how do you listen to sound on your pc?
 

Inspired by the "what music are you listening to" thread, I just wondered?

My pc is used for playing CD's, DVD's & watching telly, for example.

I have a 5.1 speaker & decoder set (old Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Theater (sic)) which sounds great in the small room, for all the above.

Otherwise I use headphones - the dolby headphone option in PowerDVD, does great 3D effects with DVD's.

If i say with my ears...... will i get flamed?

Oooer!! flame me, flame me :p :D

i listen to my music through my lowly 2.1's but i may upgrade to 5.1 my soundcard can go as high as 7.1 :eek:

*heads off to London with a flame thrower...


I use an elderly Pioneer Dolby Digital amp and speakers.

Does a good job with DVDs.. Especially the Bond ones (the river chase at the beginning of The World is Not Enough shakes the room) and anything with a lot of action.

\blows hot breath in kinks ear:naughty:

I use the built in "sounds card" on my Mobo (MSI) and a set of creative 5.1 speakers, couldn't telly you the model of them, it all sounds sweets as, and the speakers only cost a little over £50 can't complain about that:)

Nothing wrong with a 2.1 set for music. The amp/decoder determines how good the simulation of 5.1 is for stereo - if you only listen to music, you might want to save your money?

If you start getting music encoded for dolby or divx, it would be a different matter.:)

I just use the built sound chip on my mother board (NVIDIA nForce) with some Packard Bell flat pannel NXT speakers.

These ones: http://www.pcworld.co.uk/images/654452_01_huge.jpg

Had some NXT speakers, swapped them out for a set of Encore P703s set as the front speakers, plantronics headset as the rear speakers, so when I want to videoconference without feedback / echo issues I just run the fader to the rear speakers and put the headset on...

Gotta love the SB:Live for that

i mainly listen to mp3's ive downloaded from the net and even though i have 5.1 i think it simulates mp3's as 5.1 coz i don't think mp3's can be encoded at 5.1....or sommat similarly techy

audigy 2 with altec lansing ada885 speakers 4.1 uses a ghosted center has a built in DD decoder and massive sub as big as the pc base unit

are these decent? i am looking at getting some of these... i like the idea of having slim speakers...

beats the pieces of crap that have been supplied with my computer :mad:

sounds like (no pun intended:D) the sub my son has in his car - I'm surprised the windows don't pop out!

My sound card is only a Soundblaster 4.1, which I got because I was sick of the appalling "built in" sound on my mobo, but didn't have much cash to splash.

I listen through a Logic base speaker and two sub speakers. VIA AC"97 Enhanced Audio.

Harmon Kardon Soundsticks with a great big subwoofer under the desk ... transparent perspex with a blue light inside it. Looks like an alien jellyfish and terrifies guests when they stay in our spare room.

Sounds great too.

http://homepage.mac.com/towny/soundsticks.jpg

like I said - "built in" sound, can be crap - not always, by any means.

however try a "proper" soundcard, like a soundblaster 128, for a 2:1 speaker set, for example - before you make up your mind?

For gaming I use an Audigy 2 player with Creative Megaworks 5.1 speakers, for music a Terratec DMX 6 fire and inspire 5700's and for DVD's (on a household DVD player) I still use what I guess could be classed as computer speakers with a set of Videologic digitheatre DTS.

I use the built in sound from my Dimension 4550, and a set of Harmon Kardon speakers, 695 , not the flashy ones like towny. They do have a great big box and two satalite things that sit on my desk. They sound great, and so does the inbuild sound!



http://buy.overstock.com/images/products/T932280.jpg
(only in black) :)

Am I the only one that has a decent stereo system next to the pc and just plugs into that? That's what I do for the lappy in the lounge and the desktop in the study.

That's basically what I do, except I have a Pioneer AV (Home Cinema) amp.

I use the PC as my main stereo and "media centre" with the following software/hardware:

XP Pro SP1 + DX9b
Windows Media Player 9 + mp3s, CDs, movies etc
NVidia GF4 with SVideo-out
Soundblaster Live 5.1 Digital (2 speaker mode)
Sony amp
2 x 350W RMS floorstanding speakers (18Hz - 22,000Hz, 96db sensitivity :cool: )

It does a good job of shaking the floor in my house and several doors down the road. :p

I like the "sound" of that, night, night.:)

Gaz

i saw some nice 550w ones for about £200 shame i have no room but i bet that would give the music i listen to a right oomph :p

It's a bit early to say, but if I 'ear anything, I'll let you know.

Sound Plaster 5.1 Live!
Cambridge Soundworks 5.1 with Sony active Sub (making it 5.2!)

I use the digital out on the soundcard for playing CD's, the optical link for my PS/2 and the analogue link for the video.

i use a microsoft digital sound system 80 its a 2.1 setup
the woofer really woof's :D everyone whe hears it wants one
got it 2yr ago pc world were flogin em off cheap as they were taken off the market i love it to death would never part with it
and you dont need 10 mile of cable for all them speakers being a 2.1 setup

towny - those speakers so look like the ones you can get with the desklamp mac :-D They are good but not a scratch on my setup (good friend of mine, well was :-( has said mac)

What I run, SB audigy2 platinum hooked upto a Sony K840P Digitial audio / visual control center - Digital cinema sound (HiFi like amp but surround sound and digital)

Which has 6x100w rms output which is hooked upto 4x100w position satelites, 1x100w center speaker (takes more midrange than the sats do) and 1x100w self powered subwoofer.

Its very powerfull and yet very clear in audio reproduction though listening to somthing with abit of base can make everything in the room shake at moderate volume levels (45/65 power level) and at power level 50 listening to freeview radio it can make the water in the bath shake which is in the room next door.

Rarely do i use it to high volumes as i dont want to anoy my housemates nor neighbours that much but its good to have a blast every once in a while :-D

The setup is by no means cheap but as they say you get what you pay for and its impressed everyone i've shown it to, especially when there is thud like noises it shakes the bed / chair like the noise,
for example when santa's little helper slams into the door in an old simpsons ep it felt like my room door had been run into :-D

K

PCI 512 :blush: .... feeding into Sony LBT-XB500 HiFi.

2 400w RMS speakers each with inbuilt seperate passive sub cones.

Floor standing 200w Mordaunt-short Active Sub! (really shakes the house ;) )

§talk

The external speakers you get with the new iMac are by Harmon Kardon, like my soundsticks :)

ive since bought myself what i said earlier, a set of apckard bell (no flames abuot the brand ;)) 2.1 NXT speakers, mainly cos they are nice and slim. the dinky sub puts out a nice bit of bass as well... enough for me anyway. none of this fancy 7.1 surround wired thru 6 amps and 2 pre-amps etc etc for old dave...

no such thing as enough bass!!

as long as the mid range and 'ickle tweeters aint drowned :D

§talk

Have a Soundblaster 5.1 and Creative 4 Point Surround Set ( Woofer and 4 Satellites ) Small but find damn loud and clear tho thinking of upgrading to full surround speakers and improving the soundcard to boot . Any idea's???

To me there is!!


I do not like that over compessed heavy PCM bass,its horrible!!!

I am grateful I have as analogue a sound card as I can get (ESS PCI SOLO 1 AUDIODRIVE (WDM))

I have a mini FM transmitter hooked up and it transmits to my FM radio (Sony Tuner) and most music I hear sounds as good as it can for what it is... (No heavy bass)

I turn on my FM radio and the music sounds aweful on most FM stations (Heavy bass)

I dont understand mates who think over blown bass sounds good!!