My setup for audio at home is fairly complex, as I love getting the best sound possible (albeit with a limited budget).

My PC has an audiophile-grade ASUS Xonar Essence STX sound card, making sure that the source sound is as good as possible. The Essence STX really is an amazing sound card, it enhances the full dynamic range, and although it can’t replace the loss of the mp3 format, it makes an astounding amount of difference.

Next in the signal path is a Behringer Xenyx 802 mixer, where I can tweak the EQ and levels if needed. As described on my bass guitars page, I also use the set-up as a stand-in bass guitar amplifier, so I use one of the mono channels on the mixer for this.

The sound is then output to a Cambridge Audio A1 amplifier, and to two JVC “bookshelf” style speakers. Even though the speakers are the weakest part of the set-up, they perform well enough. For static listening through the mixing desk I use a pair of Sennheiser eH150 closed-cup headphones , and Sennheiser CX300-IIs in-ear-monitors for my Creative Zen 32GB media player while on the move.