Hi all, looking for some advice on PC audio.
(Warning: long read)
I work all day behind my PC in my home office, a rectangular room of about 30 square meters (322 square foot if I'm correct), and I'm always listening to Spotify Premium or YouTube in the background. It's a 13th Gen Intel i9-13900K PC with Windows 11 Pro.
For years I've been using a Logitech Z906 5.1 set. It's connected to a Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus card. I'm using an analog connection as that seems to work better than optical to get the 5.1 output.
If functions properly and I can tweak a bunch of settings with the Soundblaster Command utility.
However, I'm debating whether I can get better sound with some affordable bookshelf speakers. The Logitech speakers are not that big and (to my ears) work best when I'm directly in their path. They don't seem to fill the room very much. Also the back speakers are a bit low in volume compared to the front ones. I can tweak that with the utility but that hurts the sound quality.
I've been looking at a lot of options and reviews and was thinking of getting a Marantz pm6007 amp with Elac debut 3.0 speakers. Something like that is about the budget I wanna spend for now. If needed I could add a center speaker and/or subwoofer later on.
From what I've been reading the best and easiest way to connect the Marantz to my PC is via optical.
The speakers would be on adjustable stands, so I can place them anywhere in the room, at the best sounding height.
Some things to consider:
- I play all kinds of music. Mostly heavier kind of metal (Lamb of God, Pantera, ...), but also rock, classical, Pink Floyd, Mark Knopfler, R&B, ...
- I like a warm sound with a bit of bass, not a fan of the sharp pitch some speakers emit. Ideally the sound should be OK wherever I am in the room. I alternate between sitting and standing behind my desk.
- About volume... I do like heavy music, but I play stuff at a reasonably low volume when I'm working. Outside work I'd crank it up a bit, but not enough to wake the whole street. I have tinnitus, the very loud days are over...
- The amp should have a phono in (which the Marantz has), as I also have a turntable that I'd like to use from time to time.
OK, long story short... Is it worth it? Will I notice a difference from the Logitech set (going from 5.1 to 2 speakers)? I know Spotify and YouTube (and heavy metal) from a PC is not the highest quality source, but that's what I'm using. I'm willing to look at something like Tidal, if that's better.
Is my proposed amp+speakers combo a good one? Should I get the Elac Debut 3.0 b5.3 or b6.3? Is the b5.3 is better for low volume? Or do you recommand other speakers?
Thanks!
(Warning: long read)
I work all day behind my PC in my home office, a rectangular room of about 30 square meters (322 square foot if I'm correct), and I'm always listening to Spotify Premium or YouTube in the background. It's a 13th Gen Intel i9-13900K PC with Windows 11 Pro.
For years I've been using a Logitech Z906 5.1 set. It's connected to a Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus card. I'm using an analog connection as that seems to work better than optical to get the 5.1 output.
If functions properly and I can tweak a bunch of settings with the Soundblaster Command utility.
However, I'm debating whether I can get better sound with some affordable bookshelf speakers. The Logitech speakers are not that big and (to my ears) work best when I'm directly in their path. They don't seem to fill the room very much. Also the back speakers are a bit low in volume compared to the front ones. I can tweak that with the utility but that hurts the sound quality.
I've been looking at a lot of options and reviews and was thinking of getting a Marantz pm6007 amp with Elac debut 3.0 speakers. Something like that is about the budget I wanna spend for now. If needed I could add a center speaker and/or subwoofer later on.
From what I've been reading the best and easiest way to connect the Marantz to my PC is via optical.
The speakers would be on adjustable stands, so I can place them anywhere in the room, at the best sounding height.
Some things to consider:
- I play all kinds of music. Mostly heavier kind of metal (Lamb of God, Pantera, ...), but also rock, classical, Pink Floyd, Mark Knopfler, R&B, ...
- I like a warm sound with a bit of bass, not a fan of the sharp pitch some speakers emit. Ideally the sound should be OK wherever I am in the room. I alternate between sitting and standing behind my desk.
- About volume... I do like heavy music, but I play stuff at a reasonably low volume when I'm working. Outside work I'd crank it up a bit, but not enough to wake the whole street. I have tinnitus, the very loud days are over...
- The amp should have a phono in (which the Marantz has), as I also have a turntable that I'd like to use from time to time.
OK, long story short... Is it worth it? Will I notice a difference from the Logitech set (going from 5.1 to 2 speakers)? I know Spotify and YouTube (and heavy metal) from a PC is not the highest quality source, but that's what I'm using. I'm willing to look at something like Tidal, if that's better.
Is my proposed amp+speakers combo a good one? Should I get the Elac Debut 3.0 b5.3 or b6.3? Is the b5.3 is better for low volume? Or do you recommand other speakers?
Thanks!
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