View Full Version : Difference between digital and analog speakers
i was wondering if there is a big difference between digital and analog speakers. Is the sound much better or barely noticable? Thanks.
thcdru2k
09-19-02, 11:09 PM
i don't know the difference, but with my fps2000 using digital vs analog connection, you can defiantely hear better clarity when going to higher volumes.
There is a difference.....the main one is fidelity....
Digital is pretty much the way it was meant to sound versus Analog where it has to convert a digital stream to an Analog one.....
LORD-eX-Bu
09-19-02, 11:45 PM
If you take a look at the Klipsch Promedia 5.1 speakers(which totally blow away all other speakers) you see that having digital speakers doesn't always mean they are the best. The Klipsch 5.1 speakers are analog and are the best. Another one is the Cambridge Soundworks DTT3500 speakers(I think), they are pretty nice, they are digital, but the Klipschs kill them.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but there are better speakers than the Promedias....
LORD-eX-Bu
09-20-02, 12:08 AM
then lead me to them please!:D
LTech221
09-20-02, 03:17 AM
For multimedia speakers the Promedias are ok but there are alternatives. For instance the Diva Swans M200 will sound better, while they may not extend as low as the 2.1's the clarity is above and beyond any promedia system. http://www.av123.com/diva.shtml there are also things like the Videologic Sirocco Xfires which would be direct competition towards the 4.1's, 5.1 for the multimedia market is still growing but you could throw in the Megaworks 510d's and the new Logitech 680's. But you can still go higher with some bookshelf speakers and a reciever, which will no doubt cost more, but should be worth the money if you invest in good equipment.
I think there is a bit of a confussion here
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS DIGITAL SPEAKERS
All speakers are analog by definition, they would need to have a D/A converter in every speaker to be "almost digital"
The main reason why I was asking these question is because of the option in windows "digital output only" that sets all sound to digital. Whenever I enabled that I couldn't get any sound so I figured it was because my speakers were not digital. Since no speakers are digital, what do I have to do to enable digital, get a converter or somthing? :cool:
LORD-eX-Bu
09-20-02, 11:17 AM
what sound card are you using? could just be your amplifier.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but there are better speakers than the Promedias....
So long as we limit this to computer-speakers and not a bookshelf/receiver combination, I might have to disagree with you McBane...
Every Buyer's Guide or "Dream System" config always chooses the ProMedia 5.1's as the best of the best.....I've never read a single bad review of them.....and I can't even begin to count how many websites have claimed these speakers to be the best computer speakers they've heard....
If you know of better computer speakers, by all means let us know....I'd love to find some better ( and cheaper ) speakers...
:D
im using Sound Blaster Live 5.1 with Altec Lansing ACS-33 speakers. I just ordered the Logitech 560's so I should have some new speakers by next week.:D woo hoo.
Well....hows the Videologic Scirroco Pro (sp?) and the Monsoon 505's? Most of the people that own these have dumped Promedia for these (to name a few)...
Umm Cotita.....dont digital speakers have a converter with them? isn't that the difference between them and analog?
I don't put much value into reviews anymore....ever see a website complain about a creative soundcard?
Spectral
09-20-02, 01:30 PM
I have the ProMedia 5.1s and they are very nice speakers.... But, for Audio production (Which is a hobby of mine) they arent very well suited.
They arent very, "nuetral" ... they tend to have a lot more bass than necessary... It can be turned down, and the sound quality is very good. But, trying to do mastering on Klipsch speakers is pretty much a no-no.
Wouldn't Digital speakers mean there is a DAC built into the Speaker system so the Signal stays Digital all the way until the speakers limiting the amout of signal Degredation and/or Interferience the signal might pick up on the way.
Kinda like that wire we used to use connecting our SoundCards to the CD-Roms. That Wire carried an Analogue signal through your system picking up all kinds of interferience, where now the signal stays digital, travels through the PCI Bus until it passes through your SoundCards DAC and then to your speakers.
Sooo if i understand this correctly if the DAC on your soundcard is better than the one in your Digital speakers, Analogue speakers would be a better idea (then again the quality of sound coming from a computer is usually pretty crappy as it is so we shouldn't be able to hear the difference anyway).
LTech221
09-20-02, 02:04 PM
Originally posted by McBane
Well....hows the Videologic Scirroco Pro (sp?) and the Monsoon 505's? Most of the people that own these have dumped Promedia for these (to name a few)...
Umm Cotita.....dont digital speakers have a converter with them? isn't that the difference between them and analog?
I don't put much value into reviews anymore....ever see a website complain about a creative soundcard?
All I can say about the Monsoon 505's, best investment I made yet for sound. They wont reach as low as Logitechs or Promedias but when I did side by side comparisons, both the Logitechs and Promedias could not give the detail these Monsoons gave. Bass was nice and tight, midrange was very defined, and the highs were very crisp and clean.
I can see the Videologic Scirroco Pro giving the Klipsch speakers a good run for their money....but Monsoon speakers??? Everything I've read about the 505's claims them to be a good "budget" speaker.....certainly not a high-end, high-performance speaker...
Oh well.....to each his own......
:D
Both the Klipsch and Logi z560's suffer from the same problem. Lack of Mid-Range and sloppy base (the Klipsch are better but not perfect), But dont get me wrong. As far as computer speakers go i dont think they can be beat.
This is a real sub-woofer http://www.audiospecialiste.com/fiche_technique.asp?noProduit=1&langue=EN&noFiche=14
LTech221
09-20-02, 02:39 PM
ONly problem with the Sirocco Pros is that their like $900 U.S., they certainly will beat the Promedia hands down but that price is certainly to much for the majority out there.
Actually, I think the "real-subwoofer" title belongs to Krell....albeit at a serious price premium...
Krell has announced a new high-end subwoofer that it describes as the "worlds ultimate subwoofer."
The Master reference Subwoofer, with it's two fifteen-inch drivers and three-inch excursions, is described as including "a Krell Class A amplifier that produces 2,600 watts of power, weighs 420 pounds, has a footprint of less that four square feet, and is capable of reproducing a frightening low 20 hz tone at 120 dB."
The cabinet for the subwoofer is constructed from one-inch solid billet aluminum. Krell states, "we discovered that aluminum is the only workable material strong enough to withstand the substantial pressures generated within a subwoofer and still remain inert. Wood-based enclosure simply cannot contain these pressures without adding distortion and coloration."
The suggested retail price for the Krell Master Subwoofer is $28,000. Availability is expected in the first quarter, 2000.
For more information - www.krellonline.com
Tee hee hee :D
Originally posted by pelly
Actually, I think the "real-subwoofer" title belongs to Krell....albeit at a serious price premium...
Krell has announced a new high-end subwoofer that it describes as the "worlds ultimate subwoofer."
The Master reference Subwoofer, with it's two fifteen-inch drivers and three-inch excursions, is described as including "a Krell Class A amplifier that produces 2,600 watts of power, weighs 420 pounds, has a footprint of less that four square feet, and is capable of reproducing a frightening low 20 hz tone at 120 dB."
The cabinet for the subwoofer is constructed from one-inch solid billet aluminum. Krell states, "we discovered that aluminum is the only workable material strong enough to withstand the substantial pressures generated within a subwoofer and still remain inert. Wood-based enclosure simply cannot contain these pressures without adding distortion and coloration."
The suggested retail price for the Krell Master Subwoofer is $28,000. Availability is expected in the first quarter, 2000.
For more information - www.krellonline.com
Tee hee hee :D
okay you win ;) But the one i posted is sitting next to me as we speak :) Sooo HA! j/k
I can't even begin to imagine how someone could justify $28,000 for a single sub....insane...
That sub of yours sounds pretty sweet........how much did that set you back? ( if you don't mind me asking... )
I'd love to get a nice home theater setup, but I am far too poor to be able to afford anything like that for awhile....
:D
Actually it was a gift. My Grandfather is in the High-end Audio Buiz so he always sets up my family with a nice system.
This is his company web site. www.classeaudio.com
And going by his word, the absolute BEST LoudSpeaker Company out there right now is B&W.
B&W are the ones with the yellow kevlar cones right? I've heard a set of those and they sounded great...
Your grandfather's products look pretty slick.......cool gear....
:D
LORD-eX-Bu
09-20-02, 04:43 PM
A few months ago I got sick and tired of my crappy desktop computer speakers so I took a regular ol'e 250W amplifier, and then I took my stereo speakers(2 15" subwoofers, 3 high range woofers and 2 little monitors) and then I made a connector for my PC. I hooked it up to my PC thru the amplifier and that rocked! It was the best sound I have ever heard, in my opinion, it blew away even the Klipsch Promedia speakers and it was just on a regular AC'97 Codec, lol. I could turn it up as high as I wanted and it wouldn't even break up. It was very clear and it really added to the gameplay experience. I was playing Rogue Spear with my friend right by me, and we had the speakers set up around us, I got shot by a guy with a shotgun in the game and it was like getting it by something, I mean, the bass blew me away, it was something else! I can tell you that! That was great, I had to eventually take it down tho due to complaints that it was too loud and shaking stuff. Give it a try. I might hook it up again, I hope it sounds better with a new sound card. And maybe this time I will give my set of four new 18" subwoofers a try.:D
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