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Been into electronics and audio gear since I was a kid in the 80s and 90s. I used to fiddle with whatever we had at home. My dad had HiFi systems and I got hand me down components when I was in high school (aside from the portable stuff that all kids kind of had then). Audio (both home and mobile) has always been one of the things I spent on when I started earning for myself in the early 00s. While I understood electronics (like how amps work, electronic repair and mobile audio installs) before this, it's only around 2007 (27 y.o. then) when I started to really put effort in learning acoustics and human hearing. This is also around the time when I started having measurement equipment and being serious about getting my systems to sound "correct." My spending on audio started to rise at that point and peaked at around 2011; it's taken a slow decline since then.

For something this old, I suggest looking for one with Thunderbolt. Intel's thunderbolt chip is what enables HDMI 2.0 on these older machines. Without it, the HDMI out is version 1.4. With intel blocking chroma subsampled output, HDMI 1.4 means 4K30 max (unless you get the right DP to HDMI converter that enables 4K60 w/o HDR).

@s_kWhile the older Focals can be quite bright, I believe the new ones are closer to neutral. I measure and tune sound systems as I used to distribute audio equipment. Focal's signature sound had been tweaked quite a bit over the years and anything from the past 5 years are much more mellow. If you look at measurements of their newer lines, you will see that they are now very well behaved speakers (while retaining their ability to resolve amazing amounts of detail). Sure they often don't measure as perfectly as Revel or Magico speakers in the ideal environment, but they are close enough that that it's normally a non-issue in the domestic listening environment. The room acoustics may even favor the slightly-sculpted Focal response (of course depending on the listener). Here's an example of a recent Focal: Focal Sopra No.3 loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

That's a good selection from very different price points. I'd probably go with bigger units if you'd be running without a sub (Monitor Audio Bronze 100 perhaps?).

Well the Cinema 800 is a superior model; if the price fits your budget then it may be a great option.

Might be worth a look if you can get them at US CyberMonday prices: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-VgXrGvnl2xC/p_714CIN600/Klipsch-Cinema-600.html The Polk MagniFi and JBL Bar series are other alternatives.

If you're willing to equalize in software (PEACE is a pretty good option), passive bookshelf speakers and a compact 2 channel amplifier may work well (or powered monitors). A basic measurement mic with a phone/tablet acting as an RTA can work wonders as a tuning aid.

Are you using drivers supplied by the motherboard manufacturer or by Realtek?

I agree with the lack of EF-M lens support from Canon. They have a few good primes, while the rest are kit-quality zooms. Sigma makes excellent EF-M primes too. This mount lacks bright zoom lenses however (Canon probably didn't want the M bodies to couple with heavy lenses and don't want them to compete with their EF and RF bodies). To get bright zooms, a mount adapter would have to be used. As for poor AF on Canon bodies, I would say that only applies to their fixed-lens models and entry level DSLRs. Anything from the M200 up have good AF for both single AF and servo modes. Entry level models won't focus as quickly as higher models, but they have among the most reliable AF systems (the M200, M50, M50II and M6 Mk II share the same image processor with the EOS R). https://youtu.be/26Xkd57fxr4

If not shooting 4K, it should have decent AF. All Canon DPAF models have plenty good AF for most use cases. That model's really good for stills and 1080p video. Its 4K functionality is very limited (large crop and no DPAF) but may be useful if you're shooting with a prime and want to switch FOV. There are awesome primes for the EF-M body, but the zoom options are less stellar. You can however adapt EF-S lenses to the EF-M mount, if you're okay with the bulk and noisier motors (most good EF-S lenses have older/noisier drive mechanisms). The Sony A6100 and the Olympus EM-10 IV are good alternatives. The A6100 with a pair of good lenses (say the Tamron 11-20mm and the 17-70mm) will cover most general shooting scenarios. The EM-10 IV is more of a wild card; AF and resolution won't be as good as the Canon or the Sony but the IBIS will make longer exposures possible without a tripod and will make handheld videos much more watchable.

Optical vs. Coaxial Digital - In most cases the difference is a non-issue, with Optical offering galvanic isolation (no electrical connection). The added complexity of an optical setup (LED emitter and a photodiode receiver) can add some rise and fall time complexities that can result in some jitter, but this is small enough to not cause an issue in the far majority of setups. If you want the cleanest connection, then AES/EBU outperforms all the mentioned setups (though most consumer computers and audio systems do not use this). SPDIF Backplate - Yeah, the black back plate should work just fine as long as you have the correct pinout for your motherboard. SPDIF vs. HDMI - HDMI offers an advantage when it comes to multi-channel audio and of course the transmission of video, CEC, etc. As far as 2-channel audio is concerned (which is what we have here), SPDIF can handle 192/24 lossless, which is more resolution than any speaker can resolve. HDMI may even be a disadvantage for a 2-channel setup as the MUX-DEMUX setup to send audio with video introduces more jitter than any SPDIF connection. The Edifier that you got will do 96/24 reliably over Optical, which should be more than enough for your intended setup. Audio Decoding - Your PC can handle that via software and stream PCM over SPDIF. This should be a non-issue for you unless you really intended to go multi-channel. If you wanted the audio system to do the decoding, you should be spending way more with an AV receiver or pre-processor (these products have the decoders for an HDMI connection). 3.5mm cable - Those cylinders are just ferrite cores to help choke high frequencies. They can reduce high frequency noise (often in the inaudible range), but they will not remove hum and other lower frequency issues. They really don't do much for audio in most cases because of their tuning (if they tune these to affect lower frequency noise, they will also affect signal integrity). You can use an audio isolation transformer that can fix ground loop hums, but you'd need to get a really good one to minimize the impact on sound quality. 2-way vs. 3-way - These are small speakers with small woofers. They will not benefit too much from a 3-way setup. Besides, you were budget constrained. A good 2-way is almost always better than a bad 3-way (at this price point, a cheap 3-way will tend to use inferior drivers, amps and crossovers that will likely provide inferior results). Once you're looking at bigger speakers (8 inch woofer or larger) and a much larger budget, then the dedicated midrange driver of a 3-way design can start to offer an advantage depending on the design.

If you'd be using the 3.5mm cable to the speakers, you can also wire your sub to the 8-channel analogue output. That will let your computer handle bass management. If you'd be using Optical or Bluetooth, then the subwoofer would not get the signal that's being received by your powered speakers by default. That makes adding a subwoofer more difficult.

Congrats on the new pair of speakers. The 3.5mm cable would indeed work for your setup; the Bluetooth connection would work too. Here are the advantages/disadvantages: 1. 3.5mm to RCA cable - Pro: Will work with most devices; Con: Analogue connection is prone to noise from the computer (buzzing, humming, etc.) 2. Bluetooth - Pro: Wireless and not likely to transmit noise; Con: Compressed audio will not provide the highest fidelity 3. Optical/Toslink - Pro: Galvanically isolated (no electrical connection) therefore no noise transmission; Con: Not all computers have an optical output Your motherboard needs a back plate with a toslink/optical output that connects to that SPDIF header to use an optical connection. That part looks like this:

Given Polish pricing, maybe the Samsung QE55Q60A. Good black levels, screen uniformity and color gamut with excellent motion handling.

Skip the sound card and get the R1700BT / R1700BTs instead. You can hook it up via your motherboard's toslink/optical out (if it has one). This model performs so much better than the R1280T. The BTs model includes a sub-out and an internal bass management crossover, in case you're adding a powered subwoofer.

Might be better sources for speaker drivers: Parts Express: Speakers, Amplifiers, Audio Parts and Solutions (parts-express.com) Madisound Speaker Components (madisoundspeakerstore.com) Some modeling can help if you know your speaker enclosure volume and tuning. Custom passive networks may also be necessary to suit your driver choices.

Consider belt-drive options too. They're more delicate than direct-drive models in general, but you do tend to get better quality audio for the same outlay. The belt drive isolates the platter from the motor's vibration, plus belt drive motors tend to be cheaper (more of the money gets spent on the cartridge, tonearm, plinth, preamp, etc.). Here's an example of a belt-drive model from Audio Technica: AT-LPW50PB - Fully Manual Belt-Drive Turntable | Audio-Technica Rega and Pro-ject offer a lot of belt drive options too (with significantly more brand panache), though they do tend to cost more than AT for the same feature set. Direct drive turntables tend to be very durable and tend to have very strong motors. That makes them the top option for professional use and DJing. Here's AT's current Direct Drive offering. AT-LP120XBT-USB Direct Drive Turntable (audio-technica.com)

Would you be using it for playback or for DJing? A new Technics SL-1210 will run you almost twice that amount. Consider Audio Technica's much cheaper "equivalent" models, if you're looking for a budget direct drive turntable. The AT-LP120XUSB is the latest release for that series, afaik. You can always upgrade the cartridge and preamp later on. If you're not DJing, there are a lot of good belt drive machines within your price range.

If you don't plan on recording the fainter sounds, then the plug-in will mask the problem. It should be a relatively faint buzz (the software will block audio below a certain level that you'd set in the gate). If it's a loud buzzing, then you might have gotten a defective mic.

What mic is it? Almost all condenser mics have some level of self noise (Johnson noise - some form of continuous hissing/humming and Poisson noise - pulsing/popping/ticking noise). Good ones will have much less of it (cheaper ones would need more noise reduction done either in real-time or in production). It can also be noise introduced by USB power or RFI. If moving the mic to another computer / location fixes it, then this can be the culprit.

Yes, the main home theater is at my house. The secondary one is in my condo. Those Focals are amazing monitors. Congrats! As for the Omni S12, try testing it with one port plugged (you can do a temporary plug with a balled sock or something similar). They play better that way in some cases (it can give you better extension and less boominess).

@King_PIN Amazing build! There truly is no replacement for displacement. Those pro drivers can be used to fill a commercial theater.

Main Home Theater Sony KD-85X9000H LCD TV Dell Optiplex 7090 Micro HTPC Cambridge Audio 752BD Bluray/SACD/DVD-A Player Cambridge Audio Azur 751R AV Receiver Wharfedale Diamond 9.6 Floor Standing Speakers (main) Wharfedale Diamond 9.cm Horizontal Speaker (center) Wharfedale Diamond 9.3 Bookshelf Speakers (surround and surround back) 2 x Klipsch R-115SW Subwoofers Likes: Warm non-fatiguing sound; 6-channel SACDs and DVD-As play well Hate: TV internally processes streams at 1080p then scales to 4K Main Audio Old desktop PC (High Res download and playback machine) Audiophilleo 1 SPDIF Interface w/ Purepower PSU Cambridge Audio Azur 851C DAC / CD Player Cambridge Audio Azur 851E Preamp Audiocontrol 6XS Crossover (using a 12V linear PSU for bass management) Cambridge Audio Azur 851W Power Amp (powering mids and tweets) Adcom GFA-575se Power Amp (powering woofers) 2 x Mirage Omni S12 Subwoofers (stereo sub setup; 1 port plugged each) Bowers & Wilkins CM9 Floor Standing Speakers Like: Fast and dynamic sound; quite revealing Hate: Not the flattest-sounding set for the price (B&W voicing) Office Audio Pro-Ject Debut Carbon USB Turntable ROG GL702ZC Laptop as Digital Source Musiland Monitor 01 USD SPDIF Interface Yamaha WXC-50 Streamer / Preamp / DAC Tannoy Gold 8 Active Monitors Like: Neutral-sounding, especially when playing digital (EQed flat with the help of my RTA) Hate: Turntable output is just okay (nowhere near as revealing as high-end models) Secondary Home Theater Sharp LC-70LE660 LCD TV ITX desktop HTPC w/ BD Drive (digital source) Yamaha RX-V567 AV Receiver Polk Audio T50, T30 & T15 Speakers (5.1 setup) Klipsch SW-450 Subwoofer Likes: Great bang/buck (surprisingly pleasant-sounding after manual EQ); very low power consumption Hate: TV Colors had to be calibrated from the HTPC

What laptop are you running? If it has AMD or Intel graphics together with your dedicated GPU, then there is a big chance that it's using the integrated GPU for the output. That's how the majority of laptops work, as this allows the system to switch between integrated and dedicated graphics.

The LG C1 has decent decoding support for standard formats. AV1 streaming is a good bonus, as this seems to be the preferred format of Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc. Re: Soundbars - There are good surround soundbars like the Polk ManiFi Max SR that run wireless surrounds, in case you prefer a svelte profile. They work much better than those that bounce the sound around. Re: LG UBK90 - It's a good BluRay player. If you don't plan to lean on physical media too much, there are great renewed deals in Amazon (the LG UBKM9 is currently going for $95 - just return it if you get a dud).