|
Nobody really makes 3-way monitors; which if you're at all concerned about size you shouldn't be looking at anyway, nobody bothers on any speaker with under 8" woofers.
|
#
¿
Oct 20, 2011 23:15
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 08:19 |
|
|
I've been supremely unimpressed with the ProMedias, there's a gap between the satellites range and the sub and it's really boomy I think because of the small driver and maybe port noise. Plus they're noisy, I think they spend more money on the THX sticker than the amplifier.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 31, 2011 18:46
|
|
|
Hey man plenty of people like them but I got converted to normal speakers + receiver in college and I've never looked back. If I was going to get powered stuff I'd save up and get something like the Audioengine A5+ or Kanto iPair but that's me. There's lots of folks who like ProMedias as evidenced by this thread and I freely admit I'm way more picky than most.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 31, 2011 20:59
|
|
|
Hammer Floyd posted:So I'm thinking I might need something better than PC speakers to make me happy. What's the easiest way of connecting a PC to regular stereo speakers? I dont really want to go the monitor route as these are a bit more general-purpose rather than for music only. A $2 TOSLINK cable into a receiver?
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2012 22:48
|
|
|
japtor posted:Tangentially related to the A2 chat, anyone have suggestions for passive speakers in the same size and quality range? I'd like some small decent speakers for a TV don't want to deal with the whole volume knob in the back thing (or just lack of a remote controlled setup). P4s look nice but they're bigger than I'm looking for. http://www.kantospeakers.com/collections/ben
|
|
#
¿
May 29, 2013 21:39
|
|
|
codo27 posted:For a HTPC setup its perfect. Like I said, I will have my office and my receiver is going to be out in the living room. I am going to try out that optical receiver though, for $80 its not a big risk. But there has to be a high quality made-for-PC setup with a smaller footprint A surround setup needs more parts than stereo so at a given price point the more pieces the thing is made out of the lower quality those pieces are.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 17, 2014 22:52
|
|
|
Duke Farmington posted:I heard the B&W 685 S2 speakers today and fell in love. I have a stereo receiver I could use. Would they make good computer speakers or are they made more for far-away listening? They're front ported which removes some of the complexity of positioning them but I'm not sure how much toe-in you'd want sitting close to them. Did you listen to the 686 too, a little less bass but maybe a bit more practical? Also they do dip to 3.2 ohms at high load, is your receiver fairly beefy? They're really nice speakers if not potentially a bit overkill for your uses. At that price range I'd look at the KEF X300 also.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 18, 2014 22:09
|
|
|
Are those Pioneer speakers really that much better than anything else in the same range like these or Daytons or low-end Polk, JBL, Infinity? I'm suspicious they're just one of those things the internet hype machine boosted for no good reason. Also they're so ugly to me I'd prefer a plain black box.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 2, 2015 20:07
|
|
|
KillHour posted:I haven't heard them in person, but people generally only have good things to say about them. I'd imagine that for a large number of buyers these are the first real speakers they've ever owned so they're naturally going to gush about them. I know the "medium driver in bigass box" model works, there's much more expensive speakers doing the same kind of thing. I'm just naturally suspicious of anything that becomes Goon Approved cult status. qirex fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Feb 2, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Feb 2, 2015 20:25
|
|
|
I have a friend who is looking for a desktop USB DAC/headphone amp/volume knob to use with both headphones and speakers, the specific functionality wanted is that if the headphones are plugged in the line out is muted, although I guess a switch on the box between them would work as well. There's stuff like the Fiio E10k and Audioengine D1 but I can't tell if that functionality to switch between speakers and headphones without dicking around in software is there. Ideas? Budget is as cheap as possible, they don't need a headphone super-amp or anything.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 4, 2015 19:47
|
|
|
The Schiit [ ] stack seems like major overkill. Apparently this can do the same thing [albeit not as high quality] http://www.amazon.com/Syba-Stereo-Headphone-Amplifier-SD-DAC63057/dp/B009WN7QT4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top If my friend gets this I'll let you know how it turned out.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 6, 2015 20:55
|
|
|
There's a Canadian brand called Kanto that sells decent powered speakers, they go on sale a lot. The YU2 should be around the top end of your range.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 20, 2016 05:04
|
|
|
The end state for every "discount deal" site is selling things for more than retail.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 15, 2017 16:54
|
|
|
Every single amplifier with a digital input is also a DAC. Don't bother with separates unless you enjoy that sort of thing. There's a bunch of DAC/amps out there but you're probably looking on the upper end of that scale for a good one. There's something like this or this on the cheaper end but they tend to have quirky Chinese interfaces. Do you have space for a full-sized component? Getting a used or refurb recevier might be a good way to go. GnarlyCharlie4u posted:just go ahead and buy a Schiit stack; Magni 3 and Modi 2.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 16, 2017 16:53
|
|
|
For powered speakers even if you like Schiit stuff why not just get their cheap knob thing instead of the internet hype stack that requires 2 power supplies? Unless you have exotic hard to drive headphones it’s just more cables and more hassle IMO. Poster asked about power amps, most of them now under $300 are Chinese tripath ones, and there’s plenty of all in one models. qirex fucked around with this message at 16:39 on Oct 17, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Oct 16, 2017 22:40
|
|
|
Once you have outboard headphone amplifier disease it's incurable, might as well go ahead and buy that Emotiva power amp that you can bridge to 50WPC to the 1/4" jack.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 19, 2017 18:22
|
|
|
I assume you're planning on using the headphone output from your Switch since if you want to do HDMI you're pretty much stuck with a receiver [or comedy $3000 Naim Uniti Atom option]. The closest thing to what you want in one box that isn't a receiver is the TEAC AI-101da but at $300 it costs as much as a receiver. They have similar DAC/amps up to a grand with bigger amps/more features. There's slimline receivers around the same price with much better performance but they are large. If you want to stick with small stuff maybe look into a miniDSP that you could then connect to your sub and a small amp. People seem to love Schiit gear but it generally measures worse than generic Chinese DACs and they don't sell a single component that can do bass management for routing to your sub. qirex fucked around with this message at 15:59 on May 15, 2018 |
|
#
¿
May 15, 2018 15:57
|
|
|
KoB posted:Ive ended up with a few Sonos play1s, is there a way I can get these hooked up to my PC relatively inexpensively? They’re streaming speakers only, if you just want to use them for music they’ll work great but they have no live audio input and even if you manage something with software it’ll have a lot of latency. If that’s not what you need your best bet is to flip them, you could get enough cash for a really good set of monitors.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 25, 2019 09:48
|
|
|
charity rereg posted:Is there a better choice even today than the Klipcsh Pro Media 2.1 if I want to hook it up to my HTPC as my primary TV speakers? What’s your budget? You should be able to get something from Edifier, Fluance, Kanto, etc that will take optical and include a remote control. Optical out from TVs are usually full volume. Examples: https://www.edifier.com/us/en/speakers/r1280db-bluetooth-bookshelf-speakers-built-in-amplifier-coaxial-optical https://www.fluance.com/powered-2-0-bluetooth-active-5-inch-bookshelf-speakers-bamboo qirex fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Nov 14, 2019 |
|
#
¿
Nov 14, 2019 21:40
|
|
|
You’re not going to do much better than your TV buying new for under $150 IMO. At the bare minimum maybe a pair of Micca MB42s and a cheap tripath amp around $100?
|
|
#
¿
Nov 15, 2019 03:10
|
|
|
Direct modes typically bypass the crossover and play 2.0. Put it in auto mode [I think it’s AFD on Sony].
|
|
#
¿
May 7, 2020 06:45
|
|
|
no pubes yet sorry posted:What are the current winners? I'd be typically using the speakers for PC output so hdmi, toslink, USB or rca. I'd like to have the ability to use bluetooth but not a deal breaker as I could get a standalone bluetooth adapter but I am also unfamilar with those. Depending on when it was made older Sonos Connects and Connect Amps (pre 2015) are about to be EOLed into a reduced functionality penatly box.
|
|
#
¿
May 7, 2020 07:59
|
|
|
no pubes yet sorry posted:I've navigated it to the point where I am outputting correctly on the receiver, it is just wildly difficult. If my wife wants to use it is is a maze of button presses and verifying sound fields etc. As far as the rest of the market there's a price floor probably around $300-400 for stuff that hits that feature/usability balance. "Not being lovely to use" is something that costs money to design and build but there's also expensive gear that gets it wrong. I can't tell where you want to get to, is it connected to a TV? Categories of amplifiers by increasing price:
Your current Sony sounds like a dog, if you can't get it to sound right all the time I'd return it while you can even if an AVR is the right solution. Also I know the Sonos Connect has an input but I'd check it for delay, could mess up lip sync. It is a small amplifier and if you don't want other Sonos gear it could work OK.No bluetooth though.
|
|
#
¿
May 7, 2020 08:40
|
|
|
space marine todd posted:Recommendations for a very small sub $200 2.0 setup that doesn't completely suck? I'd like to put two speakers next to a short throw projector (3.5mm out) for gaming/movies/casual music listening. Are these too big? https://www.fluance.com/powered-2-0-bluetooth-active-5-inch-bookshelf-speakers-bamboo
|
|
#
¿
May 13, 2020 23:12
|
|
|
phosdex posted:What would I need if I wanted to get one of those powered bookshelf speakers, like the JBL or Fluance posted earlier. But I need to have 2 computers be able to output at the same time and have a headphone plugin. I've got Mac Mini, so either USB or 3.5 output and I swap 2 computers into another monitor that I run its 3.5 output out of. opinion edit: I have strong dislike for Schiit, nothing wrong with their cheap things but their expensive stuff costs more than pro gear that measures much, much better. qirex fucked around with this message at 23:36 on May 14, 2020 |
|
#
¿
May 14, 2020 23:24
|
|
|
The problem with the wirecutter is they tend to look for features first and eliminate a lot of stuff just so they can narrow it down to a reasonable number to actually test.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 20, 2020 00:25
|
|
|
powderific posted:Didn’t they go out of business cause the founder somehow ran fundraisers for kids with cancer and then just kept the money? I have a pair of bookshelves from them I really liked and then they disappeared. He was doing all sorts of sketchy stuff, his main thing was taking preorders for speakers months and months in advance of when he could ship them. The fake charity thing was only found out after people started really putting pressure on him IIRC.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 25, 2020 01:54
|
|
|
Ghost Leviathan posted:I see I'm not the only one returning Logitech crap. At that price range maybe shop used? You could probably get a Chinese T-Amp and some used small bookshelf speakers for that much. I don't know much about Australian pricing.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 28, 2020 18:13
|
|
|
abraham linksys posted:thread seems maybe a lil dead, but gonna give a post a go anyways: anyone here have experience with the Kanto Yu2? I want some nice <$300 speakers for my desk, but I have very little room and will be basically placing them directly under my monitor, giving me about 8" of clearance to work with - too short for most bookshelves (which also take up more room than I'd like in general on my small desk). The Yu2 seems like one of the only good tiny options. Others I'm looking at:
|
|
#
¿
Nov 5, 2020 21:57
|
|
|
Yeah, JBL, UE, Sony, etc. in that price range are all good. Maybe look at Soundcore too? I think the main differences between those is if they have an AUX input or USB C.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 6, 2022 18:31
|
|
|
Instead of a soundbar you can buy a pair of powered bookshelf speakers from a company like Edifier in the $100-200 range and they'll have a remote control. Many TVs don't have RCA [that's the red/white] out anymore, just optical. This means the output level is fixed and the speakers control the volume. I'm not a fan of soundbars, they tend to be the same terrible drivers that are in your tv just in an external box, but if you buy one with HDMI ARC connectivity you can probably just use the TV's remote. Almost everything comes with Bluetooth now, you can just ignore it if you're not going to use it.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 26, 2022 16:21
|
|
|
As you've already figured out there's a lot of ways to go. IMO USB switching is a non-starter but there are cheap adapters to do USB to optical or coax if you want to keep the other computer outputs digital too. I personally would probably do a desktop DAC to powered speakers but there's plenty of good mini-amps now too. For streaming you can either buy very expensive speakers with that built in or a $100 Wiim Mini that works great.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 10, 2023 23:02
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 08:19 |
|
|
Yeah I'd say for desktop a 4" driver is sufficient for the upper bass range where most tiny drivers like in soundbars struggle, like for most male voices or bass guitar. a 5 or 6 is almost always better, though. If you pump enough power into them you can get bass too, the Micca RB42 are famously good sounding small speakers but they're super inefficient. The "wattage range" on most speakers is just marketing talk, like sure you can blow them up but not under normal usage scenarios. Once you start to try to do loud volume is when a lot of those old mini system speakers, even decently big ones, hit the wall because you start getting effects like cabinet resonance [especially on plastic ones], clipping when the drivers hit the limits of their range of motion or port chuffing. Basically it's pretty easy to make something that sounds good at low volume and exponentially more difficult the louder the level and larger the volume you're trying to fill. This is why even a small club system looks almost nothing like home speakers.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 12, 2023 00:30
|
|