amplifiers and speakers Options

[johnnyutah2k1]

hey,

i know a lot of you here have a lot of knowledge about digital audio, but i have more of a newbie question.

i'm thinking of getting the creative sound blaster extigy external soundcard/amplifier and was wondering if this was a good buy for a decent quality sound system and if it is, which speakers would best complement it?

any help would appreciated before i spend my well earned money on a fairly expensive piece of kit!

thanks

[cd-rw.org]

If you are interested in SB extigy, I also think that you find this very interesting too: http://cd-rw.org/articles/archive/stereolink.cfm

The speakers don't need to match with the soundcard, but they should be matched to your room.

How big is your listening room?
Have you plenty of space for speaker placement?
What kind of acoustics you have in your room?
Do you wan't to huge booming bass or are you looking for a pure neutral Hi-Fi sound?

I use Genelec 1030A speakers and they definitely rock. You should check out http://www.genelec.com/ ,since they also have some tutorials about speaker placement and stuff.

[Trelane]

SL1200 all the way!

[johnnyutah2k1]

ok, maybe i should clarify about the speakers. the room is pretty small, i currently have one of those micro-hifi's with relatively small speakers, and i definately don't want huge bass. so i guess i'm looking for the pure neutral hi-fi sound.

i'm only going to be listening to music on my pc, so i don't want any surround sound systems. two speakers is enough!!!

thanks for your help so far

dave

[Trelane]

My current system is pretty modest compared to some other systems I've read about, but I am very happy with the sound.

I have my computer/audio stuff in an average sized bedroom. I am using Stereo-Link's SL1200 ($150 US) as my "sound card" and a set of Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speakers ($180 US). I needed to make an adapter to connect the SL1200 to the speakers. The SL1200 accepts two RCA (male) connectors, while the speakers accept a stereo 1/8" miniplug (female).

If you don't feel like breaking out the soldering iron, you can buy an adapter with two male RCA connectors on one end and a stereo male miniplug on the other. You'll then need a miniplug coupler (it's female on both ends). This will probably cost around $10 US. I would highly recommend buying the adapters above, because it's very difficult to solder in the small space a miniplug connector provides...

You can find more information about the SL1200 at Stereo-Link's website. More information about the ProMedia speakers is available at Klipsch's website. In my experience with both of these products, I have found the SL1200 to output very clean and clear sound. Much better than any Creative Labs card can provide The ProMedia speakers also sound very good. The high end is there, the midrange is there (I've heard a lot of small speaker systems that lack sufficient midrange), and the bass is there without overshadowing the rest of the sound. The bass is blended nicely... no thumpy, Ghettoblaster sound coming from these bad boys!

For private listening, I recently purchased a pair of Panasonic RP-HT355 monitor headphones. I've heard nothing but great things about these headphones and I must agree. They run about $30 US and are worth every penny. The sound is clean and crisp. And thus far, I've noticed that I don't get fatigued wearing these headphones like I did with some other sets I've had in the past (all of them being cheap sets that came with portables ).

There's my system. Let us know what you decide on