Maximum PC

I currently have an i7 build with an HT Omega Striker hooked up to M-Audio AV40s. I also have a PS3 hooked up to the same monitor as my PC. I'm looking for a home audio solution. I want to upgrade. I'm looking for something that will last, is quality and all that jazz. Would a receiver be worth it? If I did go with the receiver I would then look into TVs and new speakers (and keep the PC and the PS3 seperate).

Or would the HT Omega Claro+ be of better value to me. The receiver I'm look at is this one (http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-RC260-7- ... B003FSTAVY). I heard it was great value and has higher than average audio quality. If I start making a home "media center" build it will take a couple years so I want something that lasts.

I have my htpc hooked up to my pioneer VSX-519V and my Polk Audio M50s and PSW10 sub it is awesome. Full blown receiver and decent (i love my polks) are Full of win vs pc speakers.

I was amazed how much nicer the sound is than vs my old and trusty Logitech Z560s

I have the receiver hook up to the pc via HDMI (ATI 6870) and control everything w/ a Harmony remote it is just great.

So sell the soundcard and get a full blown a/v receiver? I forgot to tell you what I have connected - Sennheiser HD600, M-Audio AV40.

i guess it is up to you in my case I'm a lot happier with my polks and pioneer av receiver than with my old onboard audio and z560s but it is your money so you will have to decide ultimately if you have hdmi w/ native audio on your video card I would /did lean towards av receiver / home audio speakers vs computer speakers

Alright. I would like everything in one place but in the future it would be really nice to have a home theatre. I'll just have to think about it more.

I'm Thinking the same thing. Simply should I use my MSI ATI 4870 HDMI to the Reciever or use the s/pdif from the Mobo. the monitor is not going thru the reciever( Since my Acer X223w doesn't have an Hdmi port). Would that be and Issue? this is just for audio purposes.

It's always going to be a better solution to feed a set of speakers OR receiver the best signal you can give it. By ditching the HT Omega, you'll be lowering your options. Video cards don't have sound processors, but pass through ability so that sound can be passed over an HDMI cable. By removing the Omega, you're back to enabling onboard and passing that over, so why sell the great card even if considering adding a receiver?

Phatphox: AMD cards do well passing audio and may not need to run a s/pdif cord...just enable it to see what happens. I don't have a monitor on the HTPC, so I may be viewing this differently.

The soundcard does DDL so for a basic optical/coax receiver it is great for surround through it. I'm not sure if an hdmi hookup through a videocard will send surround for games that aren't encoded for it without the DDL part.

was wondering that too...

also,what about buying some good home speakers with built in amps,going to your soundcard....

heres something interesting i read

"The hot topic these days seems to be HDMI switching. There are several good reasons that this feature may be important to you.
You should be aware however that there are external HDMI switching devices available if you deem it unnecessary to upgrade your receiver just to utilize HDMI switching.

Most theater receivers have tons of inputs and outputs on them in the hopes that a consumer will be able to integrate the receiver into nearly any audio/video system.

This is a fair tactic but if you can hunt down the features that you absolutely must have- get superior performance for only the features you need.

Another way to look at this is this: If you would use an active speaker system you would not need any amplifiers at all.

This would mean that you could use a surround sound processor and not a receiver. You would have no use for the built in amps of the receiver if using active speakers.

Or, you may be hoping for the latest receiver with HDMI switching but you may get better quality by keeping your existing receiver and buying an external HDMI switching device. There are a number of alternative ways to think about saving money and or getting the ultimate performance.


"Don’t limit yourself to buying a brand new unit every time the technology changes its face.

Many times there are better and higher quality ways achieve your goal. "

that was from here
http://www.home-speaker.net/best-home-t ... eiver.html

maybe a set of these http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MAudioAV40.html to a nice soundcard

what difference do yall think there is between this set up,or going through a reciever to some speakers of same qualitiy