Should I buy Logitech Z-906, for optical cable connection with onboard pc sound?

turbopixel

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May 18, 2015
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Hello guys. Hope, I am on right forum section here. I want buy new speakers for my pc to get better quality while gaming and movie watching and sometimes music. Short question: Do I need a dedicated soundcard if I route the audio from onboard to speaker with optical cable? Will the quality be the same with onboard sound?

My speakers are connected with normal 3 analog cables for 5.1 sound (don't know whats called). Currently, I have coil whine on my graphics card. I can hear it through my speakers, if I use onboard sound (same on two different motherboards). With dedicated soundcard the coil whine disappears. I also can hear noise If I volume up and the scene in game or music is very quiet. And the volume control from speakers are not working perfectly anymore. Also in the past I wanted to connect a game console and my pc to the speakers, which can't be done at my current setup. Also, I hope the speakers will just sound better than my current one, which aren't bad. I am not audiophile and I also don't want volume up to the highest level (especially not with 500 W speaker setup).

My current equipment
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme6
Speaker: Logitech X-540

What I want buy
Speaker: Logitech Z-906
> http://www.logitech.com/de-de/product/speaker-system-z906

What I like about the Z-906 and hope to get

  • ■ better sound quality through digital input and better speakers
    ■ many possible sources as input (maybe if i put anything else to it)
    ■ control console and remote control

What I want do with it

  • ■ playing games like Counter Strike and Witcher 3 and old school emulator games
    ■ watching movies on Netflix
    ■ music through Spotify and hard drive
    ■ maybe very seldom high quality FLAC sound from hard drive

I would buy it through Mindfactory for € 273,46. I am living in Germany.
> http://geizhals.de/logitech-z906-980-000468-a621355.html
At the main webpage this is listed as € 399,00.
 
Solution
the issue with optical and 5.1 is bandwidth (the amount of data per second which can be transferred over the cable). the bandwidth is enough for 100% uncompressed audio for 2.0 only. for 5.1 its compressed. the easiest way to think of it is playing an mp3 instead of a lossless file. while there IS certainly loss whether or not you hear it is up to your ears and your perceptions. some can, some cant.

if you were setup with optical the way sound would get processed is that your pc would generate the original digital signal then pass the digital signal along to the digital analog converter inside the subwoofer which would then pass through the amplifier also in the subwoofer which would power the speakers.

if you were set up with 3.5mm...
3x 3.5mm coming out of a soundcard are better than optical as optical is compressed audio for 5.1 (and your onboard or soundcard needs to support 5.1 over optical or you would be limited to 2.0 only). the benefit of optical is that it forms a break in the connection which means ground loops and the like are eliminated.

multi-sourcing on the z906 is possible, but it can only support two inputs. for $300usd/273eur its almost worth looking at entry level home theater since that would be a much bigger increase in quality than the z906 would be however it is true that the z906 is a bit better than the x540 set - just not leaps and bounds like home theater would be over pc speakers.
 

turbopixel

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May 18, 2015
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Thank your for the response. I am a bit suprised about what you said. It is the first time that I read about compressed audio with optical connection. Wouldn't this be unprocessed and lossless compression, as the speakers would decode and process instead of the pcs motherboard? I thought this is the highest possible quality. If I use the 3.5mm (stereo jack?) connections, then I would buy a new good soundcard too, most probably the ASUS Xonar Essence STX II 7.1.

I am also suprised about your statement, that the sound quality wouldn't be a big difference between z906 and x540. It have even the THX label. I don't know how the sound will be, I have no reference for it. I just know my x540, and their the best speakers I have heard. What is the difference between a home theater and a pc speaker system like the z906? Why are home theater systems better?
 
the issue with optical and 5.1 is bandwidth (the amount of data per second which can be transferred over the cable). the bandwidth is enough for 100% uncompressed audio for 2.0 only. for 5.1 its compressed. the easiest way to think of it is playing an mp3 instead of a lossless file. while there IS certainly loss whether or not you hear it is up to your ears and your perceptions. some can, some cant.

if you were setup with optical the way sound would get processed is that your pc would generate the original digital signal then pass the digital signal along to the digital analog converter inside the subwoofer which would then pass through the amplifier also in the subwoofer which would power the speakers.

if you were set up with 3.5mm the only difference is that instead of the DAC inside the subwoofer being used instead it would be the one in your soundcard. well, that and you arent limited by bandwidth.

benefits of optical are that it breaks electrical contact which means it can eliminate buzzing from ground loops. also digital is less affected by electromagnetic interference. the benefit of 3.5mm is no bandwidth issues.

also, the STX for $200 is complete overkill for the z906. honestly you wouldnt notice the difference over the much cheaper dx as both the stx and dx share the same DAC. the only real difference is a better amplifier and other features you do not need. given that the z906 is self amplified you dont need the stx's amp. spending any more than that is pointless for only the z906. to be honest, you could even get away with cheaper and still be fine.

you can ignore the THX label as that is meaningless. its a simple badge that gets placed on a few products to try and lure people into buying them. there are plenty of non-THX branded products which would blow the z906 out of the water. think about it like having a "genuine leather" tag on something and comparing it to another product which you KNOW is made out of even better quality leather but doesnt have a fancy tag on it. the only thing the THX tag means is that they tested the product to conform to their specifications - which is not going to tell you its a good product or not or how good it actually sounds.

while i never had the x540 set (i've heard them) i did own the x530 set which is the earlier model and had them for over 6-7 years in constant use. they are still around - i gave them away to one of the other pcs we have around and they still work. the sound quality is not bad at all for the price. now, i do not own the z906 myself but i have heard the speakers and also the 2.1 sets based on the same speakers and while sound quality is certainly better i'm not sure its worth spending $300 on them ($400 if you are buying a soundcard too).

at least 5-6 years ago - or perhaps a little more i made the plunge into hifi/home theater speakers myself. now, granted i dove in at a level above what you likely would be thinking about but i can certainly say: there is a very notable jump in quality going from pc speakers to home theater. now WHICH home theater sets you get does matter as well but even generally speaking this is true. you might have to spend a little more to get into home theater but in the long run it pays off.

most home theater systems arent quite as simple of a setup as pc speakers. pc speakers are often 3x 3.5mm connections or in the odd case of the z906, optical. the amplifier is inside the subwoofer - and in the case of the z906 ones which connect via optical have a dac built in. sometimes the DAC is better than onboard audio although its certainly not as good as a decent soundcard. the amplifier is good enough to power the speakers and it all works together without any other cables to connect.

home theater is a bit different. while optical is still an option its better to use HDMI out of your pc (which gives you 100% uncompressed full quality as well) to a receiver box which acts as both the DAC and AMP. it also allows you to connect many sources via hdmi, optical, analog, etcetera and easily switch between them.

also, take RMS values with a huge grain of salt. one thing not mentioned is distortion. often with cheaper amplifiers or speakers if you push them hard you might start getting more distorted audio - while they can certainly deliver the "power" its not going to be as clean sounding as higher quality speakers and good amplifier.

another thing to note is quality of audio. for example lets take bass: the z906 has a fair bit of bass but it feels bloated and is more "boomy". on even a smaller decent quality home theater sub bass is going to be tighter and more punchy not boomy. on larger subwoofers bass can be "rumbling" which you can physically feel. "boomy" bass is often imprecise, bloated and while loud its not very good quality. depends on what you like i suppose. logitechs in generally tend towards "boomy".

a good entry level set would be the energy take classic 5.1 (or the cheaper copycat of them - the monoprice 10565) paired up with a cheap receiver for $150-200 such as one from onkyo, sony or pioneer. now, i'm personally running something much nicer myself, but i've recommended the set quite a few times and everyone has been happy with them so far and notes how much better they sound than pc speakers. the energy set is pretty well rounded with a tight sounding subwoofer although the sub is more punchy and not going to give the super deep rumbling you will only get with a bigger subwoofer (its budget priced, good subs can run the cost of the entire system.. so thats not an issue!)

if you wanted to see an example setup of home theater with pc and consoles... the link in my signature to my build has photos of the entire setup (which uses satelite sized speakers, receiver and subwoofer. the brand of everything is in my build list... if you hover over my avatar it pops up.
 
Solution

turbopixel

Estimable
May 18, 2015
39
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4,610
Thank you for taking the time.
I am still unsure what todo and saw some pc speaker with better rating at sound quality. I may take something from Teufel or Edifier, just not sure and depends on my budget. I won't rush, maybe next month or later. I researched a little and don't get warm with the idea of buying a home theatre system. The whole seupt should be easy as a pc speaker and I don't know how these things complicate and they are very expensive too. I think I'll stick to pc speakers for now, as I don't have too much money. I will look around and read here and there.