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Mithrandir

question on sub-woofers

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Why do some sub-woofers, such as the Creative Labs Inspire 5.1 set have only 18 watts, yet I can find others with a rating in triple figures? And y'know some of the bigass ones intended for use in the back of boy-racers? can you plug those into the back of your soundcard and how would you power it?

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They come with an extra wire for external powersources such as those mystic white things you have popping out from your walls.

TEH SCIENCE

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Fredrik said:

Just use friggin headphones.

I couldn't agree more. Brain-exploding volumes at 3 AM, that's something you can't do with speakers.

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Headphones have many advantages besides that;

* They're cheap
* They can give awesome sound while still being cheap
* They block incoming sounds from retarded siblings in the surrounding area

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Fredrik said:

* They block incoming sounds from retarded siblings in the surrounding area


YES

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Headphones have a distinct advantage in Doom as there is the -phase command just for headphones, enables phase shifting

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Yes you can drive any sub from your sound card,especially easy with a 5.1.The main problem with using a in-car audio one is you need a 12volt power supply.If possible you are better sourcing a Hi-Fi model,usually better quality and more flexible.I got one right here.It's a Rel Q400B.400w RMS,12" specialized bass driver,goes down to about 13Hz.It kicks bigass:)

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Fredrik said:

Headphones have many advantages besides that;

Headphones also damage your ears the most, since the output is right on them and all.

I've found my ears hurt after about an hour of headphone use with the volume set to less loud than a standard stereo, which causes absolutely no hurt after a days worth of use.

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I never listen to music for as long as 60 minutes straight. And I listen at a nominal volume too.

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Lüt said:

Headphones also damage your ears the most, since the output is right on them and all.

I've found my ears hurt after about an hour of headphone use with the volume set to less loud than a standard stereo, which causes absolutely no hurt after a days worth of use.

Yeeh headphones can be nice for a short period but after a while they're definitely not good.Besides when you use a good sound system you physically feel the music/sfx too,much nicer.

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Heh I've been using headphones for over a year now and I don't think they're not good.

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Fredrik said:

Heh I've been using headphones for over a year now and I don't think they're not good.

If they're comfortable for you then fine.Just beware long term use and gradual hearing loss,keep your SPL reasonable over long periods.
Love the new design btw.

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I don't even listen much. 1-2 hours per day of music in total, perhaps.

Love the new design btw.

Yay

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I only use headphones whenever I have too, like late at night. And on car trips. Which i'll be going on soonish, on the 27th of June. Hey Goob, i'll be going past your house...on the way to the Gold Coast :)

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SPDIF. Plugged directly between a badass sound card and a Phillips Dolby DTS Decoder. A good 6x100W DTS will run you around $325-400 depending on where you get it.

Now you plug in two bigass front speakers for stereo, two satellites for surround, a central speaker for voices and of course, a nice subwoofer. Depending on your tastes you can find a subwoofer you like for a good price, just try to make sure you get one that doesn't bottom out before you're happy with the volume, and make sure it requires it's own power supply. You can find 6 speaker sets with some good quality for amazing prices, such as a Cerwin Vega set for $300 or so.

Plug THAT shit in. Turn THAT shit up. It doesn't matter what type of audio you like it'll be 10x better. Plus, you can set your monitor on top of the DTS to save space. =)

What, you didn't think I was talking about a living room audio setup did you? I don't want to type for a few hours. =P

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mmnpsrsoskl said:

And on car trips.

Eh, as long as you're not actually the driver, that works :P

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Fredrik said:

I never listen to music for as long as 60 minutes straight.

Heh. I put in a good 20 hours of music listening a day.

Except for on school days. They won't let us listen to music at school. They don't like it when we think for ourselves.

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If I listen to an album, it's normally at least a 60 minute session, it doesn't feel complete otherwise.

If you get headphones, make sure they are good ones. Cheap ones aren't worth the plastic they're made from.

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You gotta have loud speakers though just to annoy your neighbours. Most headphones sound completely shit so I personally cannot be arsed with them. I also break them alot which is bloody. Get a subwoofer and some nice speaker and if you don't like your neighbours great you can piss them off with sound

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I mix it. I have conected my comp to my HiFi equipment.
My headphones are very poor, but I am looking forward to buy some nice "Sennheiser" (replacable cables).

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I'm with deadnail here. There's nothing like using your sound card's digitalness with a fearsome DTS amp.

And whatever sub you might buy, make sure it's so large that you can sit on it rather than on the PC's chair :)

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fodders said:

Listening to music is not thinking for yourselves

Sometimes it's good to let go,otherwise you lose perspective and become self-centered.But yes,beware what music you allow yourself to listen to.

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Nuno Correia said:

And whatever sub you might buy, make sure it's so large that you can sit on it rather than on the PC's chair :)

Yeah I love that,those low frequencies are well beneficial for your self.

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Pretty hard to justify a 400$ sound system add-on to a 500$ computer system. Everyone likes great sound, but the trade off, as far as price starts to really add up. Maybe with the next system ;)

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Brain-exploding volumes at 3 AM, that's something you can't do with speakers.


I have 5 - 15 inch speakers that would dissagree. :) There's a cheaper way to do it, just get an old dolby home stereo reciever. I've got a Technics dolby amp, a dedicated amp for the sub, and hey you can hook all your other stuff into it as well. CD player, TV, etc etc....

*sniff

One of my JBL mains has gone all crackley on me. Poor little speaker...

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Thanks for all the useful advice.
deadnail: so you're saying fuck the Cambridge works by creative labs?

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Cambridge Works and Labtec are the only two computer speaker brands I would say haven't pissed me off yet. =)

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