Quality PC sound system

[Uriel]

Having thought a bit more, I'd question whether your really need the Prelude. Have you ordered it yet? An X-Fi Xtreme Music, Xtreme Gamer or Titanium would give the same feature set, with bit of a drop in sound quality (remember though - not Xtreme Audio). I'm not sure you'd notice the drop in quality on a PC350 and almost certainly not with the speakers you're thinking of. A Xonar D1 or DX would give sound quality about on par with the Prelude but would sacrifice some EAX compatibility.

The Prelude's a great soundcard but pairing it with the rest of the equipment you've mentioned is a bit like having a ferrari and just using it to go to the shops or the dentist and back.

Edit: Xtreme Music and Xtreme Gamer usually don't have Optical ports but it sounds like you won't be using it anyway. You can buy an adapter if you ever need it.

[Robscure]

Having thought a bit more, I'd question whether your really need the Prelude. Have you ordered it yet? An X-Fi Xtreme Music, Xtreme Gamer or Titanium would give the same feature set, with bit of a drop in sound quality (remember though - not Xtreme Audio). I'm not sure you'd notice the drop in quality on a PC350 and almost certainly not with the speakers you're thinking of. A Xonar D1 or DX would give sound quality about on par with the Prelude but would sacrifice some EAX compatibility.

The Prelude's a great soundcard but pairing it with the rest of the equipment you've mentioned is a bit like having a ferrari and just using it to go to the shops or the dentist and back.

Edit: Xtreme Music and Xtreme Gamer usually don't have Optical ports but it sounds like you won't be using it anyway. You can buy an adapter if you ever need it.

Thanks, but I think the PC350 can benefit from the prelude... and I don't think the prelude is *that* much more expensive than any of the other cards you mentioned... £50 is nothing... £100 comes and goes so fast, so if I'm making a long-term investment, then I don't mind spending the money for it.

I may, in the future, upgrade to higher quality speakers, so why not be prepared?

So... with that said... what 2.1 would you recommend given that I'm getting a Prelude and that I want excellent low-mid quality sound... note that I care more about treble than bass...

[Uriel]

Well the Prelude is about as good as you're going to get on a consumer soundcard.

For good treble and mid range reproduction, rather than emphasis on the bass, get a good 2.0 system rather than 2.1. You do not need a subwoofer. It all depends on how much you want to spend though.

I haven't heard all of the following so going on reputation:
Lower price range: Creative Gigaworks T20
Mid price range: Creative Gigaworks T40
Higher Price range: Hi fi separates. You will have seen the Aego Ms recommended but they won't beat the mid range and treble clarity of a decent separates setup. I would suggest the following: http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...=CAMB-A1V3-BLK and http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...L-CONTROL1-SIL but you could mix and match as you see fit.

Edit: A couple of reviews of the T20 and T40: http://www.trustedreviews.com/multim...-0-Speakers/p1
http://www.trustedreviews.com/multim...-0-Speakers/p1

[format]

Well the Prelude is about as good as you're going to get on a consumer soundcard.

For good treble and mid range reproduction, rather than emphasis on the bass, get a good 2.0 system rather than 2.1. You do not need a subwoofer. It all depends on how much you want to spend though.

I haven't heard all of the following so going on reputation:
Lower price range: Creative Gigaworks T20
Mid price range: Creative Gigaworks T40
Higher Price range: Hi fi separates. You will have seen the Aego Ms recommended but they won't beat the mid range and treble clarity of a decent separates setup. I would suggest the following: http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...=CAMB-A1V3-BLK and http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...L-CONTROL1-SIL but you could mix and match as you see fit.

Edit: A couple of reviews of the T20 and T40: http://www.trustedreviews.com/multim...-0-Speakers/p1
http://www.trustedreviews.com/multim...-0-Speakers/p1

Slight thread hijack but how do HiFi seperates perform for gaming. I mostly use headphones but still...

[Powderhound]

I thought the T40s aren't meant to be great. If you're spending that amount of money, I'd think about the M Audios

[llololloy]

Slight thread hijack but how do HiFi seperates perform for gaming. I mostly use headphones but still...

The main benefit of seperates is clarity and better reproduction of signal.
Good cables, good amp and good speakers will output the sound more like how it was intended.
Sometimes people want a type of sound from their setups, in which case this might not be best (ie some people want loads of bass or very high volume. proper hifi will do it but cost more) where as if you want to hear every last detail, a good setup is probably best. As for gaming in particular, it should make no odds whatsoever. Signal is signal. It'll probably sound clearer due to more precise equipment, but it depends on your headphones.

[Uriel]

Slight thread hijack but how do HiFi seperates perform for gaming. I mostly use headphones but still...

Hi Fi separates are excellent for gaming but I would put a greater emphasis on the importance of surround sound than fidelity in gaming. For gaming I'd much rather have a 5.1 or 7.1 pc set than hi-fi stereo.

With a Xonar I'm quite happy to game with headphones though. Still prefer surround speakers but Dolby Headphone does the job.

[Robscure]

Thanks for the help everyone,

I ended up ordering the Acoustic Energy Aego M...