Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
  • better sound from computer – plug in an amp?
  • gavtheoldskater
    Free Member

    just wondering if anyone has any views… i’ve got some harmon kardman soundsticks on my (home) office PC that i quite like, but as ever think i want better, is it practical to run a hi fi amp from a pc via the headphone jack and get some bookshelf/monitor speakers or is there a better way?

    Edukator
    Free Member

    I tried the headphone jack and found the sound “grainy”, the “microphone” input was even worse. So plugged in a Creative external USB sound card. Both recording and playback are now adequate though a hi-fi buff would probably disagree.

    andy8442
    Free Member

    Look up Lepai mini amps on eBay. Cheap n cheerful,and hooked to to a pair of half decent speakers, not bad sound.

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    pealy
    Free Member

    I tried loads of things to improve the dodgy sound on my laptop – in the end it was a better power supply that made the difference…

    mrmoofo
    Full Member

    I would have thought the headphone socket into a DAC into and amp …..

    colp
    Full Member

    I have sound systems at home and at the businesses using old desktop PCs running itunes, with the line-out port (not headphone port) connected to Pioneer amps. Works great.
    Using Pioneer A307 amps.

    dave_rudabar
    Free Member

    FWIW, a better sound card makes a big difference.
    I’ve got an ASUS Xonar DG you can have on the cheap if you want to try it?
    If you want a USB device, i can recommend the ASUS Xonar U1 – it’s made a big improvement to my active monitor speakers.

    porlus
    Free Member

    Did this a few years back. PC optical cable connected to a Beresford caiman dac. This is then connected to my trusty old arcam alpha 7 amp. Then got some wharfdale diamond 9.1 speakers bi wired. Sounds really good.

    continuity
    Free Member

    If it’s a pc you can’t play with, the cheapest solution would be something like an ELE EL-02 USB DAC.

    gavtheoldskater
    Free Member

    cheers guys i will do some google searching.

    ideally if i can use my old amp downstairs that would be best as it will give me an excuse to go looking for a new used amp for my main stereo, just scored some lovely old celestion 44 so am looking to do something around them and add a bit of vinyl capacity.

    i’m not sure what card is in my machine dave or whether i can install that card but i’ll drop you an email. if i can just run leads out into an amp it would be great.

    torsoinalake
    Free Member

    I have one of these:

    http://www.trustedreviews.com/fiio-andes-e07k-review

    Plugged into the USB on my Mac at home, it doesn’t make much difference. Plugged into the HP box-o-bland at work, it makes a huge difference.

    dmorts
    Full Member

    Something USB or Firewire that bypasses the PC’s DAC, amps and headphone/line out. The built in DAC and amp will be a compromise of cost vs quality of output, with a high noise floor.

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