question about my audio upgrade shopping list

[Eru]

I've been looking at my current set up and everything seems pretty solid except my audio. I've been running on just 1 speaker and a subwoofer as the other speaker died a few weeks ago and my head set has been wrecked and is no longer functional in an way.

With christmas coming around the corner I'm putting together a list of what I'd like from relatives. So far I've decided on a pretty high end sound card (creative labs x-fi titanium HD) and either also a creative labs headset or a steel series one. I've decided on a speaker system but that brings me to the question I came here to ask.

I would like to use the optical audio out on that card but I have never before done any kind of audio set up. Would I need to fork out 2 to 300 hundred dollars for a reciever to split up that one optical cable or are there cheaper solutions available?

Also any suggestions on head sets and 5.1 surround speaker systems would be much appreciated

 

[fcb]

I believe that if you truly want to use an optic connection for sound, you'll be looking for receivers. If you do get your wish and get a X-Fi Titanium HD as a gift, I'd highly suggest using the RCA connections with a good set of speakers. The X-Fi Titanium HD being a high end sound card will not support 5.1 surround sound speaker systems unless you already have a receiver ready to use. So, you'll be limited to looking for a good 2.0 or 2.1 speaker system.

For a good 2.1 speaker system, I'd suggest the Corsair SP2500. If you have a good sound card, it should be reasonable to have a high quality speaker system as well.

Corsair SP2500 2.1 Speaker System

Are you looking for a pure audio headphone or a headset (headphone and microphone) for gaming? For good audio, I'd suggest taking a look at some of the headphones that Klipsch and Sennheiser has to offer. For gaming, there are a lot to choose from and you may find interest in some of the choices offered by Steelseries. It really depends on your budget.

 

[Eru]

My budget isn't that large. If I did want to pick up a reciever, I've been trying to look around, but I can't find one that specificaly says it has optical audio input. Can anyone recomend one or is that going over board for a computer system and should souly be used for home theater systems?

 

[Eru]

I'd like to add that I am hoping to get a razer tiamat for christams. I don't want to hear and comments about redundancy for 7.1 in a headset as I've read them here and there on the internet. If I can get it free as a gift then WOOT! If I did the get the creative labs x-fi titanium hd sound card would the two be compatible? The card itself does not have true 7.1 analog output ports but are there adaptors available for optical to 7.1 analog? If this question radiates ignorance forgive me as I am very ignorant of the subject and am still learning quite a lot.

 

[fcb]

Well, from your original thoughts of what you're looking for, I think that you will be happier looking for a good speaker system rather than a receiver. Since you don't have a large budget to spend, you'll be saving some money on not having to get a receiver and also having to replace your speakers and headphone/headset as well. If your goal is to experience great audio whether it's gaming or just entertainment, a good sound card and a good speaker system is adequate.

If you are looking for a 5.1 speaker system, you may want to think about a sound card that has better support for it. A sound card that I highly recommend considering, which is capable of supporting 5.1 speaker systems very well is the Asus Xonar DX. In this regards, you'll be saving a bit on having to get a high end sound card that's aimed more towards the audiophiles. You should also check to see whether your motherboard has room and support for PCI-E devices.

Asus Xonar DX

Logitech has the Z506 5.1 speaker system that may be of interest. Creative also has the T6160 5.1 speaker system which looks to be decent for the budget as well.

Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z506

Creative Inspire T6160 5.1 Speakers

 

[Eru]

I'll take a closer look at that sound card. The thing is i already mentioned that one out of 2 of my speakers has died already and my headset is trash so I'll be replacing them anyway.

 

[fcb]

I think it will be of great help to everyone if you're able to state your budget, if you don't mind that is. It doesn't have to be exact, but just a rough idea so that others will be able to give you some great suggestions too. Yup, you also mentioned you're looking for a 5.1 speaker system to replace the defective speakers you currently have. The ones mentioned earlier aren't too bad for a reasonable price.

On the other hand, headsets and headphones come in variations and it really depends on how much you're willing to spend on them and I suppose you're hoping to fit the sound card, speakers, and headset/headphon within your budget as well.

 

[Eru]

To be perfectly honest, I'm 17 and sitting on about $500 of cash to spend on this, possibly more. I can afford some decent quality equipment but I'm not trying to go over board. What I'm aiming for is some mid grade stuff, not the stuff that comes standard on mobo's but is also not made for those in the music industry.

What I'm really trying to do is getting a feel for what goes into an audio setup before christmas and fill in the gaps with my own cash. A lot of my previous questions are based on concerns that what if everything doesn't quite all synergize properly, the optical auidio and the headset 7.1 analog auidio for instance.

 

[fcb]

Oh I understand. It's tough when you have a limited budget and you just want to make sure you're getting a product that's really worth the amount you've spent on it.

If you're unsure about sound in general, you can always start off with a decent sound card such as an Asus Xonar DG. Just because it's value oriented doesn't mean it isn't a great card. It's aimed at the gamers and the generally to people who want a better sound experience other than the onboard and provides good balance for 5.1, headphone and optical connections. It also has decent support for headphones so you can adjust settings in the Xonar utility to help drive the headphones better. The DG is a PCI card, so you'll have to think about whether you want a PCI card or a PCI-E card as PCI-E is already replacing the PCI on a lot of the current motherboards. It's something to take into account if or when you decide to get a new computer in the future. If it has space and extra PCI slots, than that will be great since you can just migrate the sound card over. Otherwise, you'll be spending more later to buy another sound card for that system. But, we're probably getting ahead of ourselves here.

Asus Xonar DG

Asus Xonar DX

Since the connections are all colour coded, you won't have any problems setting up any speaker systems to the sound card, whether it is a 2.1 or 5.1 system. I haven't seen that many PC speakers that have the optic connection. As standard, they usually just come with the RCA or the 3.5mm stereo jack.

For your reference, you may want to take a look at the user's manual. You'll find it under the Manuals section after selecting your OS. It's the 1st file there. I think pages 9 - 17 (different speaker systems setup), and 21 - 14 (Xonar software setup for your devices) will be of interest to you.

Asus Xonar DG Download