Computer Soundcards, 5.1 Surround Speakers, and Studio Monitors... What to do?!!!

T

triple cubic

New member
Hey, guys. :)

It's me again... Still a newbie to home recording.

Anyway, my question this time is, "Are 5.1 surround computer speakers (The Klipsch 5.1 Promedia Series) good enough for professional studio monitors?"

I recently bought a set of these, and they were not cheap. The satellites have 35 watts apiece (there are 5 of them) and the subwoofer has a 500 watt power supply going to it. Needless to say, the sound is amazing (especially when you're playing a game or watching a DVD in 5.1 surround).

However, I am not sure how well these will work for recording. I have the 5.1 speakers connected to a Soundblaster Live Audigy (which supports 5.1 DTS), but I also ordered a Delta 1010-LT which should be arriving any day now.

I really don't want to spend the money, but what do you guys think I should do? I can do one of two things:

A) Return the Soundblaster Audigy and the 5.1 Surround speakers and just run one soundcard (the Delta 1010-LT) with a pair of real studio monitors.

B) After I get the Delta 1010-LT, I could just buy a set of studio monitors for it, and leave the 5.1 speakers attached to the Audigy.

So basically, I could have two soundcard set ups (one for recording, and one for 5.1 surround) or one soundcard set up with the studio monitors.

Opinions and/or recommedations would be helpful, guys!

Thanks again, and I promise to start replying to other people's threads as soon as I get some more experience with all this equipment.

Peace,

Akwah :)
 
Well dude, I guess it depends. Are you a professional????
Just kidding:D
I use a set of Klipsch THX for both my cards and they sound great.
I have gotten into this habit of checking my recordings with several different speaker setups, even little cheesy pc speakers to determine suttle differences to get the best mix possible.
I remember putting a dozen songs on a CD one time that sound great when I was doing the mix, but when I put it in my car CD player it was'nt quite the same.
 
I have the Klipsch Multimedia speakers also and they are awesome for most stuff. I wouldnt want to do critical mixes on them though. I have noticed that for some reason they always seem to push the vocals back, almost like there is added reverb.

I know its not EAX or anything and I only have the 4.1 system so there is no "surround" decoding going on. It's very strange though. But they sound great for games and general listening.
 
It's important to have "monitor" speakers. Non-monitor speakers do not have a flat frequency response, i;e, they color the sound to make it sound better. Monitor speakers do not color the sound and they reproduce accurately.
So, if you do your mixing using monitor speakers they won't sound as great as home stereo speakers. But that's what they are for. I recently bought a pair of M-AUDIO for $300.00. I am quite happy with it.

Hope I did not sound too preaching. But here is another explanation for monitor speakers: The volume levels for Bass, Mid and Treble will all be the same(almoist same) on monitor speakers. And this is same for all the frequencies in monitor speakers.
 
Thanks for the info, everyone. I've actually decided to go with headphones (probably the AKG's), because it's just cheaper and more accurate than studio monitors. :)
 
Be careful. Do not get too dependent on earphones. Earphones have a very WIDE frequency response and sound great because they are so close to your ears. Another factor to avoid earphones is that too much and repeated exposure to noise will degrade your hearing sensitivity over time. You will start hearing strange noises in your ears. This ear problem is know as Tenitis(or something like that).

Use Monitor speakers. And have earphones as a standby. When you are happy with the mix using monitor speakers, then you can verify with earphones.

Sorry if I sound your like your....Dad.
 
Headphone mixes will usually sound very different when played back on speakers. Try it and see. All the different instrument levels will be different. The bass will be heavier on the speakers, the vocals pulled back, too much panning, too much reverb.

Use headphones for editing, critical listening for noises and pops, helping with mic placement, tracking.

Always mix on monitors if you want your music to sound good being played through speakers. If your listeners always use headphones then your all set.
 
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