Hi Andy You're right. It still annoys me that I can't connect all the equipment I want without a lot of rigmarole. Sonos will let me play music from the built-in iPhone app but not other apps such as NatureSpace which has really nice nature/relaxation tracks. A lot of Apple and Microsoft products don't integrate well - deliberately so in order to force you to stay with one company. And what a carry-on it can be getting music onto an iPhone from a PC these days! As for HDMI, it's great when it works, but it has a little thing built in called High-bandwidth Digital Copyright Protection (HDCP) which you will find will stop you doing some of the things you mentioned: like you can listen, but you certainly can't record and definitely not copy. And because of that, it refuses to play certain media such as Blu-ray if it detects you are using equipment not certified for HDCP. So frankly, life could be a lot simpler if it wasn't for the jealousy and rivalry of some big corporations.
John -----Original Message----- From: Pc-audio [mailto:pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org] On Behalf Of Andy Sent: 21 August 2016 21:15 To: PC Audio Discussion List Subject: Re: Desktop computer speakers Hi again John. God, it's getting even more complicated eh? I'd just love, like yourself, to keep it simple, but it simply isn't going to happen is it? Good quality audio from computers, TV's and interfacing that with AV units or amps has historically resulted in multiple complexities and it's only people like us who may know a little about these things that gain the benefits. One day you will with no understanding whatsoever about technology , be able to play audio from any device through your home system, without even thinking about it. I really couldn't tell you what was the best method of drawing all these threads together and with every year, it's getting even more complicated. Wouldn't it be nice to buy a good computer with high quality sound and you could simply download audio from Itunes or otherwise, listen to it and edit it and post it again without any effort whatsoever! ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Gurd" <j.g...@ntlworld.com> To: "'PC Audio Discussion List'" <pc-audio@pc-audio.org> Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2016 4:08 PM Subject: RE: Desktop computer speakers Hi Andy, That's a thought which I'll have to ponder some more. I know desktop speakers for PC are nearly always rubbish but the ones Dane linked to are an exception. But a separate amp or receiver for my PC is a possibility. My PC is in a den too as my wife banned PCs from the living room so instead I've got a high end set up in the Livingroom similar to yours minus the PC. Believe it or not in my PC room/den I used to have 2 PCs with 2 sound cards each going through a sound mixer and then output through an amplifier and stereo speakers. That was in the days when I used to broadcast on internet radio. The 2nd PC was a backup for when things went wrong with my main machine which sometimes happened. Anyway, I've simplified things since then getting rid of redundant equipment. I now have one of the few self-amplified 5.1 systems that can plug into a sound card without an amplifier. I also use a splitter to a little transmitter that lets me use the old-style wireless headphones and portable speakers so I can have audio from my PC in other rooms. The Logitec Z5500 5.1 speakers sound reasonable for their price and age but as they're quite elderly I want something better. I was hoping to keep it simple but if I wanted to keep a 5.1 set up in my PC den you are probably right and I would have to think about an amp or receiver. It would also allow me to get the best out of my small collection of PC-based HD recordings. To be honest though although it's nice having the ability of outputting music in a 5.1 virtual mix like Dolby PL2 I spend less time than I used to doing that and I usually go to the living room for movies in surround sound, so maybe a good stereo speaker set up would do. I've used the external Sound Blaster USB X-Fi in the past. I've always liked the Creative Sound Blaster range and their latest top card is an internal one called the ZX. I use it and it's great! The reason I gave up the external card was it could only handle 5.1 if it was compressed to a lower bitrate. I think when USB3 becomes standard with HDMI out this will no longer be an issue for external cards. Optical toslink connections inherently can't handle 5.1 channels without reducing the sound quality. They are fine for stereo though. Anyway, I'll definitely consider the configuration you suggest. I'm even thinking of testing a Sonos Connect (which lives in the Livingroom system) as an experiment and connecting it to my PC. It has a line in as well as out and therefore could carry audio from my PC simultaneously to my room speakers and to the Sonos speakers in my bedroom. If it was successful I could add Sonos speakers elsewhere in the house. It has the added bonus of letting me use Apple Music and Amazon Prime music and controlling it from an iPhone app. I haven't thought this through properly so I'm going to experiment to see if there are any snags. Cheers John -----Original Message----- From: Pc-audio [mailto:pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org] On Behalf Of Andy Sent: 20 August 2016 13:39 To: PC Audio Discussion List Subject: Re: Desktop computer speakers Hi John. Sorry for butting into your conversation, but I simply must tell you about my own experiences regarding high quality audio from my computers, before you spend more money on desk-top speakers for your computer, that will most probably end up disapointing you. Firstly, I buy most of my equipment from Richard Sound, in Jamaca Street, Glasgow. I've got a very good friend called Rob Horn who used to work for them but is now self employed and he sets all of this stuff up for me, when I need him. In my livingroom I have a Windows 7 computer, Soundblaster XFy sound card going into an Oncio AV Unit and there is also a 42 inch Philips plasma and Pioneer DVD recorder/player. The 5.1 speaker system is provided by a Quad Light system and although this set up is rather expensive, it's magnificent, particularly because it's bloody loud and I have no local neibours to disturb by the noise. But generally, I don't use this system when on my own with no friends or house guests at home, so I have a second set-up. in my little Den, I have a Windows 7 computer, Soundblaster XFy sound card, going into another Oncio AV unit, but this time the left and right channels are going into a splitter and send out 2 channel sterio to my study and the dining room. I have a spare socket for outdoor speakers but as it's always raining up here, what is the point, of outdoor speakers. I've just purchased an Imac 27 inch and my friend Rob is coming over by ferry next week to plug that into my Oncio unit also. What I'm really saying I suppose John is before you buy stand alone desk-top speakers, consider going down the American way of including an AV unit and USB Sound Card. The Yanks have been doing this for years while we continue to spend good money on rubbish. Both of my systems John give me much joy and of course I use things like Goldwave and Tune-in radio so I can record everything going through the card. If I wanted to, on my JAWS computers, I could pump all of my audio music through the AV unit and send JAWS to little shitty speakers, more or less, such as the ones you are considering. This means that all of my recordings are free of sounds coming from JAWS. I do a lot of recording on my computers and listen to 5 Live and 6 Music as well as Radio Scotland and these days John, the Broadcast quality is very good, so why would I want to listen to all of my hard work, through stand alone cheep speakers. Start thinking about an AV unit, an external sound card, nice speakers, either sterio or 5.1 and a couple of cables. John, you deserve it, so be nice to yourself and buy some toys. Very best wishes and kind regards Andy Logue. >From Scotland with love. ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Gurd" <j.g...@ntlworld.com> To: "'PC Audio Discussion List'" <pc-audio@pc-audio.org> Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2016 9:38 AM Subject: RE: Desktop computer speakers The information on these speakers is really interesting. I've never heard of the egg series. It got me wondering about the 5.1 Egg set range for my PC but then I realised that particular range need an amplifier. At some point I'll have to replace my elderly Logitec Z5500 5.1 speakers and there is nothing comparable on the market at the moment. A good stereo PC set may be the way to go. John -----Original Message----- From: Pc-audio [mailto:pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org] On Behalf Of Dane Trethowan Sent: 17 August 2016 19:20 To: PC Audio Discussion List Subject: Desktop computer speakers Hi! It seems the mainstream speaker manufacturers are entering the computer desktop speaker market in droves and its probably about time too given the low quality of computer speakers these days. We've discussed the B&W M1 speakers in the past and now there's another model from Kef that shows us a thing or two when it comes to listening to music and good audio quality from your speakers, the Kef Eggs It shouldn't be too difficult for anyone to guess the shape of these speakers <smile>. Like the B&W M1's the Eggs can plug directly into a computer via its USB port but the system also boasts an Optical In digital connection for other devices such as a TV, Digital radio etc and a sub-wooffer out should you need one. I've not had a chance to listen to these speakers here but the review linked to below seems to suggest that a sub-woofer may not be required in most situations and - having heard a lot of Kef speakers myself - that's how I also imagine things http://www.whathifi.com/kef/egg/review
