Posted by Technobarbarian on 12/22/05 23:35

"Lynne Roberts" <lynnielynne@lynnielynne.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:doemmb$bbq$1@news8.svr.pol.co.uk...
>I mostly now use my pc to listen to music...anyone suggest a reasonabl;e
>setup that would replace my aging stereo> Ie sound card , speakers/. I have
>a small living room (12 ft by 14 ft) I am not an 'audio geek' but would
>notice cheap tinny sound. At mo I have altec lansing speakers(221 cost 30
>quid from Maplins ) and onboard soundcard. Will happily spend a couple of
>hundred but need advice.............ty
>
It still sort of depends on where you're starting out and where you want
to go. If by aging stereo you mean something in a plastic case that's one
thing. If on the other hand the aging stereo was quality equipment produced
in the '70's or early '80's it would be hard to beat this stuff with your
budget. And good vintage audio gear from that era is one option. You could
just run a cable from a reasonable sound card to the line in on the stereo.
When I bought my computer 3 years ago I went with a mid-level sound card, at
best,
and mid-level computer speakers--Harmon Kardons, the sort of thing that has
a seperate bass unit. It's certainly not audiophile quality, but I get
acceptable sound. Since then I've upgraded to an ArtCessories USB preamp in
order to hookup a turntable (vintage gear was by far the best bang for the
buck there). I have to listen to them side by side to hear a difference, but
the preamp puts out a bit better sound so I now use it to feed the
speakers.

With your budget you could afford a nice M-Audio sound card and some
more upscale computer speakers.
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.list&ID=pciinterfaces

TB

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