I didn't go as wild as the Mackies, but I just decided to upgrade the sound system for my computer.
I've ditched my old Harman/Kardon SoundSticks and subwoofer and will be sending them off to my father as an upgrade for his computer. I'm now using some old Boston HD7 bookshelf speakers I already had, plus a new Cambridge Soundworks BaseCube 8S subwoofer. (Since I'm using an LCD flatscreen, there was no need to worry about using shielded speakers.)
To power the new speakers, I picked up a new, relatively cheap receiver: a Yamaha RX-V530 that I found marked down 50%.
Since I've got a G5 on order, I wanted something with a digital audio input. This receiver has three digital inputs -- and is total overkill for my purposes. All I really need is one digital input going in, a volume knob, and one pair of speakers going out. What I've got is 6.1-channel surround, a programmable multi-function remote, two audio-only inputs, four audio/video inputs, AM/FM tuner, DSP modes, etc., etc.
If I can get all of the above for US $200, just the features I really need should cost about $60. But, of course, there's no market for such a stripped down unit, and even if something like that existed, its very minimalism would probably put it into the audiophile category and run the price up to $3000.
Anyway, even plugged into the analog output from my G4, and with the G4's too-loud fan noise in my ears, this set-up sounds much, much better than the old SoundSticks. Now that I'm more and more often listening to music at my computer, the upgrade was definitely worth it, and will probably seem all the more worthwhile when my G5 is here.
Comments
I've ditched my old Harman/Kardon SoundSticks and subwoofer and will be sending them off to my father as an upgrade for his computer. I'm now using some old Boston HD7 bookshelf speakers I already had, plus a new Cambridge Soundworks BaseCube 8S subwoofer. (Since I'm using an LCD flatscreen, there was no need to worry about using shielded speakers.)
To power the new speakers, I picked up a new, relatively cheap receiver: a Yamaha RX-V530 that I found marked down 50%.
Since I've got a G5 on order, I wanted something with a digital audio input. This receiver has three digital inputs -- and is total overkill for my purposes. All I really need is one digital input going in, a volume knob, and one pair of speakers going out. What I've got is 6.1-channel surround, a programmable multi-function remote, two audio-only inputs, four audio/video inputs, AM/FM tuner, DSP modes, etc., etc.
If I can get all of the above for US $200, just the features I really need should cost about $60. But, of course, there's no market for such a stripped down unit, and even if something like that existed, its very minimalism would probably put it into the audiophile category and run the price up to $3000.
Anyway, even plugged into the analog output from my G4, and with the G4's too-loud fan noise in my ears, this set-up sounds much, much better than the old SoundSticks. Now that I'm more and more often listening to music at my computer, the upgrade was definitely worth it, and will probably seem all the more worthwhile when my G5 is here.