PC speakers +/- $100

[Slowhand]

another option if your computer has a digital out.

buy:
- $2 fiber optic cable
- $50 receiver. (craigslist a older but good home theater receiver from like 10 years ago with digital inputs like HK, denon, yamaha)
- $50 pair of decent 2/3 way bookshelf speakers.
- some speaker cable

you can add a sub if you would like now or down the road.

chances are most folks i know have some extra audio equipment lying around from upgrades that can be re-purposed for this task saving money.

the benefit of this is you just treat the computer like a digital source and bypass the crappy onboard DACs and any processing.

This.

[CJ]

Klipsch pro media 2.1

These have been a mainstay of the computer audio world for the last 15 years. You can't go wrong.

[HarrisonTX]

another option if your computer has a digital out.

buy:
- $2 fiber optic cable
- $50 receiver. (craigslist a older but good home theater receiver from like 10 years ago with digital inputs like HK, denon, yamaha)
- $50 pair of decent 2/3 way bookshelf speakers.
- some speaker cable

you can add a sub if you would like now or down the road.

chances are most folks i know have some extra audio equipment lying around from upgrades that can be re-purposed for this task saving money.

the benefit of this is you just treat the computer like a digital source and bypass the crappy onboard DACs and any processing.

I do have an older AIWA reciever for my turn table and a 3.1 system (lost 2 of the speakers, was a 5.1). It works well, but the volume knob is fucked. Hard to change volume.

[Geor!]

These do the job, but if I'm sitting at a desk listening to music, I don't care too much about the quality of sound since I'm probably not paying a whole lot of attention in the first place. They don't distort when you crank them, at least.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-980-000402-Speaker-System-Z623/dp/B003VAHYTG/ref=sr_1_9?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1359068551&sr=1-9[/ame]

[Big A]

This.

Yep, I upgraded my Sony "surround sound" bar system in the living room to a real 5.1 a while back, and rather than dicking with selling the bar setup, I hooked it up to my laptop. Overkill, but it sounds great.

With the rave reviews of the Klipsch system though, I'm considering picking them up, and moving the bar setup to the bedroom.

[HarrisonTX]

Put the sub in a corner to bounce the bass into the room. I haven't tried to turn mine up all the way to check for any distortion. Like Motoman, mine rarely go over 1/4, and with regular computer usage the volume on my computer is 95% of the time less than half.

Got em in. They're fantastic. When I read the 1/4% I was thinking "Really?, rarely above 1/4?". Dude I get it. I play BF3 at like 15% and it's fantastic. It's like hearing things completely different now.

Only issue is there is a major echo, like the speakers are in a bathroom. When I plugged them up, ASUS (mobo) had a pop up with a lot of options. I set it up as Stereo, (front speaker left and right),
under sound effects
-Environment: room (as opposed to "padded cell, bathroom, cave, hallway)
-Equalizer: Powerful

Default format
-24 bits 48000Hz (studio quality)

I would prefer this echo to go away, but they're still worlds better than my bullshit speakers I've been running for years.

[Ratt]

There's probably some reverb setting you're missing somewhere. I'm not familiar with them anymore as I haven't owned a pair in ~6 years.

[HarrisonTX]

There's probably some reverb setting you're missing somewhere. I'm not familiar with them anymore as I haven't owned a pair in ~6 years.

I took care of that, changed some stuff around in the sound setting menu. Worked.

Now I question my audio files. Some of them crackle like a blown speaker. When I first heard it today on an Alice in Chains song, my heart sank. I quickly went to youtube and played the same song, even at a louder volume, and no crackle. Leads me to believe it's a poor quality file? Has happened on Alice in Chains, and Miike Snow. Weird.

[racrguy]

I took care of that, changed some stuff around in the sound setting menu. Worked.

Now I question my audio files. Some of them crackle like a blown speaker. When I first heard it today on an Alice in Chains song, my heart sank. I quickly went to youtube and played the same song, even at a louder volume, and no crackle. Leads me to believe it's a poor quality file? Has happened on Alice in Chains, and Miike Snow. Weird.

Glad you like 'em. I didn't change any settings when I plugged mine in. Hook 'em up, turn 'em on, and away we go!

[momo]

as far as settings, i go to sound, playback options, enhancements tab, then disable all enhancements.

your crackle on your own music is indicative of a poor quality rip. is it an MP3? what bit rate is it?

I use a lossless audio format known as FLAC exclusively to store my digital music. if i need mp3s for my phone or ipod I rip my own V0 (variable bit rate) mp3s from the FLAC file.

[HarrisonTX]

as far as settings, i go to sound, playback options, enhancements tab, then disable all enhancements.

your crackle on your own music is indicative of a poor quality rip. is it an MP3? what bit rate is it?

I use a lossless audio format known as FLAC exclusively to store my digital music. if i need mp3s for my phone or ipod I rip my own V0 (variable bit rate) mp3s from the FLAC file.

Just checked the file. It is MP3 and at 235 kbps. I'd rather not use FLAC. To avoid crackle with MP3s what bit rate do I need to stay above?

When I acquire new music I always look for a high bit rate, but I have an external with 40K songs on there at 155 gigs. Not all of that is high quality, and some of that is where I source my older stuff from.

[Ratt]

Just checked the file. It is MP3 and at 235 kbps. I'd rather not use FLAC. To avoid crackle with MP3s what bit rate do I need to stay above?

When I acquire new music I always look for a high bit rate, but I have an external with 40K songs on there at 155 gigs. Not all of that is high quality, and some of that is where I source my older stuff from.

I have a 800 gig drive with 700 gigs of music on it.

[momo]

Just checked the file. It is MP3 and at 235 kbps. I'd rather not use FLAC. To avoid crackle with MP3s what bit rate do I need to stay above?

When I acquire new music I always look for a high bit rate, but I have an external with 40K songs on there at 155 gigs. Not all of that is high quality, and some of that is where I source my older stuff from.

bit rate matters but if the crackle is present then it was either on the source when ripping to mp3 or implanted in the ripping process by poor hardware or software. typically it is a result of a bad rip job.

[Geor!]

I have a 800 gig drive with 700 gigs of music on it.

All mp3?

[momo]

I have a 800 gig drive with 700 gigs of music on it.