A New Build: Conroe System Checklist

[Excelsius]

I am having a really hard time about the soundcard. You can't believe in how many sound forums I have signed up and posted a thread so that someone can give me a decent answer. The fact is that people know very little about this matter and so far I have only gotten very limited response in only 20% of the forums where I posted my plea.
Of course, you can always find something better, but the key in here is that my budget is limited so I need to get something that is the best, but the best that is still under $200. E-MU 1212M is claimed to be state-of-the-art soundcard and it costs $199.

Regarding usage, yes, it is going to be for almost exclusive classical listening. I often blast the sound all the way up and need a card and speakers that will not distort the integrity of the music even at the highest volumes.
I also do a lot of wav ripping, but I have found out that it has nothing to do with the card.
If you know where I can get the proper help in this area I would appreciate if you could tell me, because I am also looking for the speakers that are worthy of the soundcard (within $150-250). My current 5.1 Logitech Z-5300 is great for games, but itÂ’s piece of crap when it comes to high definition sound production.
Currently, my best bet is just to stick with E-MU 1212M, unless someone knowledgable has some mercy on me and gives me good info.

 

[gurusan]

For "high definition sound" you would do better with something by Klipsch

 

[Excelsius]

Yeah I actually was thinking about Klipsch ProMedia GMX A-2.1 Computer Speaker System:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Klipsch-Pro...5094QQcategoryZ3702QQrdZ1QQc<br />mdZViewItem

I asked about it in a sound forum but didn't get a response. It's only 2.1 and less powerfull than my 500W Logitech, but perhaps in terms of precision it will kick some nice logitech ***.

Then there is also Klipsch 5.1 THX:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Klipsch-ProMedi...70QQihZ005QQcategoryZ3702QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

But I don't know if anyone can confirm that these are MUCH better than my Logitech.

(This soundcard trouble made me lose my technical virginity. Hideous)

 

[Excelsius]

Take a look at the reviews of Klipsch at newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16836119106

People say that these speakers are great but don't last.

 

[Lord AnthraX]

Personally If I were you, 003 has a great deal on a extremely nice sound card with awsome 5.1 speakers.


It would blow you away

 

[Brtnboarder495]

For non-overclockers, 266mhz is a significant boost for the Conroe line.

 

[003]

I am having a really hard time about the soundcard. You can't believe in how many sound forums I have signed up and posted a thread so that someone can give me a decent answer. The fact is that people know very little about this matter and so far I have only gotten very limited response in only 20% of the forums where I posted my plea.
Of course, you can always find something better, but the key in here is that my budget is limited so I need to get something that is the best, but the best that is still under $200. E-MU 1212M is claimed to be state-of-the-art soundcard and it costs $199.

Regarding usage, yes, it is going to be for almost exclusive classical listening. I often blast the sound all the way up and need a card and speakers that will not distort the integrity of the music even at the highest volumes.
I also do a lot of wav ripping, but I have found out that it has nothing to do with the card.
If you know where I can get the proper help in this area I would appreciate if you could tell me, because I am also looking for the speakers that are worthy of the soundcard (within $150-250). My current 5.1 Logitech Z-5300 is great for games, but itÂ’s piece of crap when it comes to high definition sound production.
Currently, my best bet is just to stick with E-MU 1212M, unless someone knowledgable has some mercy on me and gives me good info.

The 1212m is a good card, there is no question about it. It uses the CM's flagship DAC, it will have very good sound quality. BUT, I don't think you realize, that it is a very tricky card to use. First of all, I'm pretty sure it does not support surround sound. Second, you have to manually change the sample rate when listening to audio. Like if you are playing a 44.1khz wav file, and then you want to listen to a 48khz wav file, you have to manually go into the drivers and switch the sample rate. It is not an easy card to use.

For music listening alone, I am surprised nobody has suggested using an external DAC. That would provide even better sound quality than any sound card. If you are thinking of computer speakers like the ultra-5.1s or the logitech z-5500, it would be a waste to get a pro audio card, because those speakers are not good enough to allow you to hear an audible difference when using a high end pro-audio card.

To give you an example, the sound system I am using with my PC cost over $1000. That my friend is the type of system needed to fully take advantage of the sound quality of a sound card like the 1212m.

I suggest you visit head-fi, while it is really for high end headphones, there is also a section for speakers, and using your computer as a source. They can help you more than anybody here.

Here is a link:
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/

You can find out about external DACs, high end sound cards, and speakers. If you want to use speakers like the ultra-5.1s or z-5500, a sound card like the m-audio revolution 5.1 (the 5.1 has better sound quality than the 7.1 version) would be more suitable than a 1212m. And like I said, I'm pretty sure the 1212m dosn't even support surround sound.

EDIT:
Just checked, I am correct in my thinking. The 1212m does not support surround sound. And it is now time for me to retire for the night.

 

[Excelsius]

I guess I just have to give up. You are right about external DAC, but it costs about 2500. Someone else just told me that it would be a waste of money to get E-MU because all computer speakers are made for gaming. So the right answer is that I can't get anything decent to make it work with my computer. This is so disappointing!! I spent many hours researching this matter and the result is null.
So I should just get an X-fi or audophile (that guy recommended here: http://www.audioforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=67818#post67818)

 

[003]

Two things. One, the Audiophile 2496 has clearly inferior sound quality to the Audiophile 192. Second, neither of them support surround sound. For purely music listening, a 2 channel setup would be much better quality than surround sound.

You don't have to give up. I'm serious, go to head-fi and find out about higher-end 2-channel speakers. You can most certainly get something decent to work with your computer, just not for the price of gaming speakers. You might also want to look into heasphones, it is a lot easier to get a high end headphone set up and working with a computer than it is speakers. And with headphones, they provide much better quality for a lower price than speakers. Lets say you spend $500-$800 on a headphone setup. That would be equal to, lets say a $2000 speaker syetem. Now I made all those numbers up, but it gives you an idea of what I'm talking about.

 

[Excelsius]

Actually several people in three different forums have recommended M-Audo. The recent recommendation is M-Audo 5.1 Revolution:

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Revolution51-main.html

I think I'll just have to go with it. Is it out of the question to recommend me good PC speakers within $150-$300?

I will go to head-fi and start this discussion all over again, for the last time, to see if I get any different answers.