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powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer
If I'm doing FPS's where directional sound matters I'm almost always wearing a headset so I can do voice comms. For me, speakers are more for music, games where direction sound doesn't matter as much, and movies. It's also easier to convert a good 2.0 system to surround if you want than it is to find a 5.1 system that comes close to similarly priced 2.0 systems for music and other stuff. I'm not sure you can even find anything close to Audioengine, Audessey, Swan, etc. quality without doing more of a HT setup or something ridiculous from Blue Sky.

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KingKapalone
Dec 20, 2005
1/16 Native American + 1/2 Hungarian = Totally Badass
I just hate wearing headphones for gaming because I feel shutout from my roommates. It also seems more realistic when sounds are coming from around you instead of right around your ears. I have a Logitech 4.1 system and I don't even have the speakers around me (they're all in a line in front of me), but it still comes across as directional.

MMD3
May 16, 2006

Montmartre -> Portland

KingKapalone posted:

It seems like people are still getting non-surround speakers for gaming. Shouldn't surround speakers be pretty important for that?

the only type of gaming where surround sound gives you any kind of advantage is FPS, which while large, isn't the only type of PC gaming that's out there. I've never found surround speakers to be necessary personally. If I want a more immersive experience I've got my headphones for that. My PC speakers are primarily for watching videos and listening to music.

Argyle
Jun 7, 2001

Hopefully I don't get laughed out of this thread, but if I only had about $50ish to spend on a 2.0/2.1 setup, what would you recommend? Or is that "everything sounds the same at this price" territory?

Only asking because my office borrowed and then broke my 10 year old Boston speakers (which now sell on ebay for like $30). I'm really just using them for music at my desk and the occasional office party. Just loud enough to fill a medium-sized meeting room.

Hob_Gadling
Jul 6, 2007

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
Grimey Drawer

Argyle posted:

Hopefully I don't get laughed out of this thread, but if I only had about $50ish to spend on a 2.0/2.1 setup, what would you recommend? Or is that "everything sounds the same at this price" territory?

Is $65 about $50-ish?

Lepai T-amp and Dayton B652 are about that much, plus a couple bucks for wire if you don't have any. Note that B652 manufacturer may have changed about 5 months ago. This may or may not have affected build quality. Buyer beware.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-652
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=310-300

Otherwise you may want to look for sales or used equipment. Sony SS-B1000 might be a good one to look for. They have the typical Sony dry sound which I don't much care for, which makes recommending them for their current price a bit hard.

I was browsing around a bit, and looks like tigerdirect.com has Pioneer bookshelf speakers on sale for $90. They don't show the price until checkout time which is odd. For a ~$100 stereo system I'd get a Tripath amp and a pair of those.

powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer
This is also a price range where amazon reviews can be your friend. I like Altec Lansing, JBL, and Creative for name brands, and there are some random companies I've never heard of that get loads of good reviews as well.

japtor
Oct 28, 2005
At that range I think a lot depends on what you like and what you're coming from. If you like boomy sound you'd probably be fine with most 2.1 sets, but if you're more discriminate about the higher end you have to watch out for subs being paired up with crappy satellites. 2.0 sets should be better there, but with those the lower end might be too weak for you. And if you're coming from crappier speakers to begin with either way they'd all be an upgrade.

I figure you can get decent enough sound but it's a matter of combing through the reviews to try to get a sense of how they sound and hopefully ending up with ones that match your taste. A lot of people seem to place a large emphasis on bass alone so you sort of have to keep that in mind when reading user reviews.

Revvik
Jul 29, 2006
Fun Shoe
So my ten year old Labtec subwoofer died on my old PC speaker setup ($40 lasted me a decade of cranked music and some rough moves). Grabbed one of those 20watt Lepai amps, and the two Dayton speakers linked earlier in the thread.

Sounds great! Nice and loud, clear. Using the MP3 input on the amp, since I don't have the RCA input hardware lying around. For some reason, if I turn the amp volume up past around 1/4 to 1/3, the power cuts out. Is this a failure in the amp? I should mention it's really loving loud when I'm sitting at my desk, but maybe I want to hear it on the complete opposite end of my house with my dryer running. Am I not going to be able to turn it up past 1/3?

I should mention my PCs volume is dimed.

Flipperwaldt
Nov 11, 2011

Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?



Revvik posted:

For some reason, if I turn the amp volume up past around 1/4 to 1/3, the power cuts out. Is this a failure in the amp?
It's working as intended, protecting you against damaging either amp or speakers. Edit: Let's say, that's what I assume. Another source says it might be the power brick crapping out.

I was mostly curious about this:

Revvik posted:

I should mention my PCs volume is dimed.
I don't know what that means. Googled, but couldn't find a definition that made sense.

Flipperwaldt fucked around with this message at 23:26 on May 24, 2013

Jigoku San
Feb 2, 2003

How should I set the various volumes? There's the PC vol, the app's vol (if it has one) and the speaker/amp's vol.

Hob_Gadling
Jul 6, 2007

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
Grimey Drawer

Jigoku San posted:

How should I set the various volumes?

For best sound quality, PC and app volume to 100%. Use your amp only for changing volume.

Revvik
Jul 29, 2006
Fun Shoe

Flipperwaldt posted:

It's working as intended, protecting you against damaging either amp or speakers. Edit: Let's say, that's what I assume. Another source says it might be the power brick crapping out.

I was mostly curious about this:
I don't know what that means. Googled, but couldn't find a definition that made sense.

Turned up to 10, or all the way up

Edit: @ 20 bucks, I'll just order another and see if it's a defect. If it is, return it. If not, rig an audio system up in my kitchen.

Revvik fucked around with this message at 05:31 on May 25, 2013

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021
How well does the Lepai + Dayton B652 setup compare to something a bit more expensive like the Audioengine A2s or the Polk Monitor30 Series II's that have also been mentioned in this thread? I currently use headphones for everything from streaming movies/tv shows to gaming because the speakers I had weren't very good, so I'd like to get a decent 2.0 or 2.1 system for some of that stuff.

powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer
I know some people in this thread really like the Daytons—I've never heard them myself and I don't know if anyone in the thread has compared the two directly. The construction quality of AudioEngine's stuff is going to be miles ahead of the Daytons in every regard, from the cabinets to the drivers to the crossover components and amplifier. Which should be expected given the price difference. Just as an example, the A5+ is smaller than the Dayton yet weighs almost twice as much (they're also $400.) All that stuff does make a difference on the sound quality. Whether the difference means anything to you kinda depends on your preferences and budget. The Daytons don't measure particularly well (http://zaphaudio.com/Dayton-B652.html) but for the price it's hard to fault them.

japtor
Oct 28, 2005
The Lepai was kind of like a "well it works :effort:" thing for me. Mine came with a Vonage power brick (I'm not the only one going by some customer reviews) and gave a pop on power on with the speakers I used (from a JVC 2.1 setup), and I think needed to be above a certain level for sound to come out of both speakers, but ultimately they worked fine otherwise. Well the bright rear end volume LED could get annoying but I assume that could be easily disconnected.

Compared to the A2 in terms of basic set up you need a place to put the amp in the first place vs just the A2 speakers themselves, and I guess one more wire to hook up. On the plus side you'd get a volume knob in front. On my A2 I just set the hardware volume to some level (I think 1/3-1/2) and just use the software volume control from my computer...then again I guess I did that with the Lepai too, but I just leave the A2s on (supposedly they have an auto sleep function?) vs turning the Lepai on and off, mostly cause of that LED I guess.

Hob_Gadling
Jul 6, 2007

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
Grimey Drawer

pik_d posted:

How well does the Lepai + Dayton B652 setup compare to something a bit more expensive like the Audioengine A2s or the Polk Monitor30 Series II's that have also been mentioned in this thread?

Poorly, but then again you're comparing a $40 pair of speakers to a $100-200 pair. I would rather spend the extra money and get good, long-lasting speakers no matter the initial cost. Then again I've probably spent more than most on my audio stuff, so who am I to speak. Sometimes you're tight on cash and for $65 the Lepai & Daytons make a decent garage stereo. Sometimes you just want some background noise.

Best bang for the buck is always going to be headphones. If you listen to music as a hobby and are strapped for cash, a ~$100 pair of headphones can be an excellent way to get started.

KozmoNaut
Apr 23, 2008

Happiness is a warm
Turbo Plasma Rifle


Hob_Gadling posted:

Best bang for the buck is always going to be headphones. If you listen to music as a hobby and are strapped for cash, a ~$100 pair of headphones can be an excellent way to get started.

You don't even need $100 headphones. A set of Sennheiser PX-100 II can be found for less than $70 quite easily, and they sound absolutely amazingly good. They don't just "sound good for the price", they sound good period.

I've had a set of PX-100s for almost 10 years now, they've been with me just about everywhere. They're durable, portable and very comfortable and they sound great. My sister has a set of PX-100 IIs and they sound just as good and look to be built even tougher.

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Hob_Gadling posted:

Poorly, but then again you're comparing a $40 pair of speakers to a $100-200 pair. I would rather spend the extra money and get good, long-lasting speakers no matter the initial cost. Then again I've probably spent more than most on my audio stuff, so who am I to speak. Sometimes you're tight on cash and for $65 the Lepai & Daytons make a decent garage stereo. Sometimes you just want some background noise.

Best bang for the buck is always going to be headphones. If you listen to music as a hobby and are strapped for cash, a ~$100 pair of headphones can be an excellent way to get started.

Thanks, I think I'll get the A2s based on what you guys have said. My headphones are ATH-M50s so they're no slouches, but sometimes I just don't want to wear headphones so I'd like some decent speakers as well.

me your dad
Jul 25, 2006

japtor posted:

The Lepai was kind of like a "well it works :effort:" thing for me. Mine came with a Vonage power brick (I'm not the only one going by some customer reviews) and gave a pop on power on with the speakers I used (from a JVC 2.1 setup), and I think needed to be above a certain level for sound to come out of both speakers, but ultimately they worked fine otherwise. Well the bright rear end volume LED could get annoying but I assume that could be easily disconnected.
....

My speakers pop when turning on the amp too. Is this a bad thing? Are there substitute power supplies I should look at? Aside from the popping of the speakers, what effect would it have on the audio quality?

steckles
Jan 14, 2006

I need to throw another recommendation for the audioengine A2s out there. They're not just good for computer use either. My fiancé and I were looking for a small pair of powered speakers to put in the kitchen so we could listen to music while cooking or during parties.

We looked at a few different options, but the A2s were definitely the best bang for the buck. I was quite surprised at how well they fill a smallish room and how much bass they could put out. Less than a dedicated sub of course, but far more than no bass, which is what I was expecting from those tiny little cones.

The only down side is the lack of any mounting hardware. I had to get some brackets custom made for them but even including that cost, I still feel that the A2s were the best value for the money. The dual inputs are nice too, with the RCA and quarter inch jack means we can either pipe music from the main system in the living room or use an ipod. There's no selector switch on the speakers, but as long as we're only using one or the other, it's not a problem.

Here's a pic:

steckles fucked around with this message at 01:09 on May 29, 2013

Philthy
Jan 28, 2003

Pillbug
Yeah, been using A2s for a few months now, and they deliver. It's one of those purchases I wont ever regret upping my budget on.

japtor
Oct 28, 2005
Tangentially related to the A2 chat, anyone have suggestions for passive speakers in the same size and quality range? I'd like some small decent speakers for a TV don't want to deal with the whole volume knob in the back thing (or just lack of a remote controlled setup). P4s look nice but they're bigger than I'm looking for.

me your dad posted:

My speakers pop when turning on the amp too. Is this a bad thing? Are there substitute power supplies I should look at? Aside from the popping of the speakers, what effect would it have on the audio quality?
I...have no clue. I remember seeing threads about people opening up the amps and replacing various parts (like this 142 page thread :psyduck:), but hell if I know details on what causes what with this stuff.

me your dad
Jul 25, 2006

japtor posted:

Tangentially related to the A2 chat, anyone have suggestions for passive speakers in the same size and quality range? I'd like some small decent speakers for a TV don't want to deal with the whole volume knob in the back thing (or just lack of a remote controlled setup). P4s look nice but they're bigger than I'm looking for.

I...have no clue. I remember seeing threads about people opening up the amps and replacing various parts (like this 142 page thread :psyduck:), but hell if I know details on what causes what with this stuff.

Yeah people like modifying the amp since it's so inexpensive to start with. I admit its intriguing, but I have a hard time not lumping it into the same type of behavior that results in elevating speaker cable 1" off the floor to eliminate harmonic dissonance or whatever.

The PSU it came with is 12v 2A so I wonder how much, if any, a small increment will deliver.

KozmoNaut
Apr 23, 2008

Happiness is a warm
Turbo Plasma Rifle


DiyAudio is usually relatively free of audiophoolery, although I admit I've mostly frequented the speaker section. Most of those guys have their heads on straight.

dpkg chopra
Jun 9, 2007

Fast Food Fight

Grimey Drawer
Not sure if this is the right thread for this.

Here at the office we do quite a bit of Skype conferencing for work. The way we usually do it is we just stick a laptop in the middle of the table and fire up Skype.

This isn't ideal because laptop mics aren't really designed to pick up that many people talking at once, and will more often than not also pick up the speaker echo. Not to mention that it's kind of a pain in the rear end to move around the computer every time some sort of adjustment to the call has to be made.

Is there any mic/speaker combo that I could plug into the computer and set down on the table, while the computer itself remains (relatively) free to be moved around?

I've been looking into conference phones but not many of them support Skype, and the ones that do are pretty expensive, and I'm trying to do this on the cheap, if possible.

KozmoNaut
Apr 23, 2008

Happiness is a warm
Turbo Plasma Rifle


Are the speakers on the laptop good enough? Because there are lots of reasonably-priced conferencing/meeting microphones around, both with 3.5mm and USB connections. Some of them can even be daisy-chained together. What you need is at least 180° coverage or more depending on how your people are sitting around the table. A 360° or omnidirectional microphone is probably best.

Skype should be able to handle echo cancellation, there may be an option you have to enable.

If you want a speaker as well, look at something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Spreed-USB-Conference-Speaker-Microphone/dp/3936710058

It's a USB sound device, which is a well-established standard. It should work with Skype no problem, and probably have built-in echo cancellation.

KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 21:12 on May 29, 2013

thebushcommander
Apr 16, 2004
HAY
GUYS
MAKE
ME A
FUNNY,
I'M TOO
STUPID
TO DO
IT BY
MYSELF
So I've had Logitech Z5500's for 6-7 years now or something and they work fine and all, but I no longer need a 5.1 setup for my computer. Movies and such I now view output over HDMI to my home theater setup. So mostly I am just playing games and listening to/making music. Unfortunately a lot of the music I listen to is bass heavy so I need something that sounds good, but retains a good amount of clean bass. Also this is more or less to get rid of the insane amount of wires from having 5 speakers around me!

Did some more googling around and it seems the AV40 + Cheap Sub is a good way to go.

thebushcommander fucked around with this message at 21:29 on May 29, 2013

qirex
Feb 15, 2001

japtor posted:

Tangentially related to the A2 chat, anyone have suggestions for passive speakers in the same size and quality range? I'd like some small decent speakers for a TV don't want to deal with the whole volume knob in the back thing (or just lack of a remote controlled setup). P4s look nice but they're bigger than I'm looking for.
These are a 7" cube:
http://www.kantospeakers.com/collections/ben

MMD3
May 16, 2006

Montmartre -> Portland

is that $250 amp those guys sell just a T-amp in a shiny housing?

KozmoNaut
Apr 23, 2008

Happiness is a warm
Turbo Plasma Rifle


MMD3 posted:

is that $250 amp those guys sell just a T-amp in a shiny housing?

In the sense that it's a class-D amp? Yeah, sort of.

But it's got a different chipset compared to the Lepai amps, with significantly higher power output and certainly more R&D poured into it. I've worked at Bang & Olufsen, and ICEPower is their pride and joy. Everything they make is powered by a variant of the chipset in that amp, so they've poured tons of R&D money into making it as good as possible.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Hob_Gadling posted:

For best sound quality, PC and app volume to 100%. Use your amp only for changing volume.

That's often not the the case. More often than not, I find that running a computer/iPod/phone at 100% into an amp results in a really harsh, sometimes really messed up, sound. The high and low often end up way too loud compared to the mid, or it'll sound like there's way too much gain and fuzz, or sometimes the speakers simply start clipping at 50% volume.

If it's not perfect at 100%, I usually end up with the best sound when my computer/etc. is at 75-85% (with the app volume at 100% if there is any). It seems to be a more common issue with the analog line-out on iPhones, but everyone's experience will vary depending on the stuff they're plugging together. I've had amps/speakers that were great with any input at 100% and I've had some that weren't.

trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 21:09 on May 31, 2013

japtor
Oct 28, 2005
I'm not sure why but with iPods their 100% sound is just way overdriven or something (at least the old non iOS ones), I did the same 75-85% thing with my old ones using the volume limiter setting. I'm not sure I've experienced it with anything else.

Flipperwaldt
Nov 11, 2011

Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?



The difference is between line outs and headphone outs. The latter have some amplification behind them to drive headphones/passive speakers that the former do not. This makes the output voltage at 100% higher than what the amp connected to it could reasonably expect, resulting in distortion in its input stage.

Ancient soundcards had a jumper for choosing between amped and line level output, but somewhere along the line someone decided the difference wasn't worth bothering with, resulting in the need to compensate by lowering the level in software.

kri kri
Jul 18, 2007

I'm not really keep on the LEDs of the Lepai amp, whats the next "best" option. Going to be running the daytonas most likely.

KozmoNaut
Apr 23, 2008

Happiness is a warm
Turbo Plasma Rifle


Lepai with the LEDs blacked out?

japtor
Oct 28, 2005
I haven't looked in mine but I bet you can just pull a cable or cut a lead to kill the LED.

Otherwise I think Pyle makes similar amps in the price range, maybe Dayton and Topping as you go up in price a bit, been a while since I've looked myself.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

japtor posted:

I haven't looked in mine but I bet you can just pull a cable or cut a lead to kill the LED.

Otherwise I think Pyle makes similar amps in the price range, maybe Dayton and Topping as you go up in price a bit, been a while since I've looked myself.

Schiit's got a small $99 amp now. If it's as good as their other stuff it's probably worth the money. They've also made a USB DAC that pairs with it.

japtor
Oct 28, 2005

Electric Bugaloo posted:

Schiit's got a small $99 amp now. If it's as good as their other stuff it's probably worth the money. They've also made a USB DAC that pairs with it.
...is that pronounced how I think it's pronounced?

As for USB DACs, I primarily remember Topping cause they had an amp with one built in for $80-100 or so.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

japtor posted:

...is that pronounced how I think it's pronounced?

As for USB DACs, I primarily remember Topping cause they had an amp with one built in for $80-100 or so.

That's the joke (they love to throw out "this is some good Shiit" on the webpage) but it's pronounced "sheet-uh."

You should check their webpage out- they make gorgeous headphone amps/DACs that are relatively inexpensive. They're also based in the US (can't remember if they manufacture here, using the iPhone app on the train right now).

Also they name all of their products after Norse mythology.

The Valhalla tube amp is on my "to buy soon" list.

trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Jun 1, 2013

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HolyDukeNukem
Sep 10, 2008

I just wanted to mention that running the audioengine 2's with onboard sound created issues with low frequencies. So I bought their D1 DAC and that fixed all the issues. I also really like their DAC it's about 3" long, 2.5" wide, and 1" tall. Basically its really small and creates a really nice sound out of the speakers. Plus it doesn't require external power(just a class A usb cable) and has a headphone jack and composite audio inputs.

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