Connecting Polk Speakers to PC - need help

sponger

jwl wrote: »

An amp seems like a logical solution if it does what I need and can be had for less than a receiver, but no one has been able to explain how the subwoofer would be connected with an AMP (or at least the one's suggested).

I addressed that problem when I stated this:

sponger wrote:

Then connect the sub to the decoder. Then connect the amp to the decoder and the speakers to the amp.

However, an amp wouldn't necessarily be cheaper than a receiver. Even if you could find one that is cheaper, then it wouldn't be that much smaller than a receiver. So, you'd be better off with a receiver anyway.

$50 receivers from Ebay are not to be underestimated. They're cheap because supply has outgrown demand as audioholics everywhere feed their upgrade monsters to no end, leaving them little choice but to ditch their old gear at firesale prices in order to keep feeding their addiction.

If all you're trying to do is drive a couple of bookshelves and provide a signal for the subwoofer, then a cheapo used receiver is plenty. All you need is at least two channels and an optical input. You can't go wrong with Yamaha HTR 5xxxx series and up. Your sound card is "DTS capable" according to the specs, so you'll want a receiver with DTS capability. But, I think DTS is pretty much standard even for the budget receivers.

Off the record, I think your main problems are 1.) your desk and 2.) indecisiveness

2. ) If you've been posting all over different forums and still have not been satisfied, then I can't help but think it has less to do with the quality of those responses and more to do with your needing a kind of affirmation that you can only find within yourself. As much as I'd like to, I cannot help with you that.

1.) Even if you're not a fan of Ikea furniture, I suggest looking into their workstation desks. People who loathe Ikea have been known to rave about those desks. They are not conventional desks and are inexpensive. The previous generation of the Ikea workstation desk, the "Jerker," has an online cult following. I forgot what the current generation is called.

Randomly pick a few receivers from Ebay/Craigs and post them on this forum. I'm sure someone will chime in on their feasibility for your intended application.

KiTsuNe

I have the galant desk from ikea and fit 3 towers 4 23" monitors, my qsc amp 3 keyboards and a raid box on it...with a decent amount of work space left. I say just get a head amp, they'll drive your stuff just fine. 15wpc on tubes for some casual listening shouldnt be a problem I don't think? You can also pick up a marantz 1402 for around 250-300 on ebay.

Syndil

jwl wrote: »

My ideal scenario is the speakers I have played through and controlled by the PC and sound good.

Obviously there is disagreement among the membership here as to which solution is the best. For perspective, I use a set of PC speakers connected directly to my sound card and I do not think the sound quality is bad. However I do not use my PC for music--only for gaming and occasionally watching movies. I have a set of Altec Lansing 641 speakers and I'd say they are far above average for PC speakers.

If you add an inexpensive amp to your current setup, you will have essentially created a very high-end set of PC speakers, probably better than my 641s. To answer your question of how to use the sub with an amp, there are two ways to accomplish this. You could connect the sub directly to the sound card's subwoofer output (it should have one since it is a 7.1 card), then connect the amp/speakers to the sound card's stereo L/R output via a 3.5mm to stereo-RCA cable. Or you could use the subwoofer's speaker-level input/outputs and wire it in between your amp and your Monitor 40s. Which method better is a whole other topic, but I'd go with the latter and let the sub handle bass management instead of the sound card. But you could try both and see which sounds better to you.

Would it sound better with a receiver connected to the optical digital output? Depends on the receiver. If you go with a cheap receiver, the DAC in the receiver could very well be lesser quality than the DAC in the sound card.

If it were me, given that you've already spent a lot of money on a high-end sound card with a decent DAC in it, I would look for an inexpensive stereo amp to add to your setup. You could get something low-profile like an Adcom GFA-535 and end up with a very nice setup for not a lot of money, that doesn't take up a lot of space, doesn't need a separate volume control, and doesn't waste your investment in your sound card.

jwl

How do I quantify loud? I asked about an AMP that was 22 watts elsewhere and was told that it was too little by several folks, so I am thinking the one you suggested is small. For my purposes, I never want to get to a point where I have turned the volume up all the away and feel like there should be more volume.

Syndil - I get what you are saying. I am learning as the thread is progressing. I asked the same question at different forums and I now trying to reconcile the differences and understand the answers.

A couple things that remain open

1. If I use an AMP, how is the sub connected (all the amps people suggested save very very expensive ones do not have ports for subs).
2. I am trying to figure out what specific metrics in an AMP and Reciever are relavent to me. This will help me make the right choice.

3. There is some controversy as to whether the sound card is relavant.

4. I am trying to figure out if using HDMI from a video card is a reasonable option.

5. Someone suggested daisy chaining the cables to end up with R/L pairs for all speakers. I am trying to verify that actually works.

6. Last, but not least, I am trying to figure out how to get the most bang for my buck.

J

jwl

The AMP idea makes sense, but there seems to be quite a difference in price between it and the suggested recievers. Is the Adcom GFA-535 going to give me that much better sound than what was probably a $400 reciever currently priced on ebay as $50-$75?

P.S. For those that asked about the furniture: The computer desk is not the only thing in the room. I have a spare jerker, but it does not fit.

P.S.2. Someone asked about the multiple forums. I posed the question to each of the manufacturers of all the pieces involved - figured they might have different perspectives...and they did.

jwl

Syndil,

Can you explain in more detail the second option for connecting the Adcom GFA-535 and why that is better?

I actually found an Adcom GFA-535 for sale at a decent price.

J

Syndil

Yes. What you would do is take the L/R stereo outputs from your sound card and use a 3.5mm-to-stereo RCA cable to hook that to the GFA-535's inputs. Then you would run the speaker cable from the GFA-535's outputs to the speaker-level inputs on the PSW-10. Then you would run speaker cable from the speaker-level outputs on the PSW-10 to your Monitor 40s.

Whether or not this method is better depends on how much flexibility the sound card gives you for bass management. I've not used your specific card before so I don't know what kind of bass management options it provides. Connecting in the manner described above takes all the guessing out of the equation. The sound card will send the full-range of its sound to the L/R stereo outputs, the sub will handle the bass, then pass the signal on to the speakers.

There's also this thread you may want to read:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?135516-A-different-slant-on-subwoofer-connection&highlight=subwoofer+bass+management

jwl

Purchased a GFA-535. I wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this discussion. You have helped me greatly.

sponger

jwl wrote: »

Purchased a GFA-535. I wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this discussion. You have helped me greatly.

So how much was it?

sponger

nevermind.