Connect Three 8020a's, Two 8030a's and 1 7050b to a PC 5.1.

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olistreet, modified 8 Years ago.

Connect Three 8020a's, Two 8030a's and 1 7050b to a PC 5.1.

Youngling Posts: 2 Join Date: 12/1/15 Recent Posts

Hi, first post here, need some help, I have all these Genelec speakers and I'm not getting the most of them because they are not properly connected, and I want this to end.

I have three different sound interfaces, a Native Instruments Audio 8 DJ and a Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1, and then I have the onboard soundcard SupremeFX IV with 5.1 and optical outputs.

The only option that I am aware now is the onboard outputs can be plugged into the rear
inputs of the 7050b. And then I can set up VLC to playback 5.1 movies, I don't know If I can route the NI soundcard outputs to the 7050b,they don't seem to have a 5.1 driver like the Realtek soundcard on the motherboard.

So I've heard about Dac and USB/AES3 but the prices seem too high for me at this moment. Is there a 5.1 sound interface that offers a better quality than the SupremeFX IV driver on the motherboard? but it's not exceeding the 100 euros price tag.

The more posts I read, the more confused I get, first I want to fix the hardware situation by finding out what's the most suitable piece of gear between the pc and the speakers, then I will move on to the software side knowing what's the best video and audio player, config, etc.

Olistreet

ilkka-rissanen, modified 8 Years ago.

Re: Connect Three 8020a's, Two 8030a's and 1 7050b to a PC 5

Yoda Posts: 2564 Join Date: 3/23/09 Recent Posts

Hi,

Thanks for your question. I am not aware of any audio interface under 100 euro which would have 5.1 output so I would suggest to stick with your current solution. I am certain the audio quality of it will be very good for that purpose.

raytracerffm, modified 7 Years ago.

Connect Three 8020, Two 8030 and a 7050 for 5.1

Youngling Posts: 4 Join Date: 6/16/16 Recent Posts

Hi Illka,

Just a side question: Is this a recommendable mix for a 5.1 setup: 1x7050, 2x8030 and 3x8020? Will this work and sound acceptable in a smaller environment?

You already answered my similar inquiry via email, but that concerned a pure 7050 & 8030 setup.

Background: I have a 7050 and two 8030s for the purpose of monitoring and occasionally would like to watch a movie in 5.1. Would be a nice bonus but it isn't essential.

Thanks again for your advise and time !

Best regards and greetings to Finland !
Ray

manutal, modified 7 Years ago.

Re: Connect Three 8020a's, Two 8030a's and 1 7050b to a PC 5

Jedi Knight Posts: 180 Join Date: 4/25/14 Recent Posts

You need a Av processor, if you want to play 5.1 movies. Marantz AV series is one good example.

raytracerffm, modified 7 Years ago.

Re: Connect Three 8020a's, Two 8030a's and 1 7050b to a PC 5

Youngling Posts: 4 Join Date: 6/16/16 Recent Posts

What is the purpose of an AV processor ( in this configuration ) ?
Balancing the speakers?

I have a Bluray player that outputs all channels separately. Can't I just hook that up to the 7050 and let'r rip ?

I was interested to know if this kind of mix is considered a balanced setup for my described semi-professional case or do I have to fear that the 8030s will drown the 8020s?

Not really familiar with this subject I have to admit.

Thanx
Ray

ellebob, modified 7 Years ago.

Re: Connect Three 8020a's, Two 8030a's and 1 7050b to a PC 5

Youngling Posts: 3 Join Date: 2/3/16 Recent Posts

If your Blu-ray player has a volume control and has settings for each channel of distance/timing and level you don't need a processor. Some of the Oppo players have that capability and some also have an HDMI input so you can use it for another device as well.

raytracerffm, modified 7 Years ago.

Re: Connect Three 8020a's, Two 8030a's and 1 7050b to a PC 5

Youngling Posts: 4 Join Date: 6/16/16 Recent Posts

I see. I believe this is the case with my player.

Stil, would the described speaker setup be considered "balanced" ?

Thanks,
Ray

ellebob, modified 7 Years ago.

Re: Connect Three 8020a's, Two 8030a's and 1 7050b to a PC 5

Youngling Posts: 3 Join Date: 2/3/16 Recent Posts

Ideally, one would use the same speaker for all of them but three 8030s would be more expensive. If you have two 8030 speakers already I would add a third and two 8020s for surrounds. Typically, but not always you want your bigger speakers up front. In most HT set ups you sit further from the front speakers than the surrounds, so you don't need as big of a speaker to reach the same output at the listening position. If your situation is where you sit closer to the fronts then the surrounds then maybe three 8020s up front would be fine and put your 8030s for surrounds.

Regardless which set up you go with you still ne to adjust the distance of the speakers in your processor or Blu-ray player. This ensures the sound from each channel arrives at the same time. The same is true about the volume levels of the speakers. Depending on placement in the room like near a wall and how far they are away from the listeners the volume of each channel needs to adjusted. This is another function that the processor or Blu-ray player needs to have.

raytracerffm, modified 7 Years ago.

Re: Connect Three 8020a's, Two 8030a's and 1 7050b to a PC 5

Youngling Posts: 4 Join Date: 6/16/16 Recent Posts

Ellebob ( maNutal and Illka )

Thank you very much for elaborating this for me. I get your point. Seems plausible. I was beginning to have bad feelings having acquired the 2 8030s and the newly added 7050 without checking all my possible uses beforehand. So, for a little movie now and then an additional 8030 and 8020s should fix me right up. And maybe that OPPO 105 I've been looking at for some time now. But, I don't want to start a new discussion on that here ;-)

I'm extremely happy with the sound reproduction of my setup as of now while primarily driving a digital piano with them. Still blown away like on the first day I bought them. Very nice. Congratulations to Genelec on these very fine products!

Cheers
Ralf

olistreet, modified 6 Years ago.

RE: Connect Three 8020a's, Two 8030a's and 1 7050b to a PC 5.1.

Youngling Posts: 2 Join Date: 12/1/15 Recent Posts

Hi all, and thanks for all the information.

I think I've found some gear that my suite my needs, it's called U-DAC8 from Minidsp a Canadian company, and it's a 8 channel USB DAC @ 24/192kHz, 8 analog RCA outputs, USB asynchronous, the description says:

The U-DAC8 is a 8 channel asynchronous USB audio Digital to Analog interface (DAC). By combining the power of XMOS chipset with AKM DAC, the U-DAC8 achieves great audio performance in a small form factor. From basic surround audio format (5.1/7.1) to the latest immersive audio standards(multiple U-DAC-8), miniDSP makes multichannel streaming easy and affordable.

With Plug & Play support for Mac OSx and WDM/ASIO compliant drivers for Windows platform, the interface supports a wide range of sample rate(44.1~192kHz). On the analog side, the U-DAC8 has 8 channel unbalanced RCA connectors with up to 2Vrms output drive. The sturdy black metallic enclosure with mounting brackets is a perfect fit for an equipment rack or tucked away next to your computer. Check out the latest from our application section.

Features

Multi-room audio streaming
5.1/7.1 USB audio interface
Linux/Android TV box. See our tested/supported list here.

And it has 8 RCA unbalanced audio connectors, gold plated 1 x USB front panel connector, and here's the link:

https://www.minidsp.com/products/usb-audio-interface/u-dac8

Do you think this is the audio interface that will work best for my 5.1 genelec setup?

Thanks in advance

Olistreet

ilkka-rissanen, modified 6 Years ago.

RE: Connect Three 8020a's, Two 8030a's and 1 7050b to a PC 5.1.

Yoda Posts: 2564 Join Date: 3/23/09 Recent Posts

Hi Olistreet,

I have no personal experience with the device but based on the specifications, it should work just fine.