kolotyluk

Cool information. Do you have specific AVR model numbers you recommend? Another issue with my office is that my computer & desk faces the corner of the room in a diamond shape. Is this going to be a problem for setting up a good sound environment? for front and center speakers they can sit on the desk, but the rear speakers would either hang on the wall or mount on a pedestal. My current woofer is under my desk, and I use it as a footrest :-) While I could probably make the Sony fit on my desk, it would waste a lot of space, which is why I was interested in the Logitech. I could probably rig some sort of shelf under my desk for an AVR. It is a good thing I have plenty of power in my office for all the equipment. I had a 208 V circuit installed for my computer because it has a 1250 W power supply.

Yes, the XFX Radeon 7970 has one HDMI output, and two DisplayPort output (which technically also have sound). I have used the HDMI out connected to my Sony STR-DA3600ES receiver and the sound is fine, although I currently only have 3 speakers connected to it. I also plan to add more speakers to this some day so I can get 5.1 or 7.1. The STR-DA3600ES is part of my home entertainment system in another room. I admit there are some issues with having the HDMI connected sometimes, but they seem to be more when the receiver and TV are on than when they are off. In particular, my 7970 always seems to want to make the HDMI port Display 1 when there is something attached to it, and this causes problems because too much software will only work on Display 1, but my TV is downstairs in another room from my computer. At least if I had the Sony HTSF470 it would be in the same room as my computer, and I could have more control over that. So, I would connect the the HDMI from the computer to the input of the HTSF470, and the HDMI output of the HTSF470 to the input of the Sony STR-DA3600ES, and the HDMI output of the STR-DA3600ES to the TV. I am not sure what you mean by "forced down mix?" Mostly I am considering HDMI audio because I read somewhere that is has some capabilities that S/PDIF does not have. Cheers, Eric

I DJ in Second Life at least once a week, and I listen to the the music stream from SL so I will know if anything is wrong with the stream from the perspective of my audience. Consequently all I am hearing is the 96 kb/s stereo stream I am broadcasting. Similarly, I often listen to 256 kb/s shoutcast streams when I am working. I have a lot of CD quality FLAC files I listen to via WinAmp. The only problem I have with all this, it that there are some songs I cannot listen to at higher volume because there seems to be some sort of resonance problem with my current desktop speakers, so one goal is to get speakers that will sound good at any volume level. After the wife goes to bed at night I have to put on headphones, but I must say I really love my Sony headphones, so that is not a huge hardship. I have a few computer games I like play, so it would be nice to go from stereo to 5.1 surround. Also, I have a BluRay drive so it would also be nice to hear stuff in 5.1. Finally, increasingly I download media with 5.1 content in it. Budget is not too much of a problem as the Sony HTSF470 is over $500, but I would rather not spend more than $1,000 for a desktop sound system in a small room (unless there is a compelling reason to do so). The Sony HTSF470 also seems attractive as it can handle either S/PDIF or HDMI. I have no plans to get a discrete sound-card, unless there is something the onboard Realtek ALC889 cannot handle. I am quite technical with an MSc in Computing Science, but I do have a lot to learn about the state-of-the-art in Audiophile experiences. Cheers, Eric

I am looking for a desktop audio system and I am currently torn between the Logitech Z906 and the Sony HTSF470. My environment is basically a small office (spare bedroom) roughly 100 x 100 cm. I am tempted to go with the Logitech, but it has no HDMI capability, just S/PDIF. Basically my question is: can HMDI audio offer me anything above and beyond S/PDIF only? The other problem with the Logitech is that it does not seem to have a headphone output. The problem with the Sony is that the receiver takes up a fair bit of space and that you cannot stack anything on top of it. I have a Sony STR-DA3600ES and Sony HBR-65XH929 downstream on the HDMI (in my living room), and an XFX Radeon 7970 DD as the HDMI source. For system sound I have an Intel S5520SC with a Realtek ALC889. Are there any other 5.1 desktop audio system worth looking at? Cheers, Eric