Sound System like Maximum Tune 3DX? (or better)

[Michael Hunt]

Hey guys, any Maximum Tune players out there?

I'm looking for a soundcard/speaker setup that will sound as good or hopefully better than the arcade game Maximum Tune 3dx The arcade cabinet has speakers inside the seat as well, so you can really feel "DAT BASS" bump through the seat ^^ I really want to feel dat bass >< I want a good setup for gaming, movies, and especially music. I've been using plain onboard sound with my monitor speakers, but I'm really an audiophile at heart I was checking some stuff out on newegg, but I don't think I fully understand what makes good sound and what's the difference between a $200 soundcard and a $50 soundcard other than "you usually pay for what you get". There's no transistor count, clock speed, etc like in gpu and cpu, so I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for as far as performance goes.

I need DAT BASS >< lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9hKV...feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZVTPC0vMQs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue2or...feature=relmfu

[Rebel975]

If all you want is to feel 'dat bass' then you could get some kind of tactile transducer and mount it to your chair/couch/whatever. Something like a Buttkicker Gamer 2 is good for a single PC chair, but something like a Q10B could shake you to hell and back. You'd need a separate amp with the Q10B, btw.

Alternatively, you could get a subwoofer (I recommend buying a kit, but others can probably suggest a good pre-built model).

Not sure what your budget is like or if you're willing to DIY at all, but a 10" Titanic kit looks nice. I recently bought a box for a 12" sub (used a different driver) from this website and it's very solid. Only thing is you have to paint or veneer it yourself.

I should mention that a 12" or 15" would be better for deep bass rumble, though. PartsExpress has some larger models in kit form.


For less of a "kit" approach you could get a TC Sounds LMS Ultra 18" and a 4.5 cu ft box. + amp..lol.. that would put out some serious bass.

[RagDoll_Effect]

Originally Posted by Michael Hunt

Hey guys, any Maximum Tune players out there?

I'm looking for a soundcard/speaker setup that will sound as good or hopefully better than the arcade game Maximum Tune 3dx The arcade cabinet has speakers inside the seat as well, so you can really feel "DAT BASS" bump through the seat ^^ I really want to feel dat bass >< I want a good setup for gaming, movies, and especially music. I've been using plain onboard sound with my monitor speakers, but I'm really an audiophile at heart I was checking some stuff out on newegg, but I don't think I fully understand what makes good sound and what's the difference between a $200 soundcard and a $50 soundcard other than "you usually pay for what you get". There's no transistor count, clock speed, etc like in gpu and cpu, so I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for as far as performance goes.

I need DAT BASS >< lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9hKV...feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZVTPC0vMQs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue2or...feature=relmfu

What's your budget?

regards,
RagDoll.

[Michael Hunt]

Originally Posted by Rebel975

If all you want is to feel 'dat bass' then you could get some kind of tactile transducer...

Wow holy s*** that's expensive stuff! Awesome! I didn't even know about tactile transducers, thank you for enlightening me I'll probably look into that later down the road, but no, bass is not my only concern. I want to hear everything crystal clear but still have the option of turning up the bass ^^

@Ragdoll: I don't want to spend more than $500, but I'm hoping to spend less than $400. It just depends on the quality. If it's worth the extra $$$ then I might just say f*** it and spend a bit more.

[RagDoll_Effect]

Originally Posted by Michael Hunt

Wow holy s*** that's expensive stuff! Awesome! I didn't even know about tactile transducers, thank you for enlightening me I'll probably look into that later down the road, but no, bass is not my only concern. I want to hear everything crystal clear but still have the option of turning up the bass ^^

@Ragdoll: I don't want to spend more than $500, but I'm hoping to spend less than $400. It just depends on the quality. If it's worth the extra $$$ then I might just say f*** it and spend a bit more.

Well, with that budget, I would recommend using onboard soundcard for now and just get a cheap 5.1 speaker package. It depends, if you would want to get it, bit by bit, you could also just get a pair of good bookshelf speakers and a/v receiver and then when you have more money to spend on the rears, center and stuff later. The soundcard, you can always get later, but to start with, I would recommend good speakers and receiver

Something like this might be just what you're looking for:

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-YHT-695...246918&sr=1-13

Or this - http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-BS4...9250373&sr=1-9

http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-...250439&sr=1-22

The receiver is very high quality and allows you to connect through multi channel analogue if you get a soundcard later.

Or just something cheaper like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-DHT-1312...9251061&sr=1-1

Good Luck,
RagDoll.

[Michael Hunt]

Originally Posted by RagDoll_Effect

Well, with that budget, I would recommend using onboard soundcard for now and just get a cheap 5.1 speaker package. It depends, if you would want to get it, bit by bit, you could also just get a pair of good bookshelf speakers and a/v receiver and then when you have more money to spend on the rears, center and stuff later. The soundcard, you can always get later, but to start with, I would recommend good speakers and receiver

Something like this might be just what you're looking for:

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-YHT-695...246918&sr=1-13

Or this - http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-BS4...9250373&sr=1-9

http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-...250439&sr=1-22

The receiver is very high quality and allows you to connect through multi channel analogue if you get a soundcard later.

Or just something cheaper like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-DHT-1312...9251061&sr=1-1

Good Luck,
RagDoll.

Question: Is the only point of the receiver to make the sound louder at lower volume? Is this also the point of higher watts or does it make the sound more clear? I'm considering a 5.1 setup, since I don't see any reason for 2 extra speakers.

[Rebel975]

Originally Posted by Michael Hunt

Question: Is the only point of the receiver to make the sound louder at lower volume? Is this also the point of higher watts or does it make the sound more clear? I'm considering a 5.1 setup, since I don't see any reason for 2 extra speakers.

The receiver is an amplifier, so it powers the speakers in general - not just to make them seem louder at lower volumes. No amp - no sound.

More watts = louder, or the ability to power less efficient speakers.

Receivers also let you hook up a bunch of sources and switch between them conveniently. And they're great for hooking up multichannel setups (5.1/7.1/etc.), since they support tons of different audio formats.

[RagDoll_Effect]

Originally Posted by Rebel975

The receiver is an amplifier, so it powers the speakers in general - not just to make them seem louder at lower volumes. No amp - no sound.

More watts = louder, or the ability to power less efficient speakers.

Receivers also let you hook up a bunch of sources and switch between them conveniently. And they're great for hooking up multichannel setups (5.1/7.1/etc.), since they support tons of different audio formats.

Yep, spot on

regards,
RagDoll.

[brendanvista]

The other advantage to buying a receiver is that is makes your system more upgradable. If you want to get a bluray player, you can just buy one, and plug it into your receiver, whereas if you had those two components in one box, that wouldn't be possible. If you want to upgrade front speakers, then you can add them, and calibrate them with your receiver. Or, if at some point down the line you want more power, you can buy a better receiver, and leave the rest of your system in place.

[RagDoll_Effect]

Originally Posted by brendanvista

The other advantage to buying a receiver is that is makes your system more upgradable. If you want to get a bluray player, you can just buy one, and plug it into your receiver, whereas if you had those two components in one box, that wouldn't be possible. If you want to upgrade front speakers, then you can add them, and calibrate them with your receiver. Or, if at some point down the line you want more power, you can buy a better receiver, and leave the rest of your system in place.

Also, even if it is a 7.1 receiver, you can even just connect 2 front speakers and add as you can afford

[Michael Hunt]

Ahh I'm starting to understand now. Thank you so much for all your helpful replies! I'm liking the black pioneer speakers suggested.

A few more questions:
1. So for arcade quality sound, 100-130W speakers should suffice?
2. Is a minimum frequency response of 55hz good?
3. Does a speaker sensitivity of 85db mean thats when the sound quality starts to degrade? Because that's loud as hell lol
4. I'm currently using my monitor speakers via hdmi. Would I get better sound with just the 2 pioneer speakers with onboard sound? Doesn't hdmi generally give better sound then other connections?
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-BS4...9250373&sr=1-9

I'm considering the pioneer speakers and a receiver for now, then subwoofer and maybe a soundcard a little later, and then eventually two more speakers for 5.1.

[Rebel975]

Originally Posted by Michael Hunt

1. So for arcade quality sound, 100-130W speakers should suffice?
2. Is a minimum frequency response of 55hz good?
3. Does a speaker sensitivity of 85db mean thats when the sound quality starts to degrade? Because that's loud as hell lol
4. I'm currently using my monitor speakers via hdmi. Would I get better sound with just the 2 pioneer speakers with onboard sound? Doesn't hdmi generally give better sound then other connections?
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-BS4...9250373&sr=1-9

I'm considering the pioneer speakers and a receiver for now, then subwoofer and maybe a soundcard a little later, and then eventually two more speakers for 5.1.

1) Watts by themselves don't mean anything. It's the combination of watts and speaker efficiency that tells you have loud they can play. For example, a 100 watt amp + 98dB/1 watt speakers will play much louder than 100 watt amp + 83dB/1 watt speakers. I wouldn't worry about this for now.

2) 55Hz is good, but you will want to add a subwoofer to fill in the 20-80Hz range. If you consider yourself a basshead then a sub will be necessary to make you really feel that 20-80Hz range.

3) 85dB sensitivity simply means that if you feed the speakers a certain amount of power (typically measured at 1 watt @ 1 meter, or 2.83volts @ 1 meter) then it will play at 85dB.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it requires twice as much power every time you increase the volume by 3dB, and 10dB is considered twice as loud. With that knowledge and the sensitivity of your speakers + how much watts your amp is you can figure out how loud it can go.

4) HDMI is a digital connection, so whether or not it will sound better than your onboard depends entirely on what is at the other end of the HDMI cable. I would imagine that HDMI from your PC to a receiver would indeed sound better than your onboard, but it's impossible to say without listening to it.



The receiver + 2 speakers is a good way to start your system. Get a subwoofer as soon as you can afford it. A 2.1 system will be really solid, and if you want to take it up to 5.1 or 7.1 then it would be even better. This is exactly what I'm doing right now.

[Michael Hunt]

Originally Posted by Rebel975

4) HDMI is a digital connection, so whether or not it will sound better than your onboard depends entirely on what is at the other end of the HDMI cable. I would imagine that HDMI from your PC to a receiver would indeed sound better than your onboard, but it's impossible to say without listening to it.

Whoa I think I get it now. Ok, so the speakers plug into the receiver. The receiver plugs into either gpu (HDMI), mobo (HDMI), mobo onboard (3.5mm), or sound card. Sound cards allow analogue connection, which is usually better than being processed by gpu or mobo (HDMI) because it's being processed by a sound card? Am I understanding this correctly?

[Rebel975]

Yes. Sounds cards typically have higher quality components than low-mid range receivers. So, analogue from a sound card to a receiver can easily be higher quality than digital to the receiver. Sorry my answer is kind of vague, but it all depends on what receiver and what sound card we are talking about.

For someone that is just starting out digital from the gpu to a receiver will be just fine. You can always add a sound card later if you want to push the system to it's max potential. Just make sure the receiver you get has analogue inputs.

[Michael Hunt]

Originally Posted by Rebel975

Yes. Sounds cards typically have higher quality components than low-mid range receivers. So, analogue from a sound card to a receiver can easily be higher quality than digital to the receiver. Sorry my answer is kind of vague, but it all depends on what receiver and what sound card we are talking about.

For someone that is just starting out digital from the gpu to a receiver will be just fine. You can always add a sound card later if you want to push the system to it's max potential. Just make sure the receiver you get has analogue inputs.

Aw yea! HMM HMM! Not as confusing as I assumed it was, but it looks like I'll be spending a lot more money then previously thought One at a time though. I can't wait to get my pioneers; I hear great things about them.

After shopping around, I didn't realize how expensive receivers are x_x What about this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harman-Kardo...item35c0657150
No remote or manual, but I don't think I'll need either. 50W/speaker won't bottleneck the 130W pioneers?

[Rebel975]

Get something from here if you can: http://www.accessories4less.com/index.php (Just go to Home Audio and then Home Theater Receivers)

They are factory refurbished units, so you still get a warranty.

[GreenSmoke]

For $500 or less you can get a very good 7.1 Onkyo system and a decent receiver.
Speakers:
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-SKS-HT54.../dp/B000GU78Z4

Receiver:
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-STRDH520-.../dp/B004NHCGJO

And just use a Optical-out on onboard or HDMI if onboard has that. If not, go for a cheap PCI soundcard with HDMI out.
Unless your GFX card already has a mini HDMIout connection you can use that.

If you don't want to use GPU sound processing through hdmi you can Opt for an external DAC for different connecting options/solutions.