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Decent PC speakers - any suggestions?

Butch

By Butch,
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Butch

Butch 3,456

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Hi,

My PC speakers have an earphone jack which I use all the time (as does my PC). The problem is that it is low volume all the time. I've tried everything on the web regarding the adjusting the properties, source and volume etc from the Control Panel but it's still shit.

 

Years ago i had a set of Creative speakers which had a separate volume control, this would increase the volume beyond the "max" volume of the PC so I could actually hear stuff properly. Anyone have any suggestions of a set or make of speakers which have a volume control which actually works for the headphones as well and will allow me to increase the output volume?.

 

 

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js007

js007 795

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How much money do you wang to spend? KEF makes some good wireless speakers, although some of them can be pricey ($2100 or so). ​I think they also have a cheaper model. Another idea would be to get a Bluetooth gizmo to hook up to your stereo. Then, you can listen to your computer through your stereo.

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TheFiend

TheFiend 1,181

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So do you plug into the speaker jack on the PC, separately power the Amp and run speakers / headphones from the Amp?.

 

Yep..... I used to use Speaker systems designed for PC (like the Creative ones) but they had a bad habit of failing on me and I've used my Rotel/Kef combination for over 10 years without a single problem. Had the Rotel amp spare after upgrading to an Arcam Amp and Arcam CD player for listening to my CDs. It's easy enough to find a cable to connect a PC to a normal stereo amp.

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frostfire

frostfire 1,279

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Totally depends on how important good sound is for you.

 

I have the Logitech Z906. Its quite spendy, and as far as I have been able to find there are none for sale in Thailand. I had to order mine from hong kong. But.. the sound quality is unmatched. The surround sound for movies is awesome, and for gaming you can actually hear the direction something is coming from. Doesn't get much better.

 

For a still good quality but cheaper option, take a look at Creative Labs stuff. They sell them here, and most are fairly cheap (

 

I think the Logitech cost me about 10k baht delivered.

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Butch

Butch 3,456

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There's some great suggestions there guys, many thanks. I listen to a lot of music through headphones and speakers, I'm looking at a budget of about $150-$200, or £130 to £180 for a set up.

 

Would it be an idea to upgrade my soundcard?. I have a slot for one but currently use onboard sound.

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jacko

jacko 8,813

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I feed my laptop to the TV via HDMI, and for my small pad I bought some bluetooth/ wireless earphones which obviously have their own battery. Plug in is not loud enough, particularly on a plane where I wanted to watch videos. (If you fly BA on their ancient equipment you need to bring your own IFE).

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TheFiend

TheFiend 1,181

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There's some great suggestions there guys, many thanks. I listen to a lot of music through headphones and speakers, I'm looking at a budget of about $150-$200, or £130 to £180 for a set up.

 

Would it be an idea to upgrade my soundcard?. I have a slot for one but currently use onboard sound.

 

How old is your PC? Motherboards nowadays have quite decent on-board audio. I haven't used a dedicated sound-card for a long time

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jacko

jacko 8,813

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How old is your PC? Motherboards nowadays have quite decent on-board audio. I haven't used a dedicated sound-card for a long time

Despite the fear of going off-topic, I do know Atlas is a bit of an expert on bored mothers!

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Butch

Butch 3,456

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How old is your PC? Motherboards nowadays have quite decent on-board audio. I haven't used a dedicated sound-card for a long time

 

My PC is old, 9 years now!. I use it for internet, downloading movies which are then played on the TV downstairs and music when I'm in the room doing my accounts or other stuff, so it serves the purpose pretty well, I don't use it for anything heavy like photoshop or music editing, although I have done some video editing on it and it struggles big time.

 

I've put up with the low volume since day 1, but recently I've had more spare time and it's getting slightly annoying.

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TheFiend

TheFiend 1,181

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My PC is old, 9 years now!. I use it for internet, downloading movies which are then played on the TV downstairs and music when I'm in the room doing my accounts or other stuff, so it serves the purpose pretty well, I don't use it for anything heavy like photoshop or music editing, although I have done some video editing on it and it struggles big time.

 

I've put up with the low volume since day 1, but recently I've had more spare time and it's getting slightly annoying.

 

Nowt to be embarrassed about having a 9 year old PC......The PC I use for browsing is based on a 8 year old motherboard running a 6 core CPU. For the more serious stuff I have a couple of AMD Ryzen systems that I built last year.

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frostfire

frostfire 1,279

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You do not need a new sound card unless you are doing advanced audio stuff.... unless of course the low volume issue is due to a bad sound processor, and with a 9+ year old motherboard that is surely possible. Even that though should be fixed with a good set of speakers. In fact with an older motherboard like that I would suggest putting your sound output in windows to 20% or less and using the speakers amp to increase the sound level. That should increase the sound quality as well.

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js007

js007 795

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I'm not sure about a 9-year-old PC, button the more recent computers, for sure, you can bypass the internal sound card entirely via a USB DAC, which can then be routed to a stereo amp/speakers. Good for decoding various file types as wells the newer MQA files.

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Butch

Butch 3,456

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Well I'm taking it one step at a time now.

 

I've ordered a creative inspire 5.1 surround speakers from ebay (second hand) for the horrific outlay of £20.

 

If that fails, it's no biggie as it'll get plugged into my daughters system in her bedroom.

 

I'll then move on to getting an Amp and a decent set of speakers and running it from the PC, budgeting around £100 for the lot (putting more towards the amp than the speakers which I'll rob back off my daughter).

 

If that doesn't work then i'm stuffed and might well look into putting a PCI card in and moving forward from that.

 

Time will tell. I mean, how am I supposed to listen to my "Manhatten Transfer" album with this shit set up???

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joeaf

joeaf 10

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I need PC speakers too and I have decided to replace them with Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Computer speakers which lists on their website at $129 for the set.

https://www.klipsch.com/computer-speakers

 

I had an old 6.1 Cambridge Soundworks Megaworks THX 650 speaker system but it stopped working. I read that many speakers fail because of bad/cheap/blown capacitors and the glue they used degrades and becomes conductive. I tried replacing the capacitors and removing the degraded glue but that failed.

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2873671/all

 

I would avoid used speakers from ebay because of the capacitors and glue problems that may arise from older used speakers.

Edited by joeaf
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Butch

Butch 3,456

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I need PC speakers too and I have decided to replace them with Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Computer speakers which lists on their website at $129 for the set.

https://www.klipsch.com/computer-speakers

 

I had an old 6.1 Cambridge Soundworks Megaworks THX 650 speaker system but it stopped working. I read that many speakers fail because of bad/cheap/blown capacitors and the glue they used degrades and becomes conductive. I tried replacing the capacitors and removing the degraded glue but that failed.

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2873671/all

 

I would avoid used speakers from ebay because of the capacitors and glue problems that may arise from older used speakers.

 

 

There's only one Klipsh dealer in the UK, but I've had a look at their website have got my eyes on an RSB-6 Soundbar!. They don't do PC speakrs unfortunately so if I did want some. I'd have to order via the USA (which is'nt a problem as my sister in law is in Boston MA).

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Butch

Butch 3,456

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Hi

Well the creative 5.1 surround system isn't really cutting it for me. There's just not enough "depth" and they sound quite "tinny" when the volume gets above a certain level. The treble control seems to be all or nothing which is mildly frustrating, so I've decided that I'm going to give them to my Daughter for her PC.

 

It seems I'll be going the Amp + speaker route after all. Just a question of finding one with a headphone jack, it's a shame that one doesn't have one Lantern, otherwise my brother could have brought me one over when he visits the UK next month. He did say he'll keep looking for me, as that's a good price for an amp, most of the stuff in the UK seems to be cheap chinese shit or at the other end of the scale, expensive branded stuff.

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