- last edited on by
ROGBot
I was reading a post another member was making not long ago about how disappointing it was to see that no one is using anything but the on board sound anymore. Admittedly I fell into the category that bought into all the hype with the supreme FX which BTW feeds nothing but a headphone amp, the output in the rear is the same old realtec audio that is now several generations old.
So there I sat with my POS no highs no lows must be Bose companion 20 speakers that are actually better than most for their size. I was thinking I know they are not stellar but not too shabby either plugged into the analog out on the rear panel.
Im listening to a few tracks and decided Im going down stairs and stream these lossless tracks directly to my High current Onkyo AVR with B&Ws conneted in 5.1. The channel separation, crispness of the highs, mind blowing vocals and low end that actually has tonality instead of just moving air that seems to be mainstream these days is just so pleasureble to lay back with closed eyes and pick out every nuance of every sound on the track as it was intended to be heard.
Now Im not expecting to get that out of a PC, or should I?
So I open up the purse strings and after much research and reviews reading I bout a pair of AudioEngine A5+ speakers, I already had an audioengine B1 bluetooth receiver with a decent DAC built into it for streaming to my system downstairs. I pulled the lone mini analog cable from the green port and tossed it in a box with the Bose speakers and commenced to go wireless. Getting the blue tooth to work took some doing. Device connected right up but as soon as an attempt to play anything was made I got like 1 second of sound and it cut out. To make this stop I had to go into device manager and disable every audio device in or out but the AudioEngine BT. Once that was done the connection worked perfectly. So I sit back and get all the spacing and angles right and proceed to gather up a playlist of very complex tracks.
All I can say is OMFG!!!!
Ive been chumping all this time! The sound is nothing short of spectacular. It could be a little better but only with higher end gear. I think I have one of the best sounding PCs Ive ever owned now. Id call it a mid level audiophile grade experience. So long as you are not expecting to get audiophile quality out of a heavily compressed MP3 the sound on the lossless conversion I have is simply stellar. Im in heaven. The separation, depth, tonality are all top notch. When you can hear the female vocalists as they take breaths and every tiny little fret squeak on an acoustic set. Simply amazing!
Id highly recommend the Audioengine A5+ speakers in the least and a decent DAC to feed it. I dont know that Ill bother with a sound card as I just dont want that in my case but I may invest in a better DAC. This one is good, dont get me wrong but there are better ones, even one that Audioengine makes that its digital in comes via a USB feed from your PC and has a better DAC than the B1 and a headphone amp. The jury is still out as what I have now was only a 1000% improvement!
Edit: Right channel beside my Corsair carbide 540 case. Not tiny or light speakers in the least but ohhhhh do they sound great!
So there I sat with my POS no highs no lows must be Bose companion 20 speakers that are actually better than most for their size. I was thinking I know they are not stellar but not too shabby either plugged into the analog out on the rear panel.
Im listening to a few tracks and decided Im going down stairs and stream these lossless tracks directly to my High current Onkyo AVR with B&Ws conneted in 5.1. The channel separation, crispness of the highs, mind blowing vocals and low end that actually has tonality instead of just moving air that seems to be mainstream these days is just so pleasureble to lay back with closed eyes and pick out every nuance of every sound on the track as it was intended to be heard.
Now Im not expecting to get that out of a PC, or should I?
So I open up the purse strings and after much research and reviews reading I bout a pair of AudioEngine A5+ speakers, I already had an audioengine B1 bluetooth receiver with a decent DAC built into it for streaming to my system downstairs. I pulled the lone mini analog cable from the green port and tossed it in a box with the Bose speakers and commenced to go wireless. Getting the blue tooth to work took some doing. Device connected right up but as soon as an attempt to play anything was made I got like 1 second of sound and it cut out. To make this stop I had to go into device manager and disable every audio device in or out but the AudioEngine BT. Once that was done the connection worked perfectly. So I sit back and get all the spacing and angles right and proceed to gather up a playlist of very complex tracks.
All I can say is OMFG!!!!
Ive been chumping all this time! The sound is nothing short of spectacular. It could be a little better but only with higher end gear. I think I have one of the best sounding PCs Ive ever owned now. Id call it a mid level audiophile grade experience. So long as you are not expecting to get audiophile quality out of a heavily compressed MP3 the sound on the lossless conversion I have is simply stellar. Im in heaven. The separation, depth, tonality are all top notch. When you can hear the female vocalists as they take breaths and every tiny little fret squeak on an acoustic set. Simply amazing!
Id highly recommend the Audioengine A5+ speakers in the least and a decent DAC to feed it. I dont know that Ill bother with a sound card as I just dont want that in my case but I may invest in a better DAC. This one is good, dont get me wrong but there are better ones, even one that Audioengine makes that its digital in comes via a USB feed from your PC and has a better DAC than the B1 and a headphone amp. The jury is still out as what I have now was only a 1000% improvement!
Edit: Right channel beside my Corsair carbide 540 case. Not tiny or light speakers in the least but ohhhhh do they sound great!
xeromist wrote:
Can you add a sub with those?
Yes you can. They already sound pretty good as is with decent punch but lacking on the very low end. They have a sub that you can actually buy bundled with it, the Audio engine S8 however its a downfiring ported sub. Not a big fan of ported Subs. They tend to lose tonality and become about moving air to give the boominess. IMO Boominess is just noise if the tonality is gone. That sub gets OK reviews but Ive ordered up an SVS SB-1000 12" 300 watt sealed powered sub. They run a little higher than the audio engine but I have its big brother in in my audiophile grade system downstairs and it will blow your hair back with very clean on target an in phase response. Some folks dont know what a good sub sounds like and goes off of thump for a rating. I go off of tonality. Whats the point in having a bass riff if you cant pick out the notes?
This will be in on Wednesday
https://www.amazon.com/SVS-SB-1000-Controlled-Sealed-Subwoofer/dp/B00AF88C0M/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronic...
kkn wrote:
if you like yello, try one of their tracks since they like to experience whit things then what other do not do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smwR21SDqEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPnjpEAOfDw
see if you can find bether sources then youtube, and FLAC or enny thing like that.
youtube just to show you what i mean, there is a good deal more to listen too of their tracks/albums.
Really like the second one. Amazon music has it in a higher bit rate than yoohoo.
I hear ya! Don't think the temptation wasn't there! Like I said I have this guys big brother downstairs. SB16 ultra that pumps 1500 watts and will rattle the windows on the neighbors house a block away. Not that I crank it to that point. I like the sealed for the tonality. The SVS sealed subs are awesome in this department. It's sad to see so many say how good their subs are basing it on the thump factor based mostly on air movement on a ported sub. For me it's about being able to differentiate what percussion instrument and every note in a deep base riff. Yeah they can get pricey and fast. I got mine at B&H in NYC on a luck shot myself. It was open box and 35% off. They took it out of the box and I'm not so sure it has actually been out of he box before just the way the packaging was all perfect and crisp. Only the top flaps of the box were open. It was in pristine condition and they hooked it up to show me it works. *SOLD!! I'll take a new $2000 component for $1300 any day especially when it comes with a full warranty.*
Had to tone it down a little on the PC. My wife and I have an agreement. There are 3 bank accounts. Hers, mine and ours. We both contribute to the ours account for bills etc and what's hers is hers and what's mine is mine. We both make a decent living. That being said I still won't press my luck and get the stink eye over a PC sound system when I have a very nice rig I've built up over the years down stairs. Still sporting my Linn Axis turntable I bought in the 80s and Akai reel to reel (yes still have some magnetic tapes that are pristine as well as vintage vinyl!) *I actually ruined my copy of the white album on vinyl with the Sub on the first day I had it. Thumped once a bit too much and got my turntable arm to jump OUCH! *Pulled a Helter Skelter on my vinyl 😞
Had to tone it down a little on the PC. My wife and I have an agreement. There are 3 bank accounts. Hers, mine and ours. We both contribute to the ours account for bills etc and what's hers is hers and what's mine is mine. We both make a decent living. That being said I still won't press my luck and get the stink eye over a PC sound system when I have a very nice rig I've built up over the years down stairs. Still sporting my Linn Axis turntable I bought in the 80s and Akai reel to reel (yes still have some magnetic tapes that are pristine as well as vintage vinyl!) *I actually ruined my copy of the white album on vinyl with the Sub on the first day I had it. Thumped once a bit too much and got my turntable arm to jump OUCH! *Pulled a Helter Skelter on my vinyl 😞
Sounds like you are anal about your components like I am. I wish they were cheaper but I've come to learn audio gear is very much you get what you pay for with one exception, the yuppy brand. No highs, no lows, must be Bose. I tried a pair of 901s some years ago and they couldn't compete with my old Cerwin Vegas I had at the time and placement for those things had to be spot on to meet the acoustics of the room. Even after rearranging an entire room over he acoustic properties of those speakers they still didn't deliver.*
Onkyo high current Amps are my favorites. I have an 800 series downstairs and a 700 series in the Master bedroom. Only had one problem with the TX-SR875 which I guess you can call old now LOL as I've had it about 8 years now. The display quit. Everything worked fine and you could do everything through the OSD but couldn't take it. Found two 10K resistors on the display power board that were a bit under rated, one was open. Replaced them from 1/2 watt to 10 watt and display is working perfectly with no issues since. I really love the smart EQ *set up on these things. Sit down and hold the mic where you want the sweet spot to be and just let it do its thing. Have to do a few tweaks for personal preference after but for the most part it's all done. Sets all the levels and cross overs for you accounting not only for speaker size and response but room acoustics as well.
Yes I have a sweet set up in the MBR just not as sweet. Not everyone has a 50" 4K TV with 5.1 surround in their bedroom. *My wife thinks I'm nuts but then this is coming from someone who says they can't see the difference between the old 28 inch LCD 420P panel in the kitchen area and the 4Ks in my man cave and MBR. At least that's what she says until I tell her to go watch her dead people shows in the kitchen. She knows better than to mess with the cave or the office area off the MBR where my PCs are the basement or the garage. The rest of the house is hers to decorate and do as she sees fit. 4BR, 3 baths, upstairs family room, formal living and dining then a massive kitchen with what is called a breakfast nook but more like another dining room at 16x20 ft.**
Onkyo high current Amps are my favorites. I have an 800 series downstairs and a 700 series in the Master bedroom. Only had one problem with the TX-SR875 which I guess you can call old now LOL as I've had it about 8 years now. The display quit. Everything worked fine and you could do everything through the OSD but couldn't take it. Found two 10K resistors on the display power board that were a bit under rated, one was open. Replaced them from 1/2 watt to 10 watt and display is working perfectly with no issues since. I really love the smart EQ *set up on these things. Sit down and hold the mic where you want the sweet spot to be and just let it do its thing. Have to do a few tweaks for personal preference after but for the most part it's all done. Sets all the levels and cross overs for you accounting not only for speaker size and response but room acoustics as well.
Yes I have a sweet set up in the MBR just not as sweet. Not everyone has a 50" 4K TV with 5.1 surround in their bedroom. *My wife thinks I'm nuts but then this is coming from someone who says they can't see the difference between the old 28 inch LCD 420P panel in the kitchen area and the 4Ks in my man cave and MBR. At least that's what she says until I tell her to go watch her dead people shows in the kitchen. She knows better than to mess with the cave or the office area off the MBR where my PCs are the basement or the garage. The rest of the house is hers to decorate and do as she sees fit. 4BR, 3 baths, upstairs family room, formal living and dining then a massive kitchen with what is called a breakfast nook but more like another dining room at 16x20 ft.**
