Audio vs. Computer Upgrades

[Yoinkerman]

My hearing and vision sucks, computer upgrades all day bb.

 

 

The thing is that most people don't seem to realize how much better their audio setup could be.

[Deleon.David]

why not just both? :D

[Hyydrah]

How are you powering them now?  I have the softer HD650 versions + Fiio E17 (with 6dB gain)

Rampage IV Gene, for now. Looking at the WA7 but can't decide

[stevv]

Rampage IV Formula, for now. Looking at the WA7 but can't decide.

WA7... wooo.. literally  :lol:

[bob345]

I think it really depends on your priorities. I for one have spent more money on audio equipment than I will ever spend on a computer. But other people may prefer a high performance PC over high quality audio

[Hyydrah]

I think it really depends on your priorities. I for one have spent more money on audio equipment than I will ever spend on a computer. But other people may prefer a high performance PC over high quality audio

Of course. I used to neglect audio quality until I heard some good equipment, and I think that people will appreciate better audio over PC performance when they experience a good sound system as well

[Hyydrah]

why not just both? :D

Lack of budget, perhaps

[tobben]

I think it really depends on your priorities. I for one have spent more money on audio equipment than I will ever spend on a computer. But other people may prefer a high performance PC over high quality audio

exactly .. it all boils down to your priorities and what you yourself do the most, you can't really compare the value of a graphics card to random audio equipment as they are 2 entierly different things. It also depends on what you have beforehand, what you are actually going to use it for, and how much you actually care about said items. It varies from person to person and what their use is, everyone is different, same goes for people situations. But i do see the thread owners point in that people can end up ignoring sound or other things maybe not even realising that they would actually like a better experience, some people just get amazing powerhouse computers, but then ignore sound and the monitor not realising those are actually a part of the overall experience, once again it depends on the use case which varies from person to person.

[Hyydrah]

exactly .. it all boils down to your priorities and what you yourself do the most, you can't really compare the value of a graphics card to random audio equipment as they are 2 entierly different things. It also depends on what you have beforehand, what you are actually going to use it for, and how much you actually care about said items. It varies from person to person and what their use is, everyone is different, same goes for people situations. But i do see the thread owners point in that people can end up ignoring sound or other things maybe not even realising that they would actually like a better experience, some people just get amazing powerhouse computers, but then ignore sound and the monitor not realising those are actually a part of the overall experience, once again it depends on the use case which varies from person to person.

That's what this thread is about, which that you prefer (audio or PC upgrades at the same price). Of course that would depend on your values, priorities, etc.

[tobben]

That's what this thread is about, which that you prefer (audio or PC upgrades at the same price). Of course that would depend on your values, priorities, etc.

to me it seemed like you decided to rally a campaign to try and convince everyone on how important sound is. :p

[Volbet]

I would probably have to say audio equipment. I probably paid about 1200$ for my current PC and I have spend maybe 5000$ on the audio equipment I have now. 

 

As a musician I have the need for good audio equipment. Both to record and mix my music on. Also having good sound is something I appreciate alot. 

[Hyydrah]

to me it seemed like you decided to rally a campaign to try and convince everyone on how important sound is. :P

I'm just telling you what I think. You can't expect everyone to agree

 

"But is a 7950 upgrade really sensible on such a budget, or are you better off getting a very nice pair of headphones for essentially the same price?" That's essentially what this thread is about (though not limited to those products)

[Yuval]

I'm just fine with my 840's, they are great and durable, never thought of switching them to anything else in the last 3 years

[Langdon]

I'd go with the audio set up definitely. I don't play extremely graphics intensive games and a 660 can run lots of games on max so I think I'm okay with that.

I love high quality audio and I love my headphones (ATH M50s). It was a big step up from the free headphones I got with my phone haha. Of course my headphones aren't as expensive as those ones but high quality headphones will last a long while. My next expenditure will be on a high quality sound card to match up with my headphones, getting tired of on board sound.

[tobben]

I'm just telling you what I think. You can't expect everyone to agree.

 

"But is a 7950 upgrade really sensible on such a budget, or are you better off getting a very nice pair of headphones for essentially the same price?" That's essentially what this thread is about (though not limited to those products).

 let's say you are running onboard graphics, nd you already got a sennheiser pc360 ..

then a 7950 is a very sensible upgrade .  a 7950 isn't the extreme super high end super premium overkill gpu, that will just destroy everything you throw at it, it's a good value high end card.

 

it's just that you seem abit imposing for someone who is supposedly trying to come with a suggestion :p

 

then again, person x might not even be a gamer, or run any intensive applications, and after more of a media senter solution, and might actually be fine with a igpu solution, but would want better sound quality.

 

theres a difference beetwen giving advice to people who might simply not have realised they want better audio because they have never actually heard anything mid/high end, so they think they are just fine with what they got, and simply pushing own ideas onto others.

[Hyydrah]

 let's say you are running onboard graphics, nd you already got a sennheiser pc360 ..

then a 7950 is a very sensible upgrade .  a 7950 isn't the extreme super high end super premium overkill gpu, that will just destroy everything you throw at it, it's a good value high end card.

 

it's just that you seem abit imposing for someone who is supposedly trying to come with a suggestion :P

 

then again, person x might not even be a gamer, or run any intensive applications, and after more of a media senter solution, and might actually be fine with a igpu solution, but would want better sound quality.

 

theres a difference beetwen giving advice to people who might simply not have realised they want better audio because they have never actually heard anything mid/high end, so they think they are just fine with what they got, and simply pushing own ideas onto others.

This isn't as much of an advice thread as it is a discussion, hence the question that I asked earlier. How am I "pushing [my] ideas onto others"?

[tobben]

This isn't as much of an advice thread as it is a discussion, hence the question that I asked earlier. How am I "pushing [my] ideas onto others"?

well you really aren't pushing your ideas onto other at all to be honest, not sure where i was going with that comment in all honesty, im in a wierd mood atm and decided to test you abit for whatever dumb reason.

that aside i would almost consider certain forms of audio upgrades as computer upgrades though as it is very much a part of the overall experience, and as mentioned earlier in this thread audio equipment for the most part does last longer, if you buy a good dac or a soundcard or some good headphones then you have a good pair of headphones/dac/souncard until they fall appart/degrade. Good audio is good audio, most people simply don't realise they might want or need it because they don't have anything to compare to. So it is a very good one time investment, only problem is tat many people will think the other way around, is a hd 600 really a justifiable purchase? spending as much on just some pair of headphones when i could get a pretty powerfull graphics card for the same price and my audio is just fine as it is?.

[Hyydrah]

well you really aren't pushing your ideas onto other at all to be honest, not sure where i was going with that comment in all honesty, im in a wierd mood atm and decided to test you abit for whatever dumb reason.

that aside i would almost consider certain forms of audio upgrades as computer upgrades though as it is very much a part of the overall experience, and as mentioned earlier in this thread audio equipment for the most part does last longer, if you buy a good dac or a soundcard or some good headphones then you have a good pair of headphones/dac/souncard until they fall appart/degrade. Good audio is good audio, most people simply don't realise they might want or need it because they don't have anything to compare to. So it is a very good one time investment

That's true, it could be considered a computer upgrade, but I think you get what I meant.  :P A GPU upgrade is probably the most worthwhile for the majority of us and a headphone upgrade being arguably the most worthwhile audio upgrade, so they would be a suitable comparison when they're around the same price

[sabot]

If you are not pleased with performance get a PC upgrade if you are not pleased with the audio get a audio upgrade.

I agree with you! Audio will last longer though.

[Aphexx]

looking at the construction and modular design I expect to be able to pass my beyerdynamic headphones down to my children, after 3 years I don't think I can even give my old graphics card away. 

 

I can also wear my headphones around outside as both an audio device and a fashion accessory 

 

also I was shocked to learn that one of the youtubers that I've been watching game footage of for the last few months was using a 5770 till now. I think I'm going to step off that endless hamster wheel chasing graphics cards for a while. 

[tobben]

looking at the construction and modular design I expect to be able to pass my beyerdynamic headphones down to my children, after 3 years I don't think I can even give my old graphics card away. 

 

I can also wear my headphones around outside as both an audio device and a fashion accessory 

 

also I was shocked to learn that one of the youtubers that I've been watching game footage of for the last few months was using a 5770 till now. I think I'm going to step off that endless hamster wheel chasing graphics cards for a while. 

sweet, i was also using a 5770 not to long ago. To bad the shroud has loosened and generally bad stuff happened to it so it was continously overheating .. was time for an upgrade.

it feels better when you only do it once in a while, get a graphics card you truly love and appreciate then keep it for as long as you can until you finally journey out to find your next love interest :p

[Ashwin]

what is your current setup? As far as headphones go, I've been using hd555's for a few years now and they are pretty good. my radeon HD 4870 which was probably purchased a few mths after that are rather adequate, but still lack some power. Bottom line, audio equipment/technology doesn't really

change too much, whereas if you're looking at graphics cards, it changes almost every 18 mths.