Everyone has a different opinion but Z strikes me as more practical.
Some things you have to just go do and start somewhere. Trying to skip to end game audio will cost a lot and have its share of grief.
I started with polks and learned to hate… but I did not have a great deal of money in it either. Learned what I did not like.
I’ll look into his channel again. Last time I watched only 2 videos or so and it seemed a little chaotic 
If you looking for a stiffneck drone… ya ? Maybe 
The thing is he has played with a lot of stuff across the spectrum.
Beats that wishy washy CNET guy
If you want to make a 5.1/7.1 setup using a sound card you will either need active speakers for everything or passive speakers with either a multi-channel amplifier or a monoblock for every speaker. All of those options will be more expensive than an AVR.
Sometimes you can find last year’s AVR models on sale for pretty cheap, or heck, vintage AVRs can be found online if you’re into that.
Not saying it’s bad, just felt off the first time I saw it.
Yeah I’ll probably look into previous models, but I kinda want that Atmos/DTS:X option
Those options have been around for years now, along with 4k upscaling, which is pretty awesome.
In a small apartment, take it easy with the subwoofer or your neighbors won’t be happy
Yeah, thought about that. Though luckily my neighbors are half deaf 
Just looking into speakers… it seems there’s either dirt cheap ones that I don’t think will have a reasonable sound, or upwards of 100€ for a single speaker… is that normal and reasonable? I can’t really make out how much speakers are worth to be honest…
Speakers are very subjective.
Cabinet construction is one of the biggest variables. A nice heavy cabinet goes a long way for sound quality. But that cabinet doesn’t need to be old growth black walnut or California redwood.
Weight of the driver magnets makes a big difference A big magnet takes more power to run, but also moves more air.
There’s a ton of other things to look for, but in the end, you want the speakers you like the sound of, who cares what anyone else thinks.
I sold off a set of KLH speakers I’ve had since I was a kid, they were really nice in terms of sound and especially bass. They had particle board cabinets with vinyl veneer and were really heavy. I bought some Polk speakers with hardwood cabinets. The satellites sound good but I’m not happy with the center. But they fit my small living room better and look a lot nicer.
Yeah that I know. The issue I run into is that I can hardly test every speaker I come across. And even if I could test speakers in a store, they’ll still sound different at home.
And I’m also not sure which price range I should be looking at (except available budget, but I don’t really have one right now). Is 100-150 really reasonable for a single speaker? I mean, that adds up fast for 4 surround speakers + center + sub 
That’s not a bad price to start at. At first the only three speakers to worry about are the main channels, left right and center. The sub and surround speakers are much less important. That’s for a 5.1 setup.
For Atmos and DTS:X all the speakers are more important because those sound tracks will push more important audio out to all the speakers not just left right and center.
The subwoofer is probably the least important speaker. As long as it booms and doesn’t rattle like it’s full of cans, it’s fine.
I have to get off this tangent.
Reasonable lower midrange.
For scale, the most popular set of near field monitors on Thomann.de is ~120€
https://www.thomann.de/de/jbl_control_1pro_paar.htm
Edit:
Bowers&Wilkins cheapest “book shelf” speaker (607) is 530€ a pair. Heared them at some HiFi Store at some point and they are really impressive for their size. Might be a bit too much price wise.
Those are pairs though, not single.
That’s why I’m wondering. A lot of the speakers linked in the reddit thread above are in the 100-130 range for a single one as well…
I went down this path a few years ago so I recommend you really do your research first. In short: Home theatre products are where you want to go. Forget the sound card.
I am assuming you are building a hybrid computer/hometheatre setup so I assume it is at a desk.
Short answer: No 7.1 doesn’t really exist as standalone. All in one setups are usually complete trash. PC speakers especially are bad. Yes you can find a standalone system, but I don’t recommend it.
No a soundcard can’t run a home theatre. You need a proper amplifier to run a set of speakers which a sound card can’t do. You need a few hundred watts and no hardware exists for PC to run that even if you get a 1000watt power supply. The AV receiver will have its own hardware in it that will be better than a sound card, so save your money and just get a receiver. You run the digital sound signal over HDMI to your receiver, so a sound card won’t do anything for the signal anyway.
Speaker tech doesn’t go obsolete, so I always recommend to spend well and spend once and be happy for decades with a speaker purchase.
As for AV receiver selection, it is mostly about your budget. The higher end ones $1000 or more pay licenses for all the proprietary stuff (Dolby Atmos, etc). They also have more power delivery. Mainly though, be sure to get one that is DHCP 2.2 compliant, so you don’t have issues with 4k content. A entry level $300 one should work for a computer setup, but won’t have the beef for 7.1, but will run 5.1.
Also I recommend Yamaha receivers. I have one, and the “virtual cinema front” feature does a good job of surround with my surround speakers on mydesk rather than behind me.
A proper 7.1 setup will probably cost you $5000. Yes for PC you don’t need that much power, but the cost is mainly for quality. There isn’t much point to get a cheap 7.1 setup when you can spend the same money for a better 5.1 setup, or an even better 2 or 3.1 setup.
I recommend you spend at least how much you would spend in graphics cards over 10 years. If you get a $300 card every couple of years, then spend about $1000. Remember that unlike the graphics cards, this purchase will last you decades.
You can checkout https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF9cWy6zaWsgdAy-kv2q4VQ for guides of setting up a home theatre system and how to budget for one. For a PC you may not necessarily get tower speakers for your main channels, but ultimately the theory is the same.
No, it would be placed around the TV. The thing with the sound card was mainly just goofing around with the idea if that would work. And if it did it would have gone into a separate HTPC. It won’t be just for the PC either way though.
That is also why I’m wondering how much you’re supposed to spend on a speaker. The problem with the “bigger” companies is also that they change their lineup each year, so buying an additional speaker later is going to sound different. Pretty much looking into specialised companies at this point that run the same lineup for years or decades.
The problem is really finding out if they sound right “for me”…
I’ll take a look at that when I get home, I think I already saw some videos of them.
Any company catering to professional use keeps their lineup supported for decades.
That is indeed a tought one.
OK then simple answer: Get a decent pair of tower speakers and a receiver. Cost $1000 for a decent pair and a receiver, but you could go lower. Tower speakers give you the best overall sound reproduction across the frequency range. Anything else is a compromise.
This isn’t a surround sound setup, but you can build your way to that, budget depending. Towers and a receiver are the largest chunk of money, then later you can add a centre channel and a subwoofer, and later on after that 2 or 4 surround speakers.
But like I said that is a simple answer depending what you want, your budget, and what appeals to you when looking into things.
P.S. RBH sound is specialized, but more so on the high end. Audioholics (link I sent earlier) really likes them and reviews some of their products
Yeah, was just comparing to the bigger companies.
I thought about Tower Speakers, but I don’t have the space for them. Not just no space next to the TV, but also not the room for it. The room isn’t exactly big.
I mean I could still get Tower Speakers later on in a bigger apartment to extend the setup.
Passive (or active) full range monitors/speakers should work.