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2012 was a bad year
slow crow fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Oct 12, 2013 |
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Mar 8, 2012 01:58
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aunaturale posted:So I'm listening to music on an HP laptop through Sony consumer headphones. What's the upgrade that will provide the bigger bang in terms of upgrading the sound quality: better headphones or an external USB soundcard? Better headphones. For what it's worth, USB sound would bypass the onboard.
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Mar 8, 2012 02:03
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Blistex posted:Nothing connected, hum is present when changed to all settings (AM/FM/PHONO/AUX1/AUX2). When the radio is going it is audible in the background. I'm betting the problem is in grounding. Can you connect the receiver to a surge protector and try again?
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Mar 8, 2012 02:10
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I don't have a surge protector since this is my only electronic device besides an old dell pc. Would attaching a wire to the metal frame that all the cct boards are attached to then jamming the other end in the ground of an outlet give me an idea if this was the issue? Edit: There is a ground attachment point on the back (Duh!), so I hooked up a wire to it and inserted the other end into the ground of the outlet. Made no difference to the buzzing sound. Did I actually "ground" the stereo receiver, or just ruin an old lamp cord? Blistex fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Mar 8, 2012 |
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Mar 8, 2012 02:36
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I recently got a Yamaha amplifier paired with some Wharfedale Diamond 10.1s, that have an impedance of 6 ohms. Now at the back of my amplifier, there is a impedance selector: high is meant to power 8 ohm speakers and low is means to power 4 ohm or higher speakers. I could be a victim of psychoacoustics but I think the speakers do sound a little better with the impedance selector switched to high. Is there any risk leaving the impedance selector at high?
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Mar 8, 2012 11:10
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Blistex posted:I don't have a surge protector since this is my only electronic device besides an old dell pc. Would attaching a wire to the metal frame that all the cct boards are attached to then jamming the other end in the ground of an outlet give me an idea if this was the issue? The grounding point on the chassis is most likely there to allow you to ground your turntable to the receiver, to avoid this kind of humming being generated. Normally, I would bet your hum is due to a ground loop, when some connected source is on a different grounding potential than your receiver, but that is obviously not the case here, so you may want to take a look inside. Is the chassis actually grounded to the power cord's ground lead? Is the power connector broken somehow? Using a multimeter in ohm-meter mode would help immensely to find out if the electronics inside are actually connected to ground - the resistance would be 0. Edit: Be careful! The big power capacitors (probably located next to the power connector) can contain enough charge to kill you if you touch their leads, so make sure you safely discharge them before touching anything. http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/captest.htm#ctsdc Hippie Hedgehog fucked around with this message at 12:39 on Mar 8, 2012 |
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Mar 8, 2012 12:36
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Moving into my own place for the first time and I've got an appropriately giant bachelor TV, hooked into my HTPC and consoles; I'm done with cable forever. I was hoping to avoid buying a receiver and just get a solid set of 5.1 PC speakers, something like the Logitech Z906. I consistently hear the PC speakers suck uniformly compared to a similarly priced regular amp + speakers. Is this true?
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Mar 8, 2012 14:42
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Hippie Hedgehog posted:Is the chassis actually grounded to the power cord's ground lead? Is the power connector broken somehow? It's one of the old two prong plugs with both prongs being the same size. I'm pretty sure I don't want to have either of the wires touching the stereo. Hippie Hedgehog posted:Using a multimeter in ohm-meter mode would help immensely to find out if the electronics inside are actually connected to ground - the resistance would be 0. Is there a specific component I should be taking this reading off of? Hippie Hedgehog posted:Edit: Be careful! The big power capacitors (probably located next to the power connector) can contain enough charge to kill you if you touch their leads, so make sure you safely discharge them before touching anything. Nice thing about this unit is that unplugging it while it's still on will drain the caps.
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Mar 8, 2012 15:48
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Blistex posted:It's one of the old two prong plugs with both prongs being the same size. I'm pretty sure I don't want to have either of the wires touching the stereo. Hm, it's not actually grounded then. I guess the chassis is not metal? I don't remember how this works - I guess it is common to use the neutral as "ground"? If the prongs are the same size, I don't know how that would be done. I'm not familiar with your strange American electricity stuff. =) Blistex posted:Is there a specific component I should be taking this reading off of? There's usually a large number of points on each PCB that are supposed to be grounded - should be one leg on most every component. Blistex posted:Nice thing about this unit is that unplugging it while it's still on will drain the caps. Hippie Hedgehog fucked around with this message at 16:49 on Mar 8, 2012 |
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Mar 8, 2012 16:46
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Thanks for the advice Hippie, I'll try it out when I get back. Not sure how I'm going to ground this thing, but I can at least try and see with a multimetre if it is the problem. I think I'll make a youtube video of this, might make the situation more clear. Hippie Hedgehog posted:How can you tell? :-) Speakers are still on for a second and then fade out, and when I try and short the two large caps next to the power supply they don't spark at all. Edit: Video of the issue here: http://youtu.be/D6xyz9OIlao Phone jack doesn't seem to have any buzz. I stuck the speaker cable leads into the phone jack and there was no buzz, even when jacking up way up. Blistex fucked around with this message at 03:09 on Mar 9, 2012 |
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Mar 8, 2012 17:51
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I want to get some real speakers for my computer. I have been using a 2.1 from logitech for years but the quality really gets lovely as the volume goes up. I am willing to spend up to 300.00 total for another 2.1 Do I need a separate subwoofer or are there speakers with good enough built ins? My question is with the speaker connections. My computer has 6 3.5mm ports in the back but I dont see subs that appear to use 3.5mm Can anyone recommend me some speakers or some brands to look for/avoid?
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Mar 9, 2012 01:25
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loving yah! There was a ground wire that went from the two huge 10,000uf 50V caps on the power board to the board itself. I just probed it with a screwdriver and the buzz changed intensity. I powered off the unit, removed the screw holding the ground to the board, gave the contact point a bit of a scrape with a flat screwdriver, reattached, tightened, and powerd it up. Very, very quiet buzz now. Something I can live with, but when I have more time I'm going to check all the ground wires to the different boards and if that doesn't get rid of it completely I'm going to start recapping. Thanks for the help and suggestions.
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Mar 9, 2012 03:20
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Fauxtool posted:I want to get some real speakers for my computer. The P4s supposedly sound much nicer and I think fit within your budget, depending on what amp you pair them with. They're pretty big vs most PC speakers (but comparable to other bookshelf or studio monitors), I don't know if that's a problem. To save a bit on their stuff there's usually a 10% off code floating around, or buy off their refurb section (coupon doesn't seem to apply there though).
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Mar 9, 2012 05:23
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japtor posted:Audioengine A2s are pretty nice if you want a smallish set of speakers. They're 2.0 but I think the bass is fine, although that'll depend on your preference. If you want super boomy bass you'll want bigger 2.0s or another 2.1 setup I guess. Supposedly you can connect a sub to the minijack out right the right cable so I guess that's another option. Not sure if it automagically switches output or if you need a crossover of some sort though. exactly the kind of stuff i wanted to hear thanks. How do they stack up with M-Audio AV40s? They are in the same price range. Can anyone recommend a powered sub? What was that about amps? does my computer not have the power to drive the speakers even though they are powered? I'll be putting them on a glass table so vibration may be an issue. What is a good material i can place underneath? Fauxtool fucked around with this message at 08:00 on Mar 9, 2012 |
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Mar 9, 2012 07:57
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I forget how the sound supposedly compared but I saw enough people that liked them, so I figure it's a sound preference thing. One thing that did sway me to AE was the warranty (if you buy from them or an authorized reseller), 3 years vs 1 for most others, and I vaguely remember hearing about issues with AV40s which made me a bit  .I mentioned the amp cause the P4s are passive. Not sure what's ideal but I remember looking at the Topping TP30 for a while cause it had a USB DAC built in, and happened to find a review of it paired with the P4s here. Refurb P4s ($200) + the TP30 (~$100) would be right at your budget limit. Probably better stuff out there but I'm fairly clueless about amps. Or speakers for that matter, wait for more suggestions  .Another one that might be an option is the KRK Rokit 5, they seem to go for $150 per speaker...not really sure how to wire them up though (cause they're basically two independent speakers?). I kind of remember someone else asking about that here or in another speaker thread but forget the answer. For vibration I just got the stands cause I splurged a bit (Christmas money and refurb savings = crazy spending!) but that's not necessary. Someone else here (or in a "PC speakers" recommendation thread) mentioned just using books or something, don't have to get too fancy with it. japtor fucked around with this message at 10:19 on Mar 9, 2012 |
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Mar 9, 2012 10:14
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If a speaker is powered doesnt that mean I dont need an amp? What about subs makes them twice as expensive as speakers in the same product line?
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Mar 9, 2012 10:33
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Fauxtool posted:If a speaker is powered doesnt that mean I dont need an amp? A powered speaker aka 'Active' will not require an amp, however you may want a pre amp or passive volume control upstream of the active speakers. Typically all subwoofers sold today are self powered, so you are paying for the cost of the plate amp and large woofer in the sub. That being said, there is no need to use the matching sub from your speaker manufacturer, often you will get more bang for the buck going with a different sub. Matching at least your front three speakers is highly recommended though for surround applications.
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Mar 10, 2012 00:40
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I only mentioned the amp in reference to the P4s cause they're passive. The rest don't need anything extra unless you want a potentially cleaner USB line out DAC or something.
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Mar 10, 2012 01:10
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Im probably going to end up getting some A2s and a polk psw10 thanks to this thread. Im looking at the pictures of the connections in the back and I dont see how to hook it up to my computer. What kind of adaptors do I need and how do I connect it? Is this 2.1 any good? http://www.swanspeaker.com/product/htm/view.asp?id=373
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Mar 11, 2012 11:48
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http://www.head-fi.org/t/355187/how-to-add-subwoofer-to-audioengine-a2#post_5582990quote:I asked Audioengine the same question last year and this was the answer. As for that Swan I remember seeing posts saying it's good. I think what turned me off was that some people said that sub box seemed to be meant to be on the desk along with the satellites...which would've been kind of an impossible setup on my desk.
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Mar 11, 2012 12:41
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Anyone have these or heard them? Stellar reviews and with the promo code their only $150. I would need to buy a sub and receiver with it since I don't have one yet, so if I were to build up a whole system, would these speakers be a good choice? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=82-269-004&nm_mc=EMCPB-032012&cm_mmc=EMCPB-032012-_-PB030512-_-Item-_-82-269-004 TenaciousTomato fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Mar 14, 2012 |
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Mar 13, 2012 22:54
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I apologize if this has been answered already: I own a LG soundbar for my TV. I live in a small studio apartment and the soundbar is great, but I'd like to get some more bass incorporated into it. I'm not too sure what I should look for. Can I buy a subwoofer by itself that will act like a receiver? I have an optical cable that comes out of my TV and plugs into the soundbar currently. Or do I need to buy a receiver that will have the subwoofer run into it as well as the soundbar's optical cable? I'm not looking to spend too much money because I don't need the best sound possible. *edit* I also have a 5.1 speaker setup for my desktop thats ~16 feet away from my TV. Would it at all be possible to get bass to play out of that subwoofer? Some sort of jerryrigging the sound through my desktop?
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Mar 15, 2012 19:39
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I tried using the forums search (lol) and looking through the last few pages of the thread and didn't see anything - anyone have experience with Taperwire (specifically) or flat, adhesive backed speaker wire (generally)? I'm going to use it to wire up my surrounds and was curious about installation, mostly in terms of prep and adhesion. Should I sand down my walls (they're going to be painted anyway)? Would some additional spray adhesive help assure that it will stick well or would it make things worse? How noticeable are 90 degree bends? There's not a lot of info out there that I can find, but I'm going to reference this site some: http://howtoinstallflatspeakercable.com/
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Mar 15, 2012 20:50
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Could you post a picture of your setup? Are these wires just going to be running an inch off the floor, or are you taking them up to wall mounted speakers 5' off the floor? I've never seen that stuff actually used, or a photo of them installed and painted over that was larger than 200x200 pixels or taken from 10+ feet away, which sets off warning bells in my head. No so much an answer, but possible an alternative. I've seen people run regular speaker wire under 1/4 round trim and have it come out right behind the units they are going to. Depending on the type you have in your house, (or if you have any at all) you can run several speaker wires through it.  See the gap? It will fit a few runs of wire easily, and you can cut notches in the bottom to allow speaker wire out wherever you want. This stuff is foot for foot cheaper than the wire it will be hiding, so don't worry about it costing a fortune if you make a mess of it. Either way, you should post some pics.
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Mar 17, 2012 00:13
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Barry posted:Should I sand down my walls (they're going to be painted anyway)?
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Mar 17, 2012 00:17
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I'm thinking about buying a new sound card for my computer - preferably one that sounds great with both headphones and my Logitech X-540 5.1 speakers. Currently, I have an HT Omega Striker 7.1. Are there any better sound cards in the $100-200 price range? Currently, I have my eye on the ASUS Xonar Essence, but I'd love to have some advice before I buy anything.
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Mar 17, 2012 07:02
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Rollofthedice posted:I'm thinking about buying a new sound card for my computer - preferably one that sounds great with both headphones and my Logitech X-540 5.1 speakers. Currently, I have an HT Omega Striker 7.1. Are there any better sound cards in the $100-200 price range? Currently, I have my eye on the ASUS Xonar Essence, but I'd love to have some advice before I buy anything. I'm not aware of any cards that offer separate analog 7.1 outputs and a high quality headphone amp. If the headphone out of the speakerset's control pod is truly terrible, you could add something like the AudioInst HUD-mx1 to your current system (earlier in this thread goon Thom P. Tiers had a good experience with it). Beware that in your situation this would mean some juggling with software output settings every time you want to switch from speaker to headphone sound. Or alternatively you can set the headphone amplifier as default output device and unplug it (or possiby switch it off using a usb hub with an off switch) when you want to hear sound through the speakers, windows will handle the switching automatically from that point. Can't blame you if you want to keep looking at ths point, though.
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Mar 17, 2012 14:11
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Blistex posted:Could you post a picture of your setup? Are these wires just going to be running an inch off the floor, or are you taking them up to wall mounted speakers 5' off the floor? I've never seen that stuff actually used, or a photo of them installed and painted over that was larger than 200x200 pixels or taken from 10+ feet away, which sets off warning bells in my head. Here's a video I just made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Oqcsh8HOYQ I'm not sure what the ideal height is for surround speakers, but they'll be at about that. I have floor molding that can't really be moved and two doorways to cross, so that's probably out of the question.
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Mar 17, 2012 19:29
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Doh004 posted:I apologize if this has been answered already: Sorry about this, don't know if it got overlooked. Any advice would be greatly appreciated 
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Mar 17, 2012 19:43
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Doh004 posted:Sorry about this, don't know if it got overlooked. Any advice would be greatly appreciated If you could post make and model of the tv, the soundbar and -why not- the speaker setup from your pc, I'll see if some general advice can be distilled from that. Links to pdf manuals for any of them would even be better. Also an indication of what "not too much money" means to you could be helpful.
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Mar 17, 2012 20:18
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Flipperwaldt posted:That's because the question has no simple answers with the information provided. Sorry  TV: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OOVIEU/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details (manual) Soundbar: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882005085&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-82-005-085-_-Product (manual) Computer Speakers: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Surround-Speaker-System-Subwoofer/dp/B000JJM8XE/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1332012529&sr=1-5 (manual) Desktop soundcard is built into the mobo. Has 7.1 and a line in option. http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1366/P6T_Deluxe I'd like to spend a maximum of $150 on the subwoofer. If I have to get a receiver I'd be willing to do that.
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Mar 17, 2012 20:34
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Barry posted:Here's a video I just made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Oqcsh8HOYQ After watching that video I have even less of an idea of what you could do. That is a tricky setup you have. The thing that I am most worried about is that the speaker wire is going to cause paint/spackle chipping and will be really obvious. Good luck.
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Mar 17, 2012 21:11
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Blistex posted:After watching that video I have even less of an idea of what you could do. That is a tricky setup you have. The thing that I am most worried about is that the speaker wire is going to cause paint/spackle chipping and will be really obvious. Yeah, me too. I was thinking about putting a thin layer of drywall mud (or maybe even something like a matte varnish) over the flat wire before I paint. I'm really not worried about having to remove it in the future, I want it as permanent as possible.
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Mar 17, 2012 22:18
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Barry posted:Yeah, me too. I was thinking about putting a thin layer of drywall mud (or maybe even something like a matte varnish) over the flat wire before I paint. I'm really not worried about having to remove it in the future, I want it as permanent as possible. Could you set it up like this: TV -> right-hand floor corner -> right-hand ceiling corner -> right-hand back ceiling corner, wire 1 terminates here to a wallplate -> left-hand ceiling corner, wire 2 terminates here to a wallplate Was there a reason you can't use that side of the room? It looks easier, there's no doorway I could see from the video. As long as you do the wiring in corners, not in the middle of a wall, they should be easy to hide with whatever material you prefer. You'll also always know where the wires are if you want to put up a painting or something. Wiring across doorways is hard, that's the last thing to do if you can possibly avoid it. If you ever want to get rid of the wires, just paint over the wallplates. You can just skip the wallplates for wiring and have a piece of wire stick out right behind where you intend to install the speakers.
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Mar 17, 2012 22:57
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Doh004 posted:Sorry The bad news is the only way to get sound out of your tv is the optical out you're already using for the soundbar. This rules out a lot of the easy solutions, as most subwoofers that accept optical input are part of a 5.1/7.1 speakerset and as such don't offer a line level output to connect your soundbar to the analog way, never mind an optical loopthrough. I thought simplest would be to forget about the soundbar and buy a 2.1 speakerset with an optical input, but at first sight these seem hard to find as well. An amplifier (or receiver) is an option, but as most subwoofers are powered and the soundbar has its own built in amplifier, it wouldn't do any amplifying at all. It would be nothing more than a glorified D/A converter and signal splitter. Something like this would do the same thing, although the reviews aren't universally convincing. I didn't see a direct alternative, though. Anyway, either would give you the option to buy just about any separate subwoofer that tickles your fancy. I'm not the right person to give you a concrete recommendation for a subwoofer with line level input and (if you don't opt for the splitter I linked) possibly a cheapish amplifier with optical in and line level outs (as in for active speakers), but I hope I helped clarify that that is what you're looking for. Perhaps other people could help fill in those blanks. Flipperwaldt fucked around with this message at 23:00 on Mar 17, 2012 |
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Mar 17, 2012 22:58
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Might be cheaper to look at replacing the soundbar with one that comes with a subwoofer. Pretty sure I saw one of those somewhere...
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Mar 17, 2012 23:59
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Barry posted:Yeah, me too. I was thinking about putting a thin layer of drywall mud (or maybe even something like a matte varnish) over the flat wire before I paint. I'm really not worried about having to remove it in the future, I want it as permanent as possible. The mud worries me the most. If you put it on thick, it will probably need to be spread a few inches wide to blend it properly so you don't see it bulging out your wall.If you put it on thin, there is a possibility that it will chip off, even if you scuff the area a bit before applying. After all, the wall is going to be vibrating in close proximity to some of those wire runs due to the speakers being attached to them. Is this an apartment or a house, there is no way to go into the floor, and have them exit out the walls? What's below that room? Basement, crawlspace, or an annoyed neighbour?
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Mar 18, 2012 02:51
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It's a 90+ year old co-op with lathe and plaster walls that are just an enormous pain in the rear end to deal with. As much as I'd prefer to run the wire in the walls, I wouldn't even know where to start. Below my living room is the co-op board meeting room, oddly enough. To the right is a giant mirror and fireplace. Anyway, I went ahead and did the deed. I'm incredibly happy (so far) and I think that once it's painted over it will be essentially invisible, besides possibly the 90's. The adhesive seems really solid and I made it a point to rub the poo poo out of the wire. Here's another video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24TMUahlVZ0 They're Klipsch RS-52 II's if you're curious.
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Mar 18, 2012 07:16
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Hippie Hedgehog posted:Might be cheaper to look at replacing the soundbar with one that comes with a subwoofer. Pretty sure I saw one of those somewhere... Do we know if any wireless subwoofer would be able to work with my current soundbar?
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Mar 18, 2012 17:56
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My question is: This receiver is rated at 5x100w per channel. If I only run 2 channels, is it able to do 2x250w? If not will I most likely be happy with the performance of 100w with these speakers (rated 20-200w)? Edit: I'm retarded and this is answered clearly in the faq awdeetdeet fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Mar 18, 2012 |
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Mar 18, 2012 18:00
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