=872&product=15853&listby )

And I'm really sorry for not catching on, but were the two posts before the one quoted in this one in junction with each other? Should I get both the box and the cable or either?


Thanks again!

 

[lsiberian]

This is my card:
http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=873&product=15855&nav=1

Is that okay, or is their a cheap alternative you'd recommend?

(I constantly see this card for 49.99, I don't know if it's any good or not:

http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=872&product=15853&listby )

And I'm really sorry for not catching on, but were the two posts before the one quoted in this one in junction with each other? Should I get both the box and the cable or either?


Thanks again!

I think you'd be fine if you used a mixer as they are designed to handle that sort of thing. Not sure why you would need an expensive sound card. Creative may have terrible software but they make decent cards.

 

[shadyJ]

I would try the card, since you already have it. Hook it up to your monitors and turn the sound way up but playing back nothing. If there is a noise there, it will probably be from other computer hardware electronics bleeding into the signal. That will be a limitation of the sound card, and the only way to fix it is to get a new card with good hardware.

IF you are using this for recording, or studio work, you will want to get a serious sound card. There is no way around that.

If you are just using this for computer speakers, and you are just listening to MP3s or playing games, than maybe that sound card won't make a big difference, depending on how noisy the signal is. Maybe, somehow, the shielding is good enough to let you have a good signal, if you are lucky. However, if there is noise there, it will mask the detail that studio monitors are really built for. Those speakers are made to play back everything and miss nothing. If you have a crappy line-out jack on your computer, you will certainly hear it, and what's worse is that you will hear it at the expense of the detail which would otherwise makes those speakers shine.

 

[SunnyOctopus]

I will be listening to lossless audio files and will probably be doing some studio work...I'm sort of dead broke right now, though. ;[

What serious sound cards would you recommend? Should I just hook up the speakers for cheap to my current soundcard and later upgrade to a serious soundcard?

I'm using homemade room treatments and saving for an SPL meter.

Thanksthanksthanks

 

[SunnyOctopus]

I don't think I've ever heard any noise or interference or anything like that on this sound card on a bunch of cheap logitech speakers, a pair of JBL 2500 bookshelves, or some ugly off-white Bose speakers, so idk. I would very much like a good audio setup, and if upgrading soundcard will be a step up, I will definately look into it.

 

[skers_54]

If your analog outs are noisy, you could try something like this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000J0IIEQ

It takes the sound decoding completely outside of the computer so you should minimize crosstalk. While there is a good chance that they are noisy, it may be hard to tell without a good reference. If you have a cd player and something to control the volume, hook it up to your speakers to compare. My old laptop's analog outs were less than stellar, but I couldn't tell until I got a new laptop with a digital out to use as a reference. I could just be deaf though

 

[SunnyOctopus]

Alrighty...so then I'm just going to hook them into my current soundcard until I can afford something better..

Could someone guide me through a cheap way to do this step by step? I'm very slow. ;[


Thank you all again! <3

 

[shadyJ]

That behringer audio interface looks like the simplest way to address your problem. It should provide a clean signal, and it's only $30.

 

[lsiberian]

An external sound card can help sometimes, but it's not always necessary. For example my old computer had very noisy hookups, but my new one is dead quiet. So try your current sound card first. You just might have the right setup for it.

 

[SunnyOctopus]

Okay....

So I plug

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PPRC-X05-Professional-Dual-Cable/dp/B000V1RLI2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256582468&sr=1-1

Into the speakers and the mixer and the mixer through USB?

 

[lsiberian]

Okay....

So I plug

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PPRC-X05-Professional-Dual-Cable/dp/B000V1RLI2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256582468&sr=1-1

Into the speakers and the mixer and the mixer through USB?

Let's try the direct approach first. What connectors are on the speaker?