I've spent several years upgrading my car stereo in the past, but had to give up car stereo 10 years ago for various reasons. Now I'm finding I spend most of my time at home listening to DVD's, music (MP3's) and 3D gaming.

What I'm trying to build is a PC/home 7.1 surround sound system. This stereo is going to be in a small room, about 14' x 14'. My 21" CRT monitor, 2 front speakers and center channel are on top of my computer desk (very sturdy) which is fitted in one corner of the room. The front speakers are about 3.5' from me.

My audio source is from my PC, a Creative Audigy 2 ZS sound card (24 bit/96kHz audio, or 24bit/192kHz for DVD audio). It also has built-in DTS-ES and Dolby Digital EX decoding for DVD movies and 7.1 surround.

This is in a house that is surrounded by about 100 acres so there is no limitation on how loud the bass or music can get (no neighbors to bother).

The reason I want to stick with 7.1 surround sound is that I have had this from a "cheap" $500 PC 7.1 stereo system (Creative's Gigaworks S750) and loved the effect with PC games. Unfortunately this system was not made for music reproduction...the tonal quality was AWFUL!

In terms of sound reproduction, I want faithful sound reproduction at volumes exceeding 100 dB. No clipping signal, no speakers breaking up, no significantly weaker soundstage, etc. Just the same effect created at nominal volume level, at a much higher volume level.

Given physics and speaker placement limitations, I might not be able to achieve those standards so I will settle with less if I have to. Also given speaker placement with the center channel being close to the monitor, the front/center speakers need to be magnetically shielded.

I'm looking at spending around $5,000 total, but I want to get the most for my money and be totally satisfied in spending that much. I'm not afraid to spend more to get more, but I'm not one to spend $1000 to gain a subtle difference in sound quality.

What amplifiers would you all reccomend and what speaker setups/brands would be good for my application? Also, would a CD player of some sort besides my PC CD/DVD player provide significanlty better sound quality from CD's?

In the tread below your's Neverhappy has some REAL NICE amps for sale.Thats a start.

Almost too much to respond to all at once but... how about M80s, dual M2s as the center, QS8s for surrounds (2 pair if you're really set on it, but it probably isn't necessary), dual SVS subs (maybe 20-39s), a good quality receiver with preouts and some sort of amp to drive the fronts and centers.
Seems like too much stereo for a little 21" TV though.

Ya, that does seem like overkill for a pc. What about 2x m22 for the front, vp100 center, 2x qs4 sides, and 2x m2i in the back plus a good sub from svs or hsu. I just can't see spending more than that for a pc system in that size room.

btw, I have 2x m2i, onkyo sr501, and a HSU STF-2 sub on my pc. Sounds great! Much better for music than any pc speakers.

With M22's and Vp100 center and a 100 watt reciever sitting only 3.5 feet away you can achieve around 119db in your seating position.That is awful darn loud.Be careful with your hearing at them kind of levels.

I've definitely settled on the HSU VTF-3. I've looked at SVS and Velodyne reviews, and HSU VTF-3 stood out as being able to produce subsonic bass strongly. I LOVE subsonic bass that I can FEEL. That is the single most important aspect of bass for me. Not only does the VF-3 have amazing low end response, but is also very musical, with fast, accurate bass. I also like being able to switch between max extension (movies) or high output (mostly music).

I'll start with one of these, but I might go with two just to reinforce the low end SPL.

Also, does anyone know if the m22's and vp100 are magnetically shielded?

i know for sure the VP100 is shielded, due to the fact it is a center channel.

i do not think the M22's are shielded, but i am not positive on that. hopefully, we can get some additional responses.

bigjohn

The 22's are fully shielded.

Great, thanks for the input.

I've read a lot of reviews and discussion between Axiom, Polk and Paradigm for front speakers. It looks like I'm going to have to audition the brand that stores have here in town (Paradigm and Polk) and then figure out which I like best.