Recommend an audio setup for desktop

cintec

Curious what everyone else is using for their setups. I'm currently using the on board sound from my lg ultra wide monitor.

I would like to get something decent but really don’t know where to start with studio/bookshelf monitors, dac and subwoofers.
I only use my system for music and movies and play games on my xbox so a system that can work for both would be ideal.

Budget haven’t really taught about it but 500 rough figure I could stretch to 1000 for a good quality audio system.

K.O.Kiki

You could look at the Edifier Luna E 2.1 system; €500ish & THX certified.

https://geizhals.eu/edifier-luna-e-e235-black-a1651030.html (also in red)

Better yet though, I'd recommend to visit an audio store, e.g. Cloney Audio, HifiHut, The Listening Suite etc. & chat to them.

I use a Soundblaster X Katana. Doesn't take up any room and the sound is amazing.

Shlippery

cintec wrote: »

Curious what everyone else is using for their setups. I'm currently using the on board sound from my lg ultra wide monitor.

I would like to get something decent but really don’t know where to start with studio/bookshelf monitors, dac and subwoofers.
I only use my system for music and movies and play games on my xbox so a system that can work for both would be ideal.

Budget haven’t really taught about it but 500 rough figure I could stretch to 1000 for a good quality audio system.

Try the richersounds.ie guys here on board - https://www.boards.ie/ttforum/1105 They're v popular and great to deal with.

I went from an old logitech 5.1 system to a cheapish desktop amplifier and two wharfedale speakers ( https://www.richersounds.com/wharfedale-diamond-220-blk.html ) - they look slick and there's a great sound out of them!

Would be well within your budget and make a big difference to your sound setup!

TerrorFirmer

Good recommendation. My setup went bang the other day and I'm currently using a €15 pair of speakers, wouldn't consider myself an audio snob but they're painful to use compared to what I'm used to.....and I'm clueless when it comes to speakers. What amp are you using?

Digital Solitude

Ive a soundbar that splits in half to form two separate speakers, which require feck all space. The quality is fairly good, I'm no audiophile but would be left squirming listening to the onboard sound.

Think they were €120 so im fairly happy

Shlippery

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Good recommendation. My setup went bang the other day and I'm currently using a €15 pair of speakers, wouldn't consider myself an audio snob but they're painful to use compared to what I'm used to.....and I'm clueless when it comes to speakers. What amp are you using?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LEPY-2024A-Plus-Amplifier-Silver/dp/B00SATAEEA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535415579&sr=8-1&keywords=lepy+2024a something cheap like this - doesn't do the speakers justice, but like I said, cheap and cheerful to start, I've only a small room so didn't want anything bigger or beefier!

Skerries

in order to do better than modern on board sound how much do you need to spend on a separate sound card/DAC and do you need to have good earphones?

Skerries

Skerries wrote: »

in order to do better than modern on board sound how much do you need to spend on a separate sound card/DAC and do you need to have good earphones?

I have the below amp. It will blow your ears off.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SMSL-M3-Powered-Audio-Decoder/dp/B019Y5TR6O/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1535455157&sr=8-30&keywords=smsl+amplifier

A good pair of Sennheiser's to go along with it and you're laughing. I have a pair of HD650's but you could get a set of HD598's if you wanted cheaper but still quality.

K.O.Kiki

Skerries wrote: »

in order to do better than modern on board sound how much do you need to spend on a separate sound card/DAC and do you need to have good earphones?

Honestly, onboard sound is good enough these days that you likely DON'T need a sound card / DAC at all.

I'd advise to look into a headphone amplifier ONLY if you think you're not getting enough juice into your headphones.

Regarding headphones, the sweet spot for price/performance is in the €200-400 range; however there are many great performers at all price levels.
Massdrop sell cheaper "licensed" versions of good headphones: AKG K7XX / Sennheiser PC37X

Venom

When my old Logitech 5.1's died last year I was in a similar boat as the OP so as a stop-gap measure while looking into picking up a decent setup, I bought a 2.1 Thrust system for around the €70 mark in Powercity.


https://powercity.ie/product/T19024


I was absolutely blown away by the sound quality and have never bothered replacing them as they really sound that good.

cocaliquid

Venom wrote: »

When my old Logitech 5.1's died last year I was in a similar boat as the OP so as a stop-gap measure while looking into picking up a decent setup, I bought a 2.1 Thrust system for around the €70 mark in Powercity.


https://powercity.ie/product/T19024


I was absolutely blown away by the sound quality and have never bothered replacing them as they really sound that good.

Trust are rubbish