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Very new to high end audio - Recomendations

Hello, as the title says etc etc.
a few years member of headfi and enjoy my personal mobile setup, but looking into something for the home. This site was suggested as a nice place to look around in.
Knowledge is almost zilch when it comes to speakers/amps etc. 
I'm thinking maybe active speakers and I can line out from my DAP, will that work? How do active speakers perform best? what would work out better if matching prices in active speakers or passive with an amp?
Budget is fairly low, max £1000. Something to introduce me into the scenery. Something nice secondhand (preloved) or if a nifty setup can be bought new at a budget along those lines. Thanks in advance for any suggestions :)
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Showing 3 responses by james633

james633
1,051 posts
 
Active speaker are fine and you can run them as stated above. I can’t really recommend any as I have only used a few. Most people on here use passive speakers and separate power amps to tune the sound a bit more. 
Paradigm  
kef
Dynaudo
ATC
focal 
B&W

are all highend brands that make good powered speakers with Focal and ATC targeting the studio market. Headphones are pretty good these days so just any old cheap powered speaker will probably be disappointing. What headphones do you use and like?

As passive speakers that are a lot of good used deals on here (audio mart might work better in Europe). Even a modest setup will be more enjoyable than headphones IMO (I have a bunch of headphones too). The speakers just have way more soundstage and presents. 
Videos of best budget system ideas. 
https://youtu.be/ZlWShSH5RRs

https://youtu.be/Fdb8wLd73Tg

james633
1,051 posts
 
The studio monitors are gears toward near field listening (as in sitting at a desk or mixing board) and are very flat tonally. 
Lots of people want more color (more bass, less highs etc) than flat studio sounds. Me I like a flat sound. 
Many (maybe most) powered speakers are geared toward the pro market abs designed just to hook up to a dac or preamp which your DAP could function as. The output voltage could be pretty low though as home equipment is designed for 3v input I think and protectable stuff is around 1.5v output. 
Power speakers designed for home a lot of times you can just use airplay or wifi from your phone. No “source” needed. 
Way our of your budget but something like Kef would be nice. https://us.kef.com/digital-hifi/active-desktop/ls50-wireless-2.html

Based on your audeze headphones (I have owned the LCDX) you might like the paradigm Shift A2. They have really strong bass for their size and soft highs. They are $350 each in the US. They have no wirless capability. 
https://www.paradigm.com/en/powered/a2

audeze have very strong deep bass. You will probably end up wanting a sub in the long run to be happy. 
james633
1,051 posts
 
I personally agree with artemus_5 and I think passive speakers with an integrated amp is the way to get started.
JBL 580s and 590s are good starter speakers. Every 3-6 month JBL sells them off their sight at 50% off or more. They are a screaming deal at this prices. Ignore the list price as they are on sale several times a year.

Klipsch RP600M is also a good starter option.
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