Opinions about audio sound system for my study.?

Question

In my personal study I have my audio sound system hooked to my computer and all sound coming from my computer goes through my older early 90's vintage analog JVC amplifier. Unlike today's plastic digital amps, this amp is all brushed black metal and has true RMS power rating that weighs about 20 pounds. It is true stereo and not 5.1 Dolby or anything like that. The 2 satellite speakers are Yamaha's while the sub woofer is a built in amp type from Polk audio. This system, as you can guess, has a great sound. No complaints, in other words my computer sounds like a movie theater.

As a more seasoned male I am rethinking having a big stereo with big sound and I would like to clean some of the junk out of my study. Sometimes I question the maturity of owning such a sound system at my age. So in order to lose the amp and the huge sub woofer, I have been looking at great quality computer speakers and I almost bought and then the deeper I dug the more problems I found with these computer speakers, even the ones that come highly rated. The bottom line is I do not want to compromise my sound or the quality of my older system just to appease my need to look more my age.

Your opinions please.

Answer 1

Stick with what you have and forget about what people think,... if you still just want to go more modern for your own needs and to feel good about yourself, take a look at powered speakers from M-Audio or Audio Engine...also Klipsch has some really good computer speakers...but they still have a sub woofer...

Answer 2

There's nothing wrong with equipment of the past... especially if it continues to work well day after day. And if it sounds great, I'd definitely keep it. Also, I have a great deal of respect for audio companies of the past years; as they have well built products / built with proper materials (unlike consumer products today; even yamaha has started to use thin plastic enclosures or chipboard-LDF for enclosures).



Of course, Modernization - and trying out some new equipment is a joy and IF it sounds just as good and saves space, and gives you better compatibility and ambience - at a reasonable cost$... then it can be a fit for you.



I'll give you a few suggestions that may or may not work - but at least it is an educated guess at what will work best. The 2 sets of speakers that I'll name are Professional Studio Monitors: the type that DJ, recording studios use for their "sound reference".

These speakers are suppose to produce FLAT response to most of the audible frequency, and uses the latest cutting edge technologies to obtain this.

1. KRK Rokit 5 or Rokit 6

2. M-Audio BX5a Deluxe

There are others, but these are the 2 that are reasonably priced at well under $400 for the pair.

They are a 2.0 system that can be hooked up to your Polk Sub or KRK makes their sub too... but* they go down to about 50hz +-2db -and their power is rated at about 70watts RMS... so unless you are a basshead, there's no need to use a separate subwoofer [it is nice to know that you can hook them up though].



I've listened to the Rokit 5 but not the Bx5a's yet, but I've heard that they are equals. They both use carbon fiber derivatives [Rokit: Glass Aramid, Bx5a: Kevlar] for Woofers and Silk Dome tweeters in a Waveguide. Both also use Thick MDF cabinets.

The Rokit series use 4 internal amplifiers [1 per driver] ... so they do not need any receivers or amplifiers to take up space.

They have XLR connectors or regular RCA / Headphone jack analog connectors - so they'll connect to anything including ipod/mp3 players, DVD/CD/Bluray players, PS3 systems, TV's... etc.



These speakers can be found on Amazon.com or Guitar/ Music stores.

Email me if you have any questions:)

Happy Listening, and Good Luck!

Answer 3

From one dad to another I had to smile when I read "Is my amp starting to get outdated along with me?" Well yes, you are definitely getting dated, only your kids know what a 10 inch reel to reel is because it is sitting in a garage gathering dust. lol. Just having fun with you. Great question. I think you sorta have the itch, I think I can help your understanding on this one.

What you have is in no comparison with what you can get today, it cuts both ways. Where it works in your favor is that the quality materials that make up the sum of its parts would cost and arm and a leg now. For instance. The tube tv as a screen resolution of 480p. It doesn't come close to 720 and 1080p or 1080i by a long shot, but a tube tv can last 15-20 years. Today's tvs perform better, they burn bright like a roman candle for all the world to see, then in 7 years or 60,000 hours they are either disposable or can be repaired to last another 7 years.



Can you improve on your sound system? Absolutely, but you have to re-learn what you have to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges regardless of the name brand. In today's dollars for what you have look at specs of the most current Polk Speakers http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/lsi/index.php?s=lsi7and JVC amplifiers see if JVC is manufacturing new product and compare notes. I think JBL Pro Series Speakers http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/General/ProductFamily.aspx?FId=93&MId=3 would be an improvement over the Yamaha speakers. I don't know that changing out the amp matters, particularly if you have a tube amp, keep it. I don't know if you are up on ipods, but check out a few options that will supercharge what you have. I am thinking if you add a wadia itransport 170 ipod player http://wadia.com/products/transports/170i/ you will have a noticeable change.



Incremental change versus wholesale change will better improve a good thing and not completely alter what you find to be the most effective aspect of your existing system.



Best.

Answer 4

Computer speakers will not match to any receiver either new or old, most of them only have a small power rating of 5 to 14 watts. The three brand for computer speaker that I would consider are JBL, Klipsch and Altic Lansing. The older you get the more refined you find yourself in sound quality than volume. Take for example younger kids now, they blast there music in the car with more bass than the rest of the frequency range. They think that the power power the have the better. I have a couple of Sansui power amps rated at 200 watts per channel and a set of JBL Control 10 connected to my computer when I want to listen to music in my game room. I happen to stop at a high end audio retail store on Friday while in the neighborhood and to say hello to the sale person I have purchased some high end speakers from. He had me listen to a system that had a retail value of $250,000 (2 giant speakers, 2 tube amps rated at 600 watts each, a cd player and a preamp), I was amazed on how clear it sounded even when the meter was pigging at 600 watts. It was like listening to someone in front of you. Of course I could not afford the system, and most of his clients are in there fifties and older. Anyway, I left dreaming of maybe winning the lotto and able to purchase a set like that. As we get older we appreciate more of the fine things in this world. Hope this will help you out.