Cheap and strange 7.1 Surround Sound request -will my solution work?

[kingknightrider]

I got a request from someone on devising a 7.1 surround sound system for under $250.

 

NOTE: They have a few rules:

1. Only 3.5 jacks BUT No motherboard audio.

They have been burned so many times they want nothing to do with it.

2. Speakers must have a sub-woofer with direct control on the speaker.

3. Total must be under $260.

 

So I started looking around but could find no 7.1 sound system that would fit this for under $350 at the least.

So my solution is kind of.... weird but here it is:

1. First -get an HDMI cable and connect it to the Graphics card HDMI port.

2. Connect the other HDMI cable end to a:

Monoprice BlackbirdTM 4K Series 7.1 HDMI Audio Extractor:

 

3. Connect the following into the Front Left and Right connection:

Logitech Z623 - get fronts and sub-woofer out of the way supposedly.

 

4. Connect three of the following:

Creative Pebble 2.0 USB-Powered Desktop Speakers with Far-Field Drivers and Passive Radiators

To the Front Center, Rear Left and Right and Rear Center Left and Right.

 

5. Then use a USB wall charging station to power all the USB.

This gets the price to about $255 with shipping and handling.

 

NOTE: The center, side and rear speaker(s) will consist of TWO speakers instead of one.

So the center will have two, left and right side will have two and rear will also have two speakers.

Which will mean that in total it will consist of 12 speakers and a sub-woofer.

 

My concern is threefold:
1. Will this cause an echo from the dual speakers on the center, sides and rear?

2. Will it also duplicate the sound leading to reverberation?

3. Will this even work?

[Electronics Wizardy]

Do you want this to sound good?

 

Id try to get used stuff. A used reciever should be pretty cheap, and then they can decode hdmi autio, and get used/cheap bookshelf speakers. Should sound much better and be cheaper.

 

I think those cheap speakers won't sound great.

 

Those cheap usb powered speakers will work with the right adapters, but it won't be great sounding, and probalby not match the mids. Also why get so many? Just use one for each channel. Your probalby gonna need a lot of adapters here.

[kingknightrider]

32 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Do you want this to sound good?

 

Id try to get used stuff. A used reciever should be pretty cheap, and then they can decode hdmi autio, and get used/cheap bookshelf speakers. Should sound much better and be cheaper.

 

I think those cheap speakers won't sound great.

 

Those cheap usb powered speakers will work with the right adapters, but it won't be great sounding, and probalby not match the mids. Also why get so many? Just use one for each channel. Your probalby gonna need a lot of adapters here.

The pebbles come as a pair connected by a 3.5 and sound better than default Red Dragons of similar price.

At least if sound tests on Youtube are any comparison.

 

I would get single speakers but can't find single speakers with 3.5 for $40 or less.

Don't know why they require it be 3.5 period.

 

I don't understand why so many adapters will be needed this is the extractor:

So straight from the GPU HDMI-IN (other side) > 3.5 from speakers connect here and sound...

Or am I missing something?

[BobVonBob]

For this budget at the very least get a good center channel. If you have a center channel it is the most important speaker in the whole setup. Everything on screen is going to be coming out of the center channel. Cheap out on anything else, but don't cheap out on the center channel.

 

I'd bet for this tight of a budget a 2.1 (front left, front right, sub) or 3.1 (front left, front right, center, sub) setup with good speakers is going to sound much better than a 7.1 with bargain bin speakers. 7.1 surround is not going to be an immersive experience when everything sounds like it's coming from mid-range laptop speakers.

[Electronics Wizardy]

10 minutes ago, kingknightrider said:

The pebbles come as a pair connected by a 3.5 and sound better than default Red Dragons of similar price.

At least if sound tests on Youtube are any comparison.

 

I would get single speakers but can't find single speakers with 3.5 for $40 or less.

Don't know why they require it be 3.5 period.

 

I don't understand why so many adapters will be needed this is the extractor:

So straight from the GPU HDMI-IN (other side) > 3.5 from speakers connect here and sound...

Or am I missing something?

Do you really need 7.1? A good stero system will sound so much better than this will. Those speakers won't be great.

 

You can use 3 of the pebbles  connected to the oether channels, and just ignore the subwooffer channel. The logitech speaker won't use the lfe/subwoofer channel

[kingknightrider]

26 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Do you really need 7.1? A good stero system will sound so much better than this will. Those speakers won't be great.

 

You can use 3 of the pebbles  connected to the oether channels, and just ignore the subwooffer channel. The logitech speaker won't use the lfe/subwoofer channel

I don't doubt it -just trying to fit the best I can find in what they want in the budget they have.

Personally I am fine with 5.1 Logitech Z506 -I have no complaints.

Ah the Logitech 623 would use the sub-woofer in the FL FR right?

This person has been using the same sound system as me except it is now failing.

And I quote: "5.1 isn't cutting it anymore -time to go 7.1" but they want to keep the 3.5 jack.

[kingknightrider]

45 minutes ago, BobVonBob said:

For this budget at the very least get a good center channel. If you have a center channel it is the most important speaker in the whole setup. Everything on screen is going to be coming out of the center channel. Cheap out on anything else, but don't cheap out on the center channel.

 

I'd bet for this tight of a budget a 2.1 (front left, front right, sub) or 3.1 (front left, front right, center, sub) setup with good speakers is going to sound much better than a 7.1 with bargain bin speakers. 7.1 surround is not going to be an immersive experience when everything sounds like it's coming from mid-range laptop speakers.

Are there any center channel speakers that have a 3.5 jack instead of the wires?

I don't know why but they seem to have this aversion to wire type speakers...

I think I will ask them tomorrow why.

[Electronics Wizardy]

3 minutes ago, kingknightrider said:

Ah the Logitech 623 would use the sub-woofer in the FL FR right?

Well the speakers are made to pull the sound out of the l and r, not use a seperate subwoofer channel.

 

So bass won't work well with this setup

 

4 minutes ago, kingknightrider said:

And I quote: "5.1 isn't cutting it anymore -time to go 7.1" but they want to keep the 3.5 jack.

Why do they want a 3.5 jack? All the good surround sound setups don't use 3.5, it was made for cheap speakers

 

What speakers do they have now? Getting better speakers will be a much better improvement than adding 2 channels.

 

Or get headphones, much better for directional audio.

[kingknightrider]

18 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Well the speakers are made to pull the sound out of the l and r, not use a seperate subwoofer channel.

 

So bass won't work well with this setup

 

Why do they want a 3.5 jack? All the good surround sound setups don't use 3.5, it was made for cheap speakers

 

What speakers do they have now? Getting better speakers will be a much better improvement than adding 2 channels.

 

Or get headphones, much better for directional audio.

Strange... I saw the Z623 had subwoofer and two speakers but one green 3.5 jack.

I assumed since it was of that design the subwoofer would work via those channels.

I don't know why they are so bent on 3.5.

Every time i bring it up and they act very strange... almost as if its personal or something.

They are using the same system as me: Logitech Z506.