Wanting a good audio setup... Need help!

[Ruppe]

Hi. I'm wanting to get a really good audio setup for my PC. I'm honestly not even sure where to start though... I already have a pair of headphones that I feel are pretty good, so I don't need to replace them (Hyper X Cloud II). I'm wanting studio monitors, or some sort of good stereo setup. Also, should I get a sound card? If yes, then any recommendations? It does not matter what kind either internal, or external. Any other recommendations other than that stuff? My price range is no more than $200 for everything, but I will most likely buy everything on eBay, so if you have any suggestions around 300-$400, then I may still be able to afford it. I would really appreciate any help. Thanks for reading!

 

[hang-the-9]

For what type of music? You said Stereo so that would be a 2 or 2.1 setup.

For overall semi-budget setup for very good musical sounding speakers, I'd recommend the M-Audio AV42 (or if you can find a used set of their older versions, those are fine also). For the sound card, depends on what your motherboard is like. If it's a higher end one, you would be OK with just the onboard sound card.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

There are some good 2.0 speakers from Edifer and Microlab if you want near monitor quality audio on the cheap. If you want lots of bass, and dont care too much about well rounded/quality sound then any of the 2.1 setups from Logitech are ok. Most monitor speakers are going to take ap a decent amount of space compared to a 2.1 setup too.
http://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/speakers/matthew-wilson/microlab-solo-8c-stereo-speakers-review/4/
http://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/henry-butt/edifier-luna-eclipse-e25-2-0-speakers-review/
http://www.kitguru.net/site-news/highlights-v/matthew-wilson/microlab-b-77-speakers-review/4/
Just try find a review of anything you buy, and set some expectations like "i want low bass" or "clarity is more important"

 

[Ruppe]

There are some good 2.0 speakers from Edifer and Microlab if you want near monitor quality audio on the cheap. If you want lots of bass, and dont care too much about well rounded/quality sound then any of the 2.1 setups from Logitech are ok. Most monitor speakers are going to take ap a decent amount of space compared to a 2.1 setup too.
http://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/speakers/matthew-wilson/microlab-solo-8c-stereo-speakers-review/4/
http://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/henry-butt/edifier-luna-eclipse-e25-2-0-speakers-review/
http://www.kitguru.net/site-news/highlights-v/matthew-wilson/microlab-b-77-speakers-review/4/
Just try find a review of anything you buy, and set some expectations like "i want low bass" or "clarity is more important"

What about a sound card or dac? Thanks for the help.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

There are some good 2.0 speakers from Edifer and Microlab if you want near monitor quality audio on the cheap. If you want lots of bass, and dont care too much about well rounded/quality sound then any of the 2.1 setups from Logitech are ok. Most monitor speakers are going to take ap a decent amount of space compared to a 2.1 setup too.
http://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/speakers/matthew-wilson/microlab-solo-8c-stereo-speakers-review/4/
http://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/henry-butt/edifier-luna-eclipse-e25-2-0-speakers-review/
http://www.kitguru.net/site-news/highlights-v/matthew-wilson/microlab-b-77-speakers-review/4/
Just try find a review of anything you buy, and set some expectations like "i want low bass" or "clarity is more important"

What about a sound card or dac? Thanks for the help.

onboard audio is normally fine for speakers, especially if its just 2 channel stereo. Try without a soundcard first. If you get unwanted noise or hissing from the onboard sound, then look at a soundcard. Even a cheap xonar is going to get rid of any unwanted electrical noise. If you intend to use headphones a sound card with a headphone amp is a good idea. I have the soundblaster z and its great for headphones, has a really good EQ that doesnt distort unlike cheaper onboard sound EQ's. It also has some virtual surrond and other gaming options, but doesnt do much unless your using headphones. The other advantage the Z has is lower latency due to onboard hardware processing, where most oof the xonar cards do processing in software via your CPU.