Are you trying to record music and sick and tired of the poor quality sound coming from your PC? Follow these tips to get better sound from your computer.
Buy Better Speakers
Better quality speakers are a must as the ones supplied with your computer are usually of poor quality. Don't be fooled by the "watts" sign on the boxes as they are usually in "PMPO" and these are very low in quality.
Look for studio monitors that are rated in "Watts RMS" as they are higher quality speakers and also check that they are above 60 Watts RMS per speaker bass driver. I prefer above 80 Watts RMS, but it all depends on how much you can spend on the speakers.
If you really want to splash out, go for Active speakers. These are speakers with built in amplifiers.
Get a Better SoundCard
Again, soundcards supplied with PC's are usually of low quality and its usually the onboard sound which is part of the motherboard. If your computer is using the onboard sound setup, then a soundcard is a diffinate must.
If you are a home user and want surround sound then the Soundblaster cards are made for you. But musicians must go for external audio interfaces as these provide better quality sound and also proper inputs for recording instruments and vocals.
Get a Better Amplifier
If you have decided to use studio monitors that dont have their own amplifier (also known as passive speakers) then you are going to have to splash out on a "studio amp" or "reference amp".
Again, look for the "Watts RMS". The higher the Watts the better the amplifier. But, be sure never to turn your amplifier up too much otherwise you will have to spend more money on new studio monitors.
Fill Your Speaker Stands
When you buy speaker stands you will notice that they are hollow. You should fill the stands with sand or steal/lead shot. The reason for this is to improve the sound by making the bass solid and also to stop the stands from moving back and forth when the bass kicks in as this can change the acoustics as the sound hits different parts of the walls. But, please make sure that if you use lead shot that none of it can escape, you dont want to cause lead poisoning.
