Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 17 to 32 of 46

Thread: What's your audio setup?

  1. #17
    MCRN Tachi Ttaskmaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Reading, UK
    Posts
    6,917
    Thanks
    672
    Thanked
    806 times in 668 posts
    • Ttaskmaster's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Aorus Master X670E
      • CPU:
      • Ryzen 7800X3D
      • Memory:
      • 32GB Corsair Dominator DDR5 6000MHz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung Evo 120GB and Seagate Baracuda 2TB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Aorus Master 4090
      • PSU:
      • EVGA Supernova G2 1000W
      • Case:
      • Lian Li V3000 Plus
      • Operating System:
      • Win11
      • Monitor(s):
      • Gigabyte M32U
      • Internet:
      • 900Mbps Gigaclear WHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    I'm no audiophile myself, despite having been a semi-professional musician. I generally fiddle until I am happy enough and go with that.

    What:
    Speakers - Edifier RT1600
    Headphones - Corsair Vengeance 1500 v2

    Why:
    Speakers - They only cost me £50 for 2.1 sound in a medium-sized home office and are WICKED.
    Headphones - My Plantronics 780s karked it, as they generally do and I needed a hard-weraing replacement. The Vengeance fit the bill and I've actually had better quality sound, even though they're 7.1 USB audio.

  2. #18
    root Member DanceswithUnix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    In the middle of a core dump
    Posts
    12,978
    Thanks
    778
    Thanked
    1,586 times in 1,341 posts
    • DanceswithUnix's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus X470-PRO
      • CPU:
      • 5900X
      • Memory:
      • 32GB 3200MHz ECC
      • Storage:
      • 2TB Linux, 2TB Games (Win 10)
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Asus Strix RX Vega 56
      • PSU:
      • 650W Corsair TX
      • Case:
      • Antec 300
      • Operating System:
      • Fedora 39 + Win 10 Pro 64 (yuk)
      • Monitor(s):
      • Benq XL2730Z 1440p + Iiyama 27" 1440p
      • Internet:
      • Zen 900Mb/900Mb (CityFibre FttP)

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    Having kids has made me give up with decent audio, subtlety of stereo image can't contend with all that shouting

    So my Mission 763 floorstanding speakers sit either side of the TV for use as surround amp fronts. Works really well, just tell the amp not to bother with center speakers or sub woofer and just mix it through the fronts because they have the bass response to handle it

    What do people use for source material these days? I am just using the digital out from the blu-ray player into a Pioneer surround amp, and playing CDs through that. CD was never that good though, is there something better I should be looking at now the kids are growing up and I can hear things? I am using streamed blutooth from my phone in the car, but then I am never going to be able to hear compression artefacts over the noise of a diesel engine.

  3. #19
    Bah Humbug. Dooms's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Stockholm
    Posts
    3,325
    Thanks
    94
    Thanked
    183 times in 141 posts
    • Dooms's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte X570 I AORUS PRO WIFI
      • CPU:
      • 3700X
      • Memory:
      • G.SKILL TridentZ Series 32GB (2 x 16GB)
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 970 1TB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 2080 Super
      • PSU:
      • 750W Corsair Pro
      • Case:
      • Ncase M1 6.1
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 11 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • LG 34UC88 34-Inch 21:9
      • Internet:
      • 1GB Telenor

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    Quote Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix View Post
    What do people use for source material these days? I am just using the digital out from the blu-ray player into a Pioneer surround amp, and playing CDs through that. CD was never that good though, is there something better I should be looking at now the kids are growing up and I can hear things? I am using streamed blutooth from my phone in the car, but then I am never going to be able to hear compression artefacts over the noise of a diesel engine.
    Guys over on AVforums seem very happy with the service from http://tidalhifi.com which started recently.

  4. #20
    root Member DanceswithUnix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    In the middle of a core dump
    Posts
    12,978
    Thanks
    778
    Thanked
    1,586 times in 1,341 posts
    • DanceswithUnix's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus X470-PRO
      • CPU:
      • 5900X
      • Memory:
      • 32GB 3200MHz ECC
      • Storage:
      • 2TB Linux, 2TB Games (Win 10)
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Asus Strix RX Vega 56
      • PSU:
      • 650W Corsair TX
      • Case:
      • Antec 300
      • Operating System:
      • Fedora 39 + Win 10 Pro 64 (yuk)
      • Monitor(s):
      • Benq XL2730Z 1440p + Iiyama 27" 1440p
      • Internet:
      • Zen 900Mb/900Mb (CityFibre FttP)

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    Quote Originally Posted by Dooms View Post
    Guys over on AVforums seem very happy with the service from http://tidalhifi.com which started recently.
    Interesting, though according to their FAQ they are sending Flac 1411 kbps - Lossless, which dividing by 16 for bits per sample and then 2 for stereo comes to 44KHz, so same as a 1980's CD?

  5. #21
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    London (almost)
    Posts
    1,080
    Thanks
    20
    Thanked
    34 times in 28 posts

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    Quote Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix View Post
    Interesting, though according to their FAQ they are sending Flac 1411 kbps - Lossless, which dividing by 16 for bits per sample and then 2 for stereo comes to 44KHz, so same as a 1980's CD?
    Anything above 16/44 is pretty niche and there isn't much material beyond some niche 24/96 stuff on places like HD tracks. For the most part the masters simply don't exist.

    I'm not sure if there's much benefit in lossless streaming, not the extra £10 over spotify's 320kb/s for me, anyway..

  6. #22
    Senior Member MrRockliffe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Hampshire
    Posts
    1,586
    Thanks
    228
    Thanked
    133 times in 112 posts
    • MrRockliffe's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Z270i Strix
      • CPU:
      • i7 6700K
      • Memory:
      • 16GB DDR4 Vengeance
      • Storage:
      • 500GB 850 Evo, 500GB 860 EVO
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI GTX 1070 Ti Gaming
      • PSU:
      • 550W Supernova G2
      • Case:
      • NZXT H200
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus PB278Q
      • Internet:
      • Hyperoptic 150Mb

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    There's no real audible difference between flacs and MP3s, unless maybe you train your ears. Both are compressed and as above, it's not worth paying more for it.
    XBOX Live - Sheep Sardine | Origin - MrRockliffe | Steam - MrRockliffe |

    Add me

  7. #23
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    London (almost)
    Posts
    1,080
    Thanks
    20
    Thanked
    34 times in 28 posts

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    Quote Originally Posted by MrRockliffe View Post
    There's no real audible difference between flacs and MP3s, unless maybe you train your ears. Both are compressed and as above, it's not worth paying more for it.
    Flac is lossless compression, it is bit equivalent to whatever is on the cd. MP3s etc use psycho acoustic lossy compression.
    MP3s are a bit outdated now, newer formats are more efficient. Differences are more pronounced lower bitrates, though.

  8. #24
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Posts
    22
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    3 times in 2 posts
    • unospace's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P6TD Deluxe
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i7 930 @ 4.2Ghz
      • Memory:
      • 6Gb Corsair Ram
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 840 Pro 240Gb, 4 x 1TB Samsung F1 drives
      • Graphics card(s):
      • AMD Radeon R9 270X
      • PSU:
      • Corsair 750W
      • Case:
      • Lian Li PC-7HX
      • Operating System:
      • Win 8.1 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus 24" 1080p screen
      • Internet:
      • 80/20 FTTC

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    My setup is as follows:

    PC - Old Logitech Z-680 5.1 set with the Bass Mod in the control pod for better bass control.
    TV - Yamaha RXV675 Receiver with Boston Acoustics Soundware XS 5.1 SE speakers - Yeah I live in a ground floor flat but I love the Sub!

    I also have a pair of Sennhesier HD595 cans for late night TV/Movie and Gaming Sessions when people around are asleep.
    Last edited by unospace; 18-12-2014 at 07:06 PM. Reason: added content

  9. #25
    root Member DanceswithUnix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    In the middle of a core dump
    Posts
    12,978
    Thanks
    778
    Thanked
    1,586 times in 1,341 posts
    • DanceswithUnix's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus X470-PRO
      • CPU:
      • 5900X
      • Memory:
      • 32GB 3200MHz ECC
      • Storage:
      • 2TB Linux, 2TB Games (Win 10)
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Asus Strix RX Vega 56
      • PSU:
      • 650W Corsair TX
      • Case:
      • Antec 300
      • Operating System:
      • Fedora 39 + Win 10 Pro 64 (yuk)
      • Monitor(s):
      • Benq XL2730Z 1440p + Iiyama 27" 1440p
      • Internet:
      • Zen 900Mb/900Mb (CityFibre FttP)

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    Quote Originally Posted by krazy_olie View Post
    Anything above 16/44 is pretty niche and there isn't much material beyond some niche 24/96 stuff on places like HD tracks. For the most part the masters simply don't exist.

    I'm not sure if there's much benefit in lossless streaming, not the extra £10 over spotify's 320kb/s for me, anyway..
    Hmm, wondered if that was still the case.

    Thankfully as you get older your hearing deteriorates, so I probably can't tell the difference between 24/96 and 16/44 now

    I expect 16/96 would have been good enough even when my hearing was at its best, so 24/96 sounds about right to me to make sure there just can't be a problem with how the music is stored.

    Most people just seem to want "good enough" audio through cheap ear buds though.

  10. #26
    Va Va Voom Lowe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Newcastle Under Lyme
    Posts
    6,748
    Thanks
    323
    Thanked
    359 times in 267 posts
    • Lowe's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte Z97MX Gaming 5
      • CPU:
      • Intel i5 4690K
      • Memory:
      • 16GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical
      • Storage:
      • Crucial M550 256GB and 1TB spindle drive
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Palit Geforce GTX1080 Jetstream
      • PSU:
      • EVGA 600w
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster Silencio 352 m-ATX
      • Operating System:
      • Win 7/Mac OSX
      • Monitor(s):
      • 27" 1080p AOC, Oculus Rift CV1
      • Internet:
      • 200mb Virgin VIVID

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    Even at your best you wouldn't tell the difference between 96/24 and 44.1/16. It's pretty much physically impossible. Halve the sample rate in order to work out the highest frequency recorded. You're looking at 22k which is already 2KHz higher than human hearing at its best. 48KHz? Overkill for playback purposes, much like huge bit depths. 24 bit comes into its own for recording purposes. For playback, it's marketing one upmanship, music simply doesn't have a dynamic range that great.

  11. #27
    Senior Member MrRockliffe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Hampshire
    Posts
    1,586
    Thanks
    228
    Thanked
    133 times in 112 posts
    • MrRockliffe's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Z270i Strix
      • CPU:
      • i7 6700K
      • Memory:
      • 16GB DDR4 Vengeance
      • Storage:
      • 500GB 850 Evo, 500GB 860 EVO
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI GTX 1070 Ti Gaming
      • PSU:
      • 550W Supernova G2
      • Case:
      • NZXT H200
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus PB278Q
      • Internet:
      • Hyperoptic 150Mb

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    Got my DT990s and they're broken. Out the box. Expected really, since Beyerdynamics often have poor quality drivers.
    XBOX Live - Sheep Sardine | Origin - MrRockliffe | Steam - MrRockliffe |

    Add me

  12. #28
    Oh Crumbs.... Biscuit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    N. Yorkshire
    Posts
    11,193
    Thanks
    1,394
    Thanked
    1,091 times in 833 posts
    • Biscuit's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI B450M Mortar
      • CPU:
      • AMD 2700X (Be Quiet! Dark Rock 3)
      • Memory:
      • 16GB Patriot Viper 2 @ 3466MHz
      • Storage:
      • 500GB WD Black
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire R9 290X Vapor-X
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic Focus Gold 750W
      • Case:
      • Lian Li PC-V359
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 x64
      • Internet:
      • BT Infinity 80/20

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    First I have heard of them having poor quality drivers :/ I work in broadcast and see them everywhere.

  13. #29
    Senior Member MrRockliffe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Hampshire
    Posts
    1,586
    Thanks
    228
    Thanked
    133 times in 112 posts
    • MrRockliffe's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Z270i Strix
      • CPU:
      • i7 6700K
      • Memory:
      • 16GB DDR4 Vengeance
      • Storage:
      • 500GB 850 Evo, 500GB 860 EVO
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI GTX 1070 Ti Gaming
      • PSU:
      • 550W Supernova G2
      • Case:
      • NZXT H200
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus PB278Q
      • Internet:
      • Hyperoptic 150Mb

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    After having owned Custom One Pros (replaced twice and 1 repair) and after a little research, they seem to have a common problem - bass. Too much and the drivers will break. Happened to me multiple times and to many others.
    XBOX Live - Sheep Sardine | Origin - MrRockliffe | Steam - MrRockliffe |

    Add me

  14. #30
    root Member DanceswithUnix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    In the middle of a core dump
    Posts
    12,978
    Thanks
    778
    Thanked
    1,586 times in 1,341 posts
    • DanceswithUnix's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus X470-PRO
      • CPU:
      • 5900X
      • Memory:
      • 32GB 3200MHz ECC
      • Storage:
      • 2TB Linux, 2TB Games (Win 10)
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Asus Strix RX Vega 56
      • PSU:
      • 650W Corsair TX
      • Case:
      • Antec 300
      • Operating System:
      • Fedora 39 + Win 10 Pro 64 (yuk)
      • Monitor(s):
      • Benq XL2730Z 1440p + Iiyama 27" 1440p
      • Internet:
      • Zen 900Mb/900Mb (CityFibre FttP)

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lowe View Post
    Even at your best you wouldn't tell the difference between 96/24 and 44.1/16. It's pretty much physically impossible. Halve the sample rate in order to work out the highest frequency recorded. You're looking at 22k which is already 2KHz higher than human hearing at its best. 48KHz? Overkill for playback purposes, much like huge bit depths. 24 bit comes into its own for recording purposes. For playback, it's marketing one upmanship, music simply doesn't have a dynamic range that great.
    Part of lessons in 6th form and university included measuring our hearing responses. Mine was about 26KHz. School kids often use ultrasonic ring tones so that older teachers can't hear when the kids get a text message, and some shopping centers have been known to use ultrasonics to break up places where youths congregate. So over 20KHz is actually quite common, though as I said at my age very unlikely.

    But then there is the misunderstanding of Nyquist points. There is no information above the Nyquist rate, sure, but the thing is as you approach half the sample rate you tend not to sample the peaks of those higher frequencies but somewhere on the edge so the result is that there is attenuation long before you get to 22KHz. My DSP lecturer (who did the most amazing rant mid lecture on why CD was rubbish and a missed opportunity for something good thanks to a poor choice of sample rate back in 1988 ) referred to this as "sampling droop". So from something like 16KHz you are losing information.

    Hmm, I have glasses now that my eyes are fading, I wonder if anyone has looked at doing hifi hearing correction...

  15. #31
    Senior Member MrRockliffe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Hampshire
    Posts
    1,586
    Thanks
    228
    Thanked
    133 times in 112 posts
    • MrRockliffe's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Z270i Strix
      • CPU:
      • i7 6700K
      • Memory:
      • 16GB DDR4 Vengeance
      • Storage:
      • 500GB 850 Evo, 500GB 860 EVO
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI GTX 1070 Ti Gaming
      • PSU:
      • 550W Supernova G2
      • Case:
      • NZXT H200
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus PB278Q
      • Internet:
      • Hyperoptic 150Mb

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    Quote Originally Posted by Biscuit View Post
    First I have heard of them having poor quality drivers :/ I work in broadcast and see them everywhere.
    I may look into replacing the 990s with 770s - do you use them for gaming at all?

  16. #32
    Senior Member Smudger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    St Albans
    Posts
    3,866
    Thanks
    674
    Thanked
    619 times in 451 posts
    • Smudger's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gbyte GA-970A-UD3P
      • CPU:
      • AMD FX8320 Black Edition
      • Memory:
      • 16GB 2x8G CML16GX3M2A1600C10
      • Storage:
      • 1x240Gb Corsair M500, 2TB TOSHIBA DT01ACA200
      • Graphics card(s):
      • XFX Radeon HD4890 1GB
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520
      • Case:
      • Akasa Zen
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Home
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 24"
      • Internet:
      • Virgin 200Mbit

    Re: What's your audio setup?

    PC: Creative Soundblaster (4, I think). Does a job
    Creative Gigaworks T20

    Lounge: Onkyo TX-SR607
    Front: B&W Vision VS3s - old but still got it
    Back: Mission something or other bookshelves on stands
    Centre: Mordaunt Short something.
    No sub as VS3s are quite bassy...

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •