I am planning to build a system capable of surround sound that will be used mostly for stereo music playback. I am going to use a pc for producing both music and video and connect this to a surround receiver, 5.1 speaker system and HD tv.
There seems to be an overwhelming amount of options available to make this connection and I would appreciate any advice you can give me.
Some options I am considering: For speakers, the Yamo S 606 HCS 5 would are an option. Reviews about it are rather enthousiastic and they look nice. Any opinions on this set, of recommendations for a different one would be nice.
For connecting the speakers, several options are possible. First to make the connection to the PC, I am considering either an external sound card or a digital connection to a cheaper internal sound card. The second option is definitely cheaper, which leaves me some more budget for the other components, but I am not sure if it could match the sound quality.
For connecting the sound card to the speakers, I am considering two options. One would be a decent surround receiver, to which I can connect everything at once. (Possibly bi-amped front speakers) The part that worries me here is the stereo quality. Another option here would be a cheaper surround receiver connected to a stereo amplifier. But I'm not sure if this will give an improvement, given my limited budget.
Any comments or recommendations would be much appreciated. My budget for the total of sound card, receiver and speakers is about 1500 dollars.
Have you been out to physically listen to any of these options? That will answer a lot of your initial questions and pare down the options significantly.
I have been to a shop to find some speakers, but I haven't found a place that gives me the freedom to test out different connections for all of the parts.
I am sure that buying the Yamo speakers and e.g. an Onkyo TX-SR607 will get me a fine sound when connected to e.g. an M-audio Audiophile 192 sound card and Intel-onboard surround.
But indeed, since I cannot really find a place to test all this out (and change to some alternatives for all parts to hear the difference), I was hoping to find some not commercially biased help here from someone with some experience in this area. Knowing I made some good trade-offs in terms of combined value for money will increase my confidence before buying.
yeah the combo works well I would listen myself as jim says,, but surprizing that a store would not help you,, go when its slow [aft]and try to prove to them your a serious buyer find a store that will
onkyo or denon should do on your budget should suffice the sound card with a digital or analog input would connect to reciever. and finish the hook up with decent spk wire does matter for getting sound to great sound
I always use audioquest for spk wire say type 2 for ,most of my installs and flex 14/2 for rears, http://www.audioreview.com/mfr/audioquest/speaker-cables/type-2/PRD_116399_1584c rx.aspx