Computer Audio quality

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
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I am playing compact disks listening to them with supposedly fairly good speakers without the aid of an amp. The program I am using is media player . If I play above 1/4 volume it distorts to an uncomfortable level . I,m not asking for Hi-Fi .I thought it would be a little better than that .

I,ll be running my disks through my home theater soon so its not really a biggie . I,m just wondering if there is a bandaid fix in the meantime . I listen to gentle airs and whistle music . I don,t need to blast them out .
 
Sounds like the speakers aren't very good. You can get decent Altec Lansing 2.1s for under 30 bucks that'll last you a lifetime. Won't impress an audiophile, but they get the job done plenty well.

With computer speakers, always get powered speakers. There's no way your soundcard is going to be putting out enough power to satisfy.
 
You should be able to get a cable that will fit your audio output on your card on one end and two RCA jacks on the other. Plug those into your home theater receiver-amp and enjoy!

And / or maybe some ear phones?
 
there are differnt type of sound cards. But so long as your not playing games you should not notice any differance.
 
Bill thats an idea on the headphones for now . Except for when editing I will just run the disks through the home theater disk reader .
 
Generally speaking soundcards are pretty decent in fidelity for casual listening. There are some pretty high end cards just for use in professional audio that "do" sound and measure better, but quite frankly if your speakers are not way over par then you'll never notice the difference. With headphones you'll still want an amp of somekind, the ones that are integrated into computer speakers are fine. If you're lucky you won't even need that but there's no guarantee. The integrated audio on my machine goes nuts when used with low impedance headphones (most consumer ones) without an amp of somekind.
 
Yeah well it sounds like grin and bear it for a few days is the way to go . I actually have a couple of R:C:A boom box speakers with integral amps ( Amplified super woofers no less ) . If I can figure out what voltage the amps are powered by I might give them a try .
 
here's the specs on a high end sounblaster card:
============================================
Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20 kHz (Line-out)
Signal to Noise Ratio: 80 db (Amp out)
Sampling Rate for playback/Recording (Stereo): 5 kHz - 44.1 kHz
Supply Voltage Requirement (Loading): +5, +12, -12 Volt
Current Consumption (Typical): 300, 500, 30 mA respectively
Microphone Impedance: 600 Ohms
Line-In Impedance: 47 KOhms
CD Audio-In Impedance: 50 KOhms
Microphone Sensitivity: 10 - 200 mVpp
Line-In Sensitivity: 0 - 2 Vpp
AD/DA Resolution: 16 bits
Output Power (Max): 4 Watts @ 4 Ohms PMPO (Amp out)
===========================================

if you are using hi-wattage rated speakers, the miserly 4 watts output will be straining to drive them big speakers without an amp in between, resulting in distortion as you push the limits of the card. better to feed them via an intermediary amp to keep the output on the good part of the output curve. also make sure the speaker (and intermediary amp) input/output impedance in ohms matches the output impedance of your card.

p.s. - make sure they're sealed units, bilge water in the circuits is bad fer them, Arrrrrrrh!
 
Ahrrr , Me batteries run on bilge water . As fer ruining circuits . I,ll have you swimming circuits around the ship to try and get away from the sharks .

Quit yer braggin . What be this nonsense of hurts ? 20,000 hurts ? I only counts the victims I kill , woundin don,t come into it .



And this here talk of ohms ? Ye be soundin like some kind of Tibettan munks Jabberin prayers instead of the stalwart companion I knew . Do ye be wearin a petti-coat beneath yer pirates finery .

Yer mouth be runnin fiercer than a rip-tide this marnin . I,s be cuttin your rum to a half measure until ye shapes up .

Errrrrr , ahem , old shipmate ? Be them 4 watts be peak to peak , peak or r:m:s ? If they be of the roots mean square variety them full watts should be able to drive something other than amp driven speakers ?
 
arrrh! 4watts pmpo is roughly about 0.4 watts rms tho no conversion formulae exists (so 4/10ths of a watt ain't much) and even that if sustained could kill yer card from overexertion, like that apprentice seaman yer keelhauled the other day whot was thinkin he could outrun you after sassin' yer to yer face even - har har har!.....anyhows see Linky

an' i'll be getting the ship's sawbones ter up yer vallium agin, 600mg a day don't work near as well as it yusta (if'n he's sobered up yet from thet barrel o' rum with the pee on it he drunk yesternight) we're runnin out of apprentices, specially the female ones...
 
PMPO ? Now thats be a new one fer me . Since there is no direct co-relation ? I be given her one .

Pretty much poor observation .

I,s be given ye the Captain,s permission to come up with yer own .

P:S: (post sailin) 4/10ths of a watt ? I gots bilge belches with more power than that .

I,m going to light a fire under Sony Canada to get the parts they need for my contraptual (technical term) home theater . Phenominal sound , lousy mechanics .
 
no.

ohm unit of electrical resistance of circuits
mho unit of electrical conductance

volt unit of electrical potential difference and electromotive force
 
High volume distortion is just classic crappy speaker, it sounds to me. Although...I AM an idiot.

Folks are correct with soundcards. High end soundcards are useful for really complex surround sound setups, video games, movies, etc, but on a 2.1 and a CD, I rather doubt you'll notice a huge difference.

It all depends on how much you want to spend. Those cheap altec lansing 2.1s really are impressive for 25 dollars. Again, won't impress an audiophile, but it'll definitely end your distortion days at any volume you'd be comfortable with directly in front of the computer.

For output and value, I'd say stick to 2.1s. The more complex setups are good for movies and the like, but for the price, they just won't compete with the 2.1s on average (talking power). I think for only like 90 dollars you can get some JBL creature speakers. They're very small and pretty stylish (not my style, but hey), but put out impressive volume with extremely small distortion. I was very impressed with their performance on those tiny satellites.
 
Artfully Martial ? are they called 2.1s because it is 2 speakers with the possibility of a sub-woofer ?

Honestly seeing as I don,t even get to 1/3 volume it may be they are not even low end speakers . They might be no end speakers . L:O:L

I do have my reasonably good sony home theater speakers . Unfortunately I do not want to experiment by mismatching components . I really should be more innovative in that regards . I just don,t want to burn out my only sound card right now .

I have always heard don,t mix impedances and all that other rot . I took a good blaupunkt(sp) car radio and added home stereo speakers of various sizes . I strapped them onto the rear seat of the car using the seat belts The other four car speakers were left in place so I had uneven channels all over the place and way too much power consumption . .

Extrordinairy sound . There is a song called :Friends: by :Heart/Hart: in the intro there is the sound of coins falling onto a ceramic tile floor . I swear to you while driving my car I looked down to see where the coins were falling .

HI_FI ? Proabably not . When Tom Cochrans : Lunatic Fringe : plays the searching whistle call at the beginning would round inside the car,s interior . You would have thought you were swiming amongst a pod of killer whales .

It made it hard to drive sometimes .

Old Kronk has got it right of course . (Double rum ration for you tonite ) . The opposite of an ohm is a mho . I wonder how Mr. Ohms (Sherlock Ohms) feels about that ?
 
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