Question for upgrade - new card and speakers?

ajf · 10 May 2010 at 02:02

I am looking at upgrading my existing audio which is onboard sound (P5Q Pro board) with Creative T40 speakers.
This all for pure music playback, no gaming.

I had thought about getting some M-Audio AV-40 active speakers - they seem to get good reviews?
Then add a Xonar dx card?

Would the two work together? I am not 100% how I connect the active speakers to the card?
Would this combination also allow for a sub to be added?

Could I also add an external DAC/headphone amp?

Thanks
Andrew

ojrules · 10 May 2010 at 17:17

Teufel concept b are £160 atm, which is a fair price imo. 2.0 with external DAC amp.

Yes those speakers and card would work together, and no, the setup wouldnt exactly allow a sub, well it would be possible, but fairly pointless. You're looking £100+ atleast for an active sub, may aswell club the money together and get an amp+ speakers.

Marsman · 10 May 2010 at 18:12

I think if you are looking at a sub at some point, it's best to get an stereo amp + bookshelf speakers, to which adding a sub at some point would be much easier. Potentially you can get much more for your money if going 2nd hand.

Space is the question though, would you have room for an amplifier. If you don't have the space for an amp, then the speakers mentioned in previous posts would be the best option. If it were me, space permitting, I would go for the AV40's over the Creative's every time. I did consider getting some AV40's some time last year, one thread I was reading, a guy went from the T40's to the AV40's, and said the AV40's were noticeably better, which is what I read in a review that compared the two. The AV40's are monitors, they are designed to reveal flaws in music. Low bit rate MP3's will sound pretty bad with the AV40's, but anyone wanting to buy decent speakers solely for music would not be listening to low quality music anyway, or at least shouldn't be.

The Teufel's mentioned by ojrules, are also worth looking at. As they have their own DAC/amp unit, no need for a sound card.

As for possibly getting a sound card at some point, you don't want to be looking at getting a sound card and an external DAC, just one or the other.

ajf · 10 May 2010 at 19:46

Thanks for the replies.
The Teufel speakers look good. I will hunt around for some reviews.
I appreciate the amp + speakers + sub is probably the better route and haven't discounted it altough it gets a bit more expensive plus the space may be an issue.

How does the DAC in the Teufels compare with say the Xonar ST - which I have since been advised is much better than the DX I initially looked at - albeit more expensive.

DAC was just a consideration for future upgrades. The headphone amp is an important consideration although I don't think with a soundcard I can do it in such a way as I have speakers and headphones connected simulteanously - for ease of use.