How can I get the BEST sound out of my audigy 2 and z-680 speakers

[ninjamyst]

I heard alot of good things about the z-680 speakers and audigy 2 so I shelled out $313 for an OEM audigy 2 card and brand new set of z-680 speakers. Right now, I am jus using the analog connection wires that came with the speaker and I am not very happy with the sound I am getting. With z-680's prologic music, I hear alot of sound from my center speaker but almost nothing from my rear speakers. Is that normal? Also, people "claims" turning the volume above 1/4 usually produce enough sound to rock your room but I have to crank the volume to max on my computer and 1/2 on the speakers to get decent sound. That's not normal....what are some ways to get optimal sound?? I heard it's better to go digital but I am a newbie at this sound system thing so i will appreciate any help or advice. Thanks!

[ninjamyst]

Can someone PLZ help me???? I really don't my money to go to waste. PLEASEEEEEE

[JohnE.]

I don't have an Audigy 2 or those speakers so I can't help much, but...

If you're having problems with the sound levels from the different speakers, going to digital speakers probably won't fix it. You need to find and fix the cause of the level mismatch first or it will just be replicated on the digital speakers.

Digital speakers (no such thing really, it just means the connections from source to speaker are digital rather than analog) will generally produce better sound but only if the source sound was good to begin with. As recording engineers are fond of saying, "Garbage in, garbage out".

Have you tried the FAQ and Troubleshooters at Creative and Logitech? Perhaps your issue has been addressed and a solution is available there.

[poopeyhed2]

First of all, you definetly want to look up "speaker placement" on Google or something. I'll get you started here

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-...placement.html

http://www.immediasound.com/Speaker_set-up.htm

http://www.5point1.com/millennium/speaker.html

Here's the google link to the search results

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...r+placement%22


I myself have a 4.1 surround sound hooked up to the Audigy 2 Platinum, and I can say that music hasn't changed all that much, you might notice something that you haven't noticed before like myself. My speakers are definetly not set up right to hit the "Sweet spot", space is limited where my speakers are, speakers are higher and lower than each other but it works

[ninjamyst]

I guess my main problem is I dunno if my speakers are working correctly. These speakers are suppose to rock the house but I just don't feel it. When I am listening to MP3's, the sound not really that clear and not loud enough...am I expecting too much from these $300 speakers?

[poopeyhed2]

Sounds like you might not have your sound drivers installed correctly, which is why it's not giving enough "oompf". Speaker placement is also key when it comes to having better sound quality.

You did plug the 1/8" jacks in the correct spots to the sound card right?

[ninjamyst]

I am using the analog connection...the 3 color coded wires...and i doubled checked that they are firmly plugged in too. Plus, I updated my drivers on creative.com and everything...

[poopeyhed2]

I'm using the drivers that came with the CD because I've seen enough horror stories hree on TIMO about newer drivers from Creative.

I'm definetly no audiophile, nor have any experience with 5.1 or setting up a 4.1 correctly. Hate to say it, you're going to have to wait till someone that knows the answer who can help you. Have you ever checked the volume control on the computer, maybe it's too low?

[Bizkitkid2001]

If you don't think the sound is clear enough once you have gotten the speakers to work correctly, going out and buying thicker spekaer wires might help. I notice that songs were a little bit clearer once I got some thicker speaker wires. I thought the speaker wire that came with the z680s were too thin for the amount of power that goes through them.

[Jumper]

Let me give my two cents worth. I consider myself an audiophile and have used Soundblaster cards. Trying to rock the house directly from the sound card, even using amplified computer speakers will never happen. What you need to get is a medium priced Stereo Receiver with some good floor speaker columns. Connect your line-out of the soundcard to any of your inputs in the stereo, such as tape in, cd, aux, etc. Set the volume of your card about a quarter and crank up your stereo. Now you are rocking the house.