pc to av reciver or preamp-amp

[admin_exported]

i want to hook up some better sound to my pc than mini hifi that i own now.

i have motherboard GA-965P-DQ6 (spdif and optical output) and rest of comp is in mid range.

i want 2 stereo speaker or 2 + 1 front.(beacuse 4 or 7+1 is much more expensive if you gona do it properly)

is it better to:

1.buy onkyo sr 606 av rec. and hook up with optical cable direct from my pc board.
2. or buy creataive xfi extreme music (http://uk.europe.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=209&subcategory=669&product=14066) , preamp (or not) and amplifier .

i want to watch hd and divx movie in the first place but i want to play mp3 (yeah i have lp records and original cd but ....be realistic) without punishing my ear.

oh yeah and my budget is between 700 - 1100 us dollars

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I think if your going to use 2 or2.1 you wont need a pre amp. Why only 2.1 have you only a small room ?

You could buy a good sound card and a good pc sound system for that and have some change, i,m thinking Asus card or Auzentech prelude or their new hdmi card (september). I run two pc's one attached to an Onkyo 605 via a prelude with 5.1 floor shaking speakers, and one with an X-fi extreme music with a Cambridge audio 5.1 system in the "office" which is grat for mp3 etc and movies. I think if you are going to get an onkyo amp you must go the whole nine yards and get at least 5.1 or you won't reap the benefit of such a superb bit of kit!

Hope that helps.

Bc.

 

[Lost Angeles]

Can't comment on what you want to do but the baby Onks are good for surround sound but are not rated very highly for music.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi. Have just posted a question about this type of setup. I am building a media center pc with blu ray drive. I want to connect this to an AV reciever something like the Onkyo 606 but do not want to lose any of the HD sound associated with a blu ray disc. Do you know if the graphics card in the pc will carry the encoded audio via the hdmi connection? If not what is the best way to connect? Can you recommend a sound card that will carry the audio? Any help would be great. Thanks

 

[professorhat]

Graphics card won't carry the sound (it's in the name

). Can't comment on a soundcard though, I just work with PCs...