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Better sound?

Sverkel

Sverkel

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 3, 2007
139
3
Denmark
Helllo

This might not be the right place to ask, but I don't know where else to go.

I got the new Mac mini (yes, finally) but the sound on it is not great as you might know. I also got the Logitech Z-2300 speaker set that has great sound but my desk for the moment does not allow me to have the big 8" sub anywhere close so I have tried to just connect the speakers to the Mac mini and it works okay, the sound is not the same as with the sub but it will work until I get a bigger desk/office to have a bigger setup. But the sound is somewhat low and I was thinking, can you connect the speakers to an amplifier that goes to the Mac and get a bit more sound and volume that way? My thought was the speakers does not perform right because the amplifier is in the sub so I could compensate for that with a smaller amp.

What do you think?
 
The sound jack-out from mac has power just to drive earphones, OR get that sound amplified enough to drive external speakers; this can be achieved with self-amplified speakers, but I plug the wire to aux-in in a dedicated amplifier. Appropriate speakers are needed regarding Watt power amp. delivers.
(Your speakers seem to be small; it’s not easy to “move” speakers just from “sound out” in any mac or pc. Also remember sub position relative to ears is irrelevant -being unobstructed-).
 
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8" does not a subwoofer make. Usual is 13 to 14". Those small midrange/tweeter boxes are going to have all sorts of resonances due to their strange shape. Next time, buy more traditionally shaped speakers, from a known, quality speaker manufacturer. If you can, get a look at the frequency response chart, or listen before buying.

I remember Logitech as the company that couldn't wrote a mouse driver for the Mac with a serious memory leak, not an audiophile brand.
 
Sverkel said:
Helllo

This might not be the right place to ask, but I don't know where else to go.

I got the new Mac mini (yes, finally) but the sound on it is not great as you might know. I also got the Logitech Z-2300 speaker set that has great sound but my desk for the moment does not allow me to have the big 8" sub anywhere close so I have tried to just connect the speakers to the Mac mini and it works okay, the sound is not the same as with the sub but it will work until I get a bigger desk/office to have a bigger setup. But the sound is somewhat low and I was thinking, can you connect the speakers to an amplifier that goes to the Mac and get a bit more sound and volume that way? My thought was the speakers does not perform right because the amplifier is in the sub so I could compensate for that with a smaller amp.

What do you think?
Click to expand...

You are correct that the amp is in the sub for those kind of systems. I have a Monsoon MH500 and if I take away the sub, the 2 speakers are simply not powerful enough to drive most sounds though as it is . That's how I know if I accidentally kicked the sub's power cord. I too have limited desk space. That's the way the 2.1 THX system works. When you have the chance to reconnect the sub back will you be able to restore the full sound spectrum of these systems. Your system is capable of delivering up to 200Watts RMS; that's plenty for a reasonable human ear.
 
You can amplify the headphone socket output with virtually any old hifi amp and a simple jack with stereo leads - I've got my Mini driving a massive old Kenwood amp and two sets of hifi speakers and it sounds terrific.
 
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They still make decent amps. So when the capacitors in your Kenwood go, you can get a modern amp with low distortion and better frequency response than they used to make. I use 3 Sony amps, and a Scott. I'm using passive Polk speakers, with an amp 10" single woofer. Not as good as the 12" Infinities in the living room, but I can only hear up to 14,000Hz anymore. Simple box speakers for midrange and tweeter, plus a separate big woofer seem the best sound for the least cost these days. There are no unexpected resonances with such a simple design, so I get pretty flat sound from 40Hz to 15Khz. That latter is beyond my hearing range now, but still contributes to beat frequencies: insofar as a 44.1 kHz sampling rate will let it.

Good, modern passive speakers appear to run $500+ apiece now. Kinda pricey, so if i lose the crossover on the 12 inchers, I think I'll have to go with separate mid/hi and woofer with that system too.
 
Partron22 said:
8" does not a subwoofer make. Usual is 13 to 14".
Click to expand...

I have a ten inch subwoofer, (in my living room, not connected to my computer) and it sounds fine. One depressing thing I've noticed is that many things on the internet are not mixed properly on the low end. They're mixed so that they can produce passable bass on tiny speakers.
 
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Usually people can hear down to 20Hz. You'll be a little underpowered there, but That's why we have equalizer. Lowest note on bass guitar is 30Hz, which should be OK. Electronica, can get close to zero, but you feel that rather than hear it. Biggest thing to watch out for in modern (sub)woofers is a 60Hz resonance. JBL used to be famous for that. People called it great bass, but it was line frequency. Emphasizing that, and eliminating lower notes is a great way to wreck Bach organ fugue and electronic music.
 
I have my Logitech sub under my computer desk and the satellites about 6' apart and it works amazingly well!

Partron22 said:
I remember Logitech as the company that couldn't wrote a mouse driver for the Mac with a serious memory leak, not an audiophile brand.
Click to expand...

I have Logitech Z623 THX-certified speakers on my mini and I was extremely impressed by them. I went from M-Audio powered speakers to these and paying only $100 for them was like a joke.
 
Thank you all for your advice and reply. I know where to go from here :D Might just buy a new 2.0 speaker set just for now :)
 
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