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June 4, 2005

Recommendations For 5.1 Surround PC-Based Setup?

Well, I've been given permission to set up a 5.1 surround-sound system in my home office. My main motivation at this point is to listen to DVD-Audio. Of course, side benefits will be to watch DVD movies and play some of my games (like UT2004) with surround. Our family room is set up with a nice 2.1 speaker system, but putting up surround speakers hasn't been an option for me there. I'll take what I can get. ;)

All of my audio gear to this point is 2-channel, so I'll need to get a 5.1-capable soundcard. I'm currently leaning towards the Creative Audigy2 Value (or ZS) or the M-Audio Revolution 5.1. I have more recent experience with M-Audio, but the Creative cards appear to have more widespread use and application compatibility. I still need to investigate the software side of this equation. I believe the current version of WinDVD I use supports AC3 and DTS DVD soundtracks, but perhaps not DVD-Audio natively (although I think it has a plugin). The software that comes with at least the Audigy2 ZS includes a dedicated DVD-Audio player. On the other hand, I know M-Audio strives for compatibility with audio recording and editing applications I use, so it might be an OK choice as well. I've seen more reviews online for the Audigy2, and for the most part they are positive.

On the speaker side, based on online testimonials and features alone, I'm sold on the Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 system. I need a system that doesn't have hard-wired satellites, since I'm going to be wiring the rears neatly on a wall and need the flexiblity that spring-loaded terminals provide. Klipsch also has nice-looking wall mounts. Other systems I looked at included the two higher-end Logitech systems (both of which have hard-wired satellites) and the M-Audio LX system, which has larger satellites and a bigger price tag than the Klipsch. I'm hoping to do this all for $400-$500.

Any of you guys (or gals?) have experience with this kind of a setup? Please share your thoughts.

Posted by Alex Harden on June 4, 2005 12:54 PM |

Comments

Go for the M-Audio sound cards. They're awesome. And I'm behind you on the Klipsch system. Very nice speakers.

Posted by: Jonathan Smith | June 4, 2005 4:05 PM

I own an Audiophile 2496 and love it. Have you tried the Revolution 5.1 or 7.1? I know you got to check out a lot of M-Audio's gear.

Besides the issues I mentioned, the Revolution's MSRP is $100 and I'm not sure if it's stocked locally. Looks like I can check out Guitar Center and some of the other music stores for it.

Posted by: aharden | June 4, 2005 5:59 PM

One dig against the Klipsch set is that it doesn't include an SP/DIF input or AC3/DTS decoder; that doesn't bug me because I plan on having everything decoded on the computer. I need to read a few more technical articles about the Audigy2 Value, ZS, and Revolution 5.1 before I'm ready to make a decision there. However, I'm seeing the Rev 5.1 for $80 (with shipping) on Newegg and the Rev 7.1, which has a lot of nice reviews, is just a shade under $100.

This review really points out the bloated mess the Audigy2 driver/software set is. At this point, I'm leaning towards M-Audio. I'd probably rather deal with third-party software for DVD-A playback anyways, and I've had good experience with M-Audio's drivers.

I'll probably give it until the end of this week until I pull the trigger. I was thinking about getting Best Buy to price-match Newegg for the Klipsch's so that I could get them locally, but I may just go ahead and give Newegg all the business. They are a great company.

Posted by: aharden | June 5, 2005 4:26 PM

When you make your final choices, be sure to post your setup. The nice thing about you being an audio geek is that your purchases are high quality and affordable. Some sites I have read when researching audio equipment, it seems they just tell you to buy whatever is most expensive.

Posted by: Scott | June 6, 2005 9:16 AM

Thanks for the compliment. I'm pretty price conscious, but I can usually sniff out a good value.

I figured out today that the version of WinDVD I'm using supports DVD-Audio; it successfully played as much of my In Absentia DVD-A's 5.1 track as it could. So I'm pretty much sold on the Rev 5.1/Klipsh setup. I can get that combo from NewEgg for a bit over $400.

Posted by: aharden | June 6, 2005 8:06 PM

My decisions are made! I'm getting the Revolution 5.1 and the Klipsch setup. NewEgg recently added an $18 shipping charge for the Klipsch, but after an email about that they agreed to discount shipping by $15 if I bought it from them.

However, Best Buy just sent me a 10% off coupon in the mail that appears to be eligible for the Klipsch, so I'll be buying it from there a little later this week.

One thing this project is finally prodding me to do is to swap my homebrew P4 computer in the office for the much quieter Dell Poweredge 400SC I've got in the basement as my server. Both are 2.4GHz, but the Dell has a slightly better video card, more RAM (768MB dual-channel vs. 512MB single-channel), HyperThreading, and an 800MHz FSB (vs. 400 on the homebrew). I've mapped out all the hardware that will need to be swapped and I actually think with a little planning I can swap the hard drives between the machines and XP should detect all the changed hardware and recover. I've been wanting to make the Dell my main PC for a while, so this is the kick in the butt I needed.

Posted by: aharden | June 7, 2005 10:02 PM

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