nav's computer listening setup

[nav]

Well, I finally gave in and bought a pair of Onix x-ls speakers. But I don't need any more speakers in the living room. So, what to do? Computer speakers! Well, I spend enough time in front of my computer anyway, so I suppose it's actually a good idea.

I haven't spend enough time in front of the pair of Onix x-ls speakers I bought to give a full detailed review. Initial impressions are that they're worth every penny and then some. As computer speakers would go, they're huge (that's a 22" Mitsubishi CRT the left one is sitting next to); as bookshelf speakers or monitors go they're not so bad though. The wood veneer is beautiful -- I went with Shadow Maple if it's not obvious. Close inspection is required before you can notice any cheapness of the finish (places to look: the inside of the grill, the black ring around the front, and the rear port). But, no matter, it doesn't bother me a bit.

I already owned the receiver; an Onkyo TX-SR602. It was my previous primary receiver before I bought my Yamaha RX-V2500. It had been living in a box for about a year . So, it's made its return . I ran an optical TOSLINK cable from my built in sound card to the receiver because my two budget sound cards are easily beat by it in terms of sound quality (previously, I was using a software mixer and SRC to feed the Soundblaster to make the most of it).

I became bored while waiting for the speakers to ship (I ordered over the weekend, the shipped Monday, and I had them Tuesday), so I made some simple but fancy speaker cables. Why not, right ? It's the normal DIY formula: 12 gauge Belden 5000UE (if I remember the number right) and Belkin PureAV bananas I had left over with carbon techflex, cable pants, and heat shrink.

The (hard to see as pictured) pair of Grado SR-80 headphones sits in front of the right-hand speaker for when I need to be quiet to not annoy the neighbors. Eventually I'll promote the home theater subwoofer to computer duty, but no sub for now. You can still see some random things (my printer, a USB game pad, a Seagate slinky, et cetera) shoved behind the monitors that I displaced with the speakers. When I actually get a "real" piece of furniture for the receiver to live on, they'll be moving under it.

 

[emorphien]

Looks nice. I'd love to do something like that for my computer, but I have no room. Oddly enough though I do now have a spare pair of speakers. Dang.

 

[mike c]

nice. we should start a PC AH club.

 

[mouettus]

yup

SWEET setup

some of you might think that it is ugly and all but like this guy, I'm spending a lot of time in front of my computer and having a complete audio system for my computer was the way to go. I downgraded from 5.1 to 2.0 but DANG... sweet sound for music. Even though this is my smallest sound system, it's my favourite. A pair of Energy C-100, and a NAD 320BEE powering them. Plugged on my analog out from my soundblaster sound card.

Looking for some great headphones though... have some ideas? (Metallica and Nickelback listener here)

Those speakers look nice by the way! I'd love to hear them. They're becoming more and more popular.

Love the Onkyo receiver too... but I think it's overkill for the speakers.

btw, how can you have a nice receiver rotting in a box for a year without using it?! lol

 

[Brian_the_King]

Wow, that's a really cool setup.

 

[nav]

Thank you everyone.

Love the Onkyo receiver too... but I think it's overkill for the speakers.

btw, how can you have a nice receiver rotting in a box for a year without using it?! lol

Hah. Yeah, it's probably a little overkill. I was going to sell it on Ebay a while back. When I took it out of the box to take pictures, I remembered how much I generally liked the receiver and why I initially picked it. My Yamaha RX-V2500 is on virtually all grounds superior, but I still really like this little Onkyo. Was it really worth letting go for the $150-200 I'd get on Ebay? I decided it wasn't (especially with the hassle of shipping a large heavy item) and therefore I must find an excuse to use it. I don't have the space to devote to a real listening room (and, if I did, they're some much more extravagant speakers I'd have considered -- I'd still love a pair of Magnepans) and I spend a lot of time on the computer, so this was the obvious solution.

The more I listen to the Onix x-ls, the happier I am with them. Their imaging, even this close to them, is phenomenal. Especially, given the compromising nature of their positioning (within a foot of a wall, with a glass surface in front of them off of which to reflect).

 

[WmAx]

Well, I finally gave in and bought a pair of Onix x-ls speakers. But I don't need any more speakers in the living room. So, what to do? Computer speakers! Well, I spend enough time in front of my computer anyway, so I suppose it's actually a good idea.

I have two questions, as I am considering getting this speaker[I have one of those gift certificates that I won from this site for AV123 and I don't know what else to use it on]:

(1) Is this speaker magnetically shielded?

(2) Can the front baffle be removed(I see that seam)?

In case you are wondering why I asked number 2; the speaker in stock form would not do for me even as a computer speaker. But I'll rip the speaker apart and add bracing and thick layers of mass loaded damping material(and maybe even a constrained layer) as well as add proper acoustic dampening materials internally, and that should make it acceptable, along with treatments in the room. If the front baffle comes off easily that would make this a sweet deal, otherwise I have to cut into the back and reconstruct it after the modification(s).

-Chris

 

[nav]

(1) Is this speaker magnetically shielded?

No, it doesn't appear to be shielded. I had to move the CRT two to three inches away to escape the worst of the magnetic field.

(2) Can the front baffle be removed(I see that seam)?

I don't think it's intended to be removable, but I honestly haven't tried.

 

[Seth=L]

No, it doesn't appear to be shielded. I had to move the CRT two to three inches away to escape the worst of the magnetic field.

I don't think it's intended to be removable, but I honestly haven't tried.

I would think that if the speakers are shielded. Even magnetically shielded speakers cause interference from a couple of inches. If they are that close to the CRT and they have a decent size magnet, chances are they are shielded.

 

[Cygnus]

I was considering moving my bedroom setup (well, just the surroundsound speakers and the receiver) out here to my computer for a setup like that. Did it onc, but my mom freaked because i had some other speakjers on the floor behind me for surround sound. She said i could keep it out there if i got rid of the other speakers but...eh...I decided that I like to VERY raley watch movies in there. Rarley. But still, itd suck to have to listen thru a crappy one speaker ooooollllldddd TV.

 

[Matt34]

The X-LS are not shielded, only the X-CS is.