Depends on if they are powered or unpowered and if they have unbalanced or balanced inputs. If they are powered and they have unbalanced inputs, you can use them just like regular computer speakers.

That said, studio monitors are designed for accurate sound reproduction, not entertainment. The better your monitors are, the worse poorly mixed music will sound. Some music that sounds "fine" on my receiver/bookshelf speakers/sub sounds like garbage on my studio monitors, because I can hear more detail. So I don't know that I would recommend monitors for your intended usage.

Plasma wrote on 2022-02-10, 03:05:

Depends on if they are powered or unpowered and if they have unbalanced or balanced inputs. If they are powered and they have unbalanced inputs, you can use them just like regular computer speakers.

That said, studio monitors are designed for accurate sound reproduction, not entertainment. The better your monitors are, the worse poorly mixed music will sound. Some music that sounds "fine" on my receiver/bookshelf speakers/sub sounds like garbage on my studio monitors, because I can hear more detail. So I don't know that I would recommend monitors for your intended usage.

Thanks, what would you recommend as a step up to general pc speakers? Or just go with the "normal" pc speakers and attach an external sound card?

My entertainment setup is computer optical out going to a home theater receiver/amplifier, attached to 5.25" bookshelf speakers and a 10" subwoofer. But it's not very compact or cheap.

What's your budget? Do you have space for a sub?

Sound advice from Plasma. (Ha! Sound!)

I'd go with a pair of active bookshelf speakers to suit your budget. I run a pair of Edifiers. Get something with an optical input to take advantage of your Forte's output.

Plasma wrote on 2022-02-10, 03:37:

My entertainment setup is computer optical out going to a home theater receiver/amplifier, attached to 5.25" bookshelf speakers and a 10" subwoofer. But it's not very compact or cheap.

What's your budget? Do you have space for a sub?

Inbetween the speakers and some other equipment (external sound card or amplifier) I'd say around 250, 300 dollars max. If I buy used older speakers I can get either a used older amplifier or a new external sound card within budget. I'm still unsure about what the difference between those last two is, if it's either / or or even both. isn't the amplifier using the onboard audio as source? Wouldn't it be better to have an external sound card as a source?

I have space for a sub, yes. A simple 2.1 system is enough for what I want

Pierre32 wrote on 2022-02-10, 03:45:

Sound advice from Plasma. (Ha! Sound!)

I'd go with a pair of active bookshelf speakers to suit your budget. I run a pair of Edifiers. Get something with an optical input to take advantage of your Forte's output.

Bookshelf it is then, thanks. This is all for another future build, but the Forte is doing a fine job on my Win 7 build it has to be said. So if you guys are recommending optical, would an external sound card do the job? Optical from PC to Ext sound card, and cables to speakers if I got it right?

I think the external sound card is a needless addition, if your internal card is sufficient and has the outputs you need. Just run it straight to your speakers.

Unless you want some of the additional features that an external sound card can bring, like a physical volume control and additional I/O. In that case it would be USB from the PC to the external device, then optical or whatever you choose from the device to the speakers.

Pierre32 wrote on 2022-02-10, 04:05:

I think the external sound card is a needless addition, if your internal card is sufficient and has the outputs you need. Just run it straight to your speakers.

Unless you want some of the additional features that an external sound card can bring, like a physical volume control and additional I/O. In that case it would be USB from the PC to the external device, then optical or whatever you choose from the device to the speakers.

So in order to increase in quality for what I want the bookshelf speakers would make the most difference even with the onboard audio? Interesting. I would think that removing the onboard audio from the equation would be the first thing to do. The Forte in my Win 7 build made such a difference from onboard audio that I was thinking of doing the same with the future build, but I always thought about external sound cards because they seem to be more present everywhere nowadays.

But well if getting some bookshelf speakers would be the main game changer then I guess I could splurge a bit more on that and call it a day

Right, it didn't quite sink in that you were planning a build from scratch. I'm with you there, I don't like to use the onboard stuff either as a rule. But the general sentiment around onboard optical outputs is good. I'd be inclined to try that first with some quality speakers, and only add an external card later if you feel you need to.

Are we just talking about stereo or full on surround sound?
If its stereo or just the Win7 PC then hooking up to a decent amp (like entertainment system) is a good cheap way to improve over standard PC speakers.

If we are talking about EAX and surround sound annoyingly you need to use the 3 sets of analog 3.55mm jacks, even though the card as toslink EAX doesn't work over, at least naivety in XP and below, not sure about alchemy

Pierre32 wrote on 2022-02-10, 04:40:

Right, it didn't quite sink in that you were planning a build from scratch. I'm with you there, I don't like to use the onboard stuff either as a rule. But the general sentiment around onboard optical outputs is good. I'd be inclined to try that first with some quality speakers, and only add an external card later if you feel you need to.

chinny22 wrote on 2022-02-10, 14:07:

Are we just talking about stereo or full on surround sound?
If its stereo or just the Win7 PC then hooking up to a decent amp (like entertainment system) is a good cheap way to improve over standard PC speakers.

If we are talking about EAX and surround sound annoyingly you need to use the 3 sets of analog 3.55mm jacks, even though the card as toslink EAX doesn't work over, at least naivety in XP and below, not sure about alchemy

Basically stereo for general computer usage. This would be a completely modern new Win11 build. I have a pair of Altec Lansing active speakers that are quite good for what they are and I'm yet to try them in a PC, so that's another possibility to cut some costs, and maybe add a DAC or an external sound card. Or as Pierre32 said get some bookshelf speakers and go from there as required.

Let's say the speakers are chosen, whatever they are, and I wanted something more to push it further. Do I need a DAC or an external sound card? What is the difference between them?

Plasma wrote on 2022-02-10, 03:05:

Depends on if they are powered or unpowered and if they have unbalanced or balanced inputs. If they are powered and they have unbalanced inputs, you can use them just like regular computer speakers.

That said, studio monitors are designed for accurate sound reproduction, not entertainment. The better your monitors are, the worse poorly mixed music will sound. Some music that sounds "fine" on my receiver/bookshelf speakers/sub sounds like garbage on my studio monitors, because I can hear more detail. So I don't know that I would recommend monitors for your intended usage.

Good. Let shit quality be known

maxtherabbit wrote on 2022-02-10, 17:18:

Plasma wrote on 2022-02-10, 03:05:

Depends on if they are powered or unpowered and if they have unbalanced or balanced inputs. If they are powered and they have unbalanced inputs, you can use them just like regular computer speakers.

That said, studio monitors are designed for accurate sound reproduction, not entertainment. The better your monitors are, the worse poorly mixed music will sound. Some music that sounds "fine" on my receiver/bookshelf speakers/sub sounds like garbage on my studio monitors, because I can hear more detail. So I don't know that I would recommend monitors for your intended usage.

Good. Let shit quality be known

Not good if you are trying to enjoy the actual music and not the quality of the audio mastering. It's like watching a movie 2 feet from your TV and looking for compression artifacts.

yeah I wouldnt reccomend studio monitors or like DT770/DT900 headphones for general use. If your mixing sure, but otherwise... its amazing the difference.

DACs and Amps are so good these days you have a wealth of choices.

bookshelf speakers like the MICA MB42 (I like the MB42 over the MB42X) are fantastic. a small amp like ones from SMSL will drive those speakers just fine. some cheap good dacs around too like a Fosi Audio Q4 (usb/optical spdif/coax spdif inputs, rca outputs to the amp).

Plasma wrote on 2022-02-10, 17:47:

Not good if you are trying to enjoy the actual music and not the quality of the audio mastering. It's like watching a movie 2 feet from your TV and looking for compression artifacts.

Be serious now.... the kind of ppl that do that, these days own 8K TV at least, so they're sitting there with a magnifying glass 🤣

Plasma wrote on 2022-02-10, 17:47:

Not good if you are trying to enjoy the actual music and not the quality of the audio mastering. It's like watching a movie 2 feet from your TV and looking for compression artifacts.

I also support pixel peeping

BloodyCactus wrote on 2022-02-10, 18:29:

yeah I wouldnt reccomend studio monitors or like DT770/DT900 headphones for general use. If your mixing sure, but otherwise... its amazing the difference.

DACs and Amps are so good these days you have a wealth of choices.

bookshelf speakers like the MICA MB42 (I like the MB42 over the MB42X) are fantastic. a small amp like ones from SMSL will drive those speakers just fine. some cheap good dacs around too like a Fosi Audio Q4 (usb/optical spdif/coax spdif inputs, rca outputs to the amp).

Thanks, I was looking at the Fosi Audio Q4 funny enough. I think I'll initially go with that to drive my powered Altec Lansing speakers, and further along I'll get a compact amplifier with some bookshelf speakers to complete the chain. It's all pipe dream stuff for now but I'm looking forward to the experience. Again: are DACs and amplifiers exclusive to each other? Or is getting both essential to maximize the bookshelf speakers?

If they are unamplified (speaker terminals), you could try one of these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003100996665.html
Insanely cheap for a class D amp that is also a USB soundcard

Matth79 wrote on 2022-02-11, 00:13:

If they are unamplified (speaker terminals), you could try one of these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003100996665.html
Insanely cheap for a class D amp that is also a USB soundcard

So much to learn, what a cool device, thank you so much. Looks perfect to have in the office table